We Must Protect Our Forests, Onuesoke Vows To Sustain Fight Against Deforestation In N'Delta

Chief Sunny Onuesoke, an environmentalist and activist, has vowed to sustain the fight against deforestation in Niger Delta, saying all efforts must be geared towards protecting the remaining forests in the Region.

This is as he condmened the environmental degradation in the region, regretting that if nothing is done, the Nigeria Delta area would be left vulnerable, pledging to sustain the fight against the menace until the job is done.

In a statement he made available to the media, Onuesoke expressed deep concern over the alarming rate at which forests in the region are disappearing.

According to environmental reports, Nigeria loses between 350,000 and 400,000 hectares of forest every year, making it one of the countries with the highest deforestation rates in the world.
The Niger Delta accounts for a significant portion of this loss due to illegal logging, unregulated land conversion, and industrial pollution.

Onuesoke noted that forest destruction had intensified flooding across Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers and Akwa Ibom states.

He said: “This fight is not political theatre. It is a duty to the people and to the future of the Niger Delta. I am not going to stop this campaign until we achieve meaningful action, real enforcement, and sustainable reforestation.”

He criticised policymakers who make “paper policies without implementation,” noting that Nigeria’s forestry laws have an enforcement compliance rate of less than 25 percent, according to environmental watchdogs.

He stressed that the region needs practical, measurable environmental governance, including strict enforcement against illegal logging, community-based forest surveillance, government-funded reforestation programmes, among others.

Onuesoke added that deforestation remains a major driver of poverty and displacement.

“We must protect our remaining forests before they vanish completely. Future generations will not forgive us if we fail to act now,” he said.

He called on the Federal Government, state governments, environmental agencies and traditional institutions to collaborate on a unified strategy to restore the dwindling forest reserves of the Niger Delta.