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Kebbi State First lady, Dr. Zainab Shinkafi Bagudu has narrated how three elephants were saved from hunters in Koko besse Local Government Area of the State on Tuesday. 

 

The local government authorities assisted by security forces in the area successfully mobilized the community, secured the animals and kept them away from the usual threats from hunters.

 

Taking to her social media account, Dr. Zainab said elephants would have been killed had the villagers not been previously warned by Governor Atiku Bagudu. 

 

She recalled how an elephant was caught, killed and butchered by the villagers and hunters last year. They later trooped to the Kebbi State Government House with great pride to present Governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu with the slaughtered elephant’s Tusks.

Instead of the praise they expected, they received a lifetimes worth of telling off and an educational lecture with threats of imprisonment. Read her post below: 

 

Saving The Elephants Of Kebbi ?

 

?Every year, herds of Elephants migrate around the forests straddling the Kainji, Republics of Benin and Niger. Three were spotted today in Koko Besse LGA, Kebbi. ?

 

?Elephants unfortunate enough to be caught are immediately killed as game. ?Trade in poached Elephant tusks forms most of the illegal Ivory trade and has led to the endangerment of the species. Although Custom authorities in the axis often intercept such poachers, control is poor. 

?One such elephant caught last year had its killing and chopping videotaped and widely distributed. My 6 year old nephew Amir, an intense and true animal lover, cried unconsolably when he saw that carnage. The host community and hunters trooped to the Kebbi State Government House with great pride to present Governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu with the slaughtered elephant’s Tusks. To them, they had successfully defended their territory from a single invading elephant. 

 

Oh boy, did they get a shock! Instead of the accolades the expected, they received a lifetimes worth of telling off and an educational lecture- interspersed with threats of imprisonment. Most do not realize the criminality or concept of endangered species. Slowly, Gov Bagudu has been educating his people about this. ?

 

?It is working. I screamed with delight when he sent me this clip today. Not only were the 3 alive, the Koko LG authorities assisted by security forces in the area successfully mobilized the community, secured the animals and kept them away from the usual threats from hunters etc. I am not sure who is happier today that these elephants are alive- my dear husband? or my dear nephew Amir. ?

 

?The lesson I wish to draw here is simple. Being a leader is like being a mother. 

She loves you. When you err, she shouts, she dangles the slipper, but she is a mother so calms down. She is a patient mother so she forgives you. She is a loving mother and your first teacher so she gives you an educational lecture. You learn. You want to please your mother. You behave better. And so the cycle continues...Thus, If we want better leadership then we have to learn to behave better. 

 

May God bless all our leaders for the work of “mothering” that they go through with us daily. ?

 

?Today, Atiku Bagudu isn’t just a leader; he is also a “mother” to the human beings of Kebbi State, as well as to our elephants. 

 

?Zainab Shinkafi Bagudu, Dr ?

?Founder Medicaid Cancer Foundation