Malam Mamman Musa may not be a household name in Nigeria, but around August 14-15, 2011, he led a group of hunters that killed a giant hippopotamus that weighed over a tonne.
The animal had been sighted along the banks of the River Niger in Jebba, Niger State. Malam Musa became an instant hero, posing for photographs with the carcass of the animal he had just killed.
According to reports, the hippopotamus was so large that the hunters were unable to move it, so had to butcher it on the spot and the meat taken away in small bits. Musa’s family and friends probably had meat to eat for a week or two.
After a few days, the story faded from the media, and Musa returned to his anonymous life before his proverbial 15 minutes of fame.
The fate of that unlucky hippopotamus is symptomatic of the attitude of Nigerians to wild animals – something to be killed, and if edible, eaten. What few talked about was that the hippopotamus killed was a rare and endangered species – and probably one of few remaining on the River Niger – at least within Nigerian boundaries.
That instinctive drive to hunt down and kill every wild animal has had very adverse consequences on Nigeria’s wildlife. As recently as the 1960s, travelers along Nigeria’s border with Niger Republic had to stop regularly to allow elephants, giraffes, antelopes and other wild animals to pass – so rich was the vegetation and wildlife. Today, along the same stretch, one can travel for tens of kilometers without seeing a blade of grass or animal.
The vegetation is gone, the water vanished and the animals, extinct.
Estimates suggest that there are less than 100 lions left in the wild in Nigeria. The rest have been killed by hunters or driven out by loss of habitat.The Pygmy hippo which used to be found only in the Niger Delta is now practically extinct, thanks to hunters and environmental pollution. Our elephant population has been reduced to a few hundred and our giraffes, extinct. Indeed, Nigeria now has to import animals for its zoos.
Nigeria is faced with the major environmental challenges, with far-reaching effects: the Sahara desert is expanding southwards and encroaching at a very rapid rate. Another challenge is mass deforestation due to the fact that firewood and charcoal still constitute the major cooking fuel in many Nigerian homes, despite the $20 billion that the Ministry of Petroleum has managed to make ‘extinct’ in the name of kerosene subsidy.
It is a double tragedy that a while a few Nigerians have stolen such staggering sums, many millions of others still depend on firewood – in urban and most rural homes because it is cheaper than kerosene. And for as long as this remains the case, trees will continue to be chopped down for firewood, while subsidy thieves will continue to defraud Nigerians.
Unfortunately, most so-called tree planting campaigns are mere exercises in futility. As soon as officials depart, the trees are left on their own. Those that are not eaten by the next animal that comes along are usually left to wither and die. Return in a week or two and you’d wonder where the trees have gone. I have seen trees in shelter belts being chopped down for firewood almost as a matter of right.
However, if President and Jonathan and his government were not so bent on witch-hunting individuals that seek to expose institutionalized fraud, he would have realized that reclaiming our environment – from the desert in the north, the soil erosion in the south east and environmental disaster in the creeks of the Niger Delta represents vast opportunities to create jobs and involve communities in development efforts.
For areas where vegetation has already been lost, opportunities exist for job creation through growing trees with economic value like mangoes, neem and gum Arabic.
Properly nurtured, these trees and many others can thrive in arid areas, and not just help prevent desert encroachment, but also provide income for farmers and others whose lands are being threatened by the desert.
In Nigeria today, a significant percent of rainfall flow away as run-off and end up in the sea. Regional variation in rainfall means that some areas get more rainfall than others. Rainfall harvesting can ensure that the drier parts of the country have water, while excess water from the wetter regions are harvested, stored and transferred to where it is needed.
The problem of course, is, when government is so engrossed in looting, who has time to think and plan development projects? The danger is that unless all agencies involved in environmental protection activities in Nigeria begin to take the task of protecting and preserving our wildlife and biodiversity more seriously, the entire environment – along with unique ecosystems will not only varnish, but create additional threats to lives and properties.
