By Justine John Dyikuk
Tourist destinations such as Yankari Game Reserve, located in Bauchi State, Northeastern Nigeria, can change the nation’s erstwhile perceptions as a volatile place and its economic fortunes too. With an oil-dependent revenue, tourism can be a game-changer. Yankari covers an area of about 2,244 square kilometers (866 square meters). It was established as a game reserve in 1956 but became a national park in 1991. Being at the heartland of the West African Savanna, it is home to dozens of wildlife species such as African elephants, lions, zebras, and other mammals. From Bauchi City, driving to the reserve takes about 2 hours and 11 minutes. Yankari is a unique and attractive destination for tourists and holidaymakers with a meagre budget of £1,500 for a two-week vacation.
Yearly, it attracts thousands of tourists from the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, Australia, and other African countries. In September 2023, tourists reportedly increased from around 500 to 2,000 per month. Visitors to the landlocked country of over 2,000 people who speak three major languages – Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba, in addition to over 200 smaller languages – would usually have a stopover in Bishi, a small village about 50 minutes to the reserve, for a delicacy called Kilishi (dry steak) and Masan Bauchi (pancake). £5 to £10 would provide enough meal for 4 to 5 people. This cuisine would often provide the needed energy to traverse the safari. The management disclosed that in 9 months, from October 2023 to June 2024, it generated more than 48 million Naira ($65,000 USD) from fees.
Watching wildlife in its natural habitat and relishing the amazing flora and fauna makes Yankari the place to be. With vast swaths of arable land, the reserve has a safari ride that unveils an exciting array of game – lions, elephants, gorillas, and various species of birds. The beautiful trees provide shade for the amazingly constructed chalets. It is common to find warthogs, monkeys, and baboons moving about in search of food. Though in an undestructive way, I recall how monkeys can sneak into rooms that are left open to steal food or snatch a snack from a tourist walking around the reserve.
There are about four natural warm springs in the reserve, with a fifth, the famous Wikki Warm Springs, as the mother of them all. The clean, fresh, and tasty springs provide sources of drinking water for humans and animals. Interestingly, tourists can swim in the naturally warm Wikki Spring as they relish the sight of monkeys jumping from nearby bushes onto trees. Also, the Marshal Caves are phenomenal – they consist of 59 interconnected caves brought into prominence in 1980 by a British historian, P.J. Marshall. The caves were used as places of refuge for Arabic slave traders from the Sahara region and a haven for locals who were evading wars. With rock paintings, line engravings, and artistic expressions attributed to the original occupants, the caves provide tourists with great insights into the culture, tradition, and values of the people who took sanctuary there. The sandstone escarpment on the walls also provides a thunderous echo reminiscent of vibrations in the movie, The Lord of the Rings.
In terms of accommodation and catering facilities, there are about 114 chalets in cone-shaped designs typical of Northern Nigeria architecture. At an affordable rate, guests can hire caravans or tents at the camping ground, which is close to the squash court building. On average, it would cost a single adult about N200,000 (£100) – transportation N50,000 (£24), entry N5,000 (£3), food N30,000 (£14) for three square meals, safari ride N25,000 (£12), and accommodation for a night N60,000 (£28). In addition, the cafeteria and bar provide visitors and staff with a music hub for dancing and having fun. Apart from game viewing and swimming, which most visitors prioritize, the park has sporting activities such as badminton, table tennis, lawn tennis, squash, and boating for tourists to undertake some exercise while enjoying their holiday.
For most visitors outside Nigeria, returning home with a souvenir is part of the holiday package. To this end, the gift shop underscores the importance of tourism and culture in telling the African story, enabling tourists to buy tie-and-dye African fabric also known as Adire, carvings, paintings, and beads. Wood, leather, and animal skin crafts ranging from £5 to £10 are sold to visitors. Valuable to zoologists, historians, and archivists are mounts of wildlife such as taxidermy arts and hunting gear recovered from poachers at the Yankari Museum, which opened in 1985. It is also decorated with trophies of wildlife – tusks, bones, skins, horns. With media saturation in terms of stories of violence across Africa, visitors to Yankari Game Reserve have the chance to share how the life-changing experience can put the continent on the world map. Tourists can climb Kalban Hill, also known as the ‘flat place,’ located at the northeast of Wikki Camp – the destination of the safari ride. The hill gives tourists a clear and panoramic view
Fr. Dyikuk, a priest of Bauchi Diocese, North-Eastern Nigeria is a Freelance Travel Journalist, Ph.D. researcher in Journalism, Media and Communication at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow. He can be reached via justinejohndyikuk@gmail.com
