Antelopes, Wild Cats, etc.”
This tweet on January 15, 2019, by Onayemi Temitope (@trotsky27),
generated a massive online buzz, especially on Twitter where it had over
5, 000 engagements. Many called out this young man and labelled his
action, wicked and punishable, others praised him highly for his courage
and bravery.
No doubt, Wildlife Trade remains a very controversial subject on the
African continent, perhaps across the world. World Economic Forum asserts
that with an annual upper income of 23 Billion USD, Wildlife Trade is the
4th most lucrative global crime after drugs, humans and arms. While the
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) of Wild
Fauna and Flora is clear about international trade, with emphasis on
sustainability, we must further accept that poaching of wildlife resources
in Nigeria is largely unchecked contributing to Nigeria’s rapid
biodiversity loss.
While some very wealthy folks and greedy businessmen are keen on
exploiting these resources at the expense of sustainability; the hunters –
mostly stack illiterate in local communities, are paid only 3% of the
total income, just enough to keep them poor and fuel their thirst to hunt
more fauna.
Having carried out numerous wildlife field studies, first-hand interviews
with hunters and with a few publications about wildlife – education, trade
and conservation in Nigeria, I found Mr. Onayemi Temitope’s case
completely different. Onayemi Temitope Timothy is a graduate of Sociology
and Anthropology from the University of Benin, with a second degree
(Masters) in Sociology (Major – Criminology) from the University of
Ibadan. 4 years after his graduation, having remained unemployed, Temitope
took to wildlife hunting and trading, first as a recreative activity, then
as a source of financial stability.
I asked Temitope how often he hunts and what his average kill rate is,
“Presently, I don’t really live in Sagamu (the hunting location) but any
time I am around, I’ll go hunting with other people. I can’t put a figure
to an average kill rate, especially because I don’t hunt every day. The
truth is that the recent kill rate has greatly declined and is now
typically very low. Sometimes we are able to get just one snake,
sometimes, one Pangolin or just one grass cutter. There are times we don’t
even come across any at all.”
Education is the bedrock of human actions and it snowballs into our
actions and inactions. At Wildlife of Africa Conservation Initiative, my
team and I have always laid emphasis on Wildlife Education and
Conservation using various platforms, formal (schools and universities),
informal (communities, social and religious groups) and online advocacy.
My chat with Temitope was very insightful, I was least surprised when Mr.
Temitope truthfully confided that before now, it never felt awkward
hunting wild animals – endangered species inclusive. “Till recently, I
never knew most of those animals are endangered, threatened or vulnerable.
I used to believe that if humans don’t kill them, higher mammals will or
they will just die a natural death and since they procreate more than
humans, we cannot exhaust them. It was the Twitter response after my tweet
that made me know Pangolins are endangered species. I also got to know
some wild animals were of concern to the Federal Ministry of Environment,
the Nigerian National Park and State Governments.
Mr. Felix Abayomi of Wildlife of Africa Conservation Initiative also
explained the roles of CITES and IUCN list. Now, I see things in a
different light. Ever since, I have tried to protect Pangolins, as well as
other wildlife species. Today, I can tell the difference between
conserving and hunting and I am able to create a balance and educate
others too.”
In Nigeria, as with other developing countries, the present needs of the
people come first and “availability is affordability”; hence, prioritizing
the conservation of Nigeria’s wildlife resource would mean a series of
inputs. As a member state, Nigeria would have to revisit and adopt
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES)
guidelines; interest stakeholders, development partners and private
sectors will consistently have to lobby and influence the government’s
political will at all levels; most importantly, there is a striking need
to provide lots of other environmental-friendly economic options/job
opportunities that could convert poachers and hunters to conservationists
and researchers.
‘Seyifunmi Adebote, writes from Abuja, Nigeria. You can reach him via
adeboteseyi@gmail.com.