Manna from Sea: Communities feast on 15 metres long whale washed onto land

THE excitement that swept through Okpoama, an alluring fishing settlement on the Atlantic Coast, and four other communities on Brass Island, Bayelsa State, when a grounded 15 meters long, and five-meter-wide whale surfaced on the coastline, was spontaneous with many residents describing it as a gift from the gods.

It was the second time in five years that providence would thrust such benevolence on the people when many were grappling with the harsh economic realities, amidst soaring costs of foodstuffs.

NDV learned that foreign fishing trawlers that rummage close to the sea shores had dislodged many locals from their traditional fishing occupation following incessant harassment, poor catch, and the destruction of their fishing gear.

Residents butcher whale

It was, therefore, not surprising the enthusiasm displayed by the people, who came out in their hundreds, scrambling to butcher the whale though dead, reportedly washed ashore last Tuesday night but discovered Wednesday morning.

Regardless of the health implications associated with consuming such a sea creature, whose cause of death could not be ascertained, the villagers scrambled for the whale   

As the news of the presence of the stranded whale at Okpoama spread on the Brass Island, youths from neighboring communities of Twon, Odioma, Fish town, and Sangana, armed with machetes, battle axes, hawk shawls, and other cudgels, stormed the scene, and descended on the creature.

The youths did not look back until they stripped the whale of its flesh and reduced it to carcass.  While many were interested in the meat, others were out for the oil, which according to them, was very expensive.

The whale got stranded — Akono, ex-NUJ chair

A former chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Comrade Tarinyo Akono, who incidentally is from the area, said the whale might have died after it got stranded because of low tide.

He said the creature was grounded last Tuesday night when people had gone to bed, noting that if it were found alive, perhaps it could have been rescued and sent back to sea, adding, “But that would have been a herculean task due to the massive size.”

We are still smoking the 

meat —Ebi, resident

However, Ebi and other residents thanked the gods for the gift of the giant whale. He said, “The meat I got from the scramble is worth about N150,000 under the prevailing circumstances and it will last my family two weeks.”

“We are still smoking the meat to ensure it is properly dried and take care of its offensive smell. You can imagine my sister alone got a big bowl of whale oil known for its medicinal value. It is a gift from the gods in the face of the biting economic hardship,”

Not a strange occurrence in riverine communities — Morris, environmentalist

Speaking on the development, the executive director of Ondewari Health Education and Environmental Project, OHEEP, Alagoa Morris, dismissed the claim in some quarters that the scramble for the spoils was fuelled by hunger insisting that it has to do with our ways of life.

His words, “We were not there when the children of Israel, according to the scriptures, received manna from above for their sustenance. So, one can only liken their reaction to people going after naira notes sprayed into the air in public spaces.”

“That was the emotion expressed by butchers of the whale washed ashore. This has always been the scenario right from when some of us were in our teens. Apart from the prevailing harsh economic situation in the country, the excitement displayed by the people of Okpoama is not strange in coastal communities. It is like Nigerians scooping petrol from accidental tankers despite the danger associated with the act.

“Besides being driven by material and mental poverty in some ways, the people see such as manna and so, they feast on it, regardless of whether they met it dead or alive. Mind you, whales are mammals,   so it provides meat for those who go to butcher it.”

The govt should invest in conservation

“Presently, apart from the Akassa environment where one of our comrades,   Ebiegberi Henry Raynus, is actively leading the protection of sea turtles in the spirit of conservation, there is no other known place in Bayelsa state where any animal, whether aquatic or terrestrial, any such practical effort is on.

“Our people avoid eating certain creatures like crocodiles, sharks, pythons, and alligators among others only when these creatures are viewed as totems, for instance, the people of Oporoma do not kill or eat crocodiles, and also the people of Ukubie avoid alligator. These actions are associated with the people’s socio-cultural beliefs.

“However, I have seen and heard of people, who hurriedly purchase or kill these same animals for food here in Bayelsa, including other Nigerians resident in the state.

“It would take concerted efforts by the government and conservationists to make any appreciable change by way of workable or implementable policies and laws, enlightenment or consideration of locals, convincingly.

“It is also the lack of conservationists and effective government actions that make people hunt, kill, and eat gorillas in the state. The federal and state governments, including local governments, should invest in conservation given the benefits of tourism and the protection of endangered animals in our environment.

Everything shouldn’t be food

“We cannot be driven by hunger to see everything as food. Investment should be in the form of supporting nongovernmental organizations in this thematic area, having coast guards and forest guards.   To protect and conserve such mammals in their environment, communities are best suited.”

Culled from Vanguard