The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Usman Baba has disclosed plans to deploy what he called non-kinetic measure of ‘tree planting’ to tackle insecurity in the country.
He made this know during the flag-off of the “One – Nigerian – One – Tree National Tree Planting Initiative” on Tuesday in Abuja.
Giving his remarks, the IGP said there was a strong connection between climate change and internal security.
He highlighted human activities such as desertification, deforestation and other elements of climate change as major drivers of poverty, crime and insecurity.
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In a statement and issued by the Force Spokesperson, Frank Mba, the IGP said intense rivalry and competition for natural resources between farmers and herders was contributing to the country’s security challenges.
According to him, climate change remained a major root cause of some of the violent clashes, not only in Nigeria, but across the sub-Sahara and the Sahel regions.
The statement partly read, “The IGP, therefore, commended the organizers of the program, the Greater Nigeria Initiative, and expressed his belief that the initiative, which constitutes one of the non-kinetic approaches of the Force in combating crime, would assist the Force in proactively responding and addressing the increasingly broadened and complex security threats in the country.
“The IGP pledged the commitment of the Force to the Twenty-Five Million Tree Planting Initiative of the Federal Government, assuring that the exercise would be replicated across all zonal and state commands towards addressing the alarming deforestation challenges occasioned by climate change, building an eco-friendly environment for peaceful co-existence among the citizens and enhancing national security”