29 April 2024: After a keenly contested competition, 18 years old Tariq Lawal emerged as winner of UNODC’s #BeWildForNature Wildlife Sensitization Campaign. The campaign, held in commemoration of the 2024 World Wildlife Day, aimed at harnessing the creativity of young people aged 18-35, in leveraging technology and digital innovation to strengthen wildlife conservation efforts in Nigeria. Thereby, increasing awareness of the seriousness of wildlife crime. Top ten finalists emerged, after which Tariq came first with the design of a wildlife sensitization app called “iConserve; a one-stop shop for everything wildlife.
Emmanuel Labo, an animator who came second, developed a video ad to educate people on wildlife and in third place was Bello Imoudu who created an artwork which he titled “Eco-Tech Symphony (Harmony Between Nature and Innovation)”. The top 3 winners were rewarded with a laptop, a tablet, and a smartphone respectively. There was also a meritorious award category for Kelvin Ogbodo, a student at Government Secondary School, Garki, Abuja who had one of the best entries for the competition and meritorious awards for the three female finalists Emmanuella Eze, Fatima Bama, Zulaikha Idris, as part of the activities to celebrate women during the “women’s month” held in March. Other finalists Godwin Lasisi and Umar Imam were awarded plaques.
At the award ceremony to present prizes to the finalists, Mr. Danilo Campisi, the Deputy Country Representative/Head of the Transnational Organised Crime Unit of the UNODC Country Office in Nigeria, stated in his address that: “I am really pleased with the quality of the submissions received as it buttresses the reason for the campaign. UNODC is in the process of supporting the Government of Nigeria to develop a wildlife sensitization strategy for Nigeria and some of the submissions received, will truly enrich, and scale up sensitization efforts in Nigeria. I look forward to seeing some of the submissions possibly being included in the sensitization strategy for Nigeria, which we hope will strengthen the appreciation of Nigerians for the marvelous diversity of Nigeria’s flora and fauna”.
L – R: Honorable Speaker of the Nigerian Youth Parliament, Ms. Titilope Gbadamosi, Tariq Lawal, Deputy Chairman, House Committee on Environment, Uduak-Abasi Akpabio and Ms Folusho Ajayi Adelekan, UNODC Wildlife Programme Officer
In addition, speaking at the event, Uduak-Abasi Akpabio, the representative of the German Embassy in Nigeria highlighted that “The Government of Germany has supported and continues to support Nigeria in the fight against wildlife crime. In July 2020, together with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, as the implementing entity, the Government of Germany launched a project: Strengthening Nigeria’s Response in the trafficking of Wildlife Products. Through advocacy, awareness, education and particularly initiatives such as this that leverage digital innovation and tools to increase wildlife innovation in Nigeria, we have the power to disrupt the chains of illegal wildlife trade, protect vulnerable species and protect the biodiversity that sustains us all”.
Also in attendance at the event were representatives of the Honorable Minister of Environment, the Deputy Chairman, House Committee on Environment, the Honorable Minister of State for Youth represented by the Honorable Speaker of the Nigerian Youth Parliament and the Special Assistant to the President of Nigeria on Youth Initiatives, Ms. Titilope Gbadamosi.
The event equally featured a session on ‘intellectual property” facilitated by Juliana Oboh-Joseph from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO); and a panel discussion on “Increasing biodiversity awareness in Nigeria – cultural and country context considerations” featuring interventions by Dr. Mark Ofua, Wild Africa Fund; Esther Babatunde, Lekan Bakare Foundation; Haruna Mohammed Esq, National Park Service; and Maryam Hassan Bukar, AlhanIslam/Cure Africa.
When asked what next after winning the competition, Tariq Lawal, the winner of the competition said: “After participating in this contest, I would love to work with UNODC to bring my idea of the iConserve app to life. I am now more passionate about wildlife conservation and will visit zoos to educate people and those in my community about wildlife conservation”.
Wildlife and Forest Crime has developed as a serious and growing problem. Over the last decade, Nigeria has evolved into a primary transit hub for the trafficking of illicit wildlife products. To address these issues, UNODC supported the development of Nigeria’s first-ever National Strategy to Combat Wildlife and Forest Crime in Nigeria 2022-2026 and is also supporting the implementation of the same. Raising awareness of wildlife crime is one of the seven strategic objectives in the National Strategy, which necessitated the #BeWildForNature Wildlife Sensitization Campaign.
The submissions by the top ten entries can be viewed on UNODC Nigeria’s Instagram page.
