Climate Change: Pres. Buhari Hailed By One Of The Richest Men In The World, Jeff Bezos

Amazon founder and Billionaire, Jeff Bezos on Monday in Glasgow, Scotland hailed President Muhammadu Buhari’s leadership role in restoring the country’s degraded land.

A statement released by spokesman Malam Garba Shehu on Monday in Abuja cited Bezos as describing the Nigerian leader’s commitment to restore 4 million hectares as exemplary.

Bezos joined President Buhari, French President Emmanuel Macron, Prince Charles and Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani at a side event at COP26 titled “Accelerating Land Restoration in Africa, the Case of the Initiative of the Great Green Wall (GGW)”.

Commending the President, at the event co-hosted by the French President, his Mauritanian counterpart and the Prince of Wales, the retail tycoon said: ‘‘We are fortunate to have President Buhari of Nigeria with us today.

‘‘Nigeria plays a critical role in the restoration movement and has pledged to restore 4 million hectares of degraded lands. This kind of ambition coming from Africa’s largest economy underscores just how vital this issue is.’’

The Bezos Earth Fund has $10bn to allocate to projects fighting climate change.

Nigeria is due to assume the leadership of the Conference of Heads of State and Government of the Pan African Agency of the Great Green Wall.

Buhari had used the occasion of his address to appeal to fellow leaders to continue to make concerted efforts at land restoration saying, ‘‘I am optimistic that Africa’s ambition of restoring over 100million hectares of the degraded landscape for productive agriculture is achievable.’’

The President also pledged Nigeria’s unalloyed commitment to expanding the achievements of the GGW programme in Africa from the enviable status attained under the leadership of President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani of Mauritania.

‘‘Together we commit to the transformative process of restoring the African degraded landscape and ultimately the continent’s environment,’’ he said.