The management of the Ogba Zoo and Nature Park and lawmakers in the Edo State House of Assembly are at loggerheads over alleged land grabbing at the Ogba Forest Reserve by some Principal Officers of the Assembly, writes OSAGIE OTABOR.
When Ogba Forest Reserve in Oredo local government was first established by the colonial masters, it occupies a land mass of 53 Square kilometers. It was established because of its rich biodiversity and the need to conserve the rare specie of trees found inside the forest.
In 1971, the military administration of Dr. Samuel Ogbemudia established the Ogba Zoo out of the forest reserve making it an arboretum, botanical garden and biological garden. The purpose of carving out a zoo out of the Ogba Forest Reserve was to serve as a recreational resort to the public, serves as educational center for teaching and research, being a center for conservation of wild animals and source of revenue.
What is left today of the vast Ogba Forest Reserve is now an enclosure where the Zoo and Nature Park is located. Over 70 percent of the land has been encroached on by land grabbers. A large portion of the reserve which is across the Ogba River that used to house cages where lions are kept has been taken over. Some Principal officers in the State House of Assembly have been named as some of the grabbers.
It was gathered that the grabbing of land in Ogba Forest reserve began in 2007 when the state government under Chief Lucky Igbinedion approved a gazette which gave communities in the area access to 10 percent of the land. Management of the Ogba Zoo was earlier in 2000 leased to a private consortium under a Public Private Sector partnership to help revive the Zoo which was totally abandoned.
Last week, the management of the Ogba Zoo came under the radar of the State House of Assembly following a petition sent to it by one John Omoregie. The petitioner alleged that wild animals in the Zoo were being sold to foreign firms and that the place was not properly managed. Mr. Omoregie said his petition was to save the Zoo from mismanagement and urged the state government to revoke the contract leading the Zoo to its present management.
Speaker Justin Okonoboh set up a three man committee headed by Kabiru Adjoto to investigate allegations in the petition and report back within three weeks.
Peeved by the supposed negative publicity against the Zoo by the petition, Director and Chief Executive of the Ogba Zoo and Nature Park, Dr. Andy Ehanire, accused the lawmakers of sponsoring what he termed a fictitious petition because he instituted an N80m suit against some lawmakers for forcefully taking over the staff quarters of the Zoo.
Dr. Ehanire in a chat with our reporter said soldiers were used to chase the workers away and construction work began on the land despite the suit he has filed against them.
He noted that “The way and manner the lawmakers handled the petition was designed to cause damage to the reputation of the zoo. It was also to cause further harm to the economy of the zoo because its clientele which are tourists from various parts of the world may cancel visit to the state.”
Ehanire assured that he would attend any invitation from the Adjoto- led committee because it was his duty to educate them about the circumstances in the Zoo.
He expressed worry that issues about the encroachment on Ogba Z oo never attracted the attention of the lawmakers but a petition from no where caused the setting up of a committee.
The Ogba Zoo boss described the lawmakers’ action as a witch hunt and an attempt to intimidate the Zoo management from defending government property.
According to him, “We came in as a private sector initiative to rescue the zoo which was already declining. We actually came to resuscitate the zoo to its present status in the state. All the animals presently in the zoo are as a result of private effort. There is nothing here that can be alleged as being subject of misappropriation because it is not a government facility. No government fund has been involved in the management of this place. We have paid all our rent and dues to government. The petition is uncalled for but we suspect that this so called petition in the House is a panic measure by some Principal officers in the House of Assembly who we have taken to court on account of the demolition and conversion of Ogba Zoo staff quarters. Six blocks of of bungalows were demolished and converted to their private use. We have taken them to court. We have identified Elisabeth Ativie and three others.
“The Zoo which is under two Square kilometers is the last vestige of the once 53 square kilometer of the Ogba Forest reserve. What is left of the Ogba Forest reserve is what is inside this zoo. More than 50 percent of what is in this zoo have been destroyed and taken over by land grabbers. Ogba Forest reserve is a land mark of the colonial administration when they discovered the rich bio-diversity in this part of the world. They tried to protect it but we have destroyed it.
“The problem of encroachment has been going on in the past 14 years and it got to the highest point within the last two years. We made frantic calls to former Governor Oshiomhole. At best the governor would issue statement directing surveying of the Zoo land and dislodging encroachers but none of the action was carried out.
“The zoo is a conservation facility and not a tourist facility in the first instance. It belongs to the Forestry Department. It was setup as a conservative project. Tourism is a spin off. In conservation, it was to protect the rich eco-system here. What we are protecting does not exist anywhere around anymore. This place is a gene-bank. Species that cannot be found anywhere are here. Many international bodies have come here to study this place to underscore the significance. This place is now an urban forest. Efforts we have made to raise alarm have not yielded results. The various arms of government have become like onlookers.
“The main zoo itself is where the attrocities have been taken place. Our lion cages have been destroyed. Three quarters of the zoo land is across Ogba River. All the land have been taken over and bulldozed by different set of people in which House of Assembly members are complicit. I took government to arbitration and we won. The arbitration was released in January.
“The arbitration process was to compel government to salvage the zoo, to delineate, re-survey and dislodge all the encroachers. It was also to regenerate the forest. It was for government to return all the infrastructure that were destroyed because government was complicit in the whole process without us knowing. There is government gazette signed in 2007 that the arbitration also repealed. Various panels have found the gazette faulty. The gazette was a nuisance. That gazette gave 10 percent of the zoo land to the community. From 10 percent, the communities have moved to nearly 70 percent.”
When contacted for comments, Permanent Secretary of the State Ministry of Environment, Mr. Omoruyi Isaac, said the state government has begun investigation into allegations of land grabbing at Ogba Forest Reserve.
Hon Ativie declined comments saying that the matter was already before the court.
Governor Godwin Obaseki has said that his administration would prosecute and punish those encroaching on the state’s forest reserve, especially Ogba Zoological Garden with a view to reviving forest reserve in the state.
Obaseki said he would forward an executive bill to institutionalise a Forest Commission.
He said, “The issue of forest reserve kept playing up when we had a workshop on environment and the determination to save the forest gave rise to the move to set up a forest commission to help regenerate our forest reserve,” he said, adding that the move was important and urgent.
“Edo State has barely 15 percent of forest resources, and, as a government, we are committed to rebuilding our forest reserve. We will soon start rolling out our administration’s forestry plan.
“We will need support and collaboration in this area and your visit is apt at this time as your institution has the experience, knowledge and capacity to collaborate with my administration to ensure we rebuild and re-grow our forest reserve. We have so many areas to partner with you so that you can help us bring back standard practices in our forest reserve”.
