This administration is trying effortlessly to defend their attempt at opening Ìbàdàn up for another flood disaster, as was witnessed in 1980 by repeatedly claiming that they do not mean to touch Agodi gardens in their proposed estate development.
Of a truth, the State government has not touched any part of Agodi gardens, but the forest which is being destroyed to pave the way for the housing estate houses Agodi gardens and it’s also one of the two fairly standing forest reserves in Ìbàdàn.
History has it that Ìbàdàn metropolis had four forest reserves. Unfortunately, they are presently in various degrees of degradation. The whole of Alalubosa forest reserve was destroyed and converted to Alesinloye urban market and residential quarters through an executive fiat of military government. Meanwhile, the forest reserve (before its conversion) was created in 1916 for protecting the water catchment area which formed a railway reservoir and also to supply fuel wood to the public. There was also the Oke-Aremo forest reserve, which was constituted in 1935 to serve as a source of fuel wood and poles. Unfortunately, a greater part of it was ceded for the development of the new palace of Olubadan and some other projects. There is also the Ogunpa Dam forest reserve (being destroyed today for a housing estate) which was constituted in 1931 to protect the reservoir catchment area of Ogunpa Dam. It was, however, declared a game reserve in 1952. Last on the list is the Eleyele forest reserve created in 1941 and formally constituted in 1957 to provide fuel wood, building poles and also protect the catchment area of Eleyele water. The forest reserve still has a fairly sizeable portion of its original land not yet destroyed.
For the sake of clarification, no one has accused the State government of destroying Agodi gardens, but the Ogunpa Dam forest reserve from which a small portion was carved out to make Agodi gardens which is being used for recreation. Agodi gardens was built in 1967 before it was destroyed by the Ogunpa flood disaster of 1980, which was a resultant effect of the construction of Cultural centre, premier hotel and that public school. The State government is simply trying to direct media narrative to make it appear as if the people are accusing them of demolishing Agodi gardens. The argument is simple, any attack on that forest is an attack on the society.
For the sake of educating the SA Media to the Governor, Olanrewaju Sulaimon who was on radio exhibiting crass ignorance that “a forest has no business in the middle of a town”, I must state that the destruction of a forest constitutes a major environmental problem since forest play a major role in environmental conservation and amelioration of environmental hazards like wind, soil erosion, flooding, earth warming siltation of water bodies, underground hydrological dis-equilibrium and various forms of pollution.
Unfortunately, because of elements like Olanrewaju, who obviously have no business being around power, a government which holds forest in “trust” for society has inadvertently become the protagonist of urban deforestation by placing higher priorities on other land uses over forestry. Meanwhile, the consequences of forest destruction are in many cases far-reaching and immensely devastating.
I expect Olanrewaju to understand that the quality of life in an urban area like Ìbàdàn is greatly influenced by the amount and quality of its green spaces, which include forests. The need for green spaces becomes more acute bearing in mind the urbanisation-induced changes in regional and global atmospheric systems and resultant concentration of air pollution and heat energy. And, without trees, cities become hotter and drier, air pollution become worse, wind becomes stronger, there is flood danger and erosion becomes increasingly serious, the dust more damaging and people less healthy. But, as I have opined in my reaction to the display of intellectual insufficiency by the SA Media to the Governor, he should do well to enrol in some certification courses in urban and regional planning so he can speak better without so much ignorance.
The trees being pulled down at the Ogunpa Dam forest reserve to give way for the proposed housing estate were brough in from different countries. In fact, it was primarily a gene bank, just like the FRIN forest gene pool for forest trees, which has several species of trees that were chosen for their strength and usefulness. This indiscriminate misappropriation of public lands in the guise of housing estate is ridiculous and disturbing.
Governor Seyi Makinde should check the trend in forest destruction and its consequences in Ìbàdàn metropolis. We still remember how the construction of Premier Hotel on a section of the Ogunpa Dam forest reserve caused a large-scale erosion and flooding of Ogunpa river. We also remember how the construction of the cultural centre caused the destruction of Agodi gardens and fishponds and massive flooding, which resulted in well over 300 deaths. The siltation and pollution of Alalubosa lake as a result of the construction of Alesinloye market and housing estate is still there for record. The massive erosion which culminated as a result of the construction of a proposed 5-star hotel on University of Ibadan teak plantations is also there. The massive flooding and erosion at Challenge is also there in response to scoutcamp shopping complex. We can go on and on. The trends are there to caution us about future reoccurrence.
For the umpteenth time, I want to say that the destruction of the Ogunpa Dam forest reserve is not done in good faith. Governor Seyi Makinde is opening Ìbàdàn up for disaster all for the sake of projecting the interests of some rich few. It is disturbing!
Kazeem Olalekan Israel writes from Ìbàdàn, Nigeria
