Invasion by monkeys from natural habitat is forcing many residents of
Soluyi/Sosanya Community in Gbagada area of Lagos State, to flee.
Some of the residents told NAN in Lagos on Monday that they could no longer withstand the situation…
They
called on the state government to save the community from the trouble,
saying monkeys forced their ways into their rooms, destroying things,
foodstuffs and other items.
The Chairman of the community’s
Landlord Association, Mr. Adigun Olaleye, said that it had become
difficult for the community to curtail the monkeys and their destructive
attitude.
He said that the invasion might have resulted from the
nearness of the community to a swamp forest that separated the
community from Ifako area.
According to him, the monkeys come
into residences at any time including early morning and gain entrance
into rooms even if the houses are locked.
Olalaye told NAN that
the community had written a letter to the Lagos State Ministry of
Agriculture as regards the situation but had yet to get a relief.
“They said we would have to pay for them to come and pack the monkeys,” he said.
He said that the invasion had been on for years but recently became unbearable.
Olaleye appealed to the state government to urgently intervene.
Narrating
her ordeal, a journalist who lives in the community, Mrs. Funmilola
Gboteku, told NAN that the monkeys had forced her family to flee.
“Many
times, these monkeys come to the neighbourhood to destroy our property.
Once they see food items inside a house, they direct all their energies
at gaining entrance forcefully.
“The monkeys are in the habit of
tearing the protective nets on windows to gain entrance and eat
whatever they find in the house.
“I have had to replace the protective nets several times; I am tired of doing it.
“I
have been locking my windows but locking of windows has disadvantages;
there is no cross ventilation in the house and as a result, we suffer
heat,’’ she told NAN.
Another resident, Mr. Gabriel Omopariwa,
said that he was tired of the destructive attitude of the monkeys and
had tried to look for ways to stop them, to no avail.
“On several occasions, these monkeys have destroyed our kitchen nets to gain entrance and steal food items.
“Several traps have been set to capture and kill these demonic animals to no avail.
“One
of my neighbours, while trying to pour a chemical on a monkey, fell in
the bowl of the chemical; she had to be rushed to a hospital.
“She still lives with the scars from the unfortunate incident,” he said.
A
landlord, Mr. Joshua Folowosele, said that the monkeys entered his
wife’s shop on many occasions to eat gala, biscuits and other foods.
“We
have tried to poison them on many occasions, but those monkeys are too
smart; once they perceive the smell of the food, they usually detect it
has been poisoned.
“Some of them have been killed with guns, but we cannot keep shooting in a residential area; it is very risky.
“Those of us who are landlords can testify that these monkeys have been disturbing us for years.
“One
of the landlords here had to sell his house to move to another place
when he got tired of the disturbance,” Folowosele said.
Another
landlord, Mr. Oluwatosin Aregbesola, told NAN that his tenants were no
longer feeling safe in the house because of the monkeys.
“The monkeys enter kitchens to eat our soups and any foodstuff on the shelf.
“The
day I tried to catch one of them, the monkey attacked me by using its
long nails to punch a hole in my neck and scratch my face,” he said.
Aregbesola appealed to the state government to save the community from the menac
