The Yankari National Park will get a new breath of life if the plans of the new Bauchi State Governor, Mohammed Abubakar are anything to go by. Yankari was once the number one tourist destination in Nigeria, but that title shifted hands when the then Cross River State Governor, Donald Duke established Calabar through the Calabar Festival and the Obudu Cattle Ranch as the number tourist destination in the country. The title could shift again within a year or two.
The Yankari National Park has got everything to be a world-class tourist destination – endless warm water springs, a rich flora and fauna displaying the beauty of the savannah in its alluring glory. The over 2200 square miles reserve is one of only two places lions can still be found in Nigeria. It is Nigeria’s sole habitat for elephants and it continues to be a ready habitat for waterbucks and other wild animals. An average visitor to the park will be held spellbound by its beauty while in the same breath left wondering about what it could even be if tendered to greatness.
What the Park has got in its natural strength, it has unfortunately lacked in administration. The richly blessed park has been poorly managed over the years. That is why the commitment of the Mohammed Abubakar administration could not have come early enough.
From the very first day of his administration, the governor started work by restricting unnecessary entrance to the park. The governor has a history with the park, he worked there for two years so if anyone would know what the park needs, he certainly would. According to the governor, “our plan is to return the Yankari National Park to where it once rightly belonged; Nigeria’s number one tourist destination. We intend to do this by combining the Park’s natural beauty and strength with a world class management team that understands the iconic essence of the Park and the need to make it a world class Park, able to generate income for our people’s benefits.” The governor also added that, “the last administration did its best with respect to this park and we are committed to building on what they have started. It is our hope that all of the previous efforts and ours will combine to return the Yankari National Park to its prideful place on the continent.”
The Park currently has 190 rooms, respectable resort facilities and top-notch conferencing facilities. The government’s immediate plan is to ensure the rooms are filled up per time, all year round. This is a move it hopes to achieve within a year of the administration. With dwindling oil prices and the attendant reduction in federal allocations, the Bauchi State Government is looking at building the Yankari National Park into a ready source of Internal Revenue, that way, it gets to depend less on Abuja for is sustenance.
Yankari was arguably the region’s most popular eco-tourism destination. It was the livewire of tourism in Nigeria for many years especially after it was designated Nigeria’s biggest national park in 1991. The glory days appear to be back again and if the new administration delivers on its promises, the Yankari National Park is set for heights it never reached, even in its hey days.
