Former Delta State gubernatorial aspirant and environmental advocate, Chief Sunny Onuesoke, has warned that the persistent illegal logging and deforestation is an existential threat to the green economy and wood production in Niger Delta region.
He said the oil rich Niger Delta region may be forced into a complete shift away from wood-based roofing materials within the next decade if urgent measures are not taken to curb the region’s alarming rate of deforestation.
Onuesoke spoke during an environmental sustainability engagement in Warri, Delta State .
He lamented the continued destruction of forests through illegal logging, unchecked timber exportation, pipeline repairs, land clearing for real estate expansion, and burning of bushes for agriculture—activities that collectively deplete the green cover that once defined the Niger Delta.
“ According to recent environmental impact assessments, Nigeria loses between 350,000 and 400,000 hectares of forest every year, with a significant portion of that loss occurring in the Niger Delta—one of the most biodiverse wetland regions in Africa. Analysts predict that at the current trend, Nigeria’s remaining natural forests could be significantly degraded by 2035, pushing the cost of timber beyond the reach of low and middle-income home builders”
“If we continue like this, wood as a roofing material will become both unavailable and unaffordable. Families who rely on timber for local construction will suffer. Our builders will struggle. The ecosystem services that sustain fishing and farming—already under threat—will collapse further,”
He blamed the growing timber scarcity on a combination of poor enforcement, weak environmental compliance, lack of reforestation programs, and the rising influence of black-market timber networks operating without accountability.
Onuesoke urged governments at all levels to take decisive action to ban uncontrolled logging and exportation of unprocessed timber, enforce mandatory replanting for every tree cut, funding community-based forest monitoring, promote alternative roofing materials and green-building incentives and reintroducing environmental education in primary and secondary schools
He further appealed to builders, carpenters, and local timber unions to embrace innovation, sustainable sourcing, and partnerships that encourage regeneration rather than depletion.
“The Niger Delta should not be remembered as the region that harvested its future for quick profit,” Onuesoke warned. “We still have time to reverse the trend, but the window is closing fast. Environmental preservation is not activism, it is a survival strategy.”
Onuesoke reiterated that environmental sustainability must rise above politics and become a binding commitment from government, traditional institutions, investors, and community stakeholders if the Niger Delta is to avoid a roofing-material crisis that will deepen housing challenges and increase the cost of living for millions.
