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Lake Chad & Sukur
April 3rd - 7th, 2008
Most of the party (Robin + Hugh Campbell, Ralf Teepe, Nils Kristiansen, Erika + Stefan Cramer, Heike Hoyer and myself) met Matthias Wolandt at the old domestic airport in Lagos in front of the Arik Air counter for 2pm on Thursday, April 3, 2008.
The scheduled 3pm departure eventually took off just before 5pm. First stop Abuja to let people off and on and then we were on our way again towards the take off point; but suddenly there was a loud commotion followed by peals of laughter….., as one man realized he was on the wrong plane. After we let him off, we were on our way to Yola in the East, skirting a large storm and adding more delay. The stop in Yola was uneventful and soon we were in Maiduguri where we met up with Phil and Carolyn Hall and their niece Louisa and nephew Harry.
We were then separated from the locals and herded into immigration with a close scrutiny of our visas etc., we were surprised but since the travel instructions said bring your passports all was well. However, we could not leave the airport until State Security duplicated the efforts of the immigration department.
Once outside, the 9 of us loaded our luggage into the 10 seater bus built for 10 pygmies, and headed to the Rahmada Hotel and then hurry to the Lebanese restaurant, which had good food and bad karaoke. Soon we were tucking into humus followed by locally caught Nile perch. So after a long day we eventually collapsed into bed only to have to get up early for a 6am start.
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Chad Basin in dry season |
Chad Basin in rainy season |
The journey to Baga was long, hot and dusty. The bus did not have springs or airconditioning but mercifully we were only 8 as Phil’s landrover accommodated 2 people in addition to the Halls and our guide. The 4 hours up to Baga were broken by a couple of impromptu visits to villages along the road. The guide was able to get us into the villages amazingly easily and the villagers were exceedingly tolerant of the many digital cameras…..sort of Borno State Oscars. We also stopped to view interesting birds, who were less co-operative than the villagers, and to down cold Cokes and Sprites at little kiosks in small towns. Eventually, we arrived in Baga which is in the middle of overgrazed scrubland and about 100km to Lake Chad proper; rather a contrast to an old map of Nigeria on the wall of my office which shows Baga at the end of a peninsula into the lake.
On our trip to Baga the overgrazing was very obvious all the way from Maiduguri, made even sadder by the sight of huge herds of cattle surrounding small ponds and bore holes. We found a local who would guide us to a link to the lake; so off we went following his motor bike not knowing exactly how far we were going. Just ouside Baga, there was evidence of water, with trees, tall grasses and fields of onions. Suddenly, we were at Fisher Dam, a small outpost on a canal about 20m across. There was a hive of activity with people getting on and off narrow boats designed to carry about 30 people and sporting large outboard engines.
With the help of the guides and his Hausa Phil arranged for us to get a boat to go and explore the canal; however we had not bargained with Military Intelligence who not only needed to check us out but also made a show of their displeasure at not being courted properly. After about 30 minutes of negotiation led by Phil we were on our way in the boats.
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Water hole in the Sahel on the Maiduguri-Baga road |
Boat heading for Chad |
What followed next was amazing, the boat raced through narrow bits, then much wider bits of water but everywhere was full of every water bird you could think of. Phil said he counted 55 species on our 45 min trip including the Long Toed Plover and Marsh Harrier. Most of the birds ignored the boat and once again the cameras had a field day. We saw boats with and without outboards taking people either into Chad or all the way via the swamps to Lake Chad, a journey of between 5 and 12 hours. Our Military Intelligence minder seemed bemused at all these white people getting excited about birds and all the photography. Aparantly he was there to protect us as there had been Chad insurgents retreating over the border after attacks by the Chad army. All too soon we were back at Fisher Dam and boarding our vehicles for the long trip back to Maiduguri. That evening we dined at the Lebanese restaurant again and had a great time.
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View in direction of Chad |
Rabeh´s Fort |
Saturday morning…..another 6am start, this time heading SE towards the Cameroon border. On the way out of Maiduguri we stopped for deep fried bean curd, rice puree, pancakes and fried grasshoppers; most people tried everything at least once including the grasshoppers. Later on we stopped for fuel and were interested to see most of the customers filling large plastic containers which were stored under the rear bench seat. We were also intrigued by the raised suspension on the cars; all became clear when we were told these were people smuggling fuel into Cameroon.
About one and half hours later after the obligatory cold Coke stop and bathroom stop, we turned off the main road to crawl along behind a political rally. We had crossed the state line and were part of re-run elections for the governor in Adamawa State. At the foot of the Mandara Mountains which mark the border with Cameroon we set off along a paved path similar to those on popular mountains in Europe, however the temperature somewhere around 40 C told us we were in West Africa.
We climbed steadily and were grateful for the occasional large tree with wonderful stone seats in the shade. Eventually, the ground levelled off and we were at the first of two “gates”, i.e. gaps in a stone wall. Apparently when in former times there were raiding parties from the plains this was a final point of resistance. About 300m further on up the hill was a second gate in case the first gate failed. The gates also had the significance that lowlanders could be buried in the area between the gates but not further up.
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Madagali-Adamawa State - Girl selling groundnuts |
Sukur Kingdom - Adamawa State - Traditional farmstead |
When we finally reached the outer walls of the village, we were met by Nicholas David and his wife Judy Sterner, two Canadian anthropologists/historians/sociologists linked to the University of Calgary. Their website www.sukur.info is very informative and well worth a visit.
We all sat down in the village square and drank Nick’s beer whilst listening to him introducing us to Sukur culture and history. Apparently the Sukur people came a long time ago looking for sanctuary from slave traders, settled in the Mandara mountains and became expert iron smelters which enabled them to trade extensively with the lowlanders. Coming from the plains where everything is constructed of mud and straw, it was amazing to see everything made of stone. Nick then took us on a tour of the Hidi´s (chief´s) palace which once upon a time must have been something special with many tens of wives; different areas for different purposes etc. The current chief is very old and almost blind and now only has one wife. Unfortunately, we didn´t have the time to see an iron foundery, so after paying our respects to the chief we slowly walked down the mountain wishing we could have stayed the night at the top. The journey back to Maiduguri was uneventful and many people slept soundly for a good part of the journey. In the evening, we were invited to a delicious BBQ by the owner of the Lebanese restaurant.
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Sukur Kingdom - Adamawa State - Traditional huts |
Sukur Kingdom - Adamawa State -Terraced fields |
Sunday morning 8am…..a late start to drive to Dikwa. First it was breakfast at 7.30 at the hotel all around tables in the courtyard to catch the morning sunshine. Thereafter, we drove to central Maiduguri to see the Sheihu´s palace and a large half built mosque at the end of a large boulevard which horsemen charge down during Durbas. The Kanuri people Sunday market in Dikwa was very diverse and included tradesmen actually making some of the crafts as well as butchers carrying out their trade. After a stop at Rabeh´s Fort founded in the 19th century by someone coming from the region of the Eastern Sudan, and which then served the German colonial administration, we arrived back in Maiduguri in mid afternoon and stopped for Chicken Shawarma at a Lebanese take away….delicious. Some of us then returned to the hotel for a shower or sleep while the brave (Robin + Hugh + Erika) went to the Maiduguri market.
Later on, we went to the house of an old friend (senior civil servant) of Phil’s to see a demonstration of the Borno xylophone. This fascinating instrument is made of ebony keys with a cow horn under each key to provide amplification. Another of Phil’s local friends was an expert player but Matthias and Harry also gave good account of themselves. Sadly this unique instrument is only played by a handful of people and is likely to be another lost art soon. The day ended with a visit to the Lake Chad Club for a sundowner and to the Lebanese restaurant for dinner.
Monday morning, another 6am start to go to the airport for the 7.30 am flight back to Yola-Abuja-Lagos apart from Stefan and Erika who were staying on an extra day and Phil’s party who were going by landrover to Yankari National Park. All of a sudden, we were saying our goodbyes at Lagos old domestic airport after a very satisfying trip. Thanks to everyone, especially Phil and Matthias.
Berwyn Roberts (Wales)
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Satelite view Google Earth |
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Lagos Branch
