Egbontoluwa Marigi worked deep in a forest in Nigeria, a country on the western coast of Africa.He is a logger who cuts down trees using an axe and a machete.The forest where he worked is in the Ondo State in southwest Nigeria.But many trees in that forest have been lost to illegal logging.The 61-year-old father of two told Reuters that he could cut down over 15 trees anywhere in the forest, but he would be lucky to find two."During the time of our forefathers, we had big trees but sadly what we have now are just small trees and we don't even allow them to mature before we cut them," Marigi said.After cutting down the trees, Marigi put markers on them to let other loggers know that he is the owner.The cut-down trees, or logs, are then transported by waterways and rivers to Nigeria's most populated city, Lagos.Trees in Nigeria are cut down to open land for farming or to feed the energy demand of a growing population.From 2001 to 2021, Nigeria has lost 1.14 million hectares of tree cover.
