People see the Park as just a bush with some animals wandering aimlessly.
Kainji Lake National Park is not just a stretch of bush or forest where animals wander aimlessly as you pointed out, it may interest you to know that this is the first National Park ever created by the Federal Government in Nigeria established in 1979 and the second largest park in the country. It covers an area of 6,370 square kilometres. And it covers two sectors; we have the Zhugurma sector and the Borgu sectors. The Zhugurma sector is within Mashegu Local Government of Niger State and the Borgu sector is in Borgu, Kaiyama and Barche local governments of Kwara State. The park is found within two states and it covers two states both Niger and Kwara states. The Zhugrurma sector is in part of Niger State in Borgu and in Mashegu Local Governments of the state while you have the Borgu sector in both Kwara and Niger and states.
And why were the National Parks created?
The National Parks were created for the protection and conservation of wildlife.
What is the status of the National Park?
The National Park by name, means that it is the highest authority in the country that manages the area, you have all these as protected areas, You have the National Park, you have the Games Reserves. The National Parks is managed by the Federal government while we have a game reserve or forest reserve that is managed by the state governments. So, the name, National Park automatically means that it is managed by the highest authority in the country, for instance, the Federal Government., while the game reserves or forest reserves are managed by the state or local governments.
Are the animals caged in enclosures or they live in their natural habitat in a National Park?
You know by the name, the National Park, like wildlife conservation projects everywhere in the world, is an area of land where the animals live in their natural habitats, unlike a Zoological Garden where the animals are put under locks and keys. So, that is the major difference between a National Park and Zoological Garden.
What is the relationship between the animals and your staff? Is it like the one we used to watch in the movies with regards to Animals’ world in real life?
You know one thing with animals in the wild or their natural environment, they are wild animals even if you have taken an animal that is wild and you bring it home and domesticate it to a certain extent, the wild tendencies is still in their affairs and one has to be really very careful with them. Therefore you should expect the animals in the wild to maintain similar traits in various dimensions because they are wild animals. So, staff in the national parks are all trained and they understand the behaviours of these animals. Naturally, some of these animals do not attack people because they naturally do not attack, but it is only when they feel threatened or when someone might want to attack the young ones. But since we understand their behaviours, we know what to do while doing their activities, to exist or co-exist with them, while we do our work.
What are you doing about the incessant ‘harassment ‘of the people by hippos around the confluence bay?
Thereafter some of our staffs were sent to some of these communities in that area to go and verify the claims. What we tried to do on the issues of some of these Hippos is basically to find solutions into how Hippos and humans can co-exist. As I said earlier, the animals have the right to live and some of these animals like the Hippos have been in these locations for years especially along the confluence of River Niger. They have been there for a very long time. It is now that they are saying there are increased threats to the lives of the communities in that area probably as a result of the fact that the population is growing and people are looking for lands to cultivate. So, indirectly, they are going into territories that are being inhabited by wild animals especially the Hippos. And how do we now reconcile these two positions as humans around the confluence are trying to survive by looking for more areas to do their farming while the Hippos areas also trying to protect their own territories from being encroached. We at the National Park have been trying to create a situation whereby humans will survive and the Hippos too will survive in their natural habitats. This is what we have been trying to do by educating the community. If we want to co-exist with these animals, we have to study the behaviours of these animals; we also have to avoid certain cropping patterns.
In your own opinion, has the essence of inaugurating the National Parks been achieved in Nigeria?
The National Parks were created for the purpose of protection and conservation of wildlife resources and wildlife resources include the plants and the animals. We ensure also that the cultural practices within and around the National Parks are also preserved; we ensure also that tourists and researchers can come to the national parks for recreation. So far, this year alone, about 1, 900 people have visited the National Park both for research and recreational activities or purposes. For these figures you will know that yes that the National Park is serving its purpose and the objectives for which it was established are being met. And without the National Park today there are a lot of situations that the National Parks have prevented. For example in the world today, people are talking about the climate change and how to ameliorate the climate change. And one of the ways of doing that is to ensure that the vegetation or plants are kept intact so that they would be able to trap in the excess carbon in the atmosphere in ameliorating the climate change. If you monitored the environment of Nigeria, some of the areas that are prone to natural disasters are majorly areas without National Park. In many areas where we have National Parks, you will find that the risks of such natural disasters are less. So, the National Park is playing a very big role in ensuring the stability of the area itself.
Can you tell us some of the challenges faced by the National Parks, with particular reference to Kainji National Lake National Park?
Well, like if you look at the National Park, just like the other federal institutions, we have challenges. Yes, government is doing a lot to pay our salaries as at when due, funds are also released to ensure that we run the organisation very well and efficiently too, but a lot still needs to be done especially when the Federal Government is talking about the diversification of the economy and now looking at how the tourism industry can be looked upon to get the deserved funds that we are looking for. So that the National Park will now be able to do much in ensuring that we get the kind of foreign exchange that we are looking and that we will be a major player in that sector. As a result of that, there is a need for proper funding of the National Park. So that it could do much in the foreign exchange earnings and revenue generation on its own
What joy do you derive as a conservator?
You know most of us as environmentalists and as conservators, we are at peace with nature, but it is just unfortunate that as Nigerians we failed to appreciate the nature because sometimes you find it difficult to believe that people do not really appreciate the advantage of what they have at their backgrounds. People go out to other places to enjoy nature whereas at our own background here the facilities are also there for tourists and other visitors because the national parks are there. And it is just for them to come here We in the National Parks, over the years, it is our job to ensure that these resources are protected , it is our job to see that the people appreciate nature and we have been trying a lot to convince the people that there a lot of assets in the national parks and we are also telling people to come to the national parks as tourists destinations Ee are really enjoying the work we are doing because we are working with nature and we are trying to protect it.
and then