Olusegun Obasanjo Names Lion Cub After Himself In Abeokuta

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has named a newly born lion cub in a wildlife park located inside Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, Abeokuta with his traditional name, Aremu.

Another‎ guest at the event, identified as ‘Prof. Afolabi’ also adopted another cub at the sum of N1 million.

He said the ”name adoption of the animals in the park was aimed at recruiting individual and corporate partners who will support the park in providing the financial resources for the preservation and care of animals that are on the brink of extinction as a result of increased human activities.”

Also speaking, deputy chief coordinator, OOPL, Ayodele Aderinwale, explained the essence of introducing the wildlife park into the Library project, adding that it had been a focal point of the project since inception.

The National President, National Association of Zoo And Parks, Morenikeji Olajumoke urged the government to brace up to the challenges facing wildlife in the country.

She noted that at present, some species face extinction adding that something urgent needed to be done to address the threat.

“Among the animals that are fast facing extinction is the Pangolin otherwise known as bush meat (‘eran igbe’ in Yoruba parlance). Already in China, we cannot find it anymore and they are shifting attention to Africa, particularly in Nigeria,” Olajumoke said.

‘And this is an animal that eliminates about 70 million pests in our forest annually. So, if we do not quickly address this, the pest will be available to destroy our forest too,” she said.