Cutting of trees and the curse of erosion in Igbo land

Posted by Felix Okoli on Saturday January 30, 2016 at 12:59:20:

Why does Igbo land located in South Eastern Nigeria have a serious erosion problem? Well, I think the answer is that the gods and our forefathers are angry with us for cutting down our trees. A lot of trees have been cut down in Igbo land and more are still being cut yet Igbo sons and daughters keep looking for the cause of erosion on their roads and farmlands. Some communities in Igbo land have been cut off and isolated as a result of erosion and I have to say that the worse is yet to come.

I recently went to my village for an occasion and one of the things that touched me is the beautiful greenery all over the place. There are a lot of trees and bushes in my village but I won't really call it a village because there are also a lot of rich men who have built castles and mansion within that village. Yes, there are trees and bushes with some trees being taller than 3 story buildings but people are getting richer and converting traditional farmland and bushes into mansions.

One way through which erosion can be controlled in Igbo land is by reducing the level of trees being cut down during construction work. We need to start a tree conservation program in Igbo land so that some trees could be protected and laws should also be made by the government and communities so that people can build their new homes between trees rather than have houses close to each other as it's common in cities like Lagos and Abuja. People can still build their houses but they should also allow some space to be made for trees to live side by side houses.

The more we cut down trees for road construction and residential buildings in Igbo land, the more erosion will destroy our lands and this is because those trees have been protecting us for so long before people started building modern day houses. In the older times, Igbo people build houses with mud/clay and there were mostly small houses that didn't require much space vertically or horizontally nor did they lead to the massive cutting down of trees that have been living for over 50 years but nowadays, people no longer give regard to the value of trees and that's why nature is punishing us through erosion.

I believe erosion will continue to be a problem in South East Nigeria because of it's geographic position and the curse of erosion will always affect us unless we stop teh cutting down of trees, especially the older ones which have been living for up to 50 years of age.