Ambrose Igboke, a native of Warri, Delta State, recalls childhood stories of the tortoise—a symbol of wisdom and resilience in Nigerian folklore.
According to thecable.ng, yet, today, he laments the loss of such natural habitats, as investigative reports reveal that governors across Nigeria are repurposing conservation centers into luxury estates, raising alarms over the environmental and cultural implications.
The lion was always touted as the king of the forest. So, whenever he travelled with his uncle to his village in Enugu, Nigeria’s south-east zone, they would stop at the massive zoological garden in the state to see the tortoise and other animals.
Other children and adults would swarm into the zoo to have fun and catch a glimpse of the animals. From the lions, monkeys, leopards, ostriches, and gorillas to the reptiles, the animals were in clear view, and they provided entertainment to the teeming visitors as the zookeepers answered a series of questions about the creatures.
“Those were the good old days,” 48-year-old Igboke recalled with an enchanting smile.
“We don’t see wild animals except in books and on television. The only opportunity we had then to see those animals was to visit the zoo. There was no zoo in Warri; the closest we had then was Benin, and it was not on our way home. So, we used every opportunity to come home to visit the Enugu Zoo.”
When Polycarp Chiwetalu, a resident of Enugu, visited the zoo as a child, the animal that fascinated him the most was the baby gorilla named Sunday. After each visit, he longed to go back to see Sunday. At the time, most of the animals were emaciated and could hardly walk, their eyes roving around for food from visitors. Then, some of the animals started dying.
“It was fun watching the animals. I watched the lion play inside the cage and the gorilla playing with its children. We did not pay to visit the zoo because the managers loved to see visitors come in to spend time and enjoy themselves. But people freely donated to feed the animals because they were not adequately fed,” Chiwetalu said.
Chiwetalu didn’t visit the zoo again for a long time, and Igboke’s last visit was in 1992. Years later, when Igboke returned to the state as an adult and told his relatives that he wanted to visit the zoo to relive old times, he received sad news: Most of the animals were gone, and the state government had closed the zoo.
“It was sad. I miss the old zoo. We are unfair to this young generation, depriving them of everything nature offers us. Now, we lock them up to watch movies at home. They only have their gadgets. Many have grown to be adults without seeing a live wild animal,” Igboke said.
Located in the heart of the coal city, as Enugu state is fondly called, the zoological garden was 1.72 miles away from the government house and right behind the old governor’s lodge. It used to be one of the green areas in the state capital.
But it was a fast-developing bourgeois settlement, and the zoo sat in that prime location. It also shares a fence with the 82 Division of the Nigeria Army barracks and is surrounded by posh residential estates. Hence, all eyes were on the massive land with rich rainforests.
Following the zoo’s closure, a former worker who demanded anonymity told TheCable that the animals were relocated to Nsukka, a university town, the forests were cleared, and the land was transformed into an upscale estate.
“Then, the government began to allocate the land to some of its top officials and wealthy people in the state. They were the ones who could afford the cost of the land. It’s within the Government Reserved Area (GRA). Initially, it was called Zoo Estate. But it was later renamed Ekulu East Estate so that it would no longer be associated with the former zoo,” the official said.
Investigations showed that Peter Mbah, the state governor, has a property in the alluring estate. Mbah was chief of staff and later commissioner for finance under Chimaroke Nnamani, a former governor of the state. During Nnamani’s administration, the zoo was shut down and transformed into a utopia for the elites.
“Is there anything wrong with owning a property in the estate?” Dan Nwomeh, senior special assistant on media to the governor, asked in a chat.
“The former zoo was converted into an estate and allocated in the first tenure of the administration while he served in the second tenure.”
Calls and messages sent to a phone number associated with Nnamani were not delivered. This reporter asked the reason behind the facility closure, the beneficiaries of the land allocation, and if he was also a beneficiary. A message was sent to his verified X account, but he has not responded.
In an old online listing by a realtor, a property close to a building reportedly owned by a former governor of the state, was put at N170 million ($114,000). Another property in the estate was advertised for N250 million ($167,000). One was listed for N2 billion ($1.3 million) in 2021. One thing that stands out in the advertisement of properties in the estate is the phrase, “The most expensive estate in Enugu”. In addition, the estate boasts a police post.
