The rainforests of Otakeme, Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State are beautiful to behold. The thick forests stretch from the Ohopuru, Aduadu/Obadu, Igboro/Otigerge, Epesibhar/Iworoworo, Arugugu/Wali’ala forests all in Otakeme to Edum’teta forest jointly owned by Otakeme/ Otegila communities to Obogboman forest in Otuoke to Oil Well forest in Otabagi to Ayabiya forest in Otabi, also in Ogbia.

The forests would amaze and amuse any tourist. There are beautiful sights beyond the Amazon Rainforest in North West Brazil and parts of Colombia, Peru and other South American countries.

The recent 14-day forest expedition undertaken by businessman and cousin to former President Goodluck Jonathan, Azibaola Robert, was an eye-opener to the buried treasures in the rainforests of Niger Delta.

The expedition brought out the hidden treasures, fears and unseen tears of the people of the region.

Trudging in the forests, stepping on stumps of trees in a water-logged land, clutching on branches of weather-beaten trees, falling and rising from the water that covered up to the waist, the pains of villagers that journey inside the forests to eke a living and feed on fishing becomes a personal experience.

Robert testified: “This is the first edition into thick forest and we are starting from my own community, Otakeme. The aim of this expedition into deep forests is to highlight the natural endowments of Nigeria, the Niger Delta and the communities that are around here.

“We want people to be able to see the kind of lessons that nature has given to our country and how unexplored this natural resources have been. Also how exploited this natural resources have been. There are some of these resources that are over exploited, there are some that have never been exploited before and we really need to balance nature.

If we don’t balance nature in 20 to 30 years time maybe sometimes after we have gone our children will not be able to taste this kind of environment.

“Nigerians are so engrossed into watching channels that shows nature.

One of the natures we see on television is nature outside Nigeria and we get engrossed. Look at what we have seen here it is more sightseeing than any natural environment. It is supposed to be a tourist attraction but nobody explores that part.

I am also highlighting the fact that the forest has been so devastated by logging. People have cut down trees, natural trees, heavy trees that protect the environment that give us oxygen. There is no regulation when it comes to wood logging in the Niger Delta and in fact in Nigeria. It is a disaster that is waiting to be unfolded.

“The other thing that has not been explored is that everything you see around you here is a natural endowment.  Some for medicinal value, there are so many of these trees, if you are here, you will have first aid from nature direct.

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“You don’t need anything if you have injury, if you pluck a particular leaf you squeeze it and you use it, it stops bleeding.  There are some leaves that you need to if you have anything you can put in your eyes and you can chew. These are trees and herbs that are natural that our forefathers have used for ages.

“I find it difficult to understand why we need to import medicine made out of herbs into the Niger Delta. Every herb that is elsewhere in this world is right here. We can actually mass-produce it and they are growing here naturally. There are some trees that the fruits are edible.”

The medicinal trees include Osarama Kpi used for healing the womb; Obemu for headache; Obokolo man for measles; Obhudi for diabetes and malaria and Ozuku for blood clotting. Others are Oguru for pile; Ogbalagi for rheumatism; Owon Ibulu Ibulu for boil; Otoro for dysentery; Ebure to ease menstrual pain; Eye chalk to clam the nerves and Etodi for congestion.

Robert: “Then you talk about the issue of indiscriminate killing of wildlife.  These forests are full of all kinds of wildlife. It is time for people to stop that kind of exploitation where they go and mass kill. The wildlife will become extinct and our children will not be able to experience it.

“What they will experience is to go to the zoo and see a few of them because they cannot preserve all of them. The wildlife here is special species. When I was a kid there were traditional symbolic gestures of preserving nature. Looking back I have realised that our fathers were very clever.

“For every community, it has a particular animal that they don’t eat believing that that animal is their god. For this community where I come from it is the fox they we don’t eat.  It is believed that if you are in the forest and you get lost, the fox will appear to you and take you back to the road, so nobody eats the fox.

“But we have done about two hours or plus you cannot see a single fox because, people are now eating fox. In some communities it is the Anaconda, which is their god and they don’t eat it. Now all those things are gone.

“Logging is a great challenge. There is a level of corruption that permits up to the society and probably those who are regulating the forest. If you love nature and you love your children, financial inducements and financial gains should not be the only reason we should allow woods to be cut down anyhow. Government really needs to sit down to tackle the issue because deforestation is a major thing.”

The traditional head of Kaiama was also not happy: “If you go to Biseni it is continuing. If you go to Okordia, Ogbia, Southern Ijaw, it is the same thing happening. The way logging is going on in the rainforests, so also it is happening in the mangrove forests.  This is why Ogbia Road is very busy as loggers are busy going in and out.

Deforestation is seriously taking place there.”

Stanley, a pharmacist, lamented the inability of Nigeria to take advantage of the raw materials it has to produce drugs. He blamed it on lack of will by the leadership:  “There are so many pharmacists who graduated but find it hard to apply their knowledge because they are in Nigeria.

“There is too much emphasis on academics. The knowledge is there but there should be emphasis on production, which of course involves funding.  Not less than 50 per cent of raw materials of drugs are in Nigeria. We have the raw materials the plants are there. A significant portion of pharmaceutical products is got from plants, which can be found in Nigeria. The government needs to show the will to get things right.”