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…Commander General Osatimehin calls for statesmanlike assent to NFSS Bill to fortify nationalist wood security
By Kingsley Omonobi
ABUJA — The Commander General of the Nigeria Forest Security Service (NFSS), Dr. Joshua Wole Osatimehin, says the organization’s heavy knowing of Nigeria’s forests and adjacent ties with accepted institutions springiness it a unsocial quality vantage implicit accepted information agencies successful combating insecurity crossed the country’s immense ungoverned spaces.
Speaking connected the operations and operation of the NFSS, Osatimehin said the Service — with implicit 48,000 trained members — plays a captious relation successful wood security, biodiversity protection, and quality gathering successful enactment of constituted authorities.
“Unlike constabulary officers who are often transferred crossed states, our members service successful their autochthonal environments, wherever they recognize the terrain and interconnectivity of wood routes,” helium said. “Our closeness to accepted rulers and cognition of section quality networks springiness america an vantage implicit accepted information formations.”
Osatimehin noted that Nigeria has astir 1,129 wood reserves, galore of which person been degraded owed to amerciable logging and encroachment. The NFSS, helium said, evolved from community-based huntsman groups and present operates crossed the 36 states and the FCT, with beingness successful each 774 section authorities areas.
He added that the Service’s instauration successful 2016 was inspired by the deficiency of a dedicated bureau to safeguard Nigeria’s wood ecosystems — often utilized arsenic harmless havens by bandits, kidnappers, and different transgression elements.
“Over 80 percent of crimes successful Nigeria are drug-related, and astir of these activities hap successful oregon done forests,” Osatimehin explained. “The NDLEA, Police, and Civil Defence Corps person each trained our members successful quality gathering, infrastructure protection, and counter-narcotics operations.”
The NFSS, helium said, has achieved important collaboration with authorities governments. In Bauchi, 850 members were commissioned by Governor Bala Mohammed successful 2019; successful Borno, Governor Babagana Zulum engaged 1,000 NFSS unit to support farmers. In Kogi and Benue, hundreds much were deployed to assistance successful section quality operations.
He highlighted akin engagements successful Lagos, Oyo, and Ebonyi States, noting that Lagos pays the highest monthly stipend of ₦85,000 per officer, portion Oyo’s wood guards person successfully arrested kidnappers successful the Oke Ogun area.
On recruitment, Osatimehin explained that each candidates are screened and recommended by accepted institutions, vetted by the Police and DSS, and indispensable show cognition of section wood reserves.
However, helium lamented that the lack of national designation remains a large challenge. “Our morale and assurance are affected by the deficiency of law backing. We entreaty to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to assent to the NFSS Bill, already passed by some chambers of the National Assembly,” helium said.
He emphasized that the NFSS is not designed to vie with existing information agencies but to complement them. “Just arsenic past leaders created institutions similar the NSCDC, DSS, and EFCC, President Tinubu has an accidental to permission his people by signing the NFSS Bill into law,” Osatimehin added.
Addressing the increasing insecurity successful Nigeria’s wood regions, helium traced the concern to the post-Gaddafi era, erstwhile mercenaries dispersed crossed Africa and infiltrated Nigeria done porous wood borders.
He cited Kenya arsenic an illustration of a state that successfully secured its forests done a akin specialized service. “Nigeria indispensable instrumentality proactive steps to replicate that exemplary if we are to reclaim our forests from transgression elements,” helium said.
Osatimehin reaffirmed the NFSS’s committedness to nationalist security, assemblage collaboration, and biology protection, saying: “Our ngo is to marque Nigeria’s forests safe, sustainable, and productive for the payment of all.”
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