By Bisola Adeyemo
The chairman of the Pangolin Conservation Guild of Nigeria (PCGN), Prof Olajumoke Morenikeji, has lamented that developed countries have turned Nigeria into a hotspot for wildlife trafficking, describing it as a shame.
She noted that wildlife trafficking “is a multi-billion naira illicit act” that has been depleting indigenous animal species in the Nigerian environment.
Morenikeji, a professor of Parasitology in the University of Ibadan, spoke at a public lecture on wildlife trafficking in Nigeria at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, Abeokuta, Ogun State.
The lecture attracted major stakeholders, including conservationists, security agents, hunters and government regulatory bodies.
The university don submitted that trafficking in wildlife and plants had greatly affected “our environment and lifestyle,” and called for concerted efforts to address the illicit act.
She said, “It is a shame that Nigeria is a hotspot for wildlife trafficking. We all know what wildlife trafficking is, but the thing is, there is a need to drive it home so that in Nigeria as a country we can all rally round and do something about it because it is a major problem.”
Also, in his lecture, the president of Zoological Gardens and Wildlife Parks, Oladipo Bali, lamented the human-animal conflict in the Epe area of Lagos State.
Bali showed a documentary detailing the plight of farmers and hunters, whose farmlands and sources of livelihood have been destroyed by some forest elephants roaming the area.
He said the elephants migrated from the Omo Forest Reserve in Ogun State and were causing havoc to farmers and hunters at the border communities of Ogun and Lagos states.
He called on both Lagos and Ogun governments to address the crisis urgently.
“When nothing is done, those whose farms are destroyed would naturally react. Government is not doing anything. Something must be done urgently,” Bali said.
Dr Mary-Ann Ajayi, a law lecturer at Bowen University, blamed wildlife trafficking on Nigerian laws, which she labelled as ‘ineffective.’
(Source: DailyTrust)
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