Treasure in the savannah

Kamuku National Park is one of nature’s great gifts to Nigeria which have largely remained unexplored. This is no thanks to the insecurity in the north of the country and lack of publicity for the park, which has negatively affected its patronage and revenue profile.

This goes also for all national parks in the country. Little is known about them and their existence in the country. These parks are located far away from the main cities and they offer something unique to those that love nature at its best and those who want to observe animals in their natural environment.

It is one of the parks in the country created to protect, conserve, preserve and manage a representative sample of indigenous species of fauna and flora resources unique to North-west Nigeria. This also includes monitoring and evaluating changes caused by nature and human activities in the adjoining areas, thus promoting good management and understanding of the Guinea Savannah ecosystem.

The park maintains a reservoir of potentially-valuable species and genotypes for improvement of crops, vegetation for agriculture, medicines, and also provides a site for ecological education and research in conservation and other related fields. It provides a site for ecotourism and encourages public visit, among others.

Kamuku National Park was created to effectively and efficiently protect and manage the Guinea Savannah forest ecosystem based on biodiversity principles of conservation for posterity, recreation, scientific research and education purposes. It is as well a means to regulate the environment to meet the hopes and aspirations of Nigerians.

The park is located in the western part of Birnin Gwari Local Government Area of Kaduna State. It is bounded in the north by Kuyambana Game Reserve, Gangamai, in the north-east by Goron Dutse, in the west by Mashigi and Kakangi, and in the south by Dagara.

The park covers a total land area of approximately 1,121 sq km and is the second smallest park in the country, yet very rich in terms of biodiversity.

Originally, the Park was gazetted as a native authority forest reserve by Act no. 2 of 1936 under the then defunct Northern Nigeria Government. In 1999, it was upgraded to a status of a national park.

It also has some unique cultural significance with two major tribes of Gwari and the Kamukus, who are predominantly farmers and pastoralists, while others engage in vocational works and small scale trading. The park is also endowed with old and ancient sites. It has over 19 species of fauna, some of which are endangered species, with Kamuku being the only protected threshold in North-west Nigeria.

Among the faunal resources found in the park are roan-antelope, bushbuck, Grimm’s buiker, oribi, warthog, patas monkey, green monkey, baboon and elephant. Others are crocodile, monitor lizard and many aquatic species.

Kamuku National Park is also rich in avian species. Most of them are resident while very few are migratory. Some of the birds are also in the endangered list. Insects, reptiles and rodents are some of the faunal species that can be sighted in the park.

The park shares the same ecosystem and boundary with Kwiambana Game Reserve in Zamfara State, separated only by a natural feature, River Mariga.

The park represents one of the best remaining blocks of the Sudan Guinea Savannah vegetation in the country’s protected areas. Though its flora is not fully documented, preliminary studies have, however, recorded over 200 species of trees, shrubs, herbs and climbers. Among them, many species are of great medicinal values. The park has rich close canopy vegetation of savannah woodland-type dominant species of isoberlinia, afzelia, daniellia, detarium, raphia, among others, and a few lily plant species. The park is characterised by tall tough grasses during the remaining season. Examples are andropogon gayanus and penisetum purpureum.

Its rich eco-tourism heritage has remained a reference point. This is as the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) resolution, “Promotion of ecotourism for poverty eradication and environment protection”, calls on UN member states to adopt policies that promote ecotourism, highlighting its “positive impact on income generation, job creation and education, and thus on the fight against poverty and hunger”, and thus recognising that “ecotourism creates significant opportunities for the conservation, protection and sustainable use of biodiversity and of natural areas by encouraging local and indigenous communities in host countries and tourists alike to preserve and respect the natural and cultural heritage”.

According to the conservator of the park, Ahmed Abdullahi, tourism is a private sector-driven industry and based on this fact, the national park service was slated for partial commercialisation. As part of an effort to achieve this plan, the park service has been calling for the private sector to invest in its park ecotourism. However, the clarion call seems to yield very slow result.

Abdullahi said while Kamuku National Park management is gradually developing its ecotourism products, the park is exploring all avenues to provide the needed facilities for ecotourism. This is besides the management’s effort to keep a cordial working relationship with support zone communities so as to gain support for conservation and ecotourism. The park has partnered with Birnin Gwari Historical and Tourism Committee to produce a well-researched historical document that can be of great importance for promotion of culture and tourism. Already, the research committee has concluded its assignment and over 100 historical relics and sites have been identified. A documented report is awaiting the editing and vetting of a recognised university authority. The management has completed arrangement with some renowned universities for research collaboration. Additionally, the management in collaboration with an NGO had built a standard research centre.

For visitors going to the park, there is the leased Kada Motel from the Kaduna State government through the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The motel consists of 18 chalets of African architecture, a cosy restaurant, an exotic bar and a conference hall that can provide a convenient banquet. After the concession leasing, the park management has completed the renovation and the upgrade of the Kada Motel accommodation and facilities. Due to the influx of visitors and the patronage from the surrounding communities, the National Park Services had built additional three chalets as an annex in the park’s head office. The management also plans to build three more chalets within the year so as to provide independent visitors with facilities. It has recently constructed a structure that serves as open bar and recreation huts adding to the beauty of the bar/restaurant block.

The motel has a restaurant, bar and banqueting facilities. Continental, African and local cuisines are daily served from the bar under a serene thatched structures.

Medium-sized banquet and conference can be hosted at the conference hall. Open canopies are also available for outdoor parties and discothèque.

Visitors need vehicles for park safari and their trip to and from their destination. There are also opportunities to invest in car hire and transportation services. Movement can be shuttle from Birnin Gwari to Minna, Kaduna, Abuja, Kano, Gusau, and Kastina, as well as the western route to Lagos. Certainly, there is a good fortune for the private sector to invest in tourist movements.

However, the park is bedevilled by myriads of challenges like the absence of grazing reserves and inadequate cattle routes. As well, human activities are posing a threat to the existence of the park as far as Niger Republic. The herdsmen believe Kamuku National Park forest has a kind of livestock feeds that multiply their cattle population, which has made the grazers to do everything possible to graze in the park.

Bush meat is still a savoured delicacy, and the hunt for it constitutes a threat to biodiversity as this has encouraged poaching. Also, the indiscriminate issuance of timber licences by the LG officials in the community forest area around the park is posing a threat to the existence of the park. Similarly, the insecurity around the park is also discouraging visitors, and protection rangers from carrying out their duties.

A visit to Kamuku National Park is worth the experience, especially for people who cherish nature and want to observe animals in their natural environment.

OBINNA EMELIKE