Zookeeper mauled to death by lion in Nigeria

A zookeeper has been mauled to death by a lion in south-western Nigeria after he failed to secure the locks on its enclosure when he went to feed it, police say.

The victim, a 35-year-old man, worked at the Presidential Library Wildlife Park, owned by former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, in Abeokuta, capital of Ogun state.

Local police spokesperson Omolola Odutola said in a statement that "the lion inflicted serious fatal injuries to the man’s neck".

He said the lion was then shot to "release its grip on the handler".

According to a statement from the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, the zookeeper had taken some guests to see the lion's feeding routine after hours on Saturday evening.

“The zookeeper, apparently, feeling comfortable with the animal, left the safety protection gate open and proceeded to feed the animal. He was mauled by the animal and died on the spot.

“To prevent further mutilation of the body, the animal was put down immediately by personnel of the park.”

The victim has been named as Babaji Daule, described by police as a trained lion handler.

It comes less than a year after another zookeeper was attacked and killed by a lion at the Obafemi Awolowo University, also in south-western Nigeria.

The incident has triggered concerns with people raising questions about the country’s regulations and management of zoos and handling of wild animals.

By Chris Ewokor, BBC

Related story: Lion kills zookeeper in Nigeria

World Bank approves $1.57 billion loan for Nigeria

The World Bank has approved a $1.57 billion financing package for Nigeria under a new programme to support its health and education sectors and help provide sustainable power, the bank said on Monday.

The World Bank is the largest lender to Nigeria, with more than $15 billion in loans at the end of March, data from the Debt Management Office showed.

The bank said in a statement that the money would help increase availability and effectiveness of financing for basic education and primary healthcare service delivery.

"The new financing includes $500 million for addressing governance issues that constrain the delivery of education and health, $570 million for the Primary Healthcare Provision Strengthening Program and $500 million for the Sustainable Power and Irrigation for Nigeria Project," the bank said.

Nigeria is among countries with the highest number of out of school children mainly due to insecurity, especially in the north of the country where a long-running Islamist insurgency and armed kidnapping gangs have caused havoc.

The World Bank said part of the money would be used to improve dam safety to protect people from floods.

Nigeria faces frequent flooding and this year up to a million people were affected after a dam in northeastern Borno state burst.

More floods are expected in Nigeria after authorities in Cameroon started releasing water from a large dam to prevent it from overflowing.

By MacDonald Dzirutwe, Reuters

Video - External reserves surge to 22-month high in Nigeria

The reserves have grown by 13 percent to just over 37 billion U.S. dollars. The increase was driven by crude oil revenues, non-oil exports, and a rise in external borrowings, and could help Nigeria stabilize its currency, improve international trade, and possibly attract more foreign investments.

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Nigeria’s hula cap gains traction as foreign exchange earner

The hula cap is a popular traditional headgear in northern Nigeria. Its intricate designs are gaining traction beyond Nigeria's borders. Local producers are now exporting caps to countries like Chad, Cameroon, and even the United States.

CGTN

Nigeria ranks first in cassava production, yet imports

Although Nigeria is ranked number one in cassava production globally, she imported about $54, 200 in cassava in 2022, becoming the 121st largest importer of cassava in the world.

This was disclosed at the Ist National Conference of Industrial Cassava Stakeholders Association of Nigeria (ICSAN) titled “The Golden Crop: Harnessing the Economic Potential of Cassava for National Development through Industrialization,” which held at Ikeja, Lagos.

Delivering a keynote address at the conference on the theme, Prof. Lateef Oladimeji Sanni, President, International Society for Tropical Root Crops, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture and Executive Director, Nigerian Stored Products Research Institute, Ilorin and Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, also said Nigeria exported $733, 000 in cassava in the same year, making it the 61st largest exporter of cassava in the world.

After the President of ICSAN, Mr. Segun Ladele, gave the opening address, Prof Oladimeji further gave an insight into the cassava industry and its significance to Nigeria’s economy.

He defined industrialization as “the mass production of goods in a factory system, which involves some degree of mechanized production technology,” saying industrialisation enables the business environment, promotes private sector leadership, facilitates renewal for sunset industries, and encourages innovators.
According to Oladimeji, as at 2022, cassava was the 1063rd most imported product in Nigeria.

“Nigeria,” he said, “imports cassava primarily from United Kingdom ($49.2k), Brazil ($2.68k), Cameroon (1.91k), Niger ($321), and Belgium ($33).

He said Egypt is the only African country ranked among the world’s top ten highest exporters of cassava, with an export value of $81.8 million with less than 1% share (0.94%) of the total producers and export value of cassava in Africa and globally.

Apart from garri, lafun, fufu, etc., cassava products have a wide range of value chain such as in the making of bread, cake, candies, ice cream, beverages, fuel ethanol, animal feeds, furniture, paper and wood. All these lead to job creation, food security and incomes for farmers.

He identified some of the challenges facing cassava production in Nigeria as government inconsistent policy, increase in foreign exchange in the course of the project implementation, destruction of cassava farmland by cattle herdsmen, insecurity and communal clashes, lack of infrastructural facilities, little access to credit facilities, and lack of enough partnership and collaboration.

He proposed packaging differentiation, product diversification, regional standards and quality control, appropriate processing equipment, viable regulatory system, capacity building, and marketing channels as the way forward for the cassava industry in Nigeria.

He also prescribed that “government MUST be the catalyst, enabler and regulator of the cassava industry. There is the need for key players to ensure that private-led actions geared towards sustaining the development of cassava-based industries are initiated and advocated. There should be fair public incentives and funding within the geopolitical zone of the federation,” he said. 

By Osa Mbonu-Amadi, Vanguard