When growing up, I was told about a forest reserve in my community called Okahia which literally stands for the great forest. it is said that settlers from Okpala clan where the first to arrived the are some 14th centuries ago, they occupied the vast majority of the area even up till this present day. it is believed that the forest have sacred and mystic powers and its a good judge of character as it doesn't condole stealing or forceful possession of someone's else properties. Okahia as its know up till now is the ecosystem that lies southern part of the great IMO River, a tributary of the River Niger, located at the south eastern part of #Nigeria, it is the border vegetation that marks the boundary between IMO and Abia State, two states located in the eastern part of #Nigeria.
Okahia ecosystem is a unique combination of mangrove swamp and rainforest lying side by side each other and that is what makes it a rare forest reserve. varieties of plants and wide life are found in the forest, people have told tales of how the #African leopard (AGU) can be seen very often in the company of its younger one. The soil is rich and fertile for agriculture and due to her vast landscape and nature, it is often used in making proverbs about how wealthy a man that can cultivate two or three plots of land in Okahia can be during harvest time. Trees such as Palm trees, Pines, Iroko, Mahogany can be seen forming canopies in short distances making the vegetation beneath almost grass less except for few stubborn grasses at the foot of the trees.
For centuries, people between the two states as relied on Okahia for their social, economic and agricultural needs and the Forest haven't failed to provide their needs as long as they hold her sacred, many families used the proceeds from the forest to send the wards and children to school even up to the tertiary level. Tales and stories were told about how the great forest never sheds any leaves and always remains ever green even during severe drought and little rain fall.
Okohia as describe in the previous paragraphs is losing its nature to the handy work of men. The forest is on the verge of extinction if the rate at which lumbering activities are going on continues. #Deforestation is imminent if the federal, state or local authorities don't act fast enough. The ministry of forestry should as a matter of urgency visit the forest and see for themselves the manner trees and other wide vegetation are fell indiscriminately without prior permission or planting of any tree as replacement.
On my last visit to the forest, I was surprise to see trees that are not even matured to use as firewood fell down by saw operators who usually come from the neighboring Abia State to cut down trees in the interior of the forest. This unauthorized lumber men usually come from the river end of the forest in boats of which after cutting down the trees, they will drag the tree to the shore of the river and transport it back to where they came from. I later gathered that due to population expansion, those living in the urban areas are usually the sponsors of such trips because they usually get the woods at a very cheaper rate from this areas as compare to the high cost of buying such wood in the urban areas. The consequences of this is that many idle youths now engage as lumber men and saw men since this will provide them with money to carryout the family responsibilities and also since it is deemed profitable.
I was told that the adjourning communities on there own and as a group passed laws forbidding people to fall down trees or desecrate the forest and they have apportioned various penalties to defaulters of which the penalties are heavy fine and a criminal charge and even arrest of such defaulters. All these measure have not stop such unruly attitude and trend from ceasing to continue, The locals on the other hand are not helping matters as majority of them still use fire woods for their cooking even with the availability of gas stations less than 500 meters from their locations, you can also see a handful of them fetching firewood in commercial quantity to sell to commuters, who are people from other parts of the state when you try to point out the consequences of their action i.e #Deforestation, they will always remind you of how difficult the economy is and that if you want them to quite, you have to provide them with alternatives to cater and feed their families and love ones.
#Nature is silent watching and recording the ordeals of men on her and her children. we as a society have always failed to realize the bond we have with nature and what consequences we may encounter if we completely destroy our environment in the name of economic posterity or looking for our daily bread. Laws are not just enough, justice should serve its cause and various authorities should as a matter of urgency search and persecute the perpetrators of such acts and allow the law to take its cause, more people should be recruited to monitor and walk around the forest environment so as to prevent the forest from losing its inhabitants due to activities of mankind. #Communities should encourage their citizens to try and make use of gas or kerosene as alternatives to firewood, they should also educated their citizens on the consequences of losing the forest and let them understand the importance and cultural heritage of the forest. They should also try and establish a local vigilante group that will be responsible for save guarding the forest and its environs and will be willing to work with the forest officers and authorities. if all of these mentioned are put in place, nature will win the war against #deforestation.
Credit: #topchuqs
