ANI Foundation Recruits 40 New Rangers to Enhance Security at Okomu Park

The African Nature Investors (ANI) Foundation, in collaboration with the National Park Service (NPS), has commenced the recruitment of 40 new rangers to strengthen law-enforcement operations at the Okomu National Park in Edo State.

ANI Project Manager, Peter Abanyam, said the recruitment witnessed an unprecedented surge in applications from communities surrounding the protected area, which he attributed to the strongest sign that communities were embracing conservation as their own responsibility. He said almost 200 young people from neighbouring communities reported for screening this cycle, compared to just 53 applicants three years ago.
“What we are seeing today is totally different from when we first started. Three years ago, we struggled to get 40 people to show up for screening. We had to postpone and call again before we could even get close to the number we needed. But this time around, close to 200 came out. That tells you something deeper is happening. People are becoming more aware, more interested, and more committed to conservation,” he stated.

While describing the surge as evidence of growing empathy for wildlife and stronger community ownership of the park’s future, Abanyam said it was unlike past recruitment drives when the management sought candidates from distant locations, the current model deliberately sources candidates from host communities.

According to Osaze Lawrence, the Conservator of Park (CP) of Okomu National Park, one of Nigeria’s few sanctuaries for rare and endangered wildlife, including forest elephants, Okomu National Park is becoming a model for other parks across the country.
“Now, we have been able to push away illegal logging activities to the very minimal. We have also interacted and engaged communities to get them to have sense of ownership of the park and to support the conservation efforts driven by the National Park and ANI Foundation,” the CP, who praised the leadership of Minister of Environment, Honourable Balarabe Musa and the Conservator-General of the National Park Service, Dr. Ibrahim Goni for the new drive, stated.
According to him, since he became the CP in 2022, around the same time the African Nature Investors Foundation became a development partner of the NPS towards increased protection and conservation of the park’s resources, ranger-led enforcement has been enhanced through the training of about 40 rangers apart from those on ground before then as well as the set currently undergoing the process of recruitment.
However, Abanyam said funding constraints meant only 40 rangers could be absorbed, even though many of the candidates demonstrated the required level of physical fitness, mental strength and a readiness to serve. He noted that one of the highlights of the current recruitment drive indicates a significant shift in gender dynamics in ranger-led enforcement, explaining that women were beginning to see roles in conservation law enforcement as viable paths.
“In this recruitment cycle, six women applied, and three passed the physical and technical criteria,” an outcome he described as remarkable, while adding: “Conservation is not gender-specific. Protection is for everybody. In fact, women often display more compassion and perseverance, which are central to wildlife protection.

ANI Foundation has been working in partnership with NPS to revitalise the park, with the approach now seen as a model of effective community-led conservation powered by law enforcement, livelihood support, and community involvement.