Whites And Locals Fight Over A Turtle Caught At Eko Atlantic

Posted by George on Tue 09th Oct, 2018 - tori.ng

There is this misconception that Nigerians eat whatever they see but this perception is about to change with people developing interest in wildlife preservation.

File Photo

There was a little pandemonium between whites and locals over a turtle caught during fishing at Eko Atlantic, Lagos and it was captured in tweets by Twitter user Joey Akan who uses the handle @joeyakan.

Taking to Twitter to share the story of the turtle, he wrote;

"A story of hope. Thread. So behind my office at Landmark Towers, there's a body of water that links to the seas. White fishermen show up a lot and cast their nets to catch some fish. They are welcome, treated with respect and assisted by the locals. The men in turn behave.

But today, something happened. When the white fishermen cast their nets, they caught a lot of fish. But they also caught something strange, a large water turtle. Catching a water turtle was a shock, but it also came with toll – the shell of the turtle tore the net. Damaged it.

And then the best thing happened. The locals rallies and stopped the men from taking the turtle away. "Na only fish you get permission to catch," one said. "This one no be fish. Drop am." The men refused, and an argument came on. They called more locals for support.

The men called the police attached to Landmark for help. The police supported the locals. Turns out water turtles are almost extinct because of poaching and the work on Eko Atlantic affecting their habitat. So these locals came together to make a law protecting them. It worked.

The numbers are decent now. Turtles are back, and they need protection. The whites, seeing that they were not going to get any support, asked them to pay for the cost of the damage to their nets. They negotiated for long, before they agreed and money was exchanged.

The turtle was returned, and it was carried to the sea in a little ceremony. People marched as it was hoisted in the air. When it touched the water, everyone clapped. The turtle went back in, saved by humans. The whites left. Case closed.

So, while Nigeria brings all of its negativity to shred your spirit, there still exists some good in small pockets of light. People who have chosen to take charge of their corner and make it better. I just saw one of such pockets in action. And I am so happy.

My heart is warm and beating loud. God bless those guys. Amen. The End"