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PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2013
Giving Benue’s tourism a lifeline By Miriam Humbe
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enue state is strategically and centrally located in the north-central geopolitical zone of Nigeria between the north and the southern axis of the country. With this advantageous position, therefore, the state is favorable for tourism activities as it acts as a stop-over venue for travelers from the north down to the south and those moving upward towards the north from the south. The people are friendly and hospitable; so also is the weather. W i t h i t s headquarters in Makurdi, Benue state boasts of being home to the best dances in the country, like Swange, Ange and Oglinya. Most of these dances have made Benue a tourist’s destination. Kwaghhir, a puppet theatre entertainment industry has taken the state’s contingents to several parts of the world where they won awards of i n t e r n a t i o n a l recognition. Stories of these and lots more make other people long to visit the state at the slightest opportunity. The state is popular for the variety of foods such as yams, water yams, cassava, different varieties of cereals and fruits in commercial quantities. These all combine to naturally bestow on Benue the acronym of ‘Food Basket of Nigeria’. The fingerlicking food and cuisine such as pounded yam and bush meat are always a tourist’s delight. With an estimated population of
Benue dancers 4,780,389, going by the 2006 census projections, the state is made of several ethnic groups: Tiv, Idoma, Igede, Etulo, Abakpa, Jukun, Hausa, Akweya and Nyifon. Most of the people are farmers, while the inhabitants of the riverine areas engage in fishing as their primary occupation. The people of the state are famous for their cheerful and hospitable disposition as well as rich cultural heritage. Benue is also famous for the popular and historic River Benue which flows into the River Niger at a confluence in Lokoja. It shares boundaries with five other states namely:Nassarawa to the
Food Basket
north, Taraba to the east, CrossRiver to the south, Enugu to the south-westand Kogi to the west. The state also shares a common boundary with the Republic of Cameroun on the south-east. Other important cities and t o w n s include Makurdi, Gboko, Katsinaala, Vandeikya, Obi,Ugbokolo, and Otukpa. There are a range of arts and crafts in the state such as traditional cloth weaving and the traditional architectural thatched round hut which are a wonder to most visitors. V a r i o u s t o u r i s t attractions will steal away the heart of the first time visitor. The Ikyogen hills exude wild weather conditions which ensure steady green vegetation and a round-the-year grazing of animals in the area which is also known as Ikyogen Cattle Ranch. Dajo Pottery located along Makurdi-Gboko road is a centre where pots are made locally. The methods and art of traditional pot making which have made this centre a viable tourist attraction are shown to tourists who indicate interest. T h e A n w a s e Abande Ranges: Located in Kwande local government area on Nigerian-Cameroon border and stretches adjoining the Obudu-Cameroon range, this place features temperate climate and beautiful scenery of forests, dissected hills, dykes, dozens of fast-flowing streams
Governor Suswam and incised valleys. It is a beautiful place for camping, sight-viewing and picnicking. Ushongo Hills: The place also offers climate weather conditions that make a most fulfilling spot tourists and adventurers; It is a picnicker’s haven. Ikwe Holiday Resort: This is one of the topmost destinations in the state where visitors can enjoy most of their time undisturbed. The resort offers touris an opportunity to have a firsthand experience of the work of nature. While speaking on a Radio Nigeria programme, “This Land Nigeria,” penultimate Sunday, Benue state commissioner for
ITB Berlin Fair: Nigeria’s stand to sit on 60 square metres By Miriam Humbe
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urope’s biggest tourism fair, ITB Berlin is set to open early on March 6, in the German Capital Berlin and Nigeria, through the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation NTDC), has acquired a 60 square metre space on which its
stand would be erected. Nigeria and at least 149 countries are expected to participate in the yearly fiveday exhibition, which is likely to bring thousands of buyers, sellers and visitors to the Messe Berlin Fair Ground. H e a d o f t h e Nigerian delegation, Otunba Olusegun Runsewe, who
is also the Director-General of the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation, told newsmen in Abuja that a new design for the Nigerian stand would be unique this year. “You may recall that we have never used the same design each year, it has been a new design for each year since 2007”, he said.
According to the NTDC boss, the stand design was carefully done to reflect the traditional and cultural values of a typical Nigerian setting. At the Nigerian stand, travel agents, transportation providers, mostly airlines and marine operators as well as hoteliers, are expected to attend.
tourism, Mrs. Comfort Ajene rightly said that the tourism potentials of the state remained largely untapped. The private sector in particular, will find the state’s untouched tourism potentials a worthy investment capable of generating jobs for lots of unemployed persons. Mr. Cletus Akwaya, the Special Assistant on Media to the state governor, Gabriel Suswam, who also echoed his response to questions posed to him by the “This Land Nigeria” crew, assured of the state government’s readiness to ensure security of lives and property for investors. But the state’s tourism potentials are yet to be harnessed by both the public and private sectors. It has been accurately argued that investment in the tourism sector should not be limited to government alone. Tourism and its activities are said to be better driven by the private sector. The state government must, as a matter of urgency, give the sector a lifeline by fully engaging the private sector in concerted efforts at developing tourism in the state.