Patrick Ogbonnia Egwu
Founder & Board MemberIt Is Time We Unite to Protect Nature
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Patrick Ogbonnia Egwu is the founder of WACN, President, CEO, and individual behind the WACN concept. Patrick was born in Birmingham United Kingdom to Nigerian parents, and is a successful businessman, owning several entities in the UK, US, and Nigeria.
He is the owner of the Patrick Egwu Group. Still only in his 40s, he has been in business since his very early 20s, starting in New York City with his now defunct entertainment company Tottally Banned Entertainment Inc.
He has an undergraduate honours degree in Tourism Management from the University of West London. His love for wildlife started from childhood when he was living in Owerri Nigeria, where on many weekends his father took them to the Nekede Zoo.
Abubakar S. Ringim
key personnel & Board MemberIt Is Time We Unite to Protect Nature
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Abubakar Ringim is currently pursuing a PhD at Morgan State University, US where he is researching Human Dimensions of Sika deer management on Maryland’s Lower Eastern Shore. He holds a B.Sc. in Zoology and a Masters in Biodiversity Conservation.
Ringim’s toolkit spans several fields in the natural sciences, including ornithology, citizen science, conservation education, butterflies, herpetology, protected areas, and wetlands. Recent experiences are preparing him to develop a social science toolkit on the human dimensions of wildlife management to enable him to address key wildlife management questions and challenges.
Ringim has several peer-reviewed publications and received letters of merits/recognition on biodiversity conservation activities.
Andrew Dunn
Board MemberIt Is Time We Unite to Protect Nature
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Andrew Dunn has managed biological survey and conservation projects in West Africa since 1989. He is currently employed by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) as the Nigeria Country Director who are working to help save Cross River gorillas, Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzees, lions and elephants from extinction. WCS’s work in Nigeria is focused on four protected areas including Cross River National Park, Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary, the Mbe Mountains and Yankari Game Reserve.
A key focus of WCS’s work in this region is transboundary conservation – developing links between protected area authorities in Nigeria and Cameroon to further strengthen conservation efforts. His main area of interest is protected area management and he has helped write a number of park management plans, species action plans and guidebooks.
He is a member of the IUCN Primate Specialist Group, Section on Great Apes and is also the Regional Coordinator for West and Central Africa for the IUCN Transboundary Conservation Specialist Group. In recognition of his conservation work in West Africa a newly discovered Nigerian butterfly was named after him in 2003: Lepidochrysops dunni.
Prof. Olajumoke Abimbola Morenikeji
Board MemberIt Is Time We Unite to Protect Nature
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Prof. Olajumoke Abimbola Morenikeji has a Zoology degree from the University of Ibadan, and a Ph.D in Parasitology.
As an Academic, she has over 100 published papers and 4 books.
She has gotten Scholarships, Fellowships and Grants from the University of Ibadan, Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND), The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), WHO Multilateral Initiative on Malaria and Tropical Diseases Research (MIM/TDR), Harvard School of Public Health, The Department of Biotechnology of the Ministry of Science and Technology in India – The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS-DBT), United States Government and Chicago Zoological Society.
She has attended and presented papers in several local and international conferences. She was the Keynote Speaker at the International Pangolin Symposium by the Chicago Zoological Society/Brookfield Zoo in the United States.
Stephen Haruna
Board MemberIt Is Time We Unite to Protect Nature
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Stephen Haruna is one of the most respected individuals in Nigerian wildlife conservation. He was formerly the General Manager of Nigeria’s foremost wilderness area – the Yankari Game Reserve.
Yohanna Saidu
Board MemberIt Is Time We Unite to Protect Nature
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Yohanna Saidu is a very experienced Nigerian conservationist with decades of history with Nigeria’s federal wildlife authorities including the National Park Service. He has worked mostly in the wild as a Law enforcement officer and researcher.
For 30 years, he was involved in protecting, preserving, and conserving biodiversity in Nigeria’s parks before retirement as a Conservator of Park (CP) in one of the country’s national parks in 2019. Yohanna is currently working with Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) as a Project Manager- Illegal Wildlife Trade.
Patience Adaje
Board MemberIt Is Time We Unite to Protect Nature
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Patience Adaje is a nature conservationist who works to educate and promote awareness on biodiversity conservation and management. She has a bachelor’s degree in Forestry and Wildlife Management, and a Master’s degree in Environmental Forestry and management. Patience believes that community participation is an integral part of sustainable natural resources management.