By Ambassador Abdullahi Aliyu Jibiya
Aerial View of Katsina City
One of the amazing features of driving through Katsina State is observing the extent to which we have lost our environment. The “Dajin Gwamna” and natural forests that dotted the landscape are no longer there. The bird-filled Katsina to Jibiya road is bereft of flying feathers and you could stand at any point and survey twenty kilometres ahead of you – nothing. Mature adults do not know the difference between "Shaho" and "Shirwa" or even "Angulu". Even the sparrow has disappeared – or is it extinct?
Fifty kilometres east of Katsina, "Dajin-Rugu", with its mountain cover and rich vegetation stretched for hundreds of kilometres in every direction, connecting Hausa City States for trade and diplomacy. The “tough men” that inhabited "Dajin-Rugu", have historically been the recruitment of ground of soldiers that either raged war on behalf of Kings, or protected them against mortal enemies. Villages in and near the dreaded forest routinely reported the loss of cattle and goats to men, lions and hyenas.
The natural forest provided dwelling places for birds and other creations of Allah (swt) and protected farmlands from the ravages of the sun’s rays; from floods; and the extreme gusts of the winds of "Bazara". The vegetation of natural and man-made forests provided oxygen to human beings, cooled the cities, towns and villages and healed the sick. It is disheartening that youths growing up in Katsina State today may not know the healing powers of the "Sabara" foliage, of the sturdy "Marke" tree, or of the therapeutic effects of "Ceɗiya".
Fifty years ago, Katsina city itself was surrounded by rich vegetation. The two river beds that encircled Katsina – "Ƙoramar-Tilla" and "Ƙoramar-Ginzo", provided a rich vegetation that supported life. From Ƙofar-Guga, a rich foliage circles to Ƙofar-Kaura and connected the farmlands of Ɓatagarawa, rounding up to Katsina Steel Rolling Mill Company, before emptying at Ƙoramar-Ginzo towards Ƙofar-Sauri.
Are these losses recoverable? What would it take to do that? Who (the combination of persons and institutions) can pioneer recovery? How can it be sustained?