In a bid to restore the vital trees destroyed by Charcoal dealers in the Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara State, a cosmetic manufacturing company, AMU-Gold Global Network has pledged to plant a minimum of one million Shea butter trees.

AMU-Gold Global Network says it will partner the Elumelu Foundation to achieve this target.

According to Mr Temitope Amujo, the Chairman of Amu Gold Global Network, the planting of the new shea trees to replace the old trees destroyed by the Charcoal dealers would guarantee the availability of shea butter which constitutes the bulk of the major raw materials needed by his company.

Besides, it would also prevent deforestation and prevent vegetation exploitation of the forest resources in the country.

Speaking with Arewa PUNCH on the heels of the 10th anniversary celebration of its products rollout which held at the head office of the company in Ilorin, Kwara State capital, Amujo who said the company sourced 90 per cent of its raw materials locally from wild shea butter trees which abound in the forest of the area lamented that the trees were going into extinction as a result of illegal tree felling by charcoal dealers.

He noted, “There is the urgent need to replace the wild Shea trees which produce one of our major raw materials and we are collaborating with the Forestry Research Institute to plant an improved breed of one million trees in Kaiama in Kwara state where it grows naturally.

“The issue of cutting down shea trees for charcoal is a challenge envisioned to deter the growth of the company. AMU-Gold Global will be working with Elumelu Foundation which is a global organisation as partners on a global green funding initiative to plant a minimum of one million shea trees to put rural women back to business.

“I am calling on every climate fighter to join us in revamping our forest,” adding, “if you must plant a tree, please plant a shea tree,” he urged.

However, Amujo pleaded with the government to join in the flag off of the 'Save to Share' initiative, to plant one million shea trees.

Speaking on the growth of the company which started production with Jumpo Ori and other cosmetics in Ilorin, Kwara state in 2014, Amujo narrated, “we now have 20 products and 110 workers and about 1,000 distributors.

“In the next 10 years, AMU-Gold Global will be supporting the government by empowering people through provision of employment opportunities.

In the next 10 years, we want to create at least one million jobs that we can be proud of,” he stressed.

While appealing to the government to improve electricity supply in the country, Amujo observed that one of the challenges faced by AMU-Gold Global Network is unreliable electricity supply, thus underscoring the urgent need for sustainable solutions.

“Power outages disrupt our daily operations, impede productivity, and drain resources, ultimately hindering the organisation's ability to deliver optimal services to its stakeholders.”

As a result, Amujo requested the establishment of a mini-grid system in the organisation's premises to ensure a stable and reliable power supply for the organisation and the neighbouring communities.

Under this proposed arrangement, residents would pay for the consumed electricity with revenues directed back to the government.

“One of the problems that the government can take away whether local, state, or federal is power supply. Give us power and we will empower people,” he assured.

Amujo further noted that the 10th anniversary of Jimpo-Ori, which is a seven-day programme is scheduled to coincide with a visit to the motherless babies home, the various health work sections to share the pains of people with mental issues, and an empowerment programme for young graduates with the entrepreneurial spirit, unveiling digital market trade fair to support people selling dairy products, and the launch of the free Jimpo-fund package which will enable loan grant to residents who desire to be distributors.