BOOK LAUNCH-OPENING REMARKS BY FOLAKE SOLANKE SAN CHAIRMAN AT THE LAUNCHING OF THE BOOK"LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR ANIMAL RIGHTS AND GAME MANAGEMENT IN NIGE

Opening Remarks
By
Chief ‘Folake Solanke SAN
At the Launching of the Book: “Legal Framework For
Animal Rights and Game Management in Nigeria” at the Jogor Centre, Ibadan, Oyo State of Nigeria on Thursday 15/11/2007


It gives me tremendous pleasure to be the Chairman at this special occasion to launch a special book: “Legal Framework for Animal Rights and Game Management in Nigeria”. I appreciate the honour extended to me by the author. May God continue to honour and elevate all of us. Amen.

The title of the book is derived from a combination of the two titles of the author’s first and second Essays for his first and master’s degree respectively.

The book is quite unique. It deals with an important aspect of the law which alas, attracts little attention even among many lawyers. Indeed, some people may marvel at the uniqueness of the author’s profound interest and affection for animals. In our society, many people have no regard whatsoever for animals, and consequently, no respect for their rights. This nonchalant attitude is revealed in some of our proverbs and statements such as:-

“Enia o ribi sun, aja nhanrun” – “A human being has no space to sleep, a dog is snoring”; or “oju ni malu nro, obe oda lorun” – “The cow is only enduring the pain, a knife is not good on the neck”: or

“Bi ewure le ku, ko ku, ngo le toju eniyan, ki ntoju eran” – “If the goat wants to die, it can die, I cannot look after a human being and look after an animal”.

The author’s unusual, but stupendous interest in animals, his sensitivity to their rights, his total commitment to, and his compassion for the protection of wild life all deserve our high commendation. Certainly for the author, the concept of animal rights is not a laughing matter.

The author emphasizes the different roles designed by God for all His creatures on this Planet Earth which is the only known abode for human beings and the habitat for animals. It is therefore in our own human interest to be sensitive to animal rights because of their critical role in the sustainability of the environment. Human beings and animals depend on the earth for survival.

In our country, venison, otherwise called “bush meat” is a popular delicacy. In other parts of the world, for example, in the United Kingdom, those who kill endangered animals or offer their meat for sale, are prosecuted and sentenced to long jail sentences. That was what happened to a Nigerian couple* a few years ago, for offering bush meat to their customers in their London restaurant. Appropriately, the book draws the reader’s attention to the responsibility of individuals and governments towards animal rights and game management.

The author, although of the Muslim faith, yet he relies on both – the Quranic and the Biblical injunctions that human beings should look after the earth. In Chapter 2, on page 44 of the book, the author warns us against mistreating animals so as “not to incur the wrath of Allah for not protecting what Allah has entrusted to us”. He even refers to Noah’s ark on page 51.

I believe they were each given seven years by the High Court.

Further, the Bible gives an injunction in Revelation 7:3 thus:-

“Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees…”

Of course, reference to the earth encompasses all the creatures, human and animal, therein. Africans have a very strong affinity to land- source of our sustenance and the habitation of our ancestors. Thus, it is imperative to protect the earth. A profound Kenyan proverb says:-

“The earth was not given to us by our ancestors, but loaned to us by our children”.

And we have many poems in our language which sing the praises of the earth e.g “Ile o gere a f’ oko yeri….”

Page 38 of the book contains a fascinating reference to the killy – loo bird in the following words:-

“A killy-100 bird which files forward, but looks backward makes an easy explanation of the doctrine of judicial precedents in the study of law. This principle has been likened to the bird by some eminent jurists”.

Really amazing stuff for lawyers in particular:

The United Nations Universal Declaration on the Rights of Animals 1978 declares “inter alia” that:-

“all animals are born equal and have the same rights to existence” (Articles 1); and

“Every animal has the right to be respected”

(Article 2(a))

“Man, like the animal species, cannot assume the right to exterminate other animals or to exploit them thereby violating this right. He should use his conscience for the service of the animal” (Article 2(b)

“Every animal has the right to consideration, good treatment and the protection of man” (Article 2(c).

At the 1992, UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro, all environmental issues were thoroughly canvassed and a document titled UNCED “Agenda 21” was produced in which the goals, designed to empower men and women to create a healthier planet for all generations, were stated. That Conference first introduced the term “sustainable development” into the world lexicon. Thousands from all corners of the world were in Rio de Janeiro, having regard to the estacode and other huge financial investment involved in attending the world Conference, Individuals, Governments, and Non-Governmental Organizations would do well to retrieve their copies of the Report from their office shelves and cabinets, dust off the cobwebs and implement the goals articulated in “Agenda 21”. The book being launched today, ought to remind us of the UNCED goals to save the environment from further pollution and degradation and of our obligation to teach children to cultivate a sensitivity to animal rights.

The horrendous degradation of the environment caused by oil exploration and exploitation in our much talked-about Delta Region, for more than five decades, should compel us to implement robustly the provision of Section 20 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which provides for “Environmental Objectives” thus:-

“The State shall protect and improve the environment and safeguard the water, air, land, forest and wildlife of Nigeria”

The Federal Environmental Protection Agency Act 1988 and the Environmental Impact Assessment Act 1992 and all other relevant legislations must be rigorously enforced for a more congenial environment, regardless of the non-justifiability of Chapter II on Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy.

In conclusion, let me direct our attention to our mode of transportation and slaughter of animals which mode shows a total disregard towards animal life. Laws must be enacted to regulate the number of cows or goats or sheep loaded into a lorry. The pitiable suffering of those hapless animals which are twisted and strangled with ropes while crushed and cramped in the back of a vehicle is soul-destroying. The method of slaughtering is inhumane. It should not be so. An animal can be stunned with shotgun and, when unconscious, then humanely killed with a sharp knife according to Allah’s commandment for the killing of an animal for sacrifice during Id-el-kabir. The UN Declaration also prescribes that the animal must not be in fear or pain.
(Articles 3(a) and 9).

The author’s approach to the subject matter is global. It is therefore my ardent hope that the book will be a best-seller in Nigeria and abroad. After all, we have only one world, regardless of those who carelessly talk of 1st, 2nd, 3rd … worlds.

Indeed, the author has produced a resource material, not only for environmentalists, but also for governments, the entire legal profession and all who care for our one and only Planet earth. As Chairman, I hereby pronounce that the author has done a superb job.

I congratulate the author and I thank you for being here to support him. Please relax and enjoy the experience of animal world and animal rights! Regrettably, the animals were not invited, but they are in full colour in the book*.

Hearty and resounding cheers to the author for his passion for animal rights.

* I believe they were each given seven years by the High Court.

* See the “Gallery of animals and habitats” at the end of Chapter 5.