The organisation stated that this is partly because pangolins’ scales are in great demand for use in traditional medicine in Asia.
Nigerian football star and Fulham midfielder, Alex Iwobi,
music superstars, Innocent Idibia, popularly known as 2Face, David Adeleke,
popularly known as Davido, comedy star, Ali Baba and others have joined the
campaign to protect Pangolins and reduce the demand for illegal wildlife
products in Nigeria.
The campaign, spearheaded by Wild Africa Fund and supported
by a wide array of Nigerian media organisations, brought together a stellar
lineup of other Nigerian celebrities including Emanuella Samuel of Mark Angel
Comedy, comedian and actor, Chibuike Josh Alfred, popularly known as Josh2Funny
who have committed their voices and influence to amplify the escalating threats
posed by the illegal wildlife trade, particularly on pangolins.
As Nigeria joined other countries of the world last Saturday
to celebrate World Pangolin Day, Nigerian celebrities from different fields of
endeavour also shined a spotlight on the urgent need to address the devastating
impacts of illegal wildlife on pangolins and the use of Nigeria as an export
hub for trafficking pangolin scales.
Commending Nigerian top personalities for their
contributions to the campaign, the Wild Africa Fund’s West Africa spokesperson,
Dr. Mark Ofua, said, “By leveraging the power of public figures and the
influence they wield, this campaign aims to turn the tide for pangolins and
make Nigeria a regional leader in fighting wildlife crime.”
The Wild Africa Fund in a statement made available to
SaharaReporters on Wednesday noted that pangolins are the most trafficked
mammals in the world.
The organisation stated that this is partly because
pangolins’ scales are in great demand for use in traditional medicine in Asia.
The organisation said that as pangolin populations in Asia
have declined, shipments from Africa have greatly increased to meet soaring
demand.
According to the Wildlife Justice Commission, 55 percent of
pangolin scale seizures worldwide between 2016 and 2019 were linked to Nigeria.
With the involvement of top Nigerian celebrities and icons,
the Wild Africa Fund said that a recent survey of 1,000 Nigerians conducted by
Lagos-based Market Surveys International found that 88 percent are aware of its
campaign with 97 percent of people aged 10-17 years reporting that they
remember the campaign.
“Additionally, 86 percent said they would no longer kill or
consume because of the knowledge gained from the campaign and 31 percent said
they had stopped consuming bushmeat due to the campaign.
“Furthermore, 91 percent signified their intention to
substitute bushmeat with other sources of protein like chicken, fish, and meat
from goat, cattle and turkey.”
“The impact and reach of the campaign could be attributed to
several factors, including increased coverage of wildlife issues by Nigerian
news organisations, Wild Africa Fund’s widely-seen public service announcements
featuring Nigerian celebrities as well as several other engaging content like
Dr. Mark’s Animal Show which targets kids and teenagers and has been broadcast
by several TV channels in Nigeria,” the statement added.
The founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Wild Africa
Fund, Peter Knights OBE who applauded Nigerians for joining the campaign said,
“Once aware of the issues, leading Nigerians and media have been incredibly
supportive of better wildlife protection and we truly believe the country can
lead the region in safeguarding pangolins and other endangered wildlife.”