The President of the Upper East Regional House of Chiefs, Pe Ditundini Adiali Ayagitam III has admonished chiefs and opinion leaders in the region to shoulder the responsibility of ensuring the success of the Green Ghana agenda.
According to Pe Ayagitam III, desertification is a looming danger to the country, especially in the Upper East and West Regions.
“We can’t close our eyes and say we don’t see what is before us. If you are on a flight toward Europe and look down you would understand why we should take charge of this agenda. In the plane, it is only an hour that you will see green or forest, but like a four to five hour journey it is desert. That shows how expose we are to desertification.”
“…and we must do something as traditional leaders because our people listen to us and will embrace tree planting if we do, ” he added.
Pe Ditundini Adiali Ayagitam III, the Paramount Chief of the Chiana Traditional Area made this passionate appeal to some chiefs and opinion leaders at the Green Ghana Day celebration held at the Gambibigo Community Day Senior High School in Bolgatanga East District.
The paramount chief also stressed that “No one will come and fight desertification for us. It should be our core mandate to begin fighting it through planting at least 200 trees a year as opinion leaders. Let us begin telling our sub chiefs, subjects, and parents the importance of tree planting. So, this agenda, let’s embrace it and teach our people how and why we should at least plant tree whether man or woman for the future good.”
The 2023 Green Ghana Day was with the theme “Our Forest, Our Health” with calls on opinion leaders and stakeholders to embrace tree planting for better health.
The special guest for the celebration, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Forestry Commission, Nyadia Sulemana Nelson also called on residents especially those in the Northern part of the country to embrace the initiative.
He said the need for them to change their attitude was now pertaining to the increasing threats of desertification among the Sahel countries.
“…of course, gone are the days that the signs were not much seen but now we can all attest to the fact climate change is real. You will agree with me that by May, a lot of you farmers in the Upper East usually begin planting your millet and other crops, but now you all don’t even know when the rains will set in. And all this is as a result of climate change. And if we embrace this initiative and make it a mandate to plant more trees beyond this Green Ghana, it will do us all good and save the environment for our generations.”
The chiefs and participants who were at the celebration therefore assured that they will embrace tree planting and keep the advocacy alive for the younger generation.
Source: A1radioonline.com|101.1 MHz|Moses Apiah|Ghana
