Tourism is part of human existence. The desire to travel to a new place and have the experience of a ‘been-to’ is so strong that we can’t afford to do away with it if we have the opportunity to do that. In this piece, our Head, Features desk, GODWIN OGAR reveals some tourist attractions in and around the nation’s Federal Capital Territory, FCT for your attention.
Millions of people from various countries of the world travel to different destinations in the world for many reasons such as sight-seeing, discoveries and fun seeking just to quench the strong desire to do so.
Have you ever travelled to Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria? If you have not, maybe one day you will, but if you are in Abuja, where are those places you would like to visit for recreation or relaxation? Do you know where to ride a horse, eat Lebanese food or just ride a boat?
We shall be your guide into the heart of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja.
Let’s first remind you that Abuja became the FCT on the 12th of December, 1991 and since then has passed through one form of transformation or the other. The result is that the city has no such traffic jam as is experienced in Lagos. Also, the city looks cleaner and healthier to live in when compared to the former federal capital, Lagos.
It is a clean and beautiful city designed as a world class urban settlement. In most parts of the city like Wuse, Gwarinpa, Garki, Asokoro, Maitama, Wuye and Wuse II, toilet pits are not dug. A house owner only connects his/her house to the central sewage system and only pays for liquid waste disposal. Two types of bills are collected by the authority for waste disposals: liquid wastes and solid wastes.
All work without play makes Jack a dull boy, the first place that a visitor to the FCT may love to see is the Zuma Rock. A visit to the Zuma Rock would be for just sight-seeing. A large natural monolith located in Zuba, a town in the outskirts of Abuja, the rock stands at about 725 meters, equivalent to 2,379 feet.
So many things have been said about the Zuma Rock, which has its inscription on the 100 naira note. The rock is an important site for, not just the people of the area, but also the entire residents and Nigerians. The first thing that would attract the attention of the visitor who is seeing it for the first time is the image of a human face that appears on the rock.
The rock, together with its mysteries, is believed to have been discovered in the 15th century by the Gbagyi people. They gave it the name, ‘Zumwa’, which means ‘a place of Guinea fowls’. Some of the people have a spiritual attachment to the rock and believe it to be a deity, praying there for healing and for protective guardian. However, as time goes on and due to the influence of visitors who troop to the site for tourism, the traditional name given to it by the Gbagyi people, ‘Zumwa’, has changed to ‘Zuma’.
Many other people, especially the non-indigenes believe that Zuma Rock is haunted by spirits. For example, a hotel constructed around it to promote tourism has been abandoned. There are also stories of how tourists, including Europeans, who tried to climb the rock mysteriously, disappeared and have not been found till date. These stories have made anxious tourists who get attracted by the image of the human face on the rock to leave it completely undisturbed.
Now, if you also decide to leave the Zuma Rock alone and not disturb it, what about the Millennium Park?
The largest park in the city of Abuja, the Millennium Park offers a relaxation centre for many travellers. It has large walkways as well as solar-powered lights for illumination in the nights. The park was commissioned in 2004 by Her Royal Majesty, the Queen of England, Elizabeth II of blessed memory and is said to have been designed by an Italian architect, Manfred Nicoleti.
The ‘Magicland’ is the biggest well-equipped amusement park in Nigeria, commissioned by former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, on the 1st of March 2007. It offers restaurant services through their ‘Fulani Ranch’ with continental, Mediterranean and African cuisines. Also at its services are shops and cafeterias. The location is by the City Gate, Abuja.
That’s not all because ‘Jabi Lake’ is also available for relaxation and other recreational activities such as boat riding, family picnic and swimming. The lake metamorphosed from a dam that was created in the Jabi District of Abuja.
If any of these side attractions mentioned does not catch your attention, then the National Children’s Park and Zoo is there for you. It is located just behind the Presidential Villa. Apart from being a home for wildlife animals, it has playgrounds and other fun-filled activities for children and their parents alike.
Arts and crafts can also be preserved for recreational purposes as well as tourism. The Abuja Arts and Crafts Village is built by the National Council for Arts and Culture. Most people call it the arts market because, apart from preserving and showcasing the African tradition like thatched roof huts which are built with red earth (clay soil), the village is the centre for art works of different kinds and purposes. Foods and drinks are also available for sale.
Still more, on the road to Bwari from Dutse, precisely at Ushafa, there is the Lower Usuma Dam. Many residents make the mistake of calling it Usman Dam. It is one of the four dams that supply Abuja with tap water, well-treated by the FCT Water Board for drinking and other purposes. But beyond this, the Lower Usuma Dam presents recreational activities such as swimming, boat riding, family picnics and hiking for visitors and residents alike.
There are many more fun-filled activities in Abuja, but we cannot mention all of them here. We have deliberately refused to mention night-life in this write-up, but have decided to mention these ones so that anytime you feel like having a little fun, you can readily have, at the tip of your fingers, where to go.
Not only within the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nigeria has great potentials in tourism and hospitality and we shall continue to bring these potentials to your notice across the country. Keep in touch with Nigerian Pilot every Tuesday for more information on tourist attractions across the country.
