BIDA

Bida the Fulani tent,
Dendo’s first test at cun -
Jewel in the trough

Fulani’s torch billows forth...
The Etsu of heaven.
Puppet from the west

Market place of Wuzhizhi
Land of fertile long grain rice
Of Ndaduma’s blessings at Manko

Ndadungurugi with fishes
At hide and seek, housed sparkles of
Luggard, Zik and Royal Niger to same fate

Your cousin, Gwandu
Of purple trinkets
Seeks to overthrow, birthright

Your in-law, the Minna
Shelters cun, reincarnate
The warrior of starred crests

Bida of three play houses
Where blood and sand is god
That glorified puppet’s stool

BABANGIDA'S WHITE ELEPHANT

Babangida's white elephant

The mammoth of lords

Before the city gate

After the town's skirt

Where no distinct mark is made

He leashed it there for rest

And it ate up our gmelina

Those tender carbon sinks

Awaiting ripening for the lumber's teeth

He brought it for a circus show

It was fed sackfuls of silver

But that place outside Kontagora

Became one more river to cross

And there it sits away from kindred

Cast away of the circus-full durbar

SLIDING GURARA

Little wonder, Nigeria's largest state by land mass, Niger is christened, the "Power State". It not only account for around 40% of  total power production output to the national grid, but hosts two past Heads of State - Gen. Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida, and Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar. It is also the birthplace of Nigeria's only indigenous Governor-General, Nnamdi Azikiwe, and secessionist leader, Col. Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu who were both born in the sleepy town of Zungeru.

It is a well drained area, with countless tributaries, emptying in to the Niger river at various points, or first entering the Kaduna river, which is itself, a major tributary of the Niger. Thus, it is hard to say Niger State is not the geotourist's haven. But when the topic of tourism is associated with the state, just the magnificent Zuma rock and the Bida blacksmith district come to mind. However, the discovery of a beau, and the subsequent interest in developing it in to a tourist delight, urged me to pay a recco visit, but not without company.

Thus, in line with taking a tour of Tswata Mukun -  the blacksmith district at Bida, even though we were not allowed to take pictures, I took four Chinese and one Vietnamese tourists to visit the Gurara waterfalls. Characterized by features which still make African rivers unnavigable - rapids, the waterfall is a gigantic stampede of water, slaloming over granitic rocks cut in beautiful formations to form a collection of small falls, and a colossal waterfall which plunges off a cliff, and then proceed through Gurara Local Government to empty in to river Kaduna.

We spent about 45 minutes at the site, taking pictures, and playing at the bank, where I was able to engage with the only local tour guide, who briefed me about the vision of turning the place in to a truly pro-poor tourist destination in Nigeria. While he talked, I kept dreaming, drawing up imaginary structures of how the place could be transformed, but now, I pictured myself as a holder of a 99year BOT tenure.

We got to the site around the time the sun was about to descend beyond the horizon, so, we were able to avoid the heat of the day, but we couldn't help folding up our pants, and feeling the coldness of the water with out feet. The tourists were delighted, and wanted to stay much longer, but we had not bought enough time on the day. We thus, left for the capital, Minna, where I plot my return in grand style, to Gurara Waterfalls.