By Mike Akpan

Nasarawa State is a land of scenic beauty and fascinating landscape. This natural environment is not surprising in view of the fact that the state is situated within the Benue and Plateau highlands and very close to Abuja, Nigeria's federal capital territory. Otherwise known as '"The Home of Solid Minerals," Nasarawa is located in the centre of the middle belt region of Nigeria. The state shares common borders with Abuja on the west, Kaduna State on the North, and Kogi State on the South-West. On its North-East border is Plateau State while Benue State shares its border on the South-East.

Nasarawa is one of the youngest states in Nigeria and one of the six new states created on October 1, 1996 by General Sani Abacha, the military head of state who died in 1998. Before then, it was part of Plateau State. Lafia, the state capital, is 95 kilometres from Abuja and is accessible by road from any part of the country. From whichever direction one enters the state, what readily strikes the eyes is the scenic beauty and fascinating landscape profiled by rolling hills, verdant valleys and semi-savannah vegetation. It is no exaggeration to say that the home of solid minerals is also endowed with enormous tourism potentials that are begging to be developed.

In 2004, the Nasarawa State Ministry of Culture and Tourism together with the Tourism Board, carried out a three-month survey of tourist attractions in the state. At the end of the exercise, 98 sites were identified and documented. These include natural lakes, waterfalls, rock formations, picnic centres, hills, wildlife parks, game reserves, ancient monuments, caves, arts and crafts as well as cultural festivals. Among the tourist attraction sites identified and documented during survey are Farin Ruwa Waterfalls, Oku Akpa picnic centre, Akiri Warm Spring which is said to have curative power, Akiri Salt Village, Numan Rock, Eggon Hills and Caves as well as Late Captain Moloney Tomb/ Hill. Others are the Dyeing Pits and Calabash carvings in Lafia, the Hunki Ox-Bow Lake in Awe, Ogan Fishing and Cultural Festival, the Keffi Hunting Festival and the Peperuwa Lake. There are also the Umaisha River Bank Resort, the Doma Dam, Ara Rocks and Keana Salt Village.

Governor Abdullahi Adamu, Nasarawa State governor, said during an interview in Keffi, that out of the 98 sites identified and documented during the three-month survey, the state government has picked three sites for development one after the other. "What we want to do is to start counting from one," the governor said. One of the three sites picked for immediate development is the Farin Ruwa Waterfalls located in Wamba local government area of the state. It lies within the boundaries of Wamba local government and Bokkos local government in Plateau State. The waterfalls is about 120 kilometres from Lafia and 30 kilometres from Wamba, the local government headquarters. The waterfalls starts from a height which is about 150 metres and covers a width of about 50 metres. At the peak of the rainy season when the volume of water gushing out from the rock formation increases, the water could cover a width of between 90 and 100 metres. The force of the water gushing out from the high rocks is so torrential that it could be mistaken for a white smoke from a long distance.

Adamu said what the state government has done preparatory to the development of tourism in Nasarawa State is to first have a good tourism report as a guide. This has enabled the government to prepare its master plan which has already been incorporated into the national Master Plan for development of tourism in Nigeria. The plan provides for the construction of chalets, arts and crafts shop, a hydro electric power plant, safari facilities for motor rallies and an international golf course at Farin Ruwa.

Adamu confirmed this much during an interview with Newswatch. Last year, the government tried to put the tourist attraction site across to the world by hosting the World Tourism Day there. In addition, officials of the World Tourism Organisation have visited the site on the invitation of the government. These are some of the ways government has tried to put the site and the state on the global tourism map, he explained. From all indications, Adamu is determined to take tourism development in Nasarawa to a level available resources in the state can permit.

Work has already started on the development of the Farin Ruwa Master Plan. When Newswatch visited the site, work on five 4-bedroom and four one-bedroom chalets had reached between 60 and 80 per cent completion. Work has also started on the Farin Ruwa Hydro Electric Power Project. Moon Hocul, chief project engineer, Yoojin Engineering Nigeria Company Limited, the company handling the project, told Newswatch at the site that on completion in 2006, the multi-million Naira plant would have the capacity to generate 20 megawatts of electricity daily. With this capacity, Adamu said, un-interrupted electricity can be provided supply not to only Farin Ruwa but also other parts of the state. Hocul said the project can be upgraded to generate up to 40 megawatts of electricity daily and that a proposal to this effect had already been submitted to the government. Work on the construction of a tunnel to channel the waterfalls into a dam was also in progress. By the time the Farin Ruwa Master Plan is fully developed, it would take tourism in Nasarawa State to an appreciable height.

Coming next in the development priority chart of the government is the Peperuwa Lake. The tourist site is an elongated natural lake situated in the north-west of Assakio town in Lafia local government area of the state. It is about 50 kilometres from the state capital. The lakes surface is estimated at more than seven kilometers long and about 3.8 kilometres wide at each point. The Peperuwa Lake is famous for water aquatics such as manatees, various fish species, hippopotami, water ducks and geese. The surrounding environment of the lake is a thick beautiful vegetation with animals and reptiles. For those interested in boating, swimming, sport fishing, picnicking, game viewing and camping, Peperuwa Lake is the place to go. In the master plan for the development of the lake, there is a provision for the building of a tourist holiday resort.

As government is struggling to develop tourism in the state within the limits of its lean resources, there is also the urgent need for the private sector partnership to enable the people of Nasarawa enjoy the benefits that go with world-wide tourism business. For investors who are looking for picnic sites to develop, Oku Akpa Picnic Centre offers a special attraction. It is a spectacular rock formation located along Nasarawa Village-Udege-Loko road in Nasarawa local government area. The area is very ideal for picnicking, mountaineering, sport hunting and birds watching among others.

Umaisha River Bank Resort is another site begging for development. Umaisha is a town located at the eastern part of Toto Local Government area of the state. The town is an old settlement that dates back to the 14th Century. Behind this settlement is a river that empties into River Benue. Between April and December of every year when there is low tide, the size of the river is reduced to a level suitable for water sports such as swimming, fishing, regatta, diving and boating. These activities are usually organised by the Igbiras as a festival to entertain their people and commemorate their annual "Ogun Fishing and Cultural Festival." Umaisha River Bank Resort is about 40 kilometres from Toto Local Government headquarters, 85 kilometres from Abuja and about 250 kilometres from Lafia.

A tourist resort can also be developed at Hunki Ox-Bow Lake located 30 kilometres away from Awe town, headquarters of Awe Local Government Area. It is 130 kilometres away from Lafia. The lake is ox-bow shaped in two arms with each arm measuring about six to seven kilometers long and 50 to 70 metres wide. Common creatures that can be found in the lake include hippopotami, manatees and various species of fish. The lake is a venue for an annual fishing festival.

There are two natural salt villages in Nasarawa State which can be an investor's delight. One of them is the Keana Salt Village. The village is located in the headquarters of Keana local government area, some 67 kilometres away from the state capital. The salt mining industry in Keana dates back to the 12th Century when salt discovery attracted human settlement to the area. Ever since, the process of salt mining had been based on local technology which includes the use of huts, large pots and ridges laid out for mining of salt. Each of the huts belongs to an individual whose acquisition or ownership is by inheritance.

The other salt village is known as Akiri Salt Village located in Awe local government area. It is about 145 kilometres away from Lafia. Unlike in Keana, Akiri Salt deposit is found around a warm spring. The local salt miners use the spring water for salt processing. There is something unique about the warm spring in Akiri Village. The water is believed to have curative power and that is why the people of Akiri village not only drink it but also bath with it. The spring water is warm and becomes warmer during cold weather. It gushes out in bubbles at regular intervals just like boiling water. When Newswatch visited the site, a woman was seen boiling some eggs in the warm spring water. It did not take long before the eggs were taken out fully boiled.

There is something interesting about Akiri Village which could also be of interest to tourists. During the rainy season when the volume of water increases, crocodiles are found in the spring. According to Zakari Nuhu, Sarkin Gushiri Akiri, the crocodiles are usually very friendly and play with the children of the village without harming them. He said there were other sets of harmless crocodiles which used to come out in a particular area of the spring whenever certain ritual ceremonies were performed. He said such sets of crocodiles have stopped coming out ever since he converted to Islam and stopped performing the rituals.

The same thing happened to the magic chain which used to drop from the hills surrounding the village. Nuhu said when rituals were performed as and when due, the gods used to drop the chain from the hills together with some chieftaincy regalia such as a shinning ring, a cap and some clothes. The chain, he said, could stretch many kilometers. Asked what happened to the items thereafter, Nuhu said the gods would take them back after some days. He added that anybody who dared to steal them suffered serious repercussions. Nowadays, the chain does not come down but can be sighted up the hills at certain periods of the year.

"There are usually signs in the village whenever the chain is about to appear," the Sarkin Gushiri Akiri said adding: "During that time, the village will experience an extra-ordinary light or darkness." He stressed the need for government to develop the village as a tourist site. In the interim, he appealed to the government to assist the local salt miners to improve their processing technology which is still very crude. Newswatch learnt that when the commissioner for culture and tourism visited the village last year, he made a promise to assist the miners improve their processing method. The promise is yet to be fulfilled.

There are other tourist attractions crying for urgent attention. One of such is Ara Rock located at Ara town in Nasarawa local government area. The rock stands 150 metres above the sea level, magnificently as a tower in Ara town. It is a beautiful and fascinating work of nature. Settlers in the area worship their gods annually on top of the rock. The worship is usually followed by a festival of cultural displays. This site is about 220 kilometres from Lafia and 12 kilometres from Nasarawa town.

Another rock formation that can attract tourists to the state is the Numan Rocks and Hills located at the outskirts of Andaha town along Akwanga Fadan Karshi Road in Akwanga local government area. The rock with a striking peak and a beautiful scenery can be the delight of mountaineers. From the top of the rock, a mountaineer can clearly view most parts of the state and a part of Abuja.

Hills also abound in Nasarawa State. One of such is the Eggon Hills and Caves. The hills are in a range some of which rise above 300 metres high. Apart from the beautiful sceneries they offer, the hills have so many historical sites and ancient settlements. In addition, they also have unique geographical features and wildlife that should be of interest to tourists and researchers. Late Captain Maloney Tomb/Hills is another formation which is a symbol of resistance of the people to British colonial rule. Unfortunately, the tomb of Captain Moloney, who was killed by the people and buried on top of the hill, does not show this symbol of resistance. When Newswatch visited the site, the grave side was covered with grass. There was nothing to depict this historical fact.

On top of the hill, a tourist is able to have a clear view of Keffi town. If developed, the site can be an alternative holiday picnic centre for people in Abuja.

Hotel accommodation cannot be a problem to tourists in Nasarawa state because there are a number of standard hotels and guest houses located in Lafia and other major towns in the state. In Lafia, for instance, there is the Lafia Hotel which is the best standard hotel in the state capital. It has standard facilities to take care of all categories of visitors. The hotel enjoys a three-star status and is managed by the state's Hotels and Tourist Board. Apart from Lafia Hotel, Lubona and Savanna Hotels also offer standard lodging and catering services.

In Keffi town there are the New Keffi, Gwaza and Fash Hotels which offer standard services. Karu and Mararaba towns, about three kilometres to Abuja, also boast of good standard hotels. The prominent ones include Criss Park Hotel, Rosy Guest Inn and Cool Inn. For conference tourists, Lafia will soon be a place to go when a multi-million naira multi-purpose hall currently under construction is completed this year. According to the project engineer who refused to be identified, the multi-purpose hall has a capacity for 3000 seats. It is to be equipped with state-of-the-art communication gadgets suitable for conferences and cultural performances. The hall will also have a restaurant and souvenir shops among other facilities. An amusement park is also expected to be constructed within the premises.

The people's culture is also a tourism asset. The state is made up of various ethnic groups which have a common history and share similar social and cultural experiences or ideologies. The ethnic groups include Afo, Agatu, Akye, Alago, Barbari, Bassa, Egbura, Eggon, Fulani, Gade, Gbagyi, Gwandara, Hausa, Rinderi, Yeskwa and Tiv. This multiplicity of ethnic groups is an asset and has given rise to a variety of arts, crafts, cultural festivals and dance groups. If properly organised and developed as part of the tourism business, they can also attract tourists to the state and by extension, hard currency. As a first step to reaping these benefits, the governor told Newswatch that the state had already drawn up a policy that recognises the culture of every ethnic group. If the governor succeeds in putting tourism on the right track before his second term expires in 2007, this achievement would probably be the most enduring legacy his administration would leave for Nasarawa State.

*Culled from Newswatch on-line Volume 41, No 25, June 20, 2005