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THE Federal Government has unveiled the statue of an elephant constructed from crushed elephant tusks and ivory stockpiled to combat trafficking of endangered wildlife.
The Minister of State for Environment, Dr Iziaq Salako, at the unveiling of the monument on Wednesday in Abuja, said the event was historic and a symbol of Federal Government’s unwavering commitment to wild conservation.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the statue was crafted from the ashes and dust of incinerated pangolin scales and pulverised elephant tusks and worked ivory.
The stockpile was under the custody of the Nigeria Environmental Standards Regulation and Enforcement Agency (NESREA).
He christened the monument “Giwa statue for Renewed Hope”.
Salako explained that Giwa in Hausa meant elephant, and leader in Yoruba while in the Ika dialect, an Igbo sub group, it referred to something taken in secrecy.
He said that the unveiling of the statue was in tandem with the promise he made in Jan.9, at the crushing of the stockpiled.
He promised that the powder obtained from the pulverisation exercise would be used to build a monument in memory of hundreds of elephants killed illegally.
Salako, who congratulated NESREA and its partners warned that that those engaged in the crime of illegal wildlife trade were very tenacious and did not give up easily.
The minister said that demand for wild animal’s parts and derivatives persisted with a surge in black markets for sale of illegally acquired wildlife parts with the impact of such demand aggravated by the globalisation of the world economy.
“We must therefore be resolute, enforce our laws and upscale the deployment of technology in fighting these criminals,” he said.
He called on all Nigerians to support Federal Government’s fight against illegal wild life trafficking by providing intelligence information.
“Let me also use this opportunity to call every Nigerian to support our fight against illegal wild life trafficking by providing intelligence, discouraging animal poaching and refusing to use products that are not ethically sourced including from online sources.”
Earlier, Dr Innocent Barikor, Director General of NESREA, said the unveiled monument demonstrated the complete transparency in the action of Nigeria intolerant to illegal Wildlife trade.
“I want to encourage all stakeholders in the fight against Illegal Wildlife Trade (IWT) to be resolute and not to give up as this demonstration is just the beginning of Government representation to curb the illicit activities,” he said.
He said that the event represented a milestone in the fight against wildlife trafficking and Government’s commitment to protecting Nigeria’s rich biodiversity and natural heritage.
Barikor commended the support from key development partners like the Elephant Protection Initiative Foundation (EPIF), United Nations office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC), United State Embassy, World Conservation Society (WCS) Wild Africa among others.(NAN)
A.I
AUG. 01, 2024
Tags: Dr Innocent Barikor Dr Iziaq Salako NESREA
