Mining activities threaten Plateau’s tourist sites

Danjuma Izang, a local guide, once led students and tourists up the Shere Hills in Plateau State, Nigeria, for sightseeing. Seven years ago, the experience was defined by the chirping of birds and the cool breeze from the rocks. Today, the sounds are of heavy blasts from mining and quarrying operations.

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They are finishing our heritage. This place used to be clean, cool, and beautiful. But the company came and started cutting the hills.

"They are finishing our heritage," Izang told Arewa PUNCH. "This place used to be clean, cool, and beautiful. But the company came and started cutting the hills." He lamented that the very rocks and hills attracting visitors are being destroyed, warning that "nothing will be left for our children to see" if mining continues unchecked.

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The same rocks and hills that attract hikers, tourists and nature lovers to Plateau State are now being destroyed. Mining and quarrying activities around key tourist sites are threatening to erase the natural heritage our people. If care is not taken, there will be nothing left for our children to see.

The situation is not isolated to Shere Hills. Similar encroachments threaten other key tourist spots like Riyom Rock and sites in Sheher. The Plateau State Commissioner for Information, Hon. Joyce Ramnap, who also oversees Tourism and Hospitality, visited the affected areas and confirmed the fears. "It is obvious that the company in question would not have gotten the total approval for such level of devastation," she stated, promising government action to protect the sites.

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But talking about the threats, the government is sad to register that such a wonderful site is being tampered with. It’s tampered with at the moment. Some of these tourists sites have been tampered with.

For residents near these tourist areas, the destruction brings economic and cultural concerns. Ladi Pam, a trader near Shere Hills, reported a decline in her business due to the ongoing destruction and poor road conditions. "The government should please come and save this place. This is God's gift to us," she pleaded. In Sheher, a resident, Elder Christopher Davou, expressed concern over the damage to the iconic Unity Rock, which depicts the maps of Nigeria and Africa.

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It is obvious that the company in question would not have gotten the total approval for such level of devastation that it has suffered on that site within Shere Hills area.