Nigeria is on track to become a global model for tackling climate-induced hazards, the Director General of the National Agency for the Great Green Wall (NAGGW), Saleh Abubakar, has said.

Speaking on the sidelines of the technical consultation meeting on the New African Union Great Green Wall Strategy in Dakar, Abubakar said Nigeria’s efforts in land restoration, afforestation, and community empowerment were yielding results and attracting international attention.

“The significant progress Nigeria is making under the Great Green Wall initiative will soon make other countries look up to us for international cooperation,” he told journalists.

The three-day meeting, convened by the African Union and the UN Convention to Combat Desertification with support from the Pan-African Agency of the Great Green Wall, focused on strengthening the institutional and strategic direction of the initiative for 2024–2034.

Abubakar said NAGGW’s work in the 11 frontline northern states — Borno, Yobe, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Zamfara, Sokoto, Kebbi, Bauchi, Gombe, and Adamawa — is reducing land degradation and boosting food security through afforestation, solar-powered boreholes, and sustainable land management. He linked the efforts to President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

The DG said the new 10-year implementation framework discussed in Dakar would strengthen coordination and collective action across African countries to combat desertification and build resilience in dryland regions.

“The meeting laid a solid foundation for improved coordination, stronger strategic alignment, and renewed commitment to achieving the goals of the Great Green Wall Initiative,” he said.