President Bola Tinubu says his administration is readying tens of thousands of youths across various parts of the country to plant 250,000 trees annually to fulfil Nigeria’s commitment of planting 25 million trees by the end of 2030.

Mr Tinubu, in an opinion editorial published on CNN on Tuesday, bragged about how Nigeria is tackling challenges that have arisen from climatic change morphing into energy and food crises exacerbated by the conflicts in Europe and the Middle East.

In the piece, the president said the West African nation, by planting trees, has succeeded in fortifying itself against desert encroachment in the northern region’s lush forests, which witnessed the worst form of insecurity and, consequently, food crisis.

“Africa’s most populous nation has successfully mobilised tens of thousands of youths nationwide to plant 250,000 trees annually to honour a pledge to plant 25 million trees by 2030 as we build our great green wall to fight back against encroaching desert across the northern region of our nation,” the Nigerian president said in the article.

Mr Tinubu asserted that African countries — “despite contributing minimally” — to climate problems bore the brunt as he begged for the cooperation and funds of the West to surmount the challenges posed by the environment.

“We now seek to mobilise private capital with support from initiatives like the Climate Finance Leadership Initiative and the new U.S. and EU global infrastructure programs,” Mr Tinubu explained.

According to Mr Tinubu, his administration is taking actionable steps to ditch fossil fuel for clean energy through “wind and solar resources,” which are under implementation by the Nigerian Energy Transition Plan (NETP).

“This data-driven strategy targets net-zero emissions in key sectors— power, cooking, oil & gas, transport, and industry,” the president stressed. “The NETP demands a $10 billion annual investment until 2060.”

The Nigerian president, who noted that the time to wait idly was over, asked developed nations to “honour commitments in the form of significant contributions to the Loss and Damage Fund and the $100 billion annual climate financing pledge.”