My Gembu Diary: Converting Potentials to Reality. By Gabriel Olayinka

 Even before I came to Taraba State 20 years ago, I had heard a lot about "Sardauna Local Government of Taraba and its enormous potentials." Several years after, I still hear rhetoric about those potentials, with little or no efforts being made to convert them into reality. Dubai was once a desert, but its leaders were able to convert their hidden potentials into reality. Most of the beautiful things you see in Dubai today are all man-made. But the things I saw in Gembu are natural and inartificial. 

I have visited the Mambila several time, I even have a one year old business there, which makes me visit the place from time-to-time. 

Unfortunately, I had no opportunity to really go round most of the time I go there because I am always in hurry to return to Jalingo. This time around, since I was not on any business trip, I had the opportunity to go round and really assess the potentials on the Plateau. 

I saw beautiful landscapes, with undulating mountains and deep valleys. I saw well planned tree plantations, greeneries in the mist of dry season. I saw a beautiful concept of ranchers, different species of fruits, such as avocadoes, plantains, bananas (the popular “Gembu pipe”), amazing roadside waterfalls, and friendly animals like monkeys.

I also saw the presence of some national agencies like the National Sports Commission, and the Nigeria Television Authority or NTA (whether it is working or not is a discussion for another day). I felt a weather equivalent to that which I experienced in London some seven years ago when I went to do my Masters. 

On the Mambilla Plateau, the Fulani language is spoken by virtually everybody, be they the Mambilla, Kaka, Panso, or other tribes that make up the that neglected Alp. What a beautiful environment to behold! I understand most prominent Nigerians like past leaders own houses there and go there from time-to-time to cool off the political heat weighing them down. I also hear that was where a former African warlord came to hide when he fled his country before he was fished out.

The one billion dollar-question is, why have the Nigerian authorities not been able to bring the whole world to the Mambilla Plateau, despite the abundant resources the place is endowed with? Is there anything that stands as a barrier to that move, or it is sheer negligence and ignorance? How have the Mambilla people offended the Nigerian leadership? Mambilla Plateau deserves better and can be a Tourism hub for Nigeria if its potentials are converted into reality. Dubai’s GDP is hinged on Tourism, and nothing more. Why must we waste a multi-million dollar industry because of the culture of neglect?

Exploiting the potentials on the Mambilla begins with fixing the road leading to that great touristic area. The road so terrible that it discourages people who want to travel up the Budasisi Hill. That road was constructed over 40 years ago and is reported to have been listed among the NNPC intervention roads. How true that is remains to be conjectured and put it into serious prayer for God to have mercy on the hard-working people of that local government council.

The road on the Budasisi Hill can be scary. It winds up like a serpent, overlooking deep, steep, and stony valleys in some places. Yet, the road could be the first Adventure for anybody going to the Mambilla Plateau for the first time. Such a person would have to come face-to-face with the freezing cold when you finish ascending the Hill. Mambilla Plateau is not only the coldest place in Nigeria, it also has the highest spot or peak above sea level. It has some of the richest cultures and its cattle are among the healthiest in the country.

 Unfortunately, the township roads are among the most deplorable among the Local Government Areas of the Taraba State, although every one of the 16 LGAs has a fair share of the bad roads. Something needs to be done, and urgently, too. 

Besides the bad roads, electricity is a major concern on the Mambilla Plateau. Many residents depend on generators and other alternative sources of light. Yet, the abandoned Mambila Hydro Electric Plant is capable of supplying power to most of West Africa. The project has been on the programme of most Governments even before I was born, or when I was still a kid but leaders seem to play politics with it. Yet, that project is one sure way of harnessing the potentials of that LGA, which happens to be one of the largest in the country. Our leaders and investors don’t seem to know that providing electricity on the Mambila Plateau will be a multi-million dollar investment with huge returns for any firm or company.

One other way to convert the potentials of the Mambilla Plateau into reality is to construct a helipad in the area that could help shuttle passengers from Jalingo to Gembu since Jalingo already has a modest airport. If this is done, tourists would love to visit the place known to be the highest peak above sea leave in Nigeria. Apart from providing tourism and wrecking in money for the State, the helipad could also be a huge relief to a lot of people living up that Plateau. What about building an International Stadium on the Plateau? It will provide a good training ground for the national team, which often travels abroad to camp and acclimatize, spending huge sums of money. The national volleyball, basketball, handball, soccer, or other teams can camp right in this London at our backyard.

Any of our multi-billionaires can erect a five-star hotel on the Mambila Plateau that can attract visitors. One of the things that may scare visitors who want to go up the Plateau is where to stay or lodge. Elite of the area should think of setting up good, modern restaurants where people can come to socialize and find continental and African dishes. What about building a juice extracting company on the Plateau? Gembu has all manner of fruits that can be processed. During the fruit season, you would be amazed at the quantity of fruits that are rotting and wasting. The Highland Tea is doing well but the standard and farms can be improved to employ and accommodate more workers. 

The State or Federal Government can construct an International Market on the Mambilla Plateau where people, especially women, can sell a variety of food, fruits, and crafts and people will buy as their souvenirs. The Mambilla Plateau is a border LGA and shares boundary with Cameron. Businesspeople need to take advantage of that opportunity to do good business. However, a lot of cross-border activities are already taking place there, be they regular or irregular.

Telecommunication network on the Mambilla Plateau is so poor such that it is sometimes easy to use Cameroonian network there. Financial service providers are limited, thereby making financial transactions cumbersome for visitors and travellers. Water Scarcity  is  also hug Challenge on the Mambila, 

If I had to write everything, my diary won’t contain it. All I have to say is that we need to do something about converting the potentials on the Mambilla Plateau into reality so that our children and grandchildren will not bore us with such a long letter someday

Olayinka Gabriel is the Editor-in-Chief of Taraba News