A Trip to Beautiful and Scenic Yankari Game Reserve in Bauchi State, Nigeria

The Yankari National Park is the premier game reserve in Nigeria. Yankari Park and Wikki Warm Springs are located around the Gagi River, approximately 1 1/2 hours by road, southeast of Bauchi Town. The beauty and size of The Yankari Game Reserve make it the most pop­ular reserve in Nigeria. Set up in 1956 and opened to the public in 1962, the main game-viewing areas of the reserve are open all year round - http://www.nigeriaembassyukraine.com.ua/yankari_game_reserve.htm

Beautiful Yankari Game Reserve located in the heart of Bauchi State's Alkaleri LGA , brings to me both cherished and not-so-great  memories. Coming in from Gombe State Airport ( unfortunately Bauchi State does not have an airport so you must choose between Jos Airport in Plateau State and Gombe State Airport),  you take about a 90- 120 minute drive to the junction where you turn into the Yankari  Game Reserve (YGR) road. The air is clean and there is a great deal of greenery as you take the drive up to YGR. Actually, as we drove up to the reserve it drizzled for short while and everything smelled fresh and pleasant.

When you get to the gate of the reserve, you will need to drive another  41 km or so to reach the the YGR camp where the hotel, training rooms and other buildings are located.  YGR is located over a 100km from Bauchi - the state capital.

As we embarked on the drive from the gate to the camp, I had mixed feelings. I did not know what to really expect but the there was a lot to see as we drove on - Guinea Fowls strolling  majestically from one side of the road to the other; their feathers glistening. We tried to maintain the speed limit of between 30-50km per hour. Obviously, some other driver may not have observed the suggested speed limit as we found one of the beautiful birds squashed to death on the tarmac.

The ride was very smooth, no potholes as the road was well and evenly tarred all the way to the camp. We also found many monkeys who ran deeper into the bush as we approached. We  saw what looked like Gazelles moving in a herd as we drove along.

When we got to the camp and the reception, we saw beautiful bungalows painted in a dark mud colour.  We were given keys to the outhouses, not very close to the reception. Apparently, many groups were having training workshops here and the better accommodation closer to the reception  area were all occupied.

When we got to where our assigned  rooms were located we were greeted by a colony of baboons. Great, we thought, we  were afterall, in a game reserve. I recalled my visit almost a decade ago to a game park in Kenya's Naivasha region in the Rift Valley. We also stayed in bungalows and often at night, the Hippos would come around and we would find  huge fresh droppings around our room doors as we emerged in the morning.

The difference here was that,  as we found in the rooms of some of my colleagues, the baboons actually find their way into the rooms. We could see their paw marks on the walls. In one of the rooms, they had actually removed  a ceiling board in the bathroom and the bathroom was strong with the stench of the baboons.

Wikki Warm Spring. Photo By Hammed Adefioye

We got rather worried when we found that in their desperate scavenging for food, they would quite effortlessly slide open windows and  even doors if these are not tightly secured. In fact one of the men informed us that the baboons were more likely to snatch bags from women whom he described as the "weaker sex". I wondered if baboons needed to be sensitized on gender issues until another explained that the apes were more likely to grab a bag from a woman because they  have found from experience that women are less likely to attack them or to retaliate. It was quite comic when a baboon stealthily entered the conference room and removed a bowl of Massa (a rice-based cake popular as a breakfast staple in Bauchi State). We also found a number of warthogs around the residential area of the game park. These herbivores generally minded their own business as they moved around the grounds.

There is a well stocked shop  with grocery  and other essential items as well as  a  museum and restaurant.  The tennis court which is closer to the meeting rooms needs some attention but seemed otherwise okay

The other minus we encountered in the reserve was fact that they did not have access to PHCN-generated power. The generator worked only from about 6am to 6pm in the hotel rooms; though the meeting rooms were supplied with power during the day. The camp is very large and so generating power only with generators can be capital intensive and would drain the little revenue that the reserve generated as a tourist center.  It was therefore not unusal that the camp grounds remained in pitch darkness when night fell. The only lights came from the outlying chalets and residential buildings. The darkness can be quite unnerving on your first night but as you stay longer, you kind of get used to it.

The Bauchi State government needs to look closely at this as well as issues of water supply and maintenance if the  reserve is to become a good revenue earner. The YGR is scenic and beautiful and has huge potential if well managed. Perhaps, a private firm with a good record can be contracted to run it? If well run, it would not only  bring in revenue for the state but also provide employment for the people of Bauchi State. While we were there, we saw a few foreign tourists  and a lot of other people including children, swimming at the  Wikki Warm Spring which is one of the great attractions of this reserve. The spring maintains a steady temperature of about 31 degrees centigrade. It is a beautiful and rare gem  and in addition, there is an ancient cave nearby.

We only really started to enjoy the facility after we were moved to the hotel rooms closer to the reception which had metal meshes to keep out the baboons and other creatures out.

For one thousand naira (about $7) only per person or six thousand naira (about $40) for a group of about six persons, you could enjoy a two-hour drive in the reserve vehicles through the forest trails and have the opportunity to view the Elephants and Lions; on a good day.

As a public relations professional, I saw in my mind's eye, what do reserve could look like if the State government decides to turn the place around. Yankari Game Reserve is an asset to the State Government and they ought to do something about it and bring it to global standards in order to encourage tourists to come in from Nigeria and all over the world. Issues of security will need to be beefed up and the State will need to work at providing an airport so that tourists can fly directly to Bauchi and take the about 100 km ride to the game reserve. helicopter rides to the reserve from "Bauchi Airport"  will make the Yankari Game Reserve even more attractive. As Nigeria seeks to diversify the sources of revenue ( beyond petroleum) tourism is one area we can work at. Cross River State is already working at this, and we need other States to do the same. WE need to show-off the beautiful aspects of our land and culture to the world and cut down on the negative press and the single negative narrative that Nigeria attracts.

Love, the Nigerian Way (I sincerely hope that things are changing)

Often, we as human beings love to stick to the traditional ways of doing things. This is the way we have always done it and this is the way we must continue. We weave tradition into our daily chores and they soon become habits that we fear to part with. Change comes very hard to many of us. We resist it with a tenacity that people who know us may find hard to believe. Some traditions are good: Family values for one; they can provide stability to young people trying to find a path through life. The familiar can provide refuge and solace in a hostile and insincere world.

But why do we resist positive change? Female circumcision is one I hardly can understand. It is still practiced in many parts of the world; in Africa; and Nigeria is not exempt. When performed under aseptic conditions, it could mean death to the young girl most often in her infancy. It is a painful process to have a part of one's body (a private, sensitive and sensual part excised). it is usually performed for the benefit of the future male partner; not because it has any health benefits for the woman. In fact, it often leads to some very unhealthy consequences especially in extremely violent cases such as infibulation. Why is this done to the female or girl-child? They say it is to limit or rule out promiscuity.

I could think of a host of other things that we must change in Nigeria - early marriage (girls), male preference, Nigeria's high maternal and child mortality due to preventable causes; amongst others.

The gendered division of labour is another one I totally disagree with. How can you say you love a woman and you know she was up even earlier than you;  she labored at work for longer hours than you did and when you both return home late at night, you have a warm shower, curl up with the dailies in a nice warm couch and turn on your favorite TV program. She begins another round of work (this time unremunerated and unsung and not captured in any of the economics books in terms of GDP  or any other indices).

As she enters through the door, she immediately removes her shoes, changes into home clothes and heads for the Kitchen - often referred to as the "wife's department". I have overheard many a Nigerian male commenting - "I don't intrude; that is my wife's domain" (the kitchen).

So, Mrs. Superwoman resumes her second round of duty in the heat of the kitchen while Mr 'loving husband' enjoys a refreshing ice cold soda in the air-conditioned sitting room.

Dripping with sweat,  she finally emerges to set the table, "honey" or more likely, "daddy Rhoda", dinner is served. Mr. Handsome Husband peeps over the the edge of the oversized newspaper and remarks, "I hope it's not rice again. I ate jollof rice this afternoon when Richard and I went out for lunch". Somewhat apologetically, Mrs. Superwoman replies, "Ah, I did not know O. Should I make something else for you?". Mr. Handsome Husband is slow to respond because something has caught his attention on the local news. Mrs. Superwoman, lingers in the dining area,waiting to gain the attention of Mr. Husband so that she can face her other chores.

Mr. Husband finally leaves the TV alone and turns to face his wife.  "if it is not too much, maybe you can make me a sandwich. That will be just fine as I am not so hungry anyway". Thank God he did not ask for pounded yam and egusi. So, Mrs drags her tired body back to the kitchen. She sighs inwardly. If she had her way, she would be curled up in bed reading the novel she borrowed from her friend last month. She has only been able to read one chapter so far. She prepares the sandwich, serves Mr. Husband who hardly notices her presence and she rushes upstairs to supervise Grace's homework.

After dinner and a late night movie, Mr Husband peeps  into Grace's room to say goodnight and heads for the bathroom for a warm shower. He slips into his well laundered pyjama bottom and sprawls out on the 6 by 6 master bed, waiting for Mrs to perform the last of her wifely duties. This is love the Nigerian style.I sincerely hope that I am wrong and that the modern,young Nigerian male is different; more caring and loving and will take note of the fact that Mrs or Mommy Grace is human and has interests that are important for her wellbeing.     
She does get tired sometimes.

I can see the guys arming themselves with the now familiar  catch phrase, "Mrs has a maid to assist her in the chores".

I was thinking about the question of change when I read the account written by Paul in Galatians 2 where he dwelt on the issue of whether the new gentile converts to Christianity suffered some level of stigma from the Jewish Christians because of the fact that they were uncircumcised. Jewish males are mandatorily circumcised on the 7th day.

It is interesting that the Apostles who had been with Christ and who knew without a shadow of doubt that they were saved by grace and not works, who knew that 'the just shall live by faith' (even Peter the Rock) were still held captive by the tradition of circumcision. Speaking in the flesh, they desired the new converts to be circumcised. Yet salvation is achieved through faith and not by works.

Thank God for Paul, who received the spiritual mandate and responsibility to preach the Gospel to the gentile nations. He stood his ground vehemently; even against a spiritual elder like Peter, insisting that the yoke of adhering to the law and traditions should not be imposed on the new gentile converts.

Change is not cheap and does not come easy. We need men and women, like Paul who can stand by the truth and what is fair and just; irrespective of the opposition.

Fruits of the Spirit

The Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23)

• Love
• Peace
• Joy
• Long-suffering
• Goodness
• Kindness
• Faithfulness
• Gentleness
• Self-control

... By their fruits, you shall know them... Fruits conform the Christian to Christ's image.

The Fruits of the spirit have to do with our character traits that we display daily in our engagement with others and in our spiritual walk with Christ.

I recall when I first gave my life to Christ many years ago as an undergraduate, I desired the Lord with a passion. And then one day, while I was praying with my friends (a group of young believers too), something happened that I cannot forget till today. We were deep in the spirit and suddenly, a scream came out of my mouth and it was as though something was wrenched forcefully out of me. The scream was such that it drew students from the surrounding hostels - hostile boys who threatened to break down our room door, if we did not bring out the man we were harboring. God intervened and a few leaders from the campus fellowship came to our rescue and helped to disperse the crowd that gathered at our door.

Even as a very young Christian;    barely months old, I knew I had been delivered of demonic possession, oppression or depression or something akin to this. But for the next couple of months, rather than thank God for the deliverance, I went from one spiritual leader to the next asking questions. My fear was "was I really saved? if I was, how come that I still had anything of the devil in me?"

I was so worried. The doctrinal belief then was that at the point of salvation; when the spirit of God comes into you, the Holy Spirit eliminates all contrary spirits and things in your life. It was a time of deep torment to me and nobody could provide answers to my nagging questions. "If any man be in Christ, He is a new creature; old things  have passed away". This must be understood in context. Yes, you are a new Creature in Christ. The old man with evil ways will recede to the degree that you allow Christ's image to be formed in you; the degree that you yield to the Holy spirit.

"Be not conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind" is a call to Christians not unbelievers. It shows that there is great work to be done on the New Man. being "Born Again" does not imply a magical transformation; it requires a consciousness about the place of the fruits of the Spirit in our lives : Love, Joy, Peace, Long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and  self-control.

It is really amazing how that as a young Christian, there was so much emphasis on the Gifts of the Spirit rather than the Fruits of the Spirit which will enable us to conform to the image of Christ.

When we have the foundation of the Spiritual Fruits (which build the integrity of character in us and makes us Christ-like ), then we would be able to operate effectively with the Gifts of the spirit - which have more to do with operations, the tools you need to exercise authority and do the Christian work. That is why 1st Corinthians 13 is so apt. The fruits will abide with us through eternity but the gifts will end here on earth. In heaven, we will no longer need prophets and the gift of tongues; the action would have been taken to another level.

Bearing the fruits of the Spirit in our lives takes some discipline: Remaining in the presence of God, reading and living the word of God. Christ is the word and if we are to be like Him, then the word must abide in us. bearing the fruits of the Spirit means that we have yielded ourselves to the Holy Spirit. The Fruits do not come down and into our lives in one fell swoop just as the mango tree does not yield all of it's fruits to us all at once. We must remain near the tree, water it and even tend it over time. As the time becomes ripe, we enjoy the pleasures of the fruits.