Desertification has forced several communities in the Yusufari Local Government Area of Yobe to flee their ancestral lands.

Baba Aji, the executive chairman of the Yusufari Local Government Council, stated this in an interview with journalists in Damaturu on Friday.

He said dunes had taken over lands and houses in the communities, rendering the areas inhabitable for both humans and animals.

“Desertification has driven many people out of their origin. Some of these people are now taking shelter in Kaska village.

“When you go to the affected villages, you will see the dunes advancing closer to houses. This situation forced some of them to migrate to Nguru town.

“Other areas affected by the dunes are Tulo-Tulo and Bula-tura, two towns bordering the Niger Republic. Our people are facing the danger of extinction,” Mr Aji decried.

The chairman expressed concern that the dunes would soon encroach on an oasis, a critical water source in the area, if urgent measures were not implemented to halt the menace.

“It is a clear and present danger to the economic livelihood of the people. People grow sugarcane, tomatoes, cassava, groundnuts, and even potatoes on the oases during the dry season. All these activities are now under threat.

“If the oases are allowed to dry up, hundreds of people will lose their jobs and be condemned to economic hardship,” he said.

Mr Aji noted that efforts made by the local and state governments, the Great Green Wall project and non-governmental organisations were good but did not yield the desired results.

The chairman, therefore, appealed to the federal government to establish shelter belts in the area to hold back the dunes.

“I am appealing to the ecological fund office and the federal government to declare a State of Emergency on desertification in Yusufari local government,” the LG boss stressed.

On the agriculture empowerment programme of the state, he lauded Governor Mai Mala Buni for allocating mini-farm machinery and other farm inputs to the area.

(NAN)