Focus on Benue State Culture and tourism

                          Focus on Benue State Culture and tourism

 

Benué is a state in the mid-belt region of Nigeria with a population of about 4,253,641 in 2006 census. It is inhabited predominantly by the Tiv and Idoma peoples, who speak the Tiv language and Idoma, respectively. There are other ethnic groups, including the Igede, Etulo, Abakwa,^[2] Jukun, Hausa, Igbo, Akweya and Nyifon. With its capital at Makurdi, Benué is a rich agricultural region; some of the crops grown there are potatoes, cassava, soya bean, guinea corn, flax, yams, sesame, rice, and grand nuts.
Benué State is named after the Benué River and was formed from the former Benue-Plateau State in 1976, along with Igala and some part of Kwara State. In 1991 some areas of Benué state (mostly Igala area), along with areas in Kwara State, were carved out to become part of the new Kogi State. Igbo people are found in the boundary areas of Ebonyi State and Enugu State in local government areas like the Obi, Oju etc.
Samuel Ortom is the governor and Benson Abounu is the deputy governor. Both are All Progressives Congress (APC) members.^[3]
Benué state has three universities: Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Benue State University, Makurdi, and University of Mkar, Mkar, Gboko. It has two polytechnics: Benue State Polytechnic, Ugbokolo and Fidei polytechnic, Gboko as well as the Akperan Orshi college of Agriculture Yandev. There are about four colleges of education which are Federal College of Education Agasha, College of Education Oju, College of Education Kastina Ala. Benue State as it exists today is a surviving legacy of an administrative entity which was carved out of the protectorate of northern Nigeria at the beginning of the twentieth century. The territory was initially known as Munshi Province until 1918 when the name of its dominant geographical feature, the 'Benué River' was adopted.

Tourism

Benue State offers visitors fascinating scenery and colorful activities to behold, souvenirs to cherish and the happy memories of its hospitable and accommodating people to carry away and treasure for a long time.
Tourism anywhere in the world is a good spinner and so, mindful of the revenue-yielding potential of this sector, the government has put in place machinery to design the groundwork for its effective exploitation and improvement.  The creation of a Ministry of Culture and Tourism shows the resolve of the present administration to harness the abundant tourism potential of the state.
The birth of a state-owned museum of cultural history and ethnography to document cultural monuments, festivals and scenic beauties of the state is one such machinery.  Under the new development, all the long neglected beaches in the state would be developed to have international hotels and other facilities.
Benue state boasts of enchanting scenery which includes Ushongo hills in Ushongo Local Government Area, Selagi and Haaga in Katsina-Ala Local Government Area and Andibilia hills in Oju Local Government.  The rest are the Ikwe hills in Gwer Local Government Area, and Enumabia warm springs in Ogbadibo Local Government.  Other notable tourists sites in the State include historical monuments and sites of interest such as the Tiv trench fortifications of the 18th Century in Turan, Kwande Local Government Area, which were defense bulwarks against the invading Chamba horsemen, the Gbeleve tradepost near Katsina-Ala, one of the earliest colonial trade posts in Tivland, the tombs of the early missionaries at Sai and Haaga in Katsina-Ala Local Government Area and the palaces of the Tor-Tiv in Gboko and Och’Idoma in Otukpo, which are veritable museums containing the material cultures of the people.  Traditional annual festivals, including those organized by the Benue State Council for Arts and Culture can be packaged and promoted as tourist delights.  The Utiyo iron smelting furnaces of the Igede people still stand today at Ibilla-Alukpo in Oju Local Government Area.
There are standard hotels across the state and the visitor is assured of comfort while in the state.

Culture

Benue State possesses a rich and diverse cultural heritage which finds expression in colourful cloths, exotic masquerades, supplicated music and dances. Traditional dances from Benue State have won acclaim at national and international cultural festivals. The most popular of these dances include Ingyough, Ange, Anchanakupa, Swange and Ogirinya among others.

The socio-religious festivals of the people, colourful dances, dresses and songs are also of tourist value. The Alekwu ancestral festival of the Idoma people, for instance, is an occasion when the local people believe their ancestors re-established contact with the living in the form of masquerades.
The lgede-Agba is a Yam Festival, marked every year in September by the lgede people of Oju and Obi local government areas. Among the Tiv, the Tiv Day, marriage ceremonies and dance competitions (e.g. Swange dance) are often very colourful. Kwagh-hir is a very entertaining Tiv puppet show.
Social life in Benue State is also enriched by the availability of diverse recreational facilities. Apart from parks, beaches, dancing and masquerades mentioned above, the big hotels in Makurdi, Gboko and Otukpo are equipped with several indoor sporting facilities. There are golf clubs, the Makurdi Club, Railway Club, Police Club and Air Force Club, where, apart from the sale of drinks and snacks, various types of games are played.
There is a standard Arts Theatre, a modern Sports Complex which includes the Aper Aku Stadium, which has provisions for such games as tennis, basketball, volleyball and handball, an indoor sports hall and Olympic size swimming pool in Makurdi. A Smaller stadia exist in Gboko (J. S. Tarka Stadium), Katsina-Ala, Adikpo, Vandeikya and Otukpo. The BCC Lawn Tennis tournament attracts players from all over the country. Benue State has three teams in the professional soccer ranks, Lobi Stars F.C. in Division One, BCC Lions FC in Division Two, Mark mentors as the basketball premier league team.