Former Delta State gubernatorial aspirant and environmental advocate, Chief Sunny Onuesoke, has issued a stark warning that the Niger Delta could face a complete shift away from wood-based roofing materials within the next decade if urgent steps are not taken to halt the region’s rapid deforestation.
Onuesoke made the remarks during an environmental sustainability event in Warri, highlighting the ongoing destruction of the region’s forests caused by illegal logging, unchecked timber exports, pipeline repairs, land clearing for real estate, and bush burning for agriculture. He emphasized that these activities are steadily eroding the green cover that has long defined the Niger Delta.
Recent environmental assessments indicate that Nigeria loses between 350,000 and 400,000 hectares of forest each year, with a significant portion of that loss occurring in the Niger Delta, one of Africa’s most biodiverse wetland areas. Analysts warn that if current trends continue, Nigeria’s remaining natural forests could be severely degraded by 2035, pushing timber prices out of reach for low- and middle-income homebuilders.
Onuesoke stated: “If we continue on this path, wood for roofing will become scarce and unaffordable. Families relying on timber for construction will be hard-hit, builders will face difficulties, and the ecosystems supporting fishing and farming—already under threat—will collapse further.”
He attributed the growing timber shortage to poor enforcement of environmental laws, weak compliance, a lack of reforestation initiatives, and the rise of black-market timber networks operating without oversight.
Onuesoke urged governments at all levels to take strong action, including banning uncontrolled logging and exportation of unprocessed timber, enforcing mandatory replanting for every tree cut, funding community-based forest monitoring programs, promoting alternative roofing materials, providing green-building incentives, and reintroducing environmental education in schools.
He also called on builders, carpenters, and local timber unions to embrace sustainable practices, innovative approaches, and partnerships that encourage forest regeneration rather than depletion.
“The Niger Delta should not be remembered as a region that sacrificed its future for short-term profit,” Onuesoke warned. “We still have a chance to reverse this trend, but the window is closing fast. Environmental preservation is not activism—it is a matter of survival.”
He stressed that environmental sustainability must transcend politics and become a shared commitment among government, traditional institutions, investors, and community stakeholders if the Niger Delta is to avoid a looming roofing-material crisis that could worsen housing challenges and drive up living costs for millions.
