THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER • APRIL 9, 2016
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TRAVEL&LEISURE
DESTINATION NIGERIA Mbanefo Visits Bachama Kingdom
T
he Hama Bachama of the Bachama Kingdom in Adamawa State, His Royal Majesty, Homun Honest Irmiya Stephen (Kwire Mana, Kpafrato II), has described the Director General of the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), Mrs Sally Mbanefo, as a strong, courageous and diligent woman, who has given hope to the development and promotion of the cultural heritage, history and tourism potentials in the Bachama kingdom. The monarch said this during the eventful visit of the NTDC boss to the kingdom, adding, “the people of Adamawa are so happy to host Sally Mbanefo who has brought the federal government presence to Numan Kingdom.” “The people of Bachama Kingdom are so overjoy for this historic and unprecedented visit. Sally Mbanefo is so courageous to visit and honour the Bachama Kingdom, and the Adamawa people at large. She came to Bachama Kingdom when people are afraid of Adamawa State because of insecurity. No Director General of NTDC has ever visited the kingdom.” Adamawa State Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Mattias Ngaro, lauded the bold step of Mbanefo for visiting the kingdom and the state at large, with a view to collaborating with the people, the traditional authorities and the government of the state to develop the rich cultural heritage and tourism potentials in the state. “It is in my plans to bring the NTDC boss, Mrs. Sally Mbanefo, to Adamawa State to appreciate our rich cultural heritage and tourism potentials. But till now, I could not achieve this. Thank God that His Royal Highness finally made this possible. The Adamawa State Government will cooperate and partner with NTDC to ensure that our rich cultural heritage and tourism potentials are well developed
DG Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), Mrs. Sally Mbanefo (middle) and the Matriac of Bachama Kingdom and President of Pene Da Bwatiye Women wing, Mrs Irene hamadu, at Women Exhibition centre, Sangha, Lamurde local Govt, Adamawa State
and promoted for national and international acceptance,” Ngaro said. Displaying their delight for the visit of the NTDC boss to the kingdom were performances by various traditional dance troupes at the monarch’s house where the reception was held. The troupes include Wuro Kadwe from Lamurde, Jabin Imburu, Wuro Wajale from Lamurde, Igbo dancers and Mbowo Gra Njiya from Numan. After the special reception, the king took the NTDC DG on entourage to over seven tourism locations and attractions in the neighboring villages, where was also welcomed by different dance and warrior troupes, entertaining her with different fascinating performances. The tourism locations and attractions include the fantastic big lakes, which are far bigger than what is celebrated in America as the “big lakes,” and Women Exhibition Centre. “The performances of the warrior troupes made it that the people of Adamara are super warriors,” Mbanefo remarked.
Indulge in the Natural Scenic Attractions of Gashaka-Gumti National Park
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Godoma and his peers performing their daily ritual
in Kenya, nine elephants were killed in one family and let’s stay it’s a nuclear family of twelve or sixteen. So killing nine elephants at a go is only helping to reduce the numbers drastically and it’s so sad. This heinous crime is being perfected by human beings. And what people lack is the knowledge of what is happening on the ground. There is a high demand for ivory in China, no gainsaying about that. But they are deceived that ivory is picked on the ground like plants, not knowing these animals are being butchered to get this ivory. “They need education, education is key to stopping poaching. That’s my point of view. Human beings are being greedier. People are fighting wild animals because of space which is so sad. If we can learn how to share, this world is enough for all of us. I share my disbelief in the theory that the Chinese don’t know the brutal way ivory is being obtained
and he agreed with me saying, ‘yes they do but greed gets in the way I think. We are trying to work something on it and hopefully we will succeed.” I enquired further if there is no way ivory can be obtained without killing these animals, he answered: “It’s not possible because ivory is part of the teeth, they are incisors and you can’t pluck them out unless you kill the animal. We can just do away with Ivory and let these animals survive. Ivory cannot change our human value.” Interestingly, there is more emphasis on the rhinoceros ivory than the elephant type, which is why the rhinoceros are becoming more extinct faster than the elephants. Sadly, in Kenya, the rhinoceros population remaining is less than a thousand. In the early seventies, we talked about 100,000. What we need is just education and as Shibegha said, Ivory cannot change our human value.
ashaka-Gumti National Park being the largest and most biologically and ecologically diverse of the seven National Parks in Nigeria, can boast of breathtaking scenic beauty and an abundant wildlife. It was gazetted from two game reserves in 1991 and is Nigeria’s largest national park. The park lies in the mountainous northeastern region of Nigeria, bestriding the southeastern part of Taraba, which makes up the Gashaka enclave, bordering the temperate Mambilla Plateau, and the southern part of Adamawa State which is the Gumti section, stretching to the Cameroon border, particularly, the Faro National Park in Cameroon. Thus, the park is divided into two sections, north and south, with each having its unique habitat and unique species of fauna and flora. There is abundant river flow even during the markedly dry season. Enclaves for local Fulani pastoralists exist within the park boundary that allow for farming and grazing. The Conservator of the Park, Dr Agboola Okeyoyin, said the park’s ecosystems are essential for specification, citing the montane forests in the Gashaka enclave to “habour at least 24 threatened plant species, several of which are Afromontane endemics. Prunus Africana, a specie believed to poss certain medicinal properties for the cure of prostate cancer, is found in the thick forest fragments of the Park.” The park, with an estimated landmass of 6, 731 square kilometers of rolling landscape and deep plunging valleys, also has pleasant natural scenic attractions that can sweep the tourist off his feet. But the biggest challenge is the rugged terrain. If you are not adventurous, your heart will make so many somersaults taking a bumpy ride in the land rover, from Bodel, at the entrance of the park, through the winding jeep track, often plunging down the deep valleys and then labouriously climbing up the steep hills.
The park is home to a variety of animals including rare and elusive leopards, endangered elephants, lions, wild dogs, antelope, forest hogs, golden cats, as well as eight species of primate, including the chimpanzee, and many more. The park is also abundant with bird life, insects, aquatic life and reptiles. Mayo Kam, the headwaters of the Taraba and Benue Rivers: Mayo Kam being the biggest river in the park takes a meandering course, with looping bends defined by sedimentary rock formations, down River Taraba, River Katsina Ala and then River Benue. Just a few metres upstream from the seasonal wooden bridge is the hippo pool. The thick foliage on the river banks, the chirping birds on the verdure boughs of the trees and the swift flowing river would give you a paradisal feeling. But just when you are about to immerse yourself in the elixir of stress and boredom and free yourself in the wild world of nature, stories about crocodiles near the river gorge and the nearby hippo pool would make hairs on the nape of your neck stand up. Nevertheless, there are safe areas that guided by the park rangers, one can still enjoy the serene waters of Mayo Kam. It is a recognized site for sport fishing and the park management, with assistance from Chester Zoo, England, has built a Rangers camp to serve a dual purpose of a fishing camp for tourists and a rangers guard post, as according to Dr Okeyoyin, villagers around there have been using harmful chemicals and explosives to fish. Within the same Gashaka part of the park, particularly in the rainforest region, animals like the giant foresthog, leopard, yellow-backed duiker, golden cat and primate species like chimpanzees. The Gumti section in the north of the park has vast woodland, ideal for park-viewing of most of the mammals - buffalo, lion, elephant, wild dog, waterbuck, roan antelope, giant eland kob and hartebeest.