Insecurity: Kaduna Govt Set To Turn Forests Into Dam

The government of Kaduna State has stated that it has concluded arrangements to build a dam on the 800,000 hectares forests between Buruku and Birnin-Gwari towns, which had, over the years, remained a den for terrorists and other related criminals.

This was made known by the Director-General, of Kaduna State Urban Planning and Development Agency, Ismail Umaru-Dikko at the ongoing 7th edition of the Kaduna Investment Submit.

According to the KASUPDA boss, the dam project will not only address the security challenges in the state but permanently end flooding in the Kaduna metropolis.

He said, “From Buruku to Birnin-Gwari where we have been experiencing armed robbery from time immemorial. It moved to cattle rustling and now kidnapping and banditry.

“So, we feel something must happen there. We have a very massive land that has never been utilized there and that is why we cannot just fold our arms and allow criminals to continue to take advantage of the blessed land.

“So, we came up with the master plan and discovered that from Buruku to Birnin-Gwari, we have close to 800,000 hectares of land which is about two states in another part of the country. We are creating a dam there.

“Presently, Kaduna is just like drainage for the water, which is coming from Bauchi, passing through here to Shiroro Dam. The water sometimes causes flood here. So, as a way of finding a lasting solution, we will build the dam, save the water, address the flood problem and harvest the water during the dry season for irrigation farming.

“This we believe will also create jobs, most of the youths rushing to study business administration and accounting in the universities can go into agriculture.

“We will encourage the youths into agriculture and that is why we brought the OCP fertilizer to partner with the government in this direction. We also brought NEXIM Bank to see how we can export the products from here in a big way.”

Meanwhile, the Kaduna Capital Territory Administration signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Kaduna Chamber of Commerce, Industry Mines, and Agriculture to establish a film village within the Kaduna International Trade Fair.

Speaking on the planned Film Village, Administrator of Kaduna Capital Territory Authority, Hafiz Bayero, said the partnership was not going to build new structures but leverage on the old Trade Fair Complex structures which are currently under-utilized to refocus them.

“We are looking to have a space in the trade fair complex, where people can come film movies and do their pre and post-production and also move the movie to the international film market,” he added.