Nigeria, the giant of Africa, bounded in the North by the Nile, in the South by the Atlantic Ocean. Land green with opportunities, the most populous of the African continent accounting for 140 million of the world’s total population. Scattered, yet united in ethnic unison, built on a tripod with over 200 million ethnic nationalities. The Hausas and their minority brothers of the north, the Yorubas of the South West, the Igbos of the East and their eastern minority neighbors. Country so vast, so complicated yet simple to understand, a country that parades one of the finest brains in every field of human endeavor, arts, history, science et al: a country that has suffered every thing all great nations of the world have endured; wars, hunger, ethnic and tribal clashes, environmental degradation, political instability, economic strife etc: yet bounded in unity and brotherhood. Nigeria my country I hail thee! As our former anthem will say “though tribe and tongue may differ, in brotherhood we stand…”
But I am not here to eulogize the country, but to present to you a country with one of the biggest tourism potentials and attractions of the world. Country that has over the years been battered by western aspersions and conspiracies; a country struggling to survive the marginalization of the developed economies in partnership with the World Bank and IMF. Wonder why Nigeria is excluded by most profitable programs mostly by the cyber community of the world, name them: click bank, pay pal, MasterCard, visa fxsol etc who refuse to have dealings with Nigerians because of our perceived fraudulent activities both online and offline. Note this; Nigeria is not synonymous with fraud, as every nation of the world is saddled with this colossal virus pervading the entire scene, affecting every economic structure of any country.
Oh! I am sorry if I have digressed, that seems to be my middle name, now presenting: Nigeria! The tourist bride of the world, one of the finest brands any economic connoisseur will recommend as a perfect tourist blueprint for any nation wishing to explore its tourism abilities, though we are not perfect (which country is?), but we have in our arsenals the best tourism attractions since the Suez canal.
This piece will be pretty boring if I continue with this preamble without sounding savvy and ingenious. For both factors to be used profitably to the advantage of this article in order to send the right signals to my readers, I’ll like to name just few juicy spots as time and space wont enable me to list the others, however these spots are a must visit sight to behold by any tourist visiting Nigeria.
Beginning from the South, the economic nerve center of the nation, our stop, guess? “OBUDU CATTLE RANCH RESORT” located in the heart of obudu, North of Cross River state. Few years back, this was a vocal point of tourism in its entirety, a self styled tourist Mecca, imagine Disney World in Florida USA, then you would get a clue. However, the erstwhile Governor has transformed this tourist spot to a heaven of some sort where one of the best marathon athletes the world over come yearly to take part in the “OBUDU MOUNTAIN RACE” on arriving to this place, a rich and scenic appearance with a look of tranquility beseeches you, a rich view of fauna and Fiona reminds you of the Amazon basin of South America; a feeling so reeling, intense and un-imaginative: you can only understand thus ecstasy by visiting this wonderful place situated in the oil rich region of Cross River State in southern Nigeria. The AGBAKIM WATER FALLS is another wonderful sight to behold while still in the state, one of the wonders of nature. While looking at the mystery of this aquatic body you could get carried away and in the process follow the tide. In my whole life I have never seen some thing so confusing yet appealing like this wonderful sight, imagine touching the rainbow! This is not magic but nature, the rainbow in all its glory can be imagined as the water constantly changes from one color to the other.
We are still in the south of the country, however we are in the Eastern end of it, the oriental power of the nation, as so many will call it “East of the Niger. Now let’s stop over at the war museum located in Umuahia, the administrative head quarters of Abia State. This museum parades one of the most lethal weapons of war to grace any nation’s arsenals. These war relics of the old Eastern Nigeria are so amazing and formidable; necessity they say is the mother of invention, this wonderful place lays credence to this fact. The famous ojukwu bucket, ajuala etc are some of the instruments of war in this armory. While here you become dazed and awestruck, that even a cold war hawk will be bewildered looking at these reflection of courage and raw bravery as depicted by the Biafran Orientals.
On the northern section of the country, the one spot I won’t help but speak of, a spot that remains inevitable for any tourist to stop over at is “the yankari game reserve” located in Bauchi State on the North Eastern flank of the nation; a game reserve that treats your eye to an array of animals, even the endangered species threatened with the prospect of extinction, pervade this scenery; that you will but be amazed at the wonders of nature. One city that really stands out on this side of the divide is the old city of Kano with its walls, an ancient relic that reminds you of the KANEM-BORNU Dynasty. This walls also tells you a tale of a people so strong and resilient in nature, a wall that reflects the greatness and importance of this imperial city.
One tourists attraction that really stands out any day is located in Jos Plateau state, a place referred to as Sherry Hills; where rock formation tells you a “stone story”. Here you see various kinds of stone formation’ stones that looks like people, cities, animals, plants etc what I call an “architectural picturesque”. The list is endless, and one salient fact to note here is that Nigeria as the Giant of Africa boasts of one of the highest GDP from tourism, and as such any person regardless of race, tribe and other affiliations can tap endlessly from the tourism dividends of this great nation. Therefore I urge to cancel that scheduled trip to the Bahamas and take a trip to this tourist edifice and the experience will be worth ten times that of the Bahamas!
Welcome to NAIJA!!!
