Nigeria - iNaturalist World Tour
Nigeria is the 118th stop on the iNaturalist World Tour. Despite having relatively few observations compared to other nearby countries like Benin
Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, there appears to be a lot going on with iNaturalist in Nigeria. The top observer, @dotun55, is naturalist in Nigeria with observations clustered around the capital of Lagos in the southwestern part of the country along with other top observers such as @petersoroye. The second top observer, @agboola, runs an Nigerian NGO called the Environmental Resources Conservation Initiative and has observations clustered around the city of Jos in the center of the country. @agboola is working on a masters at University of Ibadan which is located just to the north of Lagos. Several other top observers such as @taiyeadeyanju, @restlessspaces, and @ddk_photos have observations clustered near the University of Ibadan. In the northern part of the country @abumuazu has observations clustered near Malumphashi and Katsina. @abumuazu was involved in the Kastani Flora project administered by @abubello associated with a Systematic Biology class at Umaru Musa Yardua University in Katsina. You can see the cluster of students participating in this project around Katsina near the northern border with Niger. Also in the northern part of the country, @a_s_ringim has observations clusterd around Dutse and @umarsalehgwani clustered around Bauchi. In the southeastern part of the country, @also_sprach_susscrofa has observations clustered around the Iko Esai Community Forests and you can see the cluster around Port Harcourt associated with the 2019 City Nature Challenge Port Harcourt organized by @epsi.
The number of observations per month ticked up in mid-2017 and has been relatively steady since then. The peak in October 2017 was from the Kastani Flora project mentioned above.
The top identifiers are the usual identifier champions for most of the African countries we've examined so far. @jakob leads overall and in all categories except plants, birds, and fungi. @cabintom is the second top insect identifier (along with @jakob), @marcoschmidtffm and @abumuazu lead in plants (check out @marcoschmidtffm's Flora of Africa project here and @johnnybirder leads in birds.
What can we do to get more people in Nigeria using iNaturalist? Please share your thoughts below or on this forum thread.
@dotun55 @agboola @taiyeadeyanju @abumuazu @petersoroye @a_s_ringim @jakob @marcoschmidtffm @johnnybirder @cabintom
We’ll be back tomorrow in Suriname!
Comments
Nigeria has English as one of its official languages, and has a huge population. Interesting that is ranked so low in comparison with nearby countries without these characteristics
Inasmuch as I hate to speak in a negative tone, I have to admit that the general inclination of the Nigerian population, even the government, towards nature and its conservation is very low. For this reason, there is a widespread disinterest or neglect towards a lot of environmental and natural issues.
Most or all environmental campaigns and activism are championed by individuals, local and foreign NGOs, and a few motivated public office holders.
As @langlands put it, I'm not sure this is an issue of official languages. English is lingua franca in Nigeria.
Regarding awareness on iNat in Nigeria, I've been doing a bit by inducting nature enthusiasts into the forum. There has been a few successes, however a large percentage make up the dormant accounts on the site. I think it takes some time, to have the eco-consciousness and build the interest subsequently. For most people, nature isn't a priority until quality of life or livelihood is improved. And they're not to blame for a philosophy.
There a while lot of biodiversity to explore in Nigeria. I hope the world gets to see & appreciate it soon.
Thank you for your comments on the perceived issues @dotun55. Hopefully a new generation comes with a more nature-oriented perception of the world. What about approaching nature museums ?
There are just few around a country. It's a viable idea.
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