He started his career as a Graduate Assistant in the Department of Forestry and Natural Environmental Management at the University of Uyo in 1995 and rose through the ranks to a Professor in October 2015.

Prof. Eniang is an effective academic of international reputation in Wildlife resources management with twenty-five (25) years’ experience in teaching, research, training, counseling, advocacy, and community service with national and international organizations which has produced over 100 publications in peer-reviewed national and international journals. He is a talented and passionate wildlife conservationist, international environmental management consultant, and team leader, Professor Eniang is highly motivated and driven to succeed within challenging environments.

One of the highlights of Prof. Eniang’s achievements is In 2017, the former Hon. Minister of State for Environment handed over 600 life animals including 145 venomous snakes which were seized by men of Nigeria Customs and Excise Department to then Dr. Edem Eniang in a public event at Calabar to keep in trust for the Federal government of Nigeria. The animals were eventually returned to a federal government facility in Calabar for repatriation to the country of origin.

Prof. Eniang is recognized for his professional achievements through numerous international awards. In the course of his lifelong pursuits of endangered species conservation in Nigeria, Eniang has rediscovered the Preuss’s Red Colobus Monkey (Procolobus badius preussi) in the year 2000 which was presumed to be extinct in Nigeria in 1980 and the Flying lizard (Halaspis guentheri) in 2015 which was last seen in Nigeria in 1968 and presumed to be extinct in Nigeria. The global naming of his newly discovered West African Zebra Gecko in his honour as Hemidactylus eniangii in 2010 by international scientists working in the University of California Berkeley, USA was of his extraordinary passion driven wildlife conservation career . Between 2012 to date, Prof. Eniang has discovered within Nigeria, two (2) Culubrid snakes, two (2) Eel species, one (1) Amphibian and six (6) Gecko species all yet to be classified by science.

Additionally, He has over twenty-five awards from both local and international governmental and non-governmental agencies including winning the prestigious Pan African Association for Zoos, Aquarium and Botanical Gardens (PAAZAB) 1st Conservation Award at South Africa in 2002. He is currently the Head of Wildlife Ecology Unit in the Dept. of Forestry and Natural Environmental Management, University of Uyo, Akwa-Ibom State. Also, he mentored several national and international programmes of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and many others.

Prof. Eniang is a member to many international organizations which include the Society for Conservation Biology, USA (African Section), Ethiopian Wildlife and Natural History Society, Addis Ababa and three (3) different commissions of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), namely, World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA), Commission on Environmental, Economic and Social Policy (CEESP) and Species Specialists Commission (SSC) where he represents Nigeria in the Boas and Pythons Specialist Group (B&PSG), Primates Specialists Group (PSG), Crocodilian Specialists Group (CSG), Sirenian Specialist Group to mention but a few. He is the Thematic Leader in charge of promoting and supporting effective and equitable governance of natural resources and deploying natural-based solutions to address societal challenges under the IUCN /WCPA programme.

Prof. Eniang belongs to many local and international professional bodies examples of which are the Forestry Association of Nigeria (FAN) Uyo Chapter Akwa Ibom State, Primate Society of Great Britain (PSGB) United Kingdom, American Society for Primatologists, International Primatological Society and African Primatological Society and has been a consultant to many organization including states and Federal Governments of Nigeria.

Prof. Eniang’s passion for wildlife and environmental conservation has led him to convert his private residence to a wildlife rescue/ Conservation Education Center in Uyo, the first of such facility in Akwa Ibom State. His extra-curricular activities include Wildlife Photography, Conservation / Environmental Education and International Conservation Advocacy.