Institute of Procurement, Environment and Social Standards

 Environmental Track “A” Training for Cohort 6, Held at the University of Jos from 14th April 2025 – 8th May 2025 

Outcome of Group Discussion

Discussion is led and presented by Dr Joel Daboer 

Topic:

A certain project is to be cited in the south (Oyo State) and another in the north (Yobe State). You have been invited to be a sub-consultant as a biodiversity/ecology expert in the initial EA study.

i.                    What would be your focus in addressing biodiversity issues to ensure the role of biodiversity is preserved in Oyo State. List, with examples, ten important roles of biodiversity that may constitute challenges, to enable the project to receive regulatory approval.

ii.                  Biodiversity conservation refers to protection, upliftment and management of biodiversity in order to derive sustainable benefits for present and future generations. What are those conservation strategies that need to be put in place in order to realize/confirm the above statement in Yobe State project site? As an expert, what would be your advice to the project proponent as it might impact on migratory routes?

1. Introduction

Define biodiversity: Variety of life at all levels (genes, species, ecosystems…)

Importance: Biodiversity underpins food security, health, and economy in Oyo State.

2. Existing Biodiversity Conditions (Baseline Study)

Description of ecosystems:

Forests (e.g., parts of Old Oyo National Park)

Rivers and wetlands (Ogun, Osun River basins)

Agricultural landscapes (cocoa plantations, mixed cropping areas)

Key Species:

Mammals: African civet, duiker antelope.

Birds: Ibadan Malimbe (endemic).

Flora: Mahogany trees, wild yams.

Conservation Status:

Identification of endangered, vulnerable, or protected species

3. 10 Important Roles of Biodiversity and Potential Project Challenges

(a) Habitat for Wildlife

Challenge: Land clearing destroys critical habitats.

Example: Displacement of Ibadan Malimbe breeding areas.

(b) Pollination Services

Challenge: Pesticide uses, or habitat loss kills pollinators.

Example: Reduced cocoa yield if bee populations drop.

(c) Water Regulation

Challenge: Deforestation alters river flows.

Example: Drying of Ogun River tributaries in dry season.

(d) Soil Fertility Maintenance

Challenge: Removing vegetation depletes soils.

Example: Loss of forest humus layers critical for farming.

(e) Carbon Sequestration

Challenge: Deforestation emits CO₂.

Example: Localized heating and drought risk increase.

(f) Cultural and Spiritual Values

Challenge: Sacred groves disturbed.

Example: Conflict with communities worshipping in sacred forests.

(g) Medicinal Resources

Challenge: Loss of plants used in traditional medicine.

Example: Disappearance of bitter kola trees affecting local healers.

(h) Erosion Control

Challenge: Hillsides become unstable.

Example: Increased gully formation in rural communities.

(i) Climate Regulation

Challenge: Less rainfall, hotter microclimates.

Example: Negative impacts on yam and maize production.

(j) Genetic Diversity for Agriculture

Challenge: Loss of wild crop relatives.

Example: Future breeding programs for drought-resistant yams suffer.

4. Impact Assessment Methodology

Field surveys.

Remote sensing and GIS mapping

Stakeholder consultations (local farmers, forest users)

5. Potential Impacts of the Project on Biodiversity

Direct (e.g., clearing forests).

Indirect (e.g., encouraging settlement expansion)

6. Mitigation Measures

Avoidance: Adjust project layout to protect sensitive areas.

Minimization: Seasonal construction to avoid breeding periods.

Restoration: Replant native trees after construction.

Compensation: Biodiversity offsets if unavoidable damage occurs.

7. Monitoring and Evaluation Plan

Periodic biodiversity surveys.

Community monitoring programs

8. Conclusion

If biodiversity is preserved, it enhances long-term sustainability of the project.

Proactive conservation measures help gain regulatory approval and community support.

Biodiversity Conservation Strategies for Yobe State: Ensuring Sustainability and Migratory Corridor Integrity

Thematic Area 1: Understanding Biodiversity and Its Value in Yobe State      

Biodiversity refers to the rich variety of life forms—plants, animals, fungi, and microorganisms—that exist within a given area. In Yobe State, biodiversity encompasses species adapted to dry, savanna, and riverine ecosystems. These areas are home to both resident species and migratory species that use the wetlands and water bodies within the region.

Significant Biodiversity Sites in Yobe State:

1. Hadejia-Nguru Wetlands (Partly in Yobe):

A critical Ramsar site recognized globally for its importance to migratory birds.

Supports over 377 bird species including species like crowned cranes, whistling ducks, and spur-winged geese

Serves as a seasonal feeding ground for Palearctic migratory birds

2. Nguru Lake:

Vital habitat for fish, including species such as Tilapia and Nile Perch

Home to bird species like herons and cormorants, which depend on its ecosystems for breeding and feeding

3. Komadugu-Yobe River Basin:

This is a major water source for plants, animals, and people alike, providing a lifeline to both human settlements and wildlife.

Hosts freshwater fish species like catfish and Nile perch

Supports riverine forests that are crucial for birdlife and amphibians

4. Gujba Forest Reserve:

One of the remaining dry forests in the region, this forest reserve is home to threatened species such as roan antelopes, wild dogs, and African lions (though rare).

Dominated by Acacia species and sheer butter trees

5. Bade-Nguru Wetlands:

Provides seasonal habitat for migratory birds and aquatic species

Forms part of the Palearctic-African migratory flyway, used by wading birds, herons, and ducks.

6. Dagona Birds Sanctuary (Nguru):

A protected area for migratory birds like garganey and marabou storks that come to feed and rest during seasonal migrations

Thematic Area 2: Conservation Methods Specific to Yobe State

Conservation Methods for Yobe’s Biodiversity: In order to conserve the biodiversity and migratory routes in Yobe State, we need to implement a combination of in-situ (on-site) and ex-situ (off-site) conservation strategies.

 

In-situ Conservation Strategies:

1. Protected Areas:

Strengthen and expand the boundaries of Yankari Game Reserve, Gujba Forest Reserve, and Hadejia-Nguru Wetlands to create safe zones for wildlife.

Develop wildlife corridors that connect these protected zones to enable safe movement of species.

2. Community Forest Reserves:

Work with local communities to establish new community-managed forest reserves to conserve forest habitats and protect species such as the African Mahogany and Roan Antelope.

3. Biodiversity Corridors:

Establish wildlife corridors between fragmented habitats to allow species such as elephants, birds, and antelope to migrate or forage without disturbance.

Ex-situ Conservation Methods:

1. Seed Banks and Arboretums:

Establish seed banks to store native plant seeds (e.g., Acacia nilotica, Vitellaria paradoxa) to ensure future restoration and replanting.

2. Captive Breeding Programs:

Set up breeding programs for endangered species like African wild dog and roan antelope to boost population numbers before reintroducing them into the wild.

3. Reintroduction Programs:

Plan for the reintroduction of species such as the West African Lion into areas from which they have been extirpated, including Gujba Forest Reserve.

Agro-biodiversity Management:

1. Sustainable Agriculture:

Encourage agroforestry systems that combine agriculture with native tree planting to improve habitat quality for birds and other wildlife.

Promote rotational grazing to prevent overgrazing and protect plant species that are critical to the ecosystem.

2. Restoration Ecology:

Undertake large-scale restoration of degraded lands, especially Sahelian areas by planting native trees like Parkia biglobosa and restoring native grasses.

Thematic Area 3: Strategic Planning to Address Migratory Route Impact

Migratory Routes in Yobe State: The importance of migratory corridors cannot be overstated, as they are essential for the survival of migratory species, including birds, elephants, and even livestock herders.

Key Migratory Routes:

1. Palearctic-African Migratory Flyway:

Many bird species travel through Yobe State, using wetlands like Hadejia-Nguru and Dagona as stopovers.

Migrants include whistling ducks, garganeys, and spoonbills.

2. Elephant and Antelope Migration:

Historically, African elephants and other megafauna such as roan antelopes migrated through parts of Yobe.

Migratory movements are increasingly disrupted by human development and climate change, especially through Gujba Forest and along Komadugu-Yobe River.

3. Cattle Grazing Corridors:

Fulani herders follow traditional grazing paths across Yobe, and these sometimes overlap with wildlife migration routes, particularly near the riverbanks and wetlands.

Advice to the Project Proponent:

Avoid large-scale infrastructure projects, such as roads or settlements, near wetlands or biodiversity corridors.

Use Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) to evaluate the potential disruptions to wildlife migratory paths.

Advocate for the establishment of buffer zones along Komadugu-Yobe River and wetland edges to maintain natural migration routes for birds and other species.

Thematic Area 4: Community Involvement, Monitoring, and Policy Support

Community-Based Conservation:

1. Empower Local Communities:

Involve communities in wildlife monitoring and habitat protection, especially through training local rangers and volunteers in biodiversity protection practices.

2. Sustainable Livelihoods:

Offer incentives for sustainable practices like eco-tourism and biodiversity-based agriculture.

Real-Time Monitoring and Technology:

Utilize drone surveys and camera traps to track migratory species and monitor the health of ecosystems.

Establish data-sharing systems for real-time updates on the movements of migratory birds and large mammals, which will aid conservationists in immediate decision-making.

Policy Integration:

1. Yobe State Biodiversity Action Plan (YBAP):

Develop and implement YBAP as a localized strategy under Nigeria’s National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP), focusing on sustainable land use and the protection of migratory routes.

2. Cross-Border Cooperation:

Collaborate with neighbouring states like Borno, as well as cross-border efforts with countries like Chad and Niger, to conserve migratory species that travel through multiple states.

 

Song Review

Song: Shafa Mata Nonuwa

Artist: Soja Boy

Title: Shafa Mata Nonuwa

Soja Boy. Source: Soja Boy's Instagram Photos

Soja Boy is a music artist from Sokoto State, a distant desert corner of northwestern Nigeria. His song Shafa Mata Nonuwa (feel her breasts) is out.

 

The song, like most of his songs, comes with a typical northern pop feel, albeit with a smear of Afrobeats. The song video features men and women dancers in mixed attires, some traditional northern attire, others mundane and revealing. It is considered obnoxious by northern standards. In the video, a lady has her butts wedged against the private regions of Soja Boy with him pushing hard and rolling his waist in response. A Hisba (Islamic police) agent comes around and gets them arrested. He takes them to a Hisba court for trial and sentence. The judge requests that the music be played in court as he cannot sentence without evidence. When the music begins to play, the judge and everyone else start dancing. It gets messier, as the women are now dressed in underpants such that huge bare butts are revealed, something that is sure to get the majority of northerners grimacing.

 

Soja Boy’s video is, however, a deliberate response to northern critics who have come hard against the style of his videos, accusing him of perverting northern children by the very colouration of his videos. At the climax of the criticism against Soja Boy, the Kano Hisba boss, Aminu Daurawa, was said to have advised authorities in Sokoto to get Soja Boy arrested and tried. Soja Boy, in a video, reiterated his right to earn a living by doing exactly what other Nigerian musicians do. Soja added that no Islamic police from the north has the right to arrest him because the videos weren’t shot in territories of Nigeria where Islamic law is practised.

Strict Islamic religious practice has chained northern people and deepened stagnation and poverty by the characterization of many activities, be they in sports, music, movies or other callings as sins. Northern-educated contemporaries like Soja Boy, Ali Nuhu, Nafisatu Abdullahi, Tagaree Da Badee and many others, however, feel otherwise. They have chosen to remain unbowed, preferring to follow the dictates of their global exposure.

 

The music of Soja Boy, as is often the case with music, has helped open the eyes of many, enabling them to see a portion of Sokoto State that has been eclipsed by its huge veil of religion.

 

From Farmers-Herders to Miners-Herders

Source: Seaarts

Towards the end of the third quarter of 2009, there was a problem in Wase Local Government Area of Plateau State. The administration of Jonah Jang, Governor of Plateau State at the time,   was evacuating some herdsmen who were immigrating to Plateau in large numbers.

In the previous couple of years, Plateau has recorded some of the most deadly conflicts that pitched native Plateau tribes on one hand and the settler Hausa-Fulani tribes on the other. The Jang administration, whose regime was marred by these conflicts, was afraid that immigration of these herdsmen, some of whom are said to have come from as far as Mali would only complicate matters.

Despite the effort of the Jang administration to move these herders back to where they came from, it did not work. The herders chose a strategy.  When they returned, it was deadly. Armed with some of the most deadly weapons, they would visit innocent native villages in the dark of nights and kill as much as they can. Whoever survives is compelled to move out, having no assurance that he will be protected in future. The climax was the death of two legislators, one a senator, the other a member of the Plateau State House of Assembly in 2012. This was the start of what was dubbed the Farmers-Herders Conflict.

The phrase wasn’t fair to the farmers. It suggested there was a conflict between the two sides, when actually the farmers were helpless and unarmed people who never knew where the herders were coming from let alone attempt to attack them in retaliation. It was a case of a lion and a gazelle, a case of a deadly bully and the weak.

The herders, seeing that nothing was done by the authorities to deter them, started casting their murderous nets to cover wider regions such that people who had argued in their support became their worst victims, as the killing fields broaden to include Benue, Kaduna, Zamfara  and Niger provinces.  In Plateau State alone, the attacks had displaced close to a hundred villages as at the year 2019.

They herders were initially interested in grazing lands. Now, they have become more daring and more ambitious, driving people away from villages that are rich in minerals, succour to the villagers who find themselves living arm and leg in contemporary Nigeria. In Zamfara and Niger States, the conflicts is said to be fuelled by gold deposits underneath the affected villages. In Plateau State, considered the nucleus of solid mineral mining in Nigeria, the story is the same. In Bokkos, Barkin Ladi, Wase, Kanam and Jos South, all of which are rich in a diversity of mineral deposits, the attackers wait until your mining shafts reach the depth of the targeted deposits before they launch attacks, displacing everyone and returning to scoop the deposits.

The attacks, rather than slowing down, are becoming more vigorous, accentuating the weaknesses or nonchalance of authorities. It has gone beyond just grazing farms to minerals and wealth at large. Everything gets messier.

Suicidal Mistakes of Power Distribution Companies

Substandard Power Grid. Source: Seaart.

He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house – Proverbs 15: 27

I connected to the national grid in 2014. I was on estimated billing. My meter came in 2017. I noticed I needed 32 units of electricity every month. I kept adding the gadgets I needed to live a cosy life and my power needs rose to about 90 units a month. With the current categorized billing tariff that puts me on Band A, I have to pay about twenty thousand naira every month.  I am law-abiding. So, I have accepted it, despite the tariff digging a huge hole in my pocket.

But now, I coil and boil when I see neighbours using all manner of gadgets and paying five times less than I pay because they are on estimated billing. The interpretation in my mind is that I am paying for the un-metered neighbours. The use of meters for others when others are on estimated billing is a suicidal decision of power distribution companies.

Initially, meters were free. Sadly, getting it was so difficult you had to pay a bribe. Millions of consumers never got the meters as a result since the bribes required was very high. When the ogas realized that the staff were taking money to issue meters that were supposed to be free, they suddenly changed the policy to demand customers pay for meters. But, rather than clearing old customers before the policy takes effect, the company included them among customers to pay for the meters. It is a violation of their rights and is a suicidal mistake.

When power consumers started getting categorized into bands so that consumers on Band A pay a thousand naira for just 4.4 units of electricity, it was on the condition that the distribution companies supply at least 20 hours of electricity a day. The terms go on to add that should a distribution company fail to live up to this contract, there should be an automatic reversal to the old status. The distribution companies only lived up to the agreement for a couple of months before the national grid started failing. Yet, there hasn’t been any reversal of tariff as was agreed. This is a suicidal mistake.

It is the duty of power distribution companies to take electric power to communities –they are the distribution companies. That is never done. Power consumers buy poles and cables and still pay staff of power distribution companies for installation. It also means that the companies are not willing to improve their operations. This puts the selfishness of power distribution companies on a giant screen for everyone to see. Transferring the distribution of power to the consumers and waiting to only bill them is a huge suicidal mistake.   

Despite the huge profits power distribution companies declare, (over a trillion naira by the end of 2023) they are still not interested in improving working conditions for their staff. The offices look very filthy, unbefitting for humans and shameful to the reputation of the companies. Salaries are still miserably poor with the workers not being able to pay bills. The result is that the staff have joined hands with defrauded and embittered consumers. As a result, directives from the top never sink down to the bottom where it is intended. The consumers prefer to bribe field staff to get soft landings. Refusing to improve staff welfare in the midst of plenty is brazenly selfish and a suicidal mistake of the distribution companies.  

Proverb 15 verse 27 says: he that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house.