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| Doing the right thing is all that we need in NEP. By Mohamed Weyrah,
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Doing the right things is deciding the best course of action to take. What are the things we should be doing to get us to where we want to go? What direction or course of action should we take? Where do we want to be in the end? These are the questions that a good leadership needs to puzzle his mind all the time.
Our leaders must use some management and leadership skills. It�s through this that they can understand the differences, work within their basic framework and make their work a whole lot more productive.
Sometimes it is not so much the wicked effects of government or the poor leadership that keep North Eastern People poor. It is true that the government and our leaders do not bestow much to the province but we, the common people could not retain, let alone increase the little that God has given to us. In fact, we destroyed it.
Common sense dictates looking both ways before crossing a street, or risk being hit by a car. For decades, the people of NEP looked only one way, at �external salvation�. In the sense that the government will one day bring miracles that will fulfill everybody�s needs.
Deforestation has become a big problem in the province. This has become a major issue, not only because of the value that the forest have on the living environment on the land, but also because of disappearance of rare species. The trees we used to shade under when we were young. This is turning the province into desert. But unfortunately no one speaks about it. We wait for a savior as we wait for the rain.
In this arid and the semi arid areas of the country, the rate of deforestation is alarming. While deforestation in other parts of the country is mainly caused by commercial logging or cattle ranching the leading causes in NEP are associated with human activities like fuel wood and charcoal burning. People have been cutting down the forests for decades.
Unfortunately, due to the hardship in the area, the common man often resorts to exploitation of their natural resources to find income. They are attempting to survive and conservation of biological diversity is not a priority. Poverty of households in the region exacerbates or constrains the rate at which these households clear forested land. There is an empirically relationship between income and land clearing in this region.
The poor turn to the forests for the collection of fuel wood, and the poaching of forest animals for food. They rely heavily on wood fuel, the major energy source for cooking and heating.
The consumption of fuel wood energy by households is typically ten times the total consumption of commercial energy for all purposes, including transport and the generation of electricity.
Since the government has nationalised ownership of land. This has often resulted in ambiguity over land ownership and use rights, creating situations of open-access where no person or community is responsible for maintaining the fertility of the land.
When governments take over land rights, it�s often the wealthy and well-connected who are able to use their influence to secure land use rights
When you ask anyone in the area, why is no body caring about our ever-shrinking scattered trees along the river? The answer you get is �who cares? Mali ya uma
(Public property)�
Our people are not aware of soil erosion or the benefits that trees can have on soil fertility. Unfortunately the few learned who went to schools do not know or care the consequences this might have to our natural world. No wonder in every statistical paper that compares districts developments in terms of wealth, health and education in the whole country, we are in the tail. We must bear some responsibilities in terms of poor quality leadership and lack of innovations to modify our customs and cultures of dependence.
I think much of it is not about poverty but is about education and changing of our attitudes towards our environment. This can be achieved through good leadership who inspires the people to love their surroundings. It is about doing the right things. We need to create environmental-friendly legislations that forces people to respect their ecosystem and expect every household to plant trees in their compounds and along the roads they live.
I can still remember tree planting philosophy in our school days where land that was denuded and barren came to life with gardens of trees in the school compound. This was through initiatives of the school authority at the time.
Some may think I am a dreamer or even a na�ve person, but I think we desperately need one possible long-term response to this crisis that is being overlooked.
It is time we stand up on our feet and do something about this problem before events that we can�t handle over take us. Let�s not depend solely on government to run all our affairs all the time.
In conclusion, deforestation is a large problem all over the world. However, it is not an unstoppable force. It can be decreased. It will not be easy and it will take a group effort and sacrifice by the people to overcome it.
Can someone who cares about the affairs of our people please stand up?
Mohamed Weyrah,
School of medicine,
University of East Anglia.
[email protected] |
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