Nigerian govt sued me for eating crocodile — Opeyemi Famakin

Popular food critic Opeyemi Famakin has revealed that eating bushmeat, including crocodile, is illegal in Nigeria, and he has faced legal action for it.

In a recent interview on EchooRoom, Famakin said eating such animals has an environmental impact and disrupts the ecosystem.

He explained that the killing of these animals that aren’t farmed but hunted in the wild is detrimental to the environment.

He said, “I have not eaten snake before, but I have eaten crocodile, and the government sued me for that.”

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“Eating bushmeat is illegal in Nigeria. One time, I was doing a campaign with a drink brand. They reached out to me saying, ‘We have this new product and need your influence.’

“And when I charged them, they asked why I was charging that big amount. I said, ‘Let me do a post with your drink, and when I do my post, it will trend more than that of the other influencers you hire to promote it. You’ll pay me after the post.’

“I took the drink, and except for the drink, I went to Bushmates’ place, ate the old crocodile, and drank the drink afterward to wash it down.

“The video trended and got 1 million plus views in less than 2 days. They paid me my money, and then the government came for me. I told them to go to the drink people.

‘Illegal cuisine’

“Eating bushmeat in Nigeria is illegal because we don’t farm the animals; we kill them, and it is affecting the ecosystem. China and others come to Nigeria and buy the bushmeat from us. In turn, we are killing our ecosystem even more. Killing certain animals will lead to their extinction. If mosquitoes don’t exist anymore, it will affect Nigeria.

“It seems minute, but if one animal goes extinct, the animals that eat them will be affected. And in turn, everything will be affected. It is actually illegal to eat bushmeat in Nigeria unless the animals are farmed. It is illegal to kill, sell, buy, and eat bushmeat. After that, they sued me, I paid, and then the government paid me to make a video saying bushmeat is illegal. But generally speaking, eating bushmeat is illegal, and I don’t eat it anymore. I see sense in what they are saying.”