By Saidu Ibrahim Emirokpa
The word “untapped” isn’t strange to some of us. It’s a familiar ringtone to identify, and to describe, the uncouth neglect of one of the richly endowed sectors of Nigeria’s economy. This is the sorry state of Gurara Waterfalls in Niger State, one of the biggest but untapped natural tourist attraction sites in Nigeria.
Located in Bonu in Gurara Local Gov’t Area of Niger State, an hour’s drive from Abuja, the WaterFalls was discovered in 1745 by a Gwari hunter by the name of Buba before some colonial European voyagers rediscovered it in 1925 after they found it as recreational centre.
Gurara Waterfalls, so named after the eponymous two deities, “Gura” and “Rara,” is about 30 metres height and 300 metres width. The surrounding is an opaque curtain of green vegetation that is home to birds and rarely seen wildlife.
With a raging torrent of white water from the steepy cliff, the site could be a little scary for newcomers especially between April and November, but what an astonishing landscape for swimming, picnicking, fishing and sightseeing in a really serene environment amidst hundreds of soft chirping birds.
Whether you’re from the famous Millennium Park in Abuja or you’re from the ever bustling Lekki Conservation Centre in Lagos, River Gurara, though not yet explored, is a simple and virgin scenery that leaves tourists and visitors gasping for breath.
Away from these fascinating descriptions is the neglect of this enriched sector of the nation’s economy and the mad race to grab the “sweet honey” from Abuja, is a poor application of wisdom.
As revealed elsewhere, there had been plans by the state government “to develop the site to international standards,” and “1,105 acres” of land had been earmarked for that purpose. “An indigenous private developer,” the statement added, “has shown interest in partnering with the Niger State government.”
This exactly was what the Niger State Commissioner for Culture and Tourism Mrs Rifkatu Chidawa reiterated in my interview with her during an annual cultural festival held in the fall in November 2020.
Organized by a couple of Jos-based NGOs in partnership with the Niger State Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the event was a stimulating Gbari cultural exhibition where, to my discovery, I learnt that “Jepo” – the famous Gbagi favourite food – is a medicine for several health challenges.
This was revealed by Mrs Chidawa after having a cheerful taste of Jepo, and the rousing ovation that followed was well understood. I remember I posed two fundamental questions to Mrs Chidawa who fortunately hails from Gurara and her response was the familiar ringtone that glorifies the govt that brought her. This is the challenge of becoming an employee of the govt that survives only on “trying.”
But Mrs Chidawa isn’t the only champion in this cheerleading business. Also present to endorse her statement were the Chairman of Gurara Local Govt, Yusuf Wali Gawu, and the Niger State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mohammed Idris who gave a stimulating submissions for my questions.
“The state government had partnered a private developer,” Mr Idris said, “to establish a park and conference centre around the falls”. Well, three years have passed and the only “development” we’ve seen is the construction of unsizable road to the waterfall. The plans to “develop” this site is an old tale that’s become stale in the lips of successive govt officials who, quite often, visit the waterfall only to promote the govt that brought them.
But Gurara waterfall isn’t the sole victim of this deliberate neglect of a richly endowed sector of the nation’s economy. Olumirin Waterfalls in Osun State and some other natural resources across the federation suffer similar neglect.
This is what piqued the famous and award-winning Yoruba actress Omotola Jalade Ekeinde to express concern while on the set of movie production “Show Parties” at Olumirin Waterfalls in 2017. “Such a breathtaking tourist destination that needs maintenance and promotion,” Omotola tweeted on Instagram to commemorate the year’s World Tourism Day.
“We need to preserve and commercialise these opportunities with private investors. This will boost income, travel, peace, employments and decrease crime,” she suggested, crowning it with optimism, “I look forward to a time when tourism and entertainments would take their pride of place for Nigeria.”
Omotola’s submissions to the pathetic state of Olumirin Waterfalls isn’t different from what’s obtainable in Gurara Waterfalls and other natural resources that have remained untapped across the states.
Nigeria is noted for undermining its own potentials and this sadly contributes to the growth of the country’s unsolved mysteries today. From abandoned government projects across the federation mostly initiated by cruel politicians marketed as Messiahs, to the awe-inspiring but poorly managed potentials, Nigeria is working hard to become the capital of untapped tourist paradise in Africa, after ranking third on the list of countries with highest unemployment rates globally.
We’ve quite sadly undermined one of the nation’s cherished assets in chase of oil that has turned emergency beggars during campaigns into overnight millionaires, and left millions of electorates more pauperized. But this oil we depend on for survival has an expiry date, and this is what these long queues to Aso Villa have missed. No nation aspiring to become “giant” survives on mono-economy.
There’s much to exploit and much to gain if we make a paradigm shift from mono-economy, and this means focusing and revamping other sectors of the nation’s economy.
Argungu Fishing Festival in Kebbi State is one of the biggest festivals in Africa that has contributed to Nigeria’s Growth Domestic Products (GDP). I recall in 2020 the fisherman that caught the biggest fish in the festival got N10 million prize and other mouthwatering benefits. Tapping our natural resources for the benefits of citizens isn’t rocket science but ours, sorry to sound pessimistic, is likely to remain untapped for some time.
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