Time for States to Reclaim Their Forest Reserves: Bringing Security, Development and Accountability Closer to the People

The time has come for the Federal Government of Nigeria to fundamentally rethink its ownership and management of vast forest reserves and national parks across the country. 

Current security realities have exposed the limitations of a highly centralised system that places enormous territories under federal control while leaving local communities and state governments to bear the consequences of inadequate oversight.

Nigeria currently has seven federally managed national parks spread across different states:

- Gashaka-Gumti National Park (6,731 km²) – Taraba and Adamawa States

- Kainji Lake National Park (5,382 km²) – Niger and Kwara States

- Cross River National Park (4,000 km²) – Cross River State

- Old Oyo National Park (2,512 km²) – Oyo and Kwara States

- Chad Basin National Park (2,258 km²) – Borno and Yobe States

- Kamuku National Park (1,121 km²) – Kaduna State

- Okomu National Park (202 km²) – Edo State

Collectively, these parks cover more than 22,000 square kilometres of land, an area larger than several Nigerian states.

Managing and securing such vast territories requires substantial resources, intelligence gathering, surveillance capabilities, and constant engagement with host communities.

As seen above, Old Oyo National Park alone covers approximately 2,512 square kilometres (251,200 hectares or 970 square miles). 

To put this into perspective, the park is about 2.7 times the size of Lagos State and spans eleven Local Government Areas, ten in Oyo State and one in Kwara State.

Over the years, concerns have grown that many forest reserves and protected areas across Nigeria have become safe havens for criminal elements. 

Numerous communities bordering these forests have reported the existence of camps from which attacks are allegedly coordinated and launched against neighbouring towns and villages. 

Regardless of differing accounts surrounding these incidents, it is becoming increasingly clear that the Federal Government lacks the capacity to effectively monitor, secure and manage every square kilometre of these extensive territories.

This reality raises an important question: Why should the Federal Government continue to maintain exclusive control over assets that it is unable to adequately secure, monitor or fully develop for the benefit of the people?

Interestingly, Nigeria already has a precedent that demonstrates that federal ownership of national parks is neither permanent nor irreversible. 

Yankari Game Reserve in Bauchi State was formerly a national park under federal control. However, the Bauchi State Government successfully pushed for its return, and in 2006 ownership and management were formally transferred back to the state through an amendment to the National Park Service Act.

The success of Bauchi State should serve as an example to every other state hosting a national park. 

One must ask: Why are the governments of Oyo, Kwara, Taraba, Adamawa, Niger, Cross River, Kaduna, Edo, Borno and Yobe States not following the footsteps of Bauchi State?

If Bauchi State could successfully challenge the status quo and reclaim control of Yankari in the interest of its people, there is no reason why other affected states cannot pursue similar constitutional and legislative processes.

State governments should not be afraid to challenge federal arrangements that directly affect the security, welfare and economic development of their citizens. 

Leadership requires courage. 

Governors of affected states should work closely with members of the National Assembly representing their states to initiate legislative amendments and policy reforms that would transfer greater ownership and management responsibilities to the states and host communities.

A more practical and sustainable approach would be to transfer ownership and primary management responsibilities to the states and local governments within whose jurisdictions these reserves are located. 

State and local authorities are closer to the terrain, understand the peculiar security challenges of their areas and have stronger incentives to ensure that these lands contribute meaningfully to economic growth and public safety.

However, the conversation should not stop at state and local government control alone. The local communities and towns bordering these forests must also be formally integrated into their management and security architecture. 

No one understands these forests better than the people who have lived around them for generations. They possess invaluable knowledge of the terrain, movement patterns, traditional routes and unusual activities within these areas.

A community-centred management model would create a sense of ownership among residents, transforming them from passive observers into active stakeholders in the protection and development of these reserves. 

Community leaders, hunters, farmers, youth groups and other local stakeholders should be incorporated into structured surveillance, intelligence-sharing, environmental conservation and development programmes. 

Such collaboration would significantly improve early-warning systems and make it more difficult for criminal elements to operate undetected.

Furthermore, involving local communities would ensure that the economic benefits derived from these reserves are shared more equitably. 

Eco-tourism, agro-tourism, sustainable forestry, agricultural projects, conservation programmes and other revenue-generating activities should create employment opportunities and improve the livelihoods of the people who live closest to these resources. 

When communities benefit directly from the preservation and proper management of these forests, they become natural partners in protecting them.

Even where forest reserves are retained primarily for environmental and conservation purposes, states, local governments and host communities are still better positioned to manage them effectively, with the Federal Government providing regulatory oversight, technical support and national policy direction.

It is increasingly difficult to justify a system that leaves such vast tracts of land under distant federal control while many surrounding communities struggle with insecurity, unemployment and underdevelopment. 

These lands should not remain isolated assets with little direct impact on the welfare of the people who live around them. Rather, they should serve as strategic resources for security, conservation, economic development and community empowerment.

For this reason, affected states and local governments should actively advocate for greater control over these reserves and, where necessary, explore constitutional and legal avenues to restructure the current ownership framework. 

Such efforts should also be accompanied by demands for formal community participation in governance and management structures.

Nigeria's security and developmental challenges require bold and innovative solutions. The Bauchi State example has already shown that change is possible when political leaders are willing to act. 

Other state governments should learn from that experience and begin the conversation on reclaiming greater control over the vast forest reserves within their territories.

Decentralising the management of national parks and forest reserves while simultaneously empowering local communities to become active stakeholders would bring responsibility, accountability and benefits closer to the people. 

In the long run, this approach offers a more realistic and effective alternative to the current model of distant federal ownership and control.

Culled from Dapo Olakulehin's page. 

Inter-Compound Traditional Games Kicks Off in Agbokojo Ibadan

Agbokojo : One Community, Many Games, One Champion 

Imole De Inter-Compound Game Competition Set for Agbokojo in Ibadan South West Local Goverment 

History will be made in Agbokojo as compounds across the area prepare to face off in a week-long celebration of culture, unity, and sport. 

Bashorun Saintabey, a prolific youth and community development ambassador is set to facilitate the maiden edition of the Imole De Inter-Compound Game Competition, an event designed to revive traditional games and strengthen community bonds among residents of Agbokojo areas of Ibadan South West Local Government. 

The competition, themed “One Community, Many Games, One Champion”, will run from July 12th to 19th, 2027. It is strictly open to all compounds in Agbokojo Area of Ibadan.

According to the organizers, the games will spotlight both traditional Yoruba indoor games and other community favorites. Expected events include Ayo, Draughts, Boju Boju, Whot, Ludo, and Dàmù, alongside other competitive displays that test skill, strategy, and teamwork. 

“Imole De means ‘Light Has Come’, and that is exactly what this competition represents for Agbokojo,” Bashorun Saintabey said. “For one week, our differences will be set aside. Every compound will compete as one community, with the goal of crowning one champion.” 

Community leaders say the initiative is timely, as it will rekindle interest in indigenous games among younger residents while giving elders a platform to pass down cultural heritage. 

Registration and fixtures for participating compounds are hereby notified announced in the coming days in July. The event will take place at Ward 7 Agbokojo.

Briefing the newsmen ahead of the games , Bashorun Saintabey maintained that "For Agbokojo, July 2027 is already marked on the calendar, one community, many games, and only one champion will emerge.

Bashorun Saintabbey (whose real name is Adeniji Abiodun Abiola) is a prominent Nigerian socio-philosopher, author, and public policy expert. He is also a senior lecturer at The Polytechnic of Ibadan

For further information contact: +234 818 155 3854

KEMI BADENOCH: The Blue Zircon Who Drove a Prime Minister Out of Office.

By Olabode Opeseitan

Pre-Script: I had intended to publish this piece a month ago but held it back. The resignation of the British Prime Minister has made its release unavoidable.

EVEN A CAT WITH NINE LIVES IS VULNERABLE

Even if Sir Keir Starmer were the proverbial cat with nine lives, many students of British leadership now whisper that he has exhausted the last of them. They argue that he is living on borrowed time. Barring an unforeseen turn, Starmer may find himself reflecting on his premiership sooner than he ever imagined.

This is the gravest rupture of his leadership. Politically, he is adrift. Four junior ministers, including Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips, walked out in protest after Labour's bruising local election losses. Nearly 1,500 councillors gone. Control of the Welsh Senedd surrendered. Figures circulating across LabourList and the British press suggest that of Labour's 403 MPs, 97 have openly urged him to step aside, roughly 111 to 150 are standing with him, while an estimated one 156 to 195 hover in uneasy silence. Layered atop this turmoil, the Mandelson–Epstein scandal has further weakened Starmer's authority and punctured the aura of judgment and integrity he once projected.

If this political injury proves fatal, every time Starmer watches the Commons in the years ahead and catches sight of Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, he will remember how she needled him with precision and poise throughout his unsteady tenure.

Acerbic when necessary, assured by instinct, Kemi has grown into her role with a confidence that deepens with every parliamentary session. Her rise is no accident; it is the product of discipline, clarity and a temperament forged in the furnace of scrutiny.

THE GEMSTONE DEFINED

There is a peculiar quality to blue zircon that jewellers speak of with reverence: it does not merely reflect light, it generates its own inner fire. Those electric flashes of colour, that almost supernatural brilliance, are not borrowed from its surroundings. They are intrinsic. Genuine blue zircon burns with a vivid, almost electric blue, a bright sparkle and strong fire. It emits little rainbow flashes that no amount of polishing from the outside can manufacture. It either has it, or it does not.

Kemi Badenoch has it.

Her full name is Olukemi Olufunto Adegoke, born on January 2, 1980, in Wimbledon, London. She is the leader of the Conservative Party, the Tories, and the first Black person to ever lead the party in its centuries‑old history. As the leader of the opposition, she performs her role with a ruthless efficiency that keeps the government permanently unsettled. Young, dynamic, brilliant, deep and compassionate, she carries the wisdom of Solomon in judgment. Yet it does not mean she is not flawed.

From the very first day she became Tory leader, she announced herself as a firecracker, an orator and a humanist, all rolled into one.

THE PARENTS WHO FORGED THE STEEL

To understand Kemi Badenoch is to first understand Femi and Feyi Adegoke. Her father, Femi, was a physician; her mother, Feyi, a professor of physiology. They were not merely educated, they were architecturally brilliant, raised in the golden era of Nigerian intellectual aspiration. Both parents benefitted from the 1970s oil boom in Nigeria, a period of extraordinary upward mobility for the professional class. But the family's wealth was not inherited indolence; it was earned knowledge, passed down as a standard.

Kemi spent formative years in Lagos, where the ambient chaos of a megacity has a way of stripping you of pretension and replacing it with something more durable: resourcefulness. A mother who mapped the human body for a living and a father who healed it gave their daughter an unusual gift: the instinct to diagnose problems rather than decorate them. “My family shaped my character a lot more,” Badenoch has said herself.

The steel was always there. The refining was merely a matter of time and heat.

THE GEMSTONE IN THE RAW

She had her false starts. She stumbled early on when discussing the complexities of her Nigerian heritage, a moment that created more noise than clarity. And there were periods when the voting British public regarded her with the same caution one reserves for an unsettled forecast, unsure whether she would deliver clarity or turbulence.

In her earliest months as Tory leader, she was a gemstone uncut, its brilliance visible only to those patient enough to hold it to the light.

With time, Badenoch has settled into her role with a clarity that was always latent. The Kemi Badenoch that critics dismissed as raw or incomplete was never unready; she was merely unrevealed.

Before leading her party, she had served in numerous ministerial portfolios, from Minister for Women and Equalities to Secretary of State for Business and Trade. Each role was another session in the furnace. But it is here, in opposition, where the blue zircon truly found its cut.

THE PMQs THEATRE: Where Fire Meets Fire

If there is one man who feels the scorching blaze of Badenoch more acutely than any other, it is Sir Keir Starmer. In the well‑regulated chambers of the House of Commons, at every Prime Minister's Questions, Kemi Badenoch has made the Prime Minister stammer in ways that his own name, Starmer, seems to have foretold with cruel irony.

With Badenoch's predecessor, Rishi Sunak, Starmer was on a cruise. He never strained. He entered parliament with the ease of a man who believed the chamber belonged to him. Those glitters are gone now, silhouetted by self‑doubt, anxiety and visible perspiration. He has now met an opponent who refuses to yield.

Consider the exchange that sent a lightning bolt through the Commons press gallery. Starmer had defended his government's record on accountability, citing yet another inquiry. Badenoch let the silence breathe for exactly one beat before delivering the kill: “Even today, there is an inquiry into the Inquiries Minister. That is all his party has offered since it came in. The defining moment of this man's leadership.” The chamber erupted. Even those not easily impressed reached quietly for their notebooks.

On another occasion, she turned the government's economic record into a ledger of failure: “The Prime Minister has failed to grow the economy, and the only thing that's grown is the welfare bill.” Short. Surgical. Irreversible.

In those moments, the blue zircon does what it was always designed to do. It flashes.

THE NATION BEGINS TO SEE

“When you want to help people, you tell them the truth. When you want to help yourself, you tell them what they want to hear.” This is Kemi Badenoch's operating philosophy rendered into a single sentence. It is also, increasingly, what the British public is choosing to reward.

The numbers are moving. YouGov's April 2026 tracker shows that 29 percent of Britons now view Kemi Badenoch favourably, her highest recorded score to date and part of a steady, unmistakable upward trend since the middle of last year. A More in Common poll reported in April 2026 placed her as the most popular party leader in Britain, with a net approval rating of minus nine, a dramatic improvement from minus 32 before the October party conference. For context: Keir Starmer sits at minus 42, Nigel Farage at minus 16. She is not merely the best option in a bad field. She is an option the British public is actively beginning to choose.

Even non‑Tory voters are citing admiration for her conviction and straightforwardness. That detail is not trivial. It is the sound of a gemstone being recognised outside its original setting.

Her constituency of North West Essex, carved from the old Saffron Walden seat she has held since 2017, returned her with 19,360 votes in the 2024 general election. Her people know her. The rest of Britain is catching up.

THE WOMAN READY FOR THE BIG JOB

“Britain's standard of living is not an entitlement. If we want it, we have to earn it. If we want to stay wealthy, we have to produce wealth.” These are not the words of a politician chasing approval; they are the words of a leader preparing a nation for the truth it must hear before it can be healed.

She still slips, occasionally. The rough edge that periodically surfaces in an interview, the directness that can shade into abrasiveness. These are not flaws to be erased but qualities to be disciplined. And she is disciplining them, with growing sophistication. The Kemi Badenoch of today has been refined, tempered in opposition, hardened by scrutiny and clarified by purpose.

“Our freedoms are being subtly eroded in an era where emotion and sentiment are prized above reason and rationality.” In a political culture that rewards the loudest cry, she chooses instead to be the clearest voice. There is courage in that, and a certain loneliness too, which is perhaps why her moments of triumph resonate so strongly.

Blue zircon is one of the oldest minerals on earth. Its fire is ancient, waiting only for the right cut to release it.

In the post‑Starmer era  announced on the horizon of British political life, one thing grows clearer with each sitting of the House: Kemi Badenoch did not arrive at this moment by accident. She was made for it in Lagos, in Wimbledon, in the corridors of Whitehall and in the forensic theatre of Prime Minister's Questions, where she flashes, session after session, with the unmistakable inner fire of the blue zircon.

The question for Britain is no longer whether she is ready. The question is whether Britain is ready for her.

“People should be judged on what they do, not their background or how much money they make.” — Kemi Badenoch

#british 

#BritishParliament

#unitedkingdom 

#nigeria

Image courtesy of Conservatives on YouTube. Used for informational and illustrative purposes.

OPINION : BEWARE OF THE POLITICAL LULLABY CALLED “CAMPAIGN” IN NIGERIA, BY KOLADE OLADELE

_An Educational Wake-Up Call for Every Voter_

(_Revd Dr Kolade Oladele GLODET Missions Tel:08032075079_)

*Introduction*: When Music Becomes a Weapon  

In Nigeria, election season has a sound. It is sweet, rhythmic, and dangerously seductive. It is the sound of campaign jingles, of promises wrapped in poetry, of slogans that dance on your tongue but disappear from your plate. 

We call it “campaign.” But let us be honest: too often, it is a political lullaby — a song sung to put citizens to sleep while their future is being sold.

This article is not against campaigns. Democracy needs debate. But this article is a provocation. A mirror. A warning. If you are a voter in Nigeria, you must learn to hear the music and still keep your eyes open.

What Is a Political Lullaby?  

A lullaby is a song mothers sing to make children sleep. A political lullaby is a campaign message designed to make voters stop thinking.

It works in three ways:  

Emotional Noise: “He is our son.” “She understands our pain.” “This is our turn.” Emotion replaces evidence.  

Empty Rhythm: Slogans without substance. “Next Level.” “Take Back Country.” Beautiful words. But where is the blueprint? Where are the numbers?  

Cultural Trance: Free rice, free cloth, free music concerts 2 weeks to election. Your stomach is full for one night, but your children’s school will lack teachers for four years.

A lullaby makes you sleepy. A political lullaby makes you vote asleep.

*The Anatomy of Campaign Deception in Nigeria*  

Let us decode the lullaby so you do not sing along blindly:

_A. The “Messiah Complex”_  

“Only I can fix this.”  

Reality check: No single person can fix 200+ million people, 36 states, and 64 years of structural problems. Leadership is teamwork, institutions, and policy — not magic. Beware of any candidate who campaigns as a savior, not as a servant.

_B. The “Ethnic/Religious Trumpet”_  

“He is from our tribe, so vote him.”  

Question: Did your tribe eat when he was in power before? Did your religion get jobs, light, or good hospitals? Identity politics is the oldest lullaby. It unites you for election day, then divides you for four years of neglect.

_C. The “Last-Minute Miracle”_  

Roads appear 3 months to election. Rice bags appear 1 week to election. Promises appear every 4 years.  

Question: Where were the roads for the last 45 months? Campaign is not governance. Do not reward absence with applause.

_D. The “Blame Chorus”_  

“It is the past government’s fault.”  

Even if true, voters must ask: What is YOUR plan? Nigeria does not need singers of problems. It needs engineers of solutions.

*Why This Lullaby Works: The Psychology of Voters*  

The lullaby succeeds because of three weaknesses we must kill:  

_Short Memory:_ We forget in 4 years. A politician who failed in 2019 becomes “fresh air” in 2023.  

_Poverty of Information:_ We vote based on posters and noise, not manifesto and track record.  

_Fear of Change_: “Better the devil you know.” But a known devil is still a devil. Fear keeps us dancing to the same song.

Education is the antidote. An informed voter is immune to lullabies.

How to Stay Awake: 5 Questions Every Voter Must Ask Before Election Day  

Do not close your eyes. Use these 5 questions like a flashlight:

_Track Record Test: _What did this person build, manage, or fix before now? Campaign is speech. Governance is evidence.  

_Manifesto Test: _Can the candidate explain their plan in simple terms? Not slogans — specifics. “How will you create jobs? How will you reduce food prices?” If they cannot explain it to you, they cannot implement it for you.  

_Character Test: _Does the person respect rules, admit mistakes, and listen to critics? Power reveals character. Campaign reveals mask.  

_Team Test:_ Who are their advisors and commissioners? A good leader builds a good team. A lullaby singer surrounds himself with praise singers.  

_After-Election Test:_ Will this person be accessible after winning? Or will they vanish until the next campaign season?

If a candidate fails 3 of 5 tests, that lullaby is not for you. It is for your enemies.

The Cost of Sleeping Through Campaign Season  

When voters sleep to political lullabies, the price is paid after election:  

Bad roads that swallow vehicles and lives.  

Hospitals without drugs where mothers die giving life.  

Schools without teachers where children graduate without learning.  

Insecurity where fear replaces freedom.

Campaign lasts 90 days. Bad governance lasts 4 years. Which one is longer? Which one hurts more?

*Conclusion:* Wake Up, Nigeria. Your Vote Is Not a Pillow  

Dear voter, your vote is your power. It is not a gift to politicians. It is a contract you sign with your future.

Campaign season will come with music, dancing, and sweet words. Enjoy the music. But do not sleep. Do not be lulled. Do not trade 4 years of your children’s future for 4 hours of entertainment.

Beware of the political lullaby called campaign.  

Listen, analyze, question, then decide.  

Because in Nigeria, the difference between a nation that works and a nation that suffers is not the politicians on the stage. It is the consciousness of voters in the audience.

Your thumb is mightier than their microphone. Use it wisely. Stay awake.

(_This article is for civic education. It does not endorse any party or candidate. Its goal is to promote critical thinking, accountability, and responsible voting)_