Join our WhatsApp channel HERE for the latest Benue news and updates!
For decades the River Benue has been little more than a beautiful backdrop, a waterway for canoes, a source of fish, and an occasional flood headache. That could be about to change dramatically.
The Director-General of the Benue State Bureau for Arts, Culture and Tourism, Shadrach Teryila Ukuma Ph.D., on Tuesday stormed the office of the Honourable Commissioner for Marine and Blue Economy, Denis Ter Iyaghigba, with one clear message: let’s stop sleeping on hundreds of kilometres of pristine riverfront and turn it into the state’s next economic goldmine.
Speaking in Makurdi, Dr. Ukuma declared that the serene beaches, vast sandbanks, and cultural riches lining the river corridor remain grossly underused. His bureau has already drawn up ambitious blueprints to transform places like the legendary Mbatoho Island and the endless white-sand beaches into flagship ecotourism destinations complete with water sports, riverside festivals, cultural markets, boat cruises, and open-air theatre.
The wish-list is mouth-watering: canoe racing, kayaking, regatta, beach volleyball and football, creative fairs, art exhibitions, and the revival of the once-famous Akata Fishing Festival that drew thousands in 2013 but has been dormant since. Ukuma wants safe passenger boat services, floating restaurants, and eco-lodges that showcase Tiv, Idoma, and Igede heritage while putting money in local pockets.
To make it happen, he proposed four concrete steps:
– A joint marine and investment forum to attract private capital
– An inter-ministerial technical committee focused on Mbatoho Island
– A harmonised policy framework for waterfront usage and regulation
– Joint proposals to federal agencies and international donors
Commissioner Denis Ter Iyaghigba didn’t need convincing. He welcomed the ideas as “timely and strategic,” pledging full partnership and revealing plans to work with the bureau to bring back the Akata Fishing Festival bigger and better by 2026.
For a state desperately seeking new revenue streams beyond civil service salaries and federal allocation, the meeting signals serious intent. Governor Hyacinth Alia has repeatedly spoken about making tourism a pillar of his administration; now two key agencies are finally sitting at the same table with maps, calendars, and investor teasers.
If the synergy delivers even half of what was discussed, the River Benue could soon stop being just the line on the map that separates Zone A from Zone B and start becoming the waterway that brings jobs, visitors, and pride to an entire state.
Watch this space. The river is about to wake up.
