By Sunday Nwafor, Online News Editor

Nigeria’s rangers are more than just guardians of the nation’s rich biodiversity—they are frontline defenders in a battle against illegal wildlife trade, habitat destruction, and poaching.

Yet, their contributions often go unrecognized, their struggles overlooked. As the world celebrates World Rangers Day, their reality mirrors the longstanding challenges that affect Nigeria’s amazing wildlife.

However, with concerted efforts from conservation communicators like Festus Iyorah, a Nigerian media expert and the country representative for Wild Africa, the narrative is changing.

Festus Iyorah is a Nigerian Communications Expert based in Lagos, Nigeria. He is the Nigeria Representative at Wild Africa, leveraging his storytelling expertise to drive awareness and advocacy for wildlife conservation across Africa. In this role, he develops and executes strategic communication campaigns, crafts compelling narratives, and works closely with media partners to amplify the importance of protecting Africa’s rich biodiversity. Festus Iyorah has a decade of experience reporting on critical issues across West Africa. His work has been featured in prominent publications such as Al Jazeera, The Guardian (UK), Rest of World, and the Stanford Social Innovation Review. Throughout his career, Festus has demonstrated a commitment to human interest reporting, covering topics ranging from human rights to environmental concerns.

His unique blend of human-interest journalism and conservation communication reflects his dedication to addressing critical African challenges through storytelling.

Through a relentless conservation campaign through Wild Africa, a conservation organization working to protect wildlife and wild spaces, he is spotlighting the urgent need for ranger welfare, advocating for stronger policies, and working to shift societal perceptions around wildlife protection. 

The challenge

Across Nigeria’s rich landscapes—spanning National Parks, Forest Reserves, and Wildlife Sanctuaries—rangers risk their lives to combat threats from poachers, armed militia groups, and even the very animals they protect. Beyond the dangers posed by armed wildlife criminals, these rangers also battle inadequate equipment, insufficient funding, and a lack of essential training needed to effectively enforce conservation laws. 

The country has become a major transit hub for trafficked species, with pangolins, elephant ivory, and exotic birds among the most targeted. This illicit trade is driven by international demand, fueling local economic desperation and posing severe threats to wildlife populations. Rangers are often at a crossroads with wildlife poachers, leading to injuries and ultimately, death.

According to World Wildlife Fund (WWF), `one in seven wildlife rangers (14 percent) surveyed across Asia and Central Africa have been seriously injured at work within the previous year. The official death toll from July 2017 to 2018 as confirmed by the International Ranger Federation (IRF) and Thin Green Line Foundation (TGLF) to be 107, up from 101 in 2017.

In the past three decades, Nigeria’s wildlife has massively declined and species like lions, elephants, gorillas, chimpanzees, drill monkeys, and even some bat species have been driven to the verge of extinction. Conservationists estimate that there are fewer than 400 elephants remaining in Nigeria, fewer than 100 Cross River gorillas, and about 50 lions still survive in Nigeria. A major challenge in Nigeria’s conservation landscape is the entrenched cultural practice of bushmeat consumption. For many communities, hunting wildlife – which rangers protect with their life – is for food. Besides, it is not just tradition—it is an economic necessity – especially to hunters and bushmeat sellers. However, the increasing demand for bushmeat, combined with habitat destruction, is driving species like pangolins, primates, and antelopes to the brink of extinction. 

Iyorah’s national awareness campaign for ranger protection and welfare underscores a crucial aspect of conservation efforts. Rangers are the frontline defenders of wildlife, and their safety is paramount to effective conservation strategies. Without these dedicated individuals, the world’s wildlife would face an even greater risk of extinction. One of the major hurdles in Nigeria’s conservation landscape is the deeply rooted cultural practice of bushmeat consumption. For many communities, hunting wildlife is not just a tradition but an economic necessity, particularly for hunters and bushmeat sellers. However, this increasing demand for bushmeat, coupled with widespread habitat destruction, is pushing species like pangolins, primates, and antelopes to the edge of extinction. Iyorah’s work is crucial in bringing these issues to the forefront of public discourse. By advocating for ranger welfare and driving conversations about systemic issues, he is contributing to a broader understanding of the complex challenges facing Nigeria’s wildlife.

His efforts serve as a reminder that effective conservation requires not only protecting animals but also supporting the people dedicated to their preservation. While the impact of these conservation challenges is primarily felt in Nigeria, the implications extend globally. The loss of biodiversity in one region can have far-reaching consequences for ecosystems worldwide. Moreover, the lessons learned from Nigeria’s conservation efforts could provide valuable insights for other countries facing similar challenges. As Iyorah continues his work, he joins a growing number of conservationists and organizations striving to protect Nigeria’s remaining wildlife. Their collective efforts offer hope for the future of Nigeria’s endangered species and serve as a call to action for increased support and awareness of wildlife conservation issues both in Nigeria and around the world.

Impact and solution

After joining Wild Africa, Iyorah believes education and awareness are key to shifting public perception. Through Wild Africa, he promotes community-driven conservation programs that highlight the ecological consequences of overhunting. He advocates for sustainable alternatives, such as wildlife-friendly ecotourism and an alternative to bushmeat sellers and hunters living in the hinterlands while contributing to the value chain of bushmeat in urban areas.

Beyond on-the-ground projects, he also prioritizes education through conservation education. By focusing on that, Iyorah is addressing one of the most overlooked aspects of wildlife preservation: the need to connect people with the natural world and get them to understand it.

People can only empathize with what they understand. His approach is holistic, culturally relevant, and designed to engage a wide audience, from children to adults, rural communities to urban dwellers.

To deliver the educational content nationwide, Iyorah has facilitated partnerships with the major national media outfits such as Arise TV, Channels TV, NTA, and digital streaming platform, ShowMax. He has also partnered with radio stations such as Radio Nigeria, Soundcity FM, Rhythm FM, and Raypower FM, and newspapers such as The PUNCH, Guardian, The Nation, New Telegraph, The Sun, and Nigerian Tribune.

To drive engagements with messages like rangers protection and biodiversity protection, he is popularizing conservation messages by partnering with influential celebrities in Nigeria like musicians Davido, Mayorkun, Ckay, 2Baba, Laycon, comedians like Ali Baba, Josh2Funny, Emmanuela, footballers like Alex Iwobi, and others as conservation ambassadors to create conservation messaging such as radio and TV ads. To celebrate local conservation heroes working to protect Nigeria’s fantastic wildlife, Festus helped launch the unsung hero documentaries, some of which he partly produced, and it’s currently airing on showmax.

The collaboration with the press and streaming platforms like showmax was pivotal to the campaign for one reason. Public awareness about wildlife conservation was at an all-time low. This problem, alongside environmental degradation and the massive consumption of wild animals as bushmeat, aggravates the situation.

A survey conducted by GlobeScan, a global insight and advisory consultancy, earmarked that Nigerians were ignorant about wildlife conservation and needed public awareness.

The challenge is further compounded by limited access to conservation education in elementary and secondary school curriculum. Aside from that, locals living in the countryside are ignorant of the environment, especially why conservation is essential. While urban populations may have some exposure to environmental issues through television, social media, and schools, rural communities—who are often most directly impacted by conservation policies—rarely have access to the same resources. The absence of tailored, localized, and culturally sensitive communication has left a significant gap in the region’s conservation efforts.

In addition, poaching and bushmeat hunting are only symptoms of a larger crisis—habitat destruction. Nigeria’s forests and savannas are rapidly disappearing due to agricultural expansion, logging, and urban development. Without viable habitats, even the best conservation policies will fail to protect species. 

Iyorah stresses the need for stronger land-use policies, reforestation efforts, and community engagement in conservation. His advocacy extends beyond wildlife protection, addressing the socio-economic drivers of deforestation. By working with local authorities and conservation groups, he champions policies that balance development with sustainability, ensuring that both people and wildlife can coexist. 

At the heart of Iyorah’s mission is a simple truth: protecting not only rangers but Nigeria’s wildlife. His campaign for rangers safety also mirrors other aspects of conservation – such as protecting Nigeria’s national park, its wildlife while updating its wildlife laws.

Iyorah’s campaign with Wild Africa is a crucial step toward securing Nigeria’s biodiversity for future generations. But conservation cannot rest on the shoulders of a few passionate individuals—it requires collective action. Governments must prioritize environmental policies, communities must embrace sustainable practices, and global partners must support local conservation efforts. 

Nigeria’s rangers are fighting a battle that is not just about saving wildlife—it is about preserving a national heritage, protecting livelihoods, and ensuring a future where nature and people thrive together. With voices like Iyorah’s leading the charge, there is hope that this battle can be won.