Nigeria: 35 Percent of Land in 11 States Now Desert - Jani Ibrahim
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Vanguard (Lagos)
29 August 2008
Posted to the web 29 August 2008
ABOUT 35 per cent of land cultivated 50 years ago is now desert areas in 11 states in the northern part of the country, according to Mr. Jani Ibrahim.
Ibrahim, Chairman, Conference of Northern States Chambers of Commerce, Mines and Agriculture (CONSCCIMA) said this in Sokoto on a visit to the Sultan of Sokoto, Sultan Sa'ad Abubakar III.
He said urgent steps must, therefore, be taken to address the problem before it got out of hand.
"Poverty is not the only problem in the north, desert encroachment is also basically a northern affair and all stakeholders must adopt a holistic approach toward solving the problems," he said.
According to him, poverty in contemporary Nigeria has been identified with the north. "The 10 poorest states in Nigeria are in the North and it is only in the northern part of the country that you have a poverty level of over 50 per cent of the population.
"The facts of our current circumstances in the north are well-known to you. There is the urgent need for the Sultanate to do something about the situation," Ibrahim said.
He explained that CONSCCIMA, as the organised private sector body made up of the chambers of commerce in the 19 northern states, had resolved to take steps to reverse the dwindling economic fortunes of the area.
The CONSCCIMA chairman said: "Our first step is to bring together various stakeholders to understand where we are, where we want to be and how we want to get there."
He called for support, blessing, guidance and prayers from the Sultan.
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Responding, Abubakar assured his guest of the Sultanate's support and cooperation toward eradicating poverty in the northern part of the country.
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