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The Nigerian Field Society |
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The NFS Niger Boat Trip Report 1st -3rd February, 2008 Every now and then a person will experience an epic journey that will blow apart everything they thought they knew about a place. This Niger River trip did that for me. After six busy months in Lagos, I was feeling a little jaded regarding Nigeria in general, but the river cruise on the 1st February 2008 changed all that. Along with a hardy group of twenty-two intrepid travelers I left Lagos to experience the great people, amazing sites and the many sand bars of the Niger River between Baro and Lakoja. Let me begin with the flight from Lagos to Abuja. The Virgin Nigeria departure was pretty much on time, the miscellaneous meat in pastry was palatable, we arrived in Abuja also on time and our luggage was ready for us to pick up before we got to the carousel. An unbelievable start. Pretty soon we had the team fully assembled, the boss laid out the plans and we were on our way to Baro, approximately 4 hours away by car. After a few scheduled stops along the way to grab spuds for the evening meal and fuel up, we came to Gerinya, a market town on the banks of the Guara River. This place was so packed with people traffic that the convoy was essentially ground to a stand still, therefore as good a place as any to stop, stretch our legs and explore the local delights. And delights they were. Species of fish for sale that we never believed even existed and the tastiest looking meat on a stick we had all ever seen – monitor lizard, bats, ant eaters, and the good old favorite, the grass cutter. What was most impressive was the friendliness and genuine interest the local villagers showed in our group of oyibos. We also saw our first glimpse of the Fulani, a beautiful, elegant people, taller and more slender than the average Nigerian, with some facial tattoos that would give a Maori a run for his money. Thousands of photos later we were back on our adventure. Before finally hitting Baro, our convoy again stopped off in a small village to check out the granaries, which were usually mud formed, raised egg shaped structures that house the villagers’ grain during the dry season, keeping it free of vermin. There were plenty of great examples, complete with enthusiastic models (everybody wanted to get in on the photos). We also stopped by the chief’s brew house and found a fresh batch of millet beer eagerly being consumed by the local lads. I tried this interesting beverage, gulping from a gourd cup and found it to be much like boiled grass with a tart aftertaste (and no, I did not regret it hours later). The village was friendly and energetic with the entire crew, especially the kids, running out to greet us (it also seemed that each kid carried an 8” blade). It was hard to leave, but Baro beckoned.
As the convoy entered Baro it was immediately obvious that the English had been here before us, and quite some time ago. There was a railway line peaking out from amongst the trees and numerous colonial style buildings scattered throughout the town. Once again we felt like members of a royal family as the entire town came out to welcome us, most probably the friendliest group of people in all of Nigeria. We were ushered up to the Emir’s official welcoming quarters, where a formal reception began. Unfortunately the Emir could not make it on this day, but in his stead a huge contingent of the local leaders and VIPs were made available, all of whom were proudly introduced by the ever vocal (and destined one day to be in politics or the theatre) Alhaji Musa Ibrahim Guregi (Director Personnel Management Katcha). Baro, originally a small village of the Nupe people, was selected by the British as Nigeria's link between rail and river transport; its solid bank - rare along the Lower Niger - could be used for loading river craft with Northern Nigeria's cotton crop and it did represent the upper limit (with dredging) of river navigation. Now the town survives in fishing and agriculture to sustain a living.
The warm welcome was just a taste of what was to come. Shortly afterwards we were escorted up a nearby hill to a plateau where the remains of the old English settlement (including the Governor’s house and graveyard) were still weathering under the African sun. Though the roofs were down and the walls partially collapsed, it was an amazing experience to weave our way through the undergrowth and explore these historic relics. In reality we could have spent an entire weekend exploring these remains. As it was getting late the group, again escorted by the entire town of Baro (male population anyway), headed back down to the banks of Niger river (through the old railway station) to camp below the Royal Niger Company’s old storehouse (amazingly still in pretty good shape). Tents were set up and campfires started, then the festivities began. The town leaders had arranged dancing, drumming, comedians and a guy that seemed to have knife resistant eye balls and a mouth impervious to red hot embers. This raged on, with some impressive dancing from various members of the team (especially the Austrians amongst us), before the village elders decided six hours of fun was enough and shut it down at midnight. My first night out of Lagos proved to be highly entertaining. At the crack of dawn the following day (it’s something special to wake up camped only meters from one of the greatest rivers on the planet) a contingent of us headed into town, checking out the old rail yards and post office along the way, to thank the people of Baro for their wonderful hospitality and present them with a number gifts. Speeches were aplenty; as were group photos and our visit ended with a single gun salute (using a musket that we all were afraid would explode rather than fire a shot). It was a sad farewell as it would have been great to stick around and explore the area more.
Now, during the previous night our group leader arrived, after fighting the Niger sand bars and billions of bugs, from down river on our first class water transportation. This vessel was a seaworthy 60 footer with only 20 or 30 cm of water in the bottom (not enough to sink it, at least the roof had sufficient strength to hold us all). The team boarded, and as the town of Baro waved goodbye we headed off down river to Lakoja in the cool morning air (there is nothing like the serenity of two stroke outboards at full throttle). The journey was spectacular and was only marred by the heavy harmattan that reduced visibility to no more than a kilometre or so. We passed many small villages along the way and landed on numerous sand bars (it is a thrilling sight to see a man standing in ankle deep water 400m from either shore). Many species of birds were present, but unfortunately the rumored elephant that was attacking a hippo that had a crocodile in its mouth was never seen (thanks Martin). Upon reaching Lokoja, a town at the confluence between the Niger and the Benue Rivers, the fight between the blue and brown waters was obvious with, unfortunately, the blue waters of the Benue losing out and the Niger continuing on downstream, harmattan brown. A short trip up the Benue was made, but the entire team was ready to stretch their land legs and head to the delightful (partial overstatement) Confluence Hotel for a cold frosty one (or more than a cold frosty one for some, and some funky dancing, and a poor attempt at karaoke…….).
Early the next morning the team chowed down on a quick breakfast, before hitting the road to visit a local Fulani tribe that had partially given up its nomadic herding existence and even planted a few crops. Again the elegant appearance of these people, distinct facial tattoos (no facial scaring on these guys) and social hierarchy fascinated the entire group. Their welcome was warm, and we were invited to look around the village to witness their unique lifestyle. The visit was short, though impressive, as most of the team had to make the long journey back to Lagos (by road this time) and head back to our ‘normal’ lives. The Fulani people of Nigeria are cattle herders by tradition, and similar to those other well-known pastoralists, the Masai of east Africa, their wealth and status are largely represented by the number of cattle they own. Many Fulani groups are nomadic, moving with the change of seasons and always following the rains, which dictate where the best grazing will be. Living in domed thatched or mud huts they live a simple subsistence life. Overall, this was a great trip, the group was fantastic and the Nigerian people made it all the more special. Special thanks must go out to the trip organizers, Matthias and Romeo, and anybody contemplating getting involved with the NFS, as Nike says, ‘Just Do It’. Cheers, Mike Siegman, Australia
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Lagos Branch
