University of Ibadan Zoo: Relic of a Glorious Past
From the nearest airport for foreign and local tourists which is the Murtala Muhammed International and Domestic Airports in Ikeja, Lagos state, it is a one way journey along the famous Lagos-Ibadan expressway for about an hour or so, depending on the speed of the motorist. Within the Ibadan metropolis, it is much easier to […]
From the nearest airport for foreign and local tourists which is the Murtala Muhammed International and Domestic Airports in Ikeja, Lagos state, it is a one way journey along the famous Lagos-Ibadan expressway for about an hour or so, depending on the speed of the motorist. Within the Ibadan metropolis, it is much easier to take a private cab from Ojo or Iwo road to the massive University of Ibadan entrance gates, for as low as N300. One may also wish to share a taxi with other commuters, thereby paying a token of just N30 as fare. From the entrance gate, taxis battle to get passengers to board their vehicles for a fee of N20 which will take you to any part of the university premises, including the fast declining university of Ibadan zoo.
According to online records too, Ibadan used to have a rich assortment of tourist sites to visit for numerous fun lovers. Then, it was in vogue to mention such places like the Captain Bower Towers, U. I. Botanical Garden, Agodi Garden, Mapo Hall, Dugbe markets and Trans-Amusement Park, where leisure time could be spent by both locals and tourists alike. But perhaps, none caught the constant fancy of all like the university zoo, which attracted visitors from far and wide on a regular basis. A visit today shows that a lot will need to be done by the institution’s authorities to garner the same accolades it attracted in its glorious past.
What immediately strikes any first time visitor to the zoo’s premises are the few visitors that can be seen milling around. Only pockets of individuals can be seen on the premises when the reporter visited. Even the token amount entrance fee of N200 appears not to be enough incentive for most people to visit. For students of the premier institution, it is actually free to gain entrance. For students of other higher institutions around the country and beyond its shores, they have to part with the sum of N100 to access the zoo and its facilities. However, Kemi, an Industrial attachment student, who serves as the ticket issuing officer at the gate, says that it is not always like that as on some other days, the place is actually filled to the brim as visitors come from other parts of the nation. “We record a high number of visits on some days. Different groups even come for meetings on such days even as they use the opportunity to savor what the zoo has to showcase in terms of animals and wildlife. Today is just one of the days when attendance is at the lowest. And of course, you must also put it into perspective that many of the students and staff are just resuming after the short break , and academic activities is at the lowest level for now,’ she remarked in an apparent attempt to explain the dearth of patrons.
Her palliative attempts however, do not remove the spectacle of abandonment which is evident as one ventures into the premises. A few meters into the zoo right from the entrance, caged monkeys hurl shrieks at the visitor. Surprisingly for a zoo of this prominence, the number of monkeys is dismally few, even as one begins to wonder if there is really anything worth seeing by going further into the vast premises. A few caged birds are also seen peering inquisitively at the visitor.
What perhaps easily attracts the perceptive visitor are the decaying structures on ground. Some of the buildings housing the animals are in various stages of disrepair and neglect. Most of the metal cappings of the cages, especially the snake and lion sections, are already rusting, while some of the wooden supports are rotting. In some parts of the premises, refuse is seen lying around with no apparent attempts to dispose such. Beside the lion’s cages especially , the stench is so overpowering that most of the visitors observed did not care to stay long to view the fearsome looking carnivores , not out of fear of being eaten, but more on account of escaping the smell emanating from the area. Ironically, the stench on a closer look, comes directly from an overflowing latrine beside the lions’ cages, rather than from within the cages!
For lovers of reptiles, visiting the zoo particularly may not be so rewarding. Apart from a reasonably large venomous snake and two small alligators swimming in a small murky lake, there is really nothing to stimulate their sight. However, for those who are more in love with the king of the zoo, visiting the zoo may offer its own mode of fulfillment for this class of people. The zoo hosts a massive sized lion that is constantly kept in the dark confines of a cage, and whose presence is only known when it issues a constant earth shaking roar that tingles the spine. There are about six other lions and lionesses, three caged, and the others allowed to roam freely in a demarcated field on the premises. Many of the visitors also complain about the famished and unkempt look of the lions, especially those left to roam freely.
Another disturbing fact is that like in other zoos, guides appear not to be in vogue on the UI zoo’s premises as visitors are left to their own devises. In a corner, a group of pupils who are on a visit can be seen throwing pieces of dirt into one of the cages with nobody to caution them.
In the zoo there are other more usual animals such as the donkey, camel, a group of peacocks and a large sized antelope. What perhaps takes the icing on the cake is the presence of a giant eland, which trots majestically around the confines of its cage, while constantly taking time to take bites from the massive bowl of food in its front. The few tourists on the premises mill before the cage of this rare magnificent animal. Elands are naturally timid, and run at the first sign of trouble, but it appears that this particular one is used to human attention, and simply gazes unabashedly back at its numerous admirers.
The ostrich section also appears to attract a few of the tourists. With their long winding necks, they also stare hard at the visitors who have come to savor the offerings of the zoo. Beside the bird’s cage is a stall where a single pony canters spiritedly around. The peacock section is, sad to say, not so appealing going by the few unimpressive birds in the cages.
Many of the visitors spoken with expressed dissatisfaction with what they term the gradual decline of the zoo. According to them, they believed that what they saw on ground was not a true reflection of what they had heard about the zoo, located in one of the nation’s oldest university. Solape Adedayo, one of such visitors, says he is visiting the zoo for the first time and he notes that what he sees to him is not fulfilling of his high expectations. ‘What I used to hear about the zoo is not what I am seeing. It is just too drab. And to make matters worse, there are no social facilities that are impressive in the zoo to me. I have gone round the zoo like three times today, so I know what I am saying. The animals to me, are not really impressive. There is nothing really on ground to show that the UI zoo is really distinct in any way. I can comfortably say that the zoo cannot rank with any other major zoo around the country,” he says.
Another tourist, Bisayo Sade, says for her too, her high expectations have not been met. She enthuses: “I am not impressed at all. You can even count the number of visitors on ground. Does that portray the zoo in favorable light? No, I do not think so. I think the UI authorities should look for ways to revamp the zoo, especially the dilapidating infrastructure. Despite this, I still look up to the institution.”
Dami Ayoade, a pre-degree student of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, also notes that she came over to the zoo to debunk assertions that the zoo was much better than the one at her own institution, but she is yet to be persuaded going by what she sees on ground. “At least everybody knows that the one at my school has also declined in fortunes. But I don’t think anyone can easily say that one is better than the other now. The authorities should introduce more exotic animals in order to attract patronage and restore its lost glory,” she says.
The apathy is not restricted to visitors only. It runs rife amongst some of the students of the institution. Ebiesuwa Olawunmi, a 200 level student of Guidance and Counseling department, says she has never stepped her feet in the zoo ever since she gained admission. “Although my not visiting the zoo is not as a result of any particular reason, still I have not really heard anything interesting from my colleagues who have visited, which would have warranted my curiosity to visit. I prefer to face my studies because that is the primary reason why I am here. But I do hear from those who have visited that a lot still needs to be put in place at the zoo to make it interesting,” she notes.
Her colleague, Tayo Alimi, a 200 level Educational Management, who says he has visited the zoo several times, adds that for the typical UI student, visiting the zoo was ‘no big deal.’ He says: “You know that it is practically free to visit the zoo for students of UI. So for us it is not a big deal as most of us have gone there several times. To me, there is really nothing spectacular about the zoo that warrants so much attention from the public. And I can assure you that it is the general feeling amongst most students here on campus.”
Some, however like Mutiu Adeniyi, a commercial bus driver, says he makes reasonable profit conveying tourists, especially pupils, from places as far as Lagos to the zoo. “You can see that I have brought some pupils from a school in Agege today and the kids are having a good time. That is how I bring them on a regular basis and I make my profit in the process. Actually , not a few of them complain of one thing or the other, but you know, majority of them are kids and cannot really form a mature opinion on their own, about what they think of the zoo,” he says.
Despite the apparent downturn in the zoo’s fortunes, the secretary of the board in charge of the zoo, A. Ajibuwa, asserts categorically that the zoo remains as vibrant as ever. He notes that despite the challenges faced by the zoo which are principally finances, the fame that was attached to the zoo several years ago is still as sure as ever. He says: “every institution has its own challenges and the zoo is not immune to such, but I can assure you that the zoo is still being run effectively and efficiently to keep in tune with the vision of its founding fathers. Of course, at times you may be faced with such apathy and disinterest from the public, but that does not remove the greatness of the zoo one bit. It is still as famous as possible and we constantly have visitors from around the world who come in and marvel at what they see on ground. Anyone who says that the zoo has declined in fortunes is only being mischievous.”
He adds that, “in the next couple of months, the university administration, in concert with the zoo’s board, will be putting in place programmes to carry out massive sensitization and publicity of the activities in the zoo. It is probably due to the lack of appropriate publicity that many feel that the zoo has lost its vibrancy. That is sure to change very soon.” Just how soon, many are tempted to wonder before the zoo reclaims its past glory, which set it apart from many others of its contemporaries years ago. This may be answered sooner than expected or not at all, in the next couple of months or years?