In a significant blow to wildlife trafficking, Nigerian authorities recently seized 2 metric tons of pangolin scales, worth tens of thousands of dollars on the black market, and arrested a suspect believed to be a key broker, according to a recent Mongabay report. This operation, carried out by the Nigeria Customs Service with intelligence from the Wildlife Justice Commission, highlights the country’s efforts to combat transnational wildlife trafficking networks, a growing concern in Nigeria, with many endangered species being hunted and traded for bushmeat or sold on the black market.

Pangolins are listed as threatened on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, with all eight species facing significant conservation challenges due to habitat loss, poaching and trade. In Nigeria, pangolins are protected under Schedule 1 of the Endangered Species (Control of International Trade and Traffic) Decree No. 11 (1985). Current population numbers are not readily available, though reports suggest their numbers are declining.

Unfortunately, misconceptions and a lack of awareness about the importance of conservation have exacerbated the problem, contributing to the decline of not just pangolins, but many species in Nigeria.

In this interview, Mongabay spoke with Dr. Mark Ofua, a dedicated Nigerian wildlife conservationist, popularly known as the “Snake Man of Lagos.” Interestingly, Ofua’s choice to study veterinary medicine defies Nigeria’s societal norms, in which parents often prioritize human medicine, engineering or nursing and students studying in unconventional fields could be made to feel shameful for their pursuits.

Ofua shares his insights on these issues and his efforts to combat wildlife trafficking in the country, while also addressing the need to dispel common misconceptions about wildlife conservation

Ofua hosts Dr. Mark’s Animal Show, a wildlife conservation TV series widely viewed across Africa, that educates and inspires African children to protect and appreciate local wildlife. In addition to his animal conservation work, Ofua runs a private veterinary practice and provides medical care to treat people’s pets with various health issues.

This interview was lightly edited for length and clarity.

Mongabay: How did you earn the nickname ‘Snake Man of Lagos’?

Mark Ofua: I was very young when I had an encounter with a snake. The house was noisy, so I went to the garden to read. It was sometime in the evening, around 8 p.m. I felt something on my leg; I just looked down in shock, and it was a cobra that reared its head. I was still a child, so it was almost face-to-face. I almost fainted. I froze immediately because of what I had heard about snakes; I just felt it was the end for me. I couldn’t run, not because I was brave, but because I was paralyzed with fear, and the cobra just held my gaze for what seemed like an eternity. And then, after a while, the cobra just turned and went away. Now, it had all the opportunity to bite because I froze in fear — but it didn’t bite. That piqued my interest and led to questions about snakes and what I had experienced.

I fled to the house immediately after that incident. I grew up knowing that these snakes are mindless killing machines. But, why didn’t that cobra bite me? I started asking questions, reading books about animals. And I got to realize that we had a very strong misconception, a misunderstanding of snakes. I started advocating for snakes, trying to protect them. So, in high school, I prevented my friends from killing snakes because, ‘What we don’t understand, we fear. What we fear, we hate. What we hate, we kill.’ And this has been the reason why people kill snakes on sight because they do not understand. I started teaching people to overcome their fear of snakes. That was how I got the name ‘Snake Man of Lagos.’

Mongabay: You studied veterinary medicine in school. In Nigeria, as a student with a science background, there’s a common expectation for them to pursue medicine and surgery or engineering; other courses, like veterinary medicine and zoology, look shameful. How did you navigate the societal pressure to conform to these expectations, given your choice of studying veterinary medicine, which might be viewed as unconventional?

Mark Ofua: Growing up, especially if you’re intelligent, you’re either going to be a lawyer, an engineer or a medical doctor. Honestly, it was a problem for me because I was good at English, so everybody wanted me to be a lawyer. My parents really wanted me to be a human doctor. I grew up with that notion. But growing up, I had this affinity for animals. I was the child who was the ‘black sheep’ in the house. I was the pain in everybody’s neck because I would go out to play and sneak frogs or lizards into the house. You couldn’t tell what animal I would bring next to the house. Sometimes I would bring eggs of what I didn’t know into the bedroom and incubate. Sometimes these eggs would hatch into geckos, lizards or even snakes at some point, and everybody would flee from the house.

Even though I grew up wanting to be a medical doctor, as I developed, I saw some things that completely killed my interest in human medicine, and I devoted myself to veterinary medicine. I love it because it’s my passion. It was just veterinary medicine for me — or nothing else.

Mongabay: You have been featured in documentaries rescuing endangered animals like pangolins from bushmeat markets. What’s your experience been like with bushmeat sellers? Would you say they’re unaware of the laws protecting these animals?

Mark Ofua: Growing up, I realized that we had this negative relationship with wildlife. In Nigeria, anything that breathes, moves and is alive is considered good for food. We eat everything. We don’t care whether it’s endangered, in trouble or struggling with extinction. So, I started talking to people, trying to change people’s perspectives about the situation.

One of these pursuits was taking trips to the bushmeat market because this is where you see our local wildlife. You don’t see it on television. If you open your television now, you’re going to see foreign shows. You don’t see local wildlife. So, it’s in the bushmeat market that you see local wildlife.

Animals injured or sick, I purchase them to treat and release back to the wild. This was what started my journey to animal rescue from the bushmeat market.

At the market, I found something very interesting about the bushmeat sellers. First of all, they don’t have any concept or understanding of extinction. They believe these animals were put in the forest by God for our use, and they say, ‘Kill and eat.’ They believe these animals are there; if any one is getting low in number, God replaces them. That is their belief. There’s no extinction for them.

Then I asked them, ‘Look, these animals you used to see before, do you still see them?’ They answered, ‘They’ve gone deeper into the forest.’ To them, the forest is infinite, it doesn’t end.

Another concept they don’t have is zoonosis. They don’t believe we can get diseases from animals. When I tell them about the government stance on animal protection, they say, ‘No,’ it’s just the government’s interest to get them off bushmeat, and that’s why they’re cooking up those stories. They tell you that it’s just the government’s way of discouraging them from practicing what they call ‘norms.’

Mongabay: How do you think the government can address the issue better, especially illiteracy among people regarding wildlife conservation and the protection of endangered species?

Mark Ofua: The only cure for illiteracy is education. But the government has been going about it wrongly, and I have been saying this. Now, the government has an agency that monitors the environment. This agency cannot cover the entire country. How many people can they talk to? If you talk to these bushmeat sellers or consumers, they’ll tell you, ‘It’s cultural.’ So, you have to change your tactics.

There’s a tactic I have found to work very well, using kids!

When I’m driving with my kids in the car, and the light turns from green to amber, whether there are policemen there or not, my kids scream, ‘Daddy, get ready to stop.’ And I step on the brakes. Why? Because I do not want to pass this bad trait to the kids. I want to be able to correct my children tomorrow, and they will listen to me. So, my kids have a stronger effect on me than the law enforcement method put out there.

Conservation biology should be taught in our schools. The effect is going to be multiple. For instance, to the bushmeat consumers: If you eat bushmeat and you like it, you buy a pangolin, very expensive — maybe 30,000 naira, 40,000 naira [about $19-$25] — and you think you’ve done something great. And then your kids see it and say, ‘Oh, Daddy, this is a pangolin. This animal is protected. For you bringing this animal to the house, you’re a criminal. I’m not going to eat.’ I’m sure you won’t feel good about yourself and you won’t buy the animal again.

We have these findings that when the buying stops, the killing stops. If we’re able to make conservationists of the children, we find that we’re breaking a vicious cycle.

Mongabay: What’s been the most challenging rescue mission you’ve undertaken, and what made it so difficult?

Mark Ofua: Most of my rescue operations I do alone. I go to people; I go to the bushmeat market. I talk to them. I’ve found a great relationship with the bushmeat sellers, and they are accommodating. Some of them have dogs and other animals. I treat them for free, so they don’t see me as an enemy. Sometimes, because of my relationship with them, they don’t sell these animals to me; they give. They’re willing to let me have them because they know they gain from me in other ways.

But once in a while, I see prohibited animals, endangered animals, like sea turtles put up for sale on the road. That has been one of my most challenging rescues because these people want to sell them with a high tendency that it’s for consumption.

One faithful day, I packed my car and said, ‘Look, this sea turtle, you’re not going to sell it.’ (The price ranges between 50,000 naira and 100,000 naira, about $31.50-$63). It quickly turned sour, and they were going to beat me up. There was a crowd on their side due to societal beliefs. I knew my life was on the line, but I held my ground and held the animal. I said, ‘Look, this is not going to be sold.’ I feared for my life that day because it turned rough very quickly. Thankfully, a police van on assignment saw the crowd and stopped. I quickly held on to them and started quoting laws on animal protection: The police seized the animal, and nature won that day.

That’s been one of my most difficult rescue missions so far.

Mongabay: Let’s talk about your animal TV show. What inspired your passion to start this initiative, and what’s its main focus?

Mark Ofua: I have two passions in life: animals and children. I understand that children are pure and don’t have the same mindset as adults, so I love working with them. But I discovered something, which I mentioned earlier. When you watch television or regular news outlets, or animal documentaries like Nat Geo Wild or Animal Planet, you see animals that we don’t have in Nigeria, West Africa or even Africa. If you talk to an average Nigerian child, they’re quickly able to identify a narwhal [Monodon monoceros], a polar bear [Ursus maritimus] or other animals that aren’t native to Nigeria, simply because that’s what they see on television.

I was surprised to see a pangolin for the first time and learn that we have pangolins in Nigeria, having grown up without any knowledge of them. Meanwhile, some individuals were stealing and endangering them.

To change the narrative and get children in Nigeria and Africa interested in the animals around them, I started the kids’ television idea, Dr. Mark’s Animal Show, founded, produced and directed by Wild Africa. We focus on animals indigenous to Africa. It’s currently on air in Nigeria on different stations, as well as on Showmax, StarTimes and GOtv, so it’s showing all over Africa.

This TV show has been nominated for several awards across Africa. We’ve taken the TV show to every channel — online, digital and satellite. We’ve never been turned down anywhere. Our intent is not to make a profit; it has been widely accepted. Children learn from it a lot.

Mongabay: Beyond images and visuals, are there other ways you help kids identify and learn about different animals?

Mark Ofua: Most of the time, the animals I use, the kids get to see, touch and feel some of these animals. However, there are some animals like lions and elephants that are not practical to bring, so we take the kids to the zoological garden.

Mongabay: What role do you think parents need to play in supporting your vision for wildlife conservation and education through your TV show?

Mark Ofua: The real practical role for parents is to let the children be free-minded. Many of these parents are not even aware of some of the animals found in Nigeria. As a conservationist, I still learn about some animals found in Nigeria. If a child says there’s a show they want to watch, make it possible for them to watch it. Create TV time for them to let them get along with our biodiversity.

Mongabay: What message would you like to leave with our audience regarding the importance of wildlife conservation and protecting endangered species?

Mark Ofua: Many do not see the importance of wildlife conservation, which is a grievous mistake. Solving wildlife problems is solving more than 50% of societal problems. Solving this problem will save our forests, which create jobs for people. It will save our animals, and we will solve problems on zoonosis like Ebola, Lassa fever and COVID-19, which is still on our minds. All these infectious diseases are gotten from animals that we kill and consume. We saw what floods did to many of our communities in Nigeria, and extreme heat hit Nigeria from the beginning of the year, all as a result of deforestation. You need billions of dollars to fix the electricity issue, but you don’t need that to change nature; just let us stop the negative acts against nature and let it heal itself.

Banner image: Nigerian veterinarian and wildlife conservationist Dr. Mark Ofua with a pangolin. Image courtesy of Mark Ofua.