Nigerian Global
Desert Encroachment Project Flagged Off In Lagos
Qasim Akinreti, Lagos
A
GLOBAL project, geared towards fighting Desert encroachment has
been flagged off in Lagos, southwest Nigeria.
The project was flagged off at the Lagos House, Ikeja, under the
auspices of “Desert Warriors” team led by a renowned
Nigerian and International Environmentalist, Dr. Newton Jibunoh.
The team would travel across Nigeria from Lagos, Abuja and Kano
to Agadez, Niger Republic to London.
40 volunteers have registered for the desert tour, out of which
15 would eventually cross the desert of North Africa to Europe.
Initiator of the project, Dr. Newton Jibunoh, said this was his
own contribution to save humanity from environmental
degradation. He said the team would organise a television
reality show in Agadez where the final 15 members of the team
for the expedition would be picked.
Collaboration
While flagging off the project, Governor Babatunde Fashola said
the Nigerian government should join hands with state governments
in fighting desert encroachment as a natural and global
challenge.
The governor stated that Nigeria was ssituated between the
desert in the North and the Atlantic Ocean in the South, making
it imperative for joint government efforts to protect the
country.
Governor Fashola urged everyone to support the programme through
increased advocacy and awareness as well as knowledge sharing on
the dangers of desertification.
A similar project was also flagged off in Abuja by the Minister
of Environment, Mr John Odeh.
