FORESTRY:EXTORTION RINGS RUN MULTI-BILLION NAIRA RACKET IN WEST AFRICA!!!

FORESTRY:EXTORTION RINGS RUN MULTI-BILLION NAIRA RACKET IN WEST AFRICA!!!

BY ABDULMUMINI ADEKU..

Nations across the West African frontiers may be losing several billions of dollars annually from various uncontrolled smuggling activities in varying game reserves and rains related forests.

Checks with The News office Desk of the E.N.M.Paedia Express Multimedia Group of Lagos,Nigeria ,shows that a lot of nefarious activities were on -going across various forests in the sub continent with the collusion forest guards in some situations.

An impeccable source who has had opportunities at going into the forests as far afield as iseyin,Tinde,Shaki,Ilesha Baruba and stretching as far as into Benin Republic have all sorts of possibilities.

The source noted that under a normal circumstance ,a trader was supposed to meet with a forest guard and pay up some amount of government regulated fee before any kind of logging activity will take place in any forest onward to saw milling and lumbering .

The source also insisted that the issue of wild animals being killed for meat purposes also normally requires the permissions of forest guards before traders go into the thick forests for their hunting expeditions.

The source however was irked about the level of dishonesty in the fore tries as several traders would rather take illegal routes so that they can either avoid paying government related charges on logs and animals thus making government at all tiers lose a lot of revenue in the process.

His words:"it is compulsory and only ethical to go through the forest guards as they know the forests at their finger tips  unlike a first time visitor"

In a related issue,an impeccable source had told this reporter of how business had reached an all time low in the forestry business hence a major short fall in their supplies at their lumbering and saw mill operating plant at Idiagbon area of Ifako -Ijaiye,Lagos,Nigeria.

A key stakeholder has also disclosed in a related breath as at press time to The News office Desk of the E.N.M.Paedia Express Multimedia Group of Lagos,Nigeria of how his team of lumberers harvested at least 418 logs from the thick rain forests of Iyara ,Ijumu area of Kogi state in November,2018.

The source ,a good friend of this reporter for well over a decade now said that depending on the quality of logs being  taken from the rain forests ,each one could cost at least a sum of around N2,000 on the average .

The source told this reporter that he spent at least a whole month in the forests looking for logs to be sliced or chopped into pieces by heavy duty machines in his family's saw mill in Lagos,Nigeria.

In a related issue,Just as at 14/12/2018 ,an impeccable source had in a chat with this reporter revealed exclusively the extent of extortion racket amongst the security agencies as they conduct their business as of falling logs in the rain forests.

He explained that he and some of his associates had just returned back to their saw mill business in Lagos,Nigeria after spending at least three weeks in Ikare ,Ondo state of Nigeria on lumbering.

His words:"we always plant  at least 10 trees for every one that had being fallen ,again do not forget that some of the trees like Fadala are exceptionally difficult to sort out hence you have to complete a lot of procedures in the forests before you are allowed to take them out"

The source added that a National Forestry Reserve was to be found in Ore in Ondo state and when asked to describe the size he simply affirmed it was the size of a major town or even a village at the worst.

At least 400 logs were said to have being taken away from Ondo state forests as at December,2018 by the group that this reporter spoke to.