CITAD launches platform to drive one million-tree campaign across Nigeria
From Muhammad Kabir Kano
The Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) has unveiled an online platform to support its campaign to plant one million trees across Nigeria within one year.
The campaign, which runs from September 2, 2026, to September 1, 2027, is aimed at mobilising communities, government agencies, civil society organisations, schools and the media to participate in tree planting and environmental protection.
Speaking at the unveiling of the platform, the Executive Director Malam Yunusa Zakari Ya’u , said the initiative was not merely a tree-planting exercise but an effort to build public awareness and community ownership of environmental protection.
He explained that the campaign had already commenced, adding that the event was primarily to unveil a platform through which people across the country could participate and upload details of trees planted.
According to him, the platform would enable participants to provide information on the number and types of trees planted as well as their locations, making it possible to monitor progress towards the one-million-tree target.
He stressed the importance of transparency, correcting an earlier figure and stating that about 200 trees had so far been planted, rather than 1,000 as initially reported.
He said a pilot project had been conducted in eight secondary schools, where trees were planted and students taught how to plant, nurture and protect them.
He added that about 100 additional trees were planted in communities in Jamaare town during the official launch of the campaign.
Malam Ya’uan noted that the campaign was rooted in concerns over the rapid loss of trees and green spaces in Kano and other parts of Northern Nigeria.
He recalled that environmental activists, academics, lawyers and other stakeholders had, more than five years ago, campaigned against plans to relocate Gidan Zoo from its current location in Kano.
He argued that the zoo was an important environmental asset and one of the few remaining major carbon sinks in the metropolis, alongside other green areas.
According to him, trees play a crucial role in absorbing greenhouse gases, reducing environmental degradation and helping to control flooding and soil erosion.
He warned that replacing mature trees would take decades, noting that some of the trees in existing green areas were between 80 and 100 years old.
“We don’t have that time to wait to preserve humanity in this world,” he said, stressing the need to protect existing trees while embarking on large-scale reforestation.
He also linked deforestation to desertification, soil erosion, flooding and conflicts over land and water resources, particularly in northern Nigeria.
The activist said the campaign would focus not only on planting trees but also on preserving indigenous species that were increasingly disappearing from the environment.
He cited the loss of traditional knowledge about indigenous trees and their uses as another reason for involving schools and communities in the initiative.
He said trees remained important for food, medicine, construction, traditional tools and other aspects of cultural and economic life.
According to him, the campaign seeks to change the practice of making tree planting a ceremonial government activity where officials plant trees for photographs without ensuring their survival.
He said responsibility for planting, caring for and nurturing trees should instead be placed in the hands of communities and citizens
He disclosed that the Kano State Ministry of Environment had provided nearly 1,000 seedlings for redistribution to schools and communities, while the Ministry of Education had approved access to schools for the campaign.
He called on the media to partner with the initiative through radio programmes and other awareness activities to encourage wider participation.
He said the one-million-tree target was deliberately designed as a collective national effort rather than a project to be implemented by CITAD alone.
“We, on our part, are just part of the initiators,” he said, explaining that the campaign was intended to mobilise government institutions, civil society organisations, communities, schools and individuals.
He expressed optimism that the initiative would raise environmental consciousness and encourage Nigerians to take practical steps towards protecting the environment.
