Nigeria: A highway through the rainforest
Ekuri forest is in danger. The forest in southern Nigeria's Cross River State is one of the last pristine rainforests in the region. Local authorities plan to build a six lane highway through the forest.
Protests in paradise
"For the first time somebody is listening to us," said a resident of a small village in Ekuri rainforest. They’ve never received journalists from an international media house. The local government of Cross River State in south-eastern Nigeria plans to build a gigantic highway through the rainforest. Its residents are worried over how this will affect their home and their way of life.
A neglected region
The government has done little for them, feel the people of Ekuri. They built the bridges that lead to their villages themselves. There is no running water and no electricity. Before the elections, one politician visited the villages with a helicopter. He distributed money, said the residents, and made promises. After the elections, they never heard from him again.
Kicked off their land
The shock came with the start of the new year: In a newspaper, the authorities announced that they would build a super highway through Cross River State. Those living 10 kilometers left and right of the planned highway would lose their land and be forced to leave.
Nigeria’s first "super highway"
The 260 kilometer highway will connect a new port in Calabar to Nigeria’s northern region. With six lanes and a promise of high-speed internet along the route, the state government hopes to make it one of the most modern roads on the continent. The project will cost an estimated 800 billion Naira (350 million euros, $402 million). But it is unclear where the money will come from.
Trees have fallen
The first trees had already been felled before the budget and the environmental assessment were through. The environmental report is now completed, but the ministry in Nigeria’s capital Abuja has said that it falls short of international standards.
Bulldozers at the ready
Even before the controversial assessment report, the environment ministry heeded the calls from the environmental activists and local residents and demanded a stop to the deforestation. The bulldozers have ceased their operation, but they are on standby, ready to take up the work at any time.
Endangered species
The Ekuri rainforest is home to endangered species like the drill baboon and the Cross River gorilla. The forest also hosts 1,500 different plant species and is one of the most diverse areas in the world.
"They are hiding something"
Odigha Odigha is the former chairman of the forest commission of Cross River State. Together with the "Coalition for Environment", he is trying to put a stop to the construction of the highway. "The state wants to take over 520,000 hectares of land, that is 25 percent of the entire state," said Odigha. "Nobody is telling us why they need such a huge area. They are hiding something."
Easy money instead of development?
Some of the residents and activists suspect that what is really at stake are the precious woods of the forest. That is why the state doesn’t simply improve the existing road, they say. They believe that the road project is an excuse to cut down the trees and sell them abroad.
No reason to panic says the state
State information minister, Rosemary Archibong, denies the claims. "We plant two new trees for every tree that we cut down," she said. But she has no clear answer as to why 10 kilometers on each side of the highway have to be nationalized. "The people who live along the highway will profit from the development, for instance through farming. But we’re still discussing that."
The protests continue
Nobody asked us, complain the residents of Ekuri. Margret Ikimu is disappointed by the state government. "They should first fix the existing road," she said. "The state government has been in power for a year and we haven’t seen any improvements. Now they want to take away the only thing that we have – the forest."