Drill monkeys made us overstay in Nigeria for 36 years — Americans on 10-day visas

Two American tourists revealed how Nigerian drill monkeys led to a 36-year stay in the country, far exceeding the 10-day transit visa the immigration granted in 1988.

Lois Gatsby and Peter Jenkins told a content creator, David Nkwa, on Wednesday that they found themselves captivated by Nigeria’s rich biodiversity, including drill monkeys, a rare and endangered species native to Nigeria.

Jenkins explained that before their arrival, no scientist or tourist had identified the presence of these primates in the region until 1987.

As they delved deeper into the world of drill monkeys, the couple said they consulted the local people in the community and obtained funding to make it habitable while conserving the rare species of monkeys and other animals, including giraffes.

The duo also said the urgent need for conservation efforts led to the establishment of a nonprofit organisation called Pandas, dedicated to protecting the species and their habitats in Cross River State.

“There were a lot of interesting opportunities in areas of science and wildlife conservation that we became involved in, and we’re still here 36 years later. We arrived with a 10-day transit visa, and we have been here for 36 years,” Gatsby shared with Nkwa.

“We founded a nonprofit organisation called Pandas that ranches drill monkeys in Bano and Calabar in Cross River State. I don’t think that one species is more important than another, just like I don’t think that human beings are more important than drills or elephants are more important than whales; I think we are all of equal value, and the drill is a scarce species. It’s one of the rarest animals in Africa and one of those animals you never thought you would even see when we were travelling across Africa; you know I had my Wildlife Field Guide, and you look at the pictures.”

Jenkins added, “I love Nigeria; this is a great place. Come and live in Calabar and be at rest. When we got here, the population of Nigeria in the early ’90s and the late ’80s was around 65 million.

“The amount of natural resources that were still intact was extraordinary, and the density of wildlife generally in the forest was better compared to today. In fact, it’s appallingly low now, but in those days, this was a wonderful place to do research. Communities were very welcoming in those days; life was cheap; here, diesel, which is what our Land Rover ran on, was 35 Kobo, and with 29 Kobo to the market, you would come back with two heavy bags with change in your pocket.

“We were comfortable and found Nigeria habitable. It was the best value country on this continent by far. The food was cheap, the road was perfect. There was no pothole deeper than a bottle cap.”

Meanwhile, Gatsby lamented the lack of patriotism among Nigerians, citing the country’s growing neglect of its culture, heritage, identity, music, traditional herbs, and healing.

“Nigerians don’t have pride in Nigeria’s natural heritage. I think that’s a big issue because that’s what it takes to try to make a difference. People don’t take pride in their cultural identity, language, traditional herbs, and healing,” Gatsby stated.

“There was this huge wealth of knowledge when we came here on traditional healing and herbs from the forest, and that was another thing that put value on the natural resources here. But which of these old herbalists has an apprentice who is learning from them? When these old guys are gone, all that knowledge is going to be lost.

“You go to the market now; we see herbal teas and herbal cures imported from China. How do we know that those things work? What’s wrong with our traditional ones here?”