A peep into Adamawa tree felling ban policy two years after
• Corruption, poor implementation, lack of alternatives, erode success – Citizens
By Mohd Ismail.
Shortly after his second term reelection, governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri of Adamawa State has outlawed felling of trees for firewood and charcoal production in his desire to ensure a healthy ecosystem and to safeguard the state from the infernal and catastrophic consequences of climate change.
Despite the seeming altruistic and timely nature of the policy, two years down the line, it has allegedly left a sore taste and harmed the environment more than it salvaged it, stakeholders disclosed.
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Some environmentalists had predicted that the policy is bound to fail because of the haphazard nature it was implemented with little or no concern to the most important element in the ecosystem “mankind” who rely on the two commodities as primary source of energy.
To compound matters, the failure of the government to put some safety mechanisms so as to provide viable alternative energy sources and help chart a new course for families who depend on the trade for livelihood, presented another huge dilemma.
The situation, according stakeholders, created confusion, frenzy and stiff competition around the firewood and charcoal value chains in which mega stakeholders with huge war chest use their resources to drive away small players, and made the important commodity to be out of the reach of the common man as the commodities transform to gold with lightening speed with prices going beyond the roof.
Investigation by this paper revealed that a bundle of firewood which costs around N100 before the policy, now sells for over N500 while a bag of charcoal which sells between N2000 to N2,500 before the policy averagely sells for N9000 now.
Similarly, a pickup truck of firewood which sells between N35,000 to N40,000 before the policy, dramatically shot up to between N80,000 to N100,000 a situation which drives away small players from the trade exposing them to the vagaries of poverty, and destitution.
The new interests and huge profits involved in the trade allegedly introduced a new chapter of racketeering between security agencies and government officials saddled with the responsibility of implementing the policy to the latter amidst high stakes, zero hazard and fear of backlash.
But while the conspiracy favoured the security operatives and the new investors who always smile to the bank, the end users were however hobbled and constraint by the extortionate price of the commodity, a situation that exposed many families to hunger, rising poverty and deprivation.
Because of the new interests and growing monetary gains, more people became interested in the business with heaps of firewood dumps which initially disappeared as a result of the policy returning with so much ferocity. Despite the existence of the ban, firewood depots became an eyesore which continue to litter all parts of the state capital.
Good policy, poor implementation, bad result – environmentalist
An environmental conservationist, Sani Maikudi while responding to questions on why the Adamawa experiment failed to see the light of the day, said, the policy was bound to fail because it failed to factor the most important element in the ecosystem which is the man.
“There is so much hype and insincerity around the issue of conservation of environment. Some state governors are simply doing it because of the patronage and monetary benefits it will bring to them from international donors and partners. Most of them have no real concerns about the success of such policies, otherwise the approach would have been different.
“Let me restate that any such policy that ignore the most important element in the environment – “man” is dead on arrival. God created the environment itself to cater for the needs of man and other creatures. So whenever you decided to create a situation that only favours the environment against man, you will end up creating more chaos for the environment as is being witnessed in Adamawa State because man must survive.
“If the policy was designed to succeed, it would have been well thought out and implemented in phases with timelines and enough windows for oversight. But the rush and blanket fiat by the government is eerily suspicious. First there should have been a concrete drive by the state government to introduce alternative energy source(s) before the ban. This would have even created avenue for investors in the energy value chain to come up with investments into the state which will lead to more IGR for the government and job opportunities for the teeming youths.
“Considering the fact that Adamawa is an agrarian and rural state with over 90 percent of the people using firewood, the government should have seriously invested in awareness creation in order to ensure the buy-in of the people. Such will have led to high rate of success. And the chaos around firewood and charcoal came into being against the backdrop that firewood is still the most easiest source of energy and you can’t prevent people from cutting trees even if the penalty of doing that is death sentence.
“Because of the failure of the government to do the right thing, both the environment and man are bearing the brunt of the government’s lethargy and inactions,” he said.
Chain of corruption
A player who has been in the trade for over 50 years, Alhaji Garba Mai Itace told our correspondent that before the ban, there were no encumbrances and challenges ferrying firewood from the bush to the cities but now instead of curbing the incessant tree felling, a new wave of corruption fueled by greed and government’s failure was introduced into the mix making the commodity to be beyond the reach of common man.
“This policy has sent many small players out of business because of abuses, corruption and poor oversight.
“It has now become mandatory to drop N1,000 at every police checkpoint. And if you are unlucky to be arrested by the task force, you have to pay between N15,000 to N20,000 to free yourself. Now even civilian task force, (JTF) vigilante operatives, wards and village heads are collecting bribes from us. The least amount you will pay in bribes to ferry firewood from Cigari axis to Yola in a small pick up van is N15,000 and if you’re unlucky to be arrested by the task force, you must spend at least N40,000. I’m in this business for over 50 years but I have been forced to abandon it because of cash crunch and other challenges. The business has been taken over by strangers. Many of my colleagues have also abandoned the business due to dearth of capital and extortion by security and state officials.
Pulses from households
Several breadwinners interviewed by our reporter said the ban has caused them untold hardship and sleepless nights sometimes preventing them from feeding the family.
A resident of Yola, Tijjani Usman said, before the introduction of the ban, a bag of charcoal sells between N1,500 to N2,500 but at a point in time the price of charcoal rose to about N13,000 per bag. The price has come down a little bit to N9,000 now but still it is on the highside.
“The policy has added serious burden to families as sourcing firewood or charcoal to cook food has become a tasking activity. On several occasions my family was forced to sleep on empty stomach not because we don’t have food but because we don’t have firewood to cook it.
“With the situation, the firewood of N500 only cooks one meal for my household. Before, that amount of firewood will sustain us for days,” Usman said.
Another resident of Yola, Abdurrahman Saidu also corroborated Usman’s concerns. He said before things got bad, the concern of family heads was to provide food and cooking ingredients noting that the situation now has changed where sourcing food is one independent challenge and sourcing energy is another independent challenge.
“Before the ban, my major concern as a family head is bringing food and other ingredients because if you have extra N100 change, you will be able to buy either firewood or charcoal with which to cook. Sometimes your neighbors can help you with charcoal or firewood if you run into a hitch but that is no more the situation as everyone is in serious financial crisis,” he said.
Extortionate prices of alternative energy sources
With the extortionate prices of firewood and charcoal, it was envisaged that residents will switch to better alternative energy sources, but checks by this reporter indicated that the average citizen or a minimum wage earner could not afford the alternatives as price of 1 kg of gas (Liquefied Petroleum Gas or LPG) in Nigeria is between N1,250 and N1,400 because Prices vary regionally, with some areas like Ibadan and Owerri offering prices as low as N1,200/kg, while others like Port Harcourt and Adamawa might see prices as high as N1,500/kg.
In the same vein, the average retail price of kerosene in Adamawa State, Nigeria, is N1,690.11 per liter. Therefore, with the extortionate prices of alternative energy sources, the quest for a shift in energy preference becomes a mirage.
Reactions by govt officials
But while reacting to questions by our reporter on the subject during a media chat organized by PSA to governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, George Kushi recently, the director of press to the governor attributed the challenges of non compliance to the lackluster attitude of security personnel to enforce the ban noting that the governor’s major responsibility is to ensure such bold policies come into being while it is the responsibility of the security personnel to implement them.
Also reacting, Kushi said the government has commenced training of Adamawa citizens on the production of briquettes which are simpler to manufacture and efficient to use noting that with the government’s bold steps, some of the teething challenges associated with the policy will dissipate.
Efforts to speak with Adamawa State commissioner of environment, Bala Sadiq Kalu to hear what his ministry is doing on the ban proved futile as calls directed to his number were not answered. Similarly, an SMS message sent to him on the subject was not responded to as at the time of filing this report.
When contacted for comments on the subject ,the image maker of Adamawa State Police command, SP Sulaiman Nguroje promised to respond through Whatsapp message but yet to do so as at the time of filing this report.
This report was published with support from IiEP.
