By ZAKAA LAZARUS
When President Bola Ahmed Tinubu assumed office in May 2023, he elevated the Ministry of Environment to a “strategic ministry” under his Renewed Hope Agenda. Three years on, the ministry says it has planted millions of trees, mapped hundreds of polluted sites, and launched Nigeria’s first green bonds. But in Abuja traffic and the flooded streets of the Niger Delta, citizens are asking: where is the impact on the ground?
The question defined a recent two-day interactive session in Kaduna organized by the Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation. There, Minister of Environment Balarabe Abbas Lawal declared that Tinubu’s achievements in two years “have surpassed those of his predecessors, particularly in the northern region.”
For decades, desertification has swallowed farmland across 11 frontline states. The Tinubu administration bet big on trees.
According to the ministry, through the National Agency for the Great Green Wall (NAGGW) and the ACReSAL project, 5.5 million trees have been planted. The Forest Research Institute has raised 10 million drought-resistant seedlings for 2025. Another 5 million date palm and 3.85 million neem seedlings were targeted at the most vulnerable states to curb encroachment and boost rural economies.
Land recovery numbers are also rising: 278,235 hectares of degraded land* have been rehabilitated. 175km of shelterbelts have been extended across seven states to slow the Sahara’s advance. A 559-hectare woodlot plantation was established across the 11 frontline states.
Beyond trees, the government is pushing a green economy. A bamboo processing factory in Kogi State is credited with creating over 20,000 jobs, as the ministry promotes bamboo as a renewable alternative to timber.
“In pursuit of sustainable alternatives, the ministry is promoting bamboo as a renewable resource,” Lawal told stakeholders in Kaduna.
In the Niger Delta, the scorecard is measured in oil spills and cleanup.
The National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) has identified and mapped 552 impacted sites from illegal bunkering and artisanal refining. A Remediation Action Plan is being prepared for each site. The agency also supervised the restoration of the Chevron spill at OML 49 in Ilaje, Ondo State, and developed a prototype Satellite-based Methane Emissions Tracker to monitor emissions in the oil and gas sector.
The centerpiece remains Ogoni Minister of State Iziaq Adekunle said during an inspection that the Centre of Excellence for Environmental Restoration in Ogoniland is one of the federal government’s biggest projects. He noted that 40% of $1bn remediation jobs have been handed to Ogoni contractors, as part of efforts to accelerate the clean-up.
The ministry also launched the National Clean Cooking Policy and is working on a sustainable plastic waste management framework and Nigerian Circular Economy Roadmap to tackle urban pollution.
On climate finance, Nigeria became the first country in Africa to fund green projects through Sovereign Green Bonds. A third issuance is in progress. The government also signed a bilateral agreement with Cameroon on trans-boundary ecosystem and wildlife conservation, and strengthened National Park Guards to fight poaching and illegal logging.
The 50×2030 Initiative was launched to close data gaps in agriculture and environment, a move officials say will help track climate-smart agriculture and food security goals.
Despite the numbers, challenges persist. Reports from News Central and ministry briefings highlight flooding, poor waste management, and air pollution in cities like Abuja as ongoing concerns. Officials themselves cite insecurity, climate change, and poor implementation as a bane to environmental programs.
“Green economy investments are capital intensive,” one ministry note acknowledged, calling for more international support to meet 2030 targets.
As the administration enters year four, the ministry says it remains committed to “just, equitable and inclusive growth” through the Great Green Wall and ACReSAL. For communities in Borno watching shelterbelts grow, and for Ogoni residents waiting for clean water, the next phase will be judged not by seedlings counted, but by lives changed.
Minister Lawal insists the momentum will continue. Critics say the real test is turning policy documents and mapped sites into breathable air, clean water, and resilient farms.
For now, Tinubu’s environment scorecard reads like a work in progress: millions of trees in the ground, hundreds of polluted sites on a map, and a promise that the green transition must reach every Nigerian household.
ZAKAA LAZARUS writes on governance and the environment. This feature was compiled from ministry briefings and public reports.
Contact: zakaalazarus10@gmail.com
