Why Nigerians May Soon Start to Buy Oxygen with Money—UI Don Warns

A Professor of Plant Ecology at the University of Ibadan, (UI) Rasheed Olufemi Awodoyin, has issued a stark warning that if the current generation continues to cut down trees indiscriminately for profit, future generations may be forced to spend that money on buying oxygen.

Delivering the 585th Inaugural Lecture of the University on behalf of the Faculty of Agriculture, Professor Awodoyin titled his address “After Plants, It Is Plants,” emphasizing the critical and irreplaceable role of vegetation in human survival and ecosystem balance.

According to him, the Earth is fundamentally a plant-based planet—its soils clothed by trees, grasses, and vegetation. From cradle to grave, he said, humans rely on plants for food, medicine, clothing, shelter, and even cultural rites. Yet, this reliance has been met with destructive behaviour.

“Unregulated removal of the Earth’s cover has resulted in devastating exposure of the soil and threatens the survival of all species,” he warned. “Humanity was given the responsibility to safeguard—not destroy—the planet and all its living systems.”

Professor Awodoyin argued that for agriculture and environmental protection to be sustainable, humans must work withnature, not against it. He recommended practices such as agroecology, agroforestry, afforestation, reforestation, mulching, improved fallow management, and green manuring.

He further stressed the need for Nigeria and other countries to move away from an exploitative industrial view of nature and toward a stewardship model rooted in ecological principles and indigenous knowledge systems.

As environmental crises like desertification, biodiversity loss, pollution, and deforestation intensify, he called for stronger environmental impact assessments, stricter compliance with ecological standards, and a return to plant-based solutions.

“Threats to our natural ecosystems are not inevitable,” the professor insisted. “They are the result of choices—and those choices can change.”

The lecture marked the eighth in the University’s 2024/2025 academic session and was organized by the Directorate of Public Communication.