Nigeria is falling grossly short on the conservation of its eco space and wildlife. As such, a lot of work needs to be done concerning our attitude towards wildlife, habitat and conservation.
On the rare occasion that a whale, turtle, fish, or endangered life form is beached, washed ashore or stranded here, frantic hordes rush in, in an orgy, with knives, axes, cudgels to hack, cut, scoop, kill and eat it.
In this mode, we could eat and on occasion may have eaten our history, heritage and agents of preservation of our Rare Earth, now and again.
In this age of the Internet, we watch, often in real time, footages of similar occurrences in foreign lands, where people behave with care, kindness, compassion and conservation towards animals, our kindred sojourners on Mother Earth.
Somehow, we revel in the novelty of the footage but the lessons of compassion and conservation seem to fly past and not register.
Reuters reports that on Tuesday, 9th January 2024, 2.5 tonnes of seized elephant tusks valued at over N9.9 billion ($11.2 million) were pulverised by authorities in Nigeria, the purpose being to protect dwindling elephant populations from wildlife traffickers and poachers.
Over the past three decades, Nigeria’s elephant populations have declined drastically from an estimated 1,500 to
Minister of State for Environment, Ishak Salako, said the government crushed the 2.5 tonnes of elephant tusks and will use the powder to build a symbolic national park monument as a reminder of the importance of elephants in the ecosystem.
The pulverisation of the tusks in the capital, Abuja, follows a similar event in October last year where officials destroyed 4 tonnes of seized pangolin scales valued at $1.4 million.
Thousands of elephants are killed each year for their tusks despite a 1989 ban on the trade of ivory by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
Despite being a signatory to CITES, Nigeria is considered a hub for gangs sending illegal African wildlife parts, including tusks and pangolin scales, to Asia, according to law enforcement and wildlife experts.
But government has stepped up counter-smuggling efforts in recent years, partnering with British, US and German officials as well as international organisations to make its biggest seizure of illegal wildlife parts in August 2021.
Last month, officials began an investigation after a video posted on social media showed a soldier shooting two elephants that strayed into farmlands, sparking outrage among citizens.
In 2022, Nigeria Customs officials seized 1,613 tonnes of pangolin scales and arrested 14 people.
In 2023, a bill was passed by Nigeria’s House of Representatives that offers stronger protections for endangered wildlife and tougher penalties for wildlife traffickers. This legislation, titled the ‘Endangered Species Conservation and Protection Bill’, makes Nigeria compliant with international conventions on endangered species and wildlife crime, and also boosts the investigative capacity of authorities to combat wildlife criminals. If adopted into law, arrests for the importing, exporting, or purchase of illegal wildlife products would result in sentences of up to 10 years in prison and fines equivalent to nearly $26,000.
The bill has passed its first reading, and while it still has two more readings to go before it becomes law, it is a welcome sign of changing attitudes toward wildlife crime. Nigeria is the single largest exit hub for trafficking illegal wildlife products, like pangolin scales, from throughout Africa to Asian markets. If this bill goes on to become law, it could change all of that. Pangolins are the most illegally trafficked wild mammals on Earth, so this legislation will provide increased emphasis on protecting them and dismantling the criminal networks that target
In recent times, international agencies, in cooperation with the federal and state governments in Nigeria, have also been working on projects involving local populations in the protection of wildlife species.
We need to continue to step up these sensitisation, cooperation and legal processes to ensure the protection of our diverse fauna and flora for the value they add to us, the diversity they present, and their usefulness to the sustenance of Mother Earth.
