Jewelleries

To be able to purchase any of these beautiful jewelleries and beads, simply fill in our Contact Us form or call us on any of the phone numbers on this blog. You have the option of customizing the look, feel and durability of your chosen design. We look forward to doing business with you. 

Nigerian Art and Cultural Heritage

Every aspect of Nigerian art and culture has a wonderful story behind it. Little wonder then that Nigeria has produced some of the best artists and writers in the modern world. To personally access or assess any of these arts and destinations, see the Contact Us section of this blog.

The Obudu Ranch Resort in Cross River State

The Obudu Ranch Resort, located in the northern crest of Cross River State, southern Nigeria, has proven to be one of the most visited tourist attractions in the world. The following are some of the wonderful views of the brand. To visit, simply comment on these pictures leaving your contact details or call us (see sidebar for our phone numbers).

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The Yankari Game Reserve

Located in the South-Eastern part of Bauchi, Yankari Games Reserve is undoubtedly Nigeria’s most developed animal reserve and park. The park has the largest collection of Animals than any other park in the country. It currently hosts 50 different species of animals and about 550 elephants – the largest herd of elephants in West Africa. It’s best visited between February and late April.

The Games Reserve also boasts of more than 59 caves, a well system used by slaves and Wiki warm spring. The spring water forms a pool which is 200m long and 10m wide, containing crystal-clear water at a temperature of around 31 degrees Celsius. It available for tourists to swim in .

You don’t have to worry about accomodation as the Park has accomodation for tourists or an option of special camping facilites. You can also lodge at Fariah suites about 2km away. There are also restaurants and a mini-museum. To view the entire park, you can checkout Kalban Hill and Kanyo Hill, both of them are situated within the park Bauchi State is in the North-Eastern part of Nigeria.

The Okomu National Park

Okomu National Park “The pride of our natural heritage” is the smallest of the seven National Parks in Nigeria. The Park is a rainforest ecosystem gazetted from the former Okomu Forest reserve in 1935. Today, the Park is a good habitat for numerous endangered flora and fauna species.

BACKGROUND HISTORY
About 777 sq.km of the forest was gazetted in 1912 while in 1935 an extension of a further 411 sq.km was effected to the north and east. The forestry department of the then Bendel State Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resource assumed management responsibility for the reserve in 1970. In 1991, Bendel State was divided into Edo and Delta States and the control of Okomu Forest Reserve was passed to Edo State.

Okomu Forest Reserve was originally exploited by the AT&P (African Timber & Plywood Company). However, logging was selective, taking only a few large valuable hardwoods (Lee White, 1988). In 1977 however, an area of 156 sq.km in BC 9 of the reserve was de-classified (de-reserved) and given to Federal Government oil palm project (Okomu Oil Palm Project). In addition, several compartments of the forest reserve have been given to monoculture plantations such as Michelin rubber Estate and Iyayi Rubber plantations.

Wildlife survey carried out in the then Bendel State in 1982 by P.A. Anadu and J.P. Oates revealed the following facts:-

• Okomu was the largest remaining rainforest in the southwest Nigeria
• Okomu contained a viable population of the rare white throated guenon Cercepithicus erythrogaster, a monkey endemic to southwest Nigeria, in addition to several other species of international concern
• Okomu forest reserve was the least disturbed of all the rainforest in the State.

The researchers (Anadu and Oates) then suggested that a wildlife sanctuary be gazetted in the centre of the reserve to give full protection from all forms of foreign exploitations. The proposal for a wildlife sanctuary was accepted by the State Government. The gazette constituting Okomu wildlife sanctuary covering 70 sq.km of the area originally proposed by Anadu and Oates was finally passed by Bendel State Government in August 1985 (Bendel State Gazette No. 73;1986 In 1985, the IUCN/SSC primate specialist group designated the white throated guenon as a species with high conservation priority and Okomu forest reserve as a priority reserve for its development and management. (Oates, 1985) The Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) adopted Okomu as one of its priority areas and launched the Okomu forest project in October, 1987.

The Edo State Government in 1993 requested the Federal Government to take over the management and protection of Okomu wildlife sanctuary as a National Park. Okomu wildlife sanctuary was among the seven protected areas around the country accepted for upgrading into a National Park by the governing board of the National Park Service in 1994. However it was not until 1997 that Federal Government decided to fund recurrent expenditure of Okomu and Kamuku as proposed National Parks. Subsequently after this intervention, the National Parks Board rehabilitated the main access road to Okomu wildlife sanctuary, renovated all the patrol post and office building, provided vehicles and basic facilities among others.

The formal handing over ceremony of the protected area by the Edo State Government to National Park Service took place on 26th May 1999 which coincided with the signing of decree 46 of 1999 (now Act of the National Assembly, cap 65 of 2004) that established the sanctuary as a National Park into law the same day.

The Kamuku National Park

Kamuku National Park is located in Birnin Gwari, Kaduna State of Nigeria. It is situated between latitudes 10°40'N; Longitudes 6°11'E and 6°36E in the north-central part of Nigeria and it is the closest unit Park Headquarters, Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory. Kamuku National Park was initially by gazette of 1936, a native Authority Forest Reserve under the defunct Northern Nigeria Government. It boasts of land area of about 1,120sqkm of typical Savannah Woodland vegetation.

Floral/Faunal Resources 

Savannah Elephant

Kamuku shares the same ecosystem and boundary with the luxuriant Kwiambana Game Reserve in Zamfara State, separated only by a natural boundary-the River Mariga. Thus, the Park distinctly represents one of the best remaining blocks of the Sudan-Guinea Savannah vegetation in the country’s protected area system.

The Park has rich, close canopy vegetation of Savannah woodland type with dominant species of Isoberlina, Afzelia, Daniellia, Detarium, Raphia, etc and a few lily plant species. Tall, tough grass cover populates the marshy areas of the Park especially during the rainy season. For example, Andropogon gayanus, Penisetum purpureum, etc are the most common grasses found here.

Kamuku National Park has an enviable biodiversity profile. It supports about 19 species of mammals including elephants (a major ecotourism attraction for visitors to the Park). However, Western hartebeest seems to be the most ubiquitous animal species that can easily be sighted with a little patience.

Abyssinian Roller (Coracias abyssinica

Animals found in the Park are: Elephant, Roan antelope, Western Hartebeest, Bushbuck, Reedbuck, Grimm’s Duicker, Red-flanked Duiker, Oribi Patas Monkey, Green Monkey (tantalus), Baboon, Warthog, a variety of birds, insects, reptiles, rodents, etc. bird watchers would easily observe rich offering of various birds at any given time. Interestingly, about 177 species of birds (both resident and African migrant) as well as several reptiles, fishes and insects have been sighted and documented in the Park. Important species of birds like Sagittarius serpentarius (Secretary bird) Ground hornbill, Neotics dertham and Bucarus Abyssinica (Ground hornbills), which are not commonly found elsewhere in Nigeria, exist here.

The Kainji Lake National Park

The Nation’s premier National Park was established by the amalgamation of two former game reserves-Borgu and Zugurma in 1976 and the legal instrument setting it up was promulgated in 1979(i.e. Degree 46 of 1979).The park was subsequently reconstituted under Acts 36 of 1991 and 46 of 1999 now Cap (act) 65 of 2004 which established additional National Parks in Nigeria.

LOCATION AND AREA:

Oli river

Kainji lake National Park is located in the northwest central part of the country between latitude 9°40’N and 10°30’N and longitude 3°30’E and 5°50’E in Niger and Kwara states ,500km from Lagos and 385 km north east of Abuja the Federal Capital.

An effectively Protected National Park with a total area of 5340.82sq/km separated into two distinct non-contiguous sectors namely Borgu sector with an area of 3970.02 sq/km and Zugurma sector with an area of 1370.80 sq/km respectively.

CLIMATE: 
The Climate exhibits wet and dry seasons April to November and November to April respectively. The mean annual rain fall is 1100 to 1200mm about 200 days.

TEMPERATURE:
Temperature ranges between 10^oc and 30^oc (Mean is 30^oc) and the average relative humidity is 53%.

TOPOGRAPHY:-
The Park is a typical inselberg landscape with round hills wide pediments/plains separating them and incised river channels slopping down towards the River Niger valley. Some of the Rivers in the Park include. Oli Menei, Doro and Manyara Rivers etc.