It can be described as a tragedy of error, even though there are conflicting accounts of what happened. According to one version, a door carelessly left unlocked at the lions’ enclosure in the zoo resulted in an attack by a lion on two zookeepers at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State, and the death of one of them, Olabode Olawuyi.
One Mrs Ajagbe was reported to have been feeding the lion on February 19 when the mistake occurred. The unlocked door allowed the lion to attack the woman. Her screams attracted Olawuyi to the scene, and he tried to rescue her. According to an account, “Olawuyi attempted to raise his two hands to scare the animal away when the lion used its claws on his chest and part of his throat, forcing him to fall. He later died as a result of loss of blood from the injuries he sustained. But the woman, Mrs Ajagbe, managed to escape and called for help.”
The university’s spokesperson, Abiodun Olarewaju, in a statement, presented a different version. He said Olawuyi, a veterinary technologist, “who had been in charge of the zoological garden for over a decade,” was attacked by a nine-year-old male lion “when he was feeding them in their den at the Zoological Garden of the university.” The lion has been put down.
Members of the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) held a “solidarity walk” on the campus to “honour” Olawuyi, who was a member of the group, “and to correct the impression put out by the management of the institution” that he was killed while he was feeding the animal. The association’s chairman, Matthew Oluwaniyi, described him as “a hero,” adding, “he died while trying to rescue the person who was initially attacked by the lion. He gave his life to rescue his subordinate whom he was supervising.”
It is reassuring that the university’s vice-chancellor, Prof. Adebayo Simeon Bamire, ordered “a comprehensive investigation into the immediate and remote causes of the incident.” Also, the National Association of Zoological Gardens and Wildlife Parks (NAZAP), which described Olawuyi as a committed member of the association, dispatched investigators to get to the bottom of the incident.
The different versions of what happened accommodate the attribution of the incident to human error. The animal could not have attacked anyone if it did not get a chance to do so because a door was carelessly left unlocked. It can be said that an absence of alertness on the part of the zookeepers led to the tragedy.
This sad incident calls for a review of zoo security at the university to ensure security for the animals from people and security for people from animals. The institution must make every effort towards ensuring that its zoo is a secure and safe environment for both animals and people, including zookeepers and visitors. Such a review should include rethinking the zoo’s enclosures, retraining the zookeepers to prevent the danger of complacency, and paying greater attention to proper feeding and care of the animals in the zoo.
In a tribute to Olawuyi, who was said to be in his fifties, the university’s students’ union leader, Abbas Akinremi, described him as a “good and humble man, who attended to us nicely whenever we went to the zoo.” He was reported to be in charge of wildlife care and health, and also provided research assistance.
His death in such horrific circumstances, while on duty, places a heavy burden on the university to substantially compensate his wife and two children for their loss. This should be done with a sense of seriousness, and without delay.
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