Renowned for its massive deposit of solid minerals and numerous natural attractions to potentially drive an enviable tourism industry, Nasarawa state may be ranked amongst Nigeria’s youngest states; created out of the Old Plateau State on 1st October 1996 by the General Abacha administration, but it is positioned to be among the foremost in the near future.
Located just a few miles from the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nasarawa State stretches over some 27,000 square kilometers at the heart of Nigeria Federation , sharing land borders with Taraba and Plateau States to the East, Kaduna State to the North, Kogi and Benue states to the South. It is divided into 13 Local Government Areas; Akwanga, Awe, Doma, Karu, Keana, Keffi, Kokona, Nasarawa, Nasarawa Egon, Obi , Toto , Wamba and Lafia; the administrative capital also serves as the seat of the Lafia Emirate.
. Blessed with remarkable physical features and fertile savannah grasslands, Nasarawa state is uniquely positioned to benefit immensely from agriculture and tourism, in addition to the solid minerals for which it is already known.
However, for the state’s natural endowments to yeild the desired benefits, massive investments are necessary in nearly all of its sectors. The state’s abundant arable fields are cultivated yearly to grow massive quantities of cassava, Yam, Rice, Maize, Guinea Corn, Beans , Soya Beans, Onions and millets but storage and processing facilities are not sufficient to allow for maximization of the sector’s revenue potentials’.
Likewise, a substantial portion of the population of Fulani cattle herdsmen in the state still cling on to their traditional nomadic pratices, limiting the economic significance of their drove of Cattle.
In the near future, it is hoped that the massive deposit of coal, columbite , salt , bauxite and other minerals for which the state is known would attract investors to Abuja’s peaceful neighbour to the east.
For now, most of the visitors to Nasarawa find themselves enthralled by its beautiful tourist attractions such as the cascading hills and caves at Eggon and Numan, the Feferuwa Lake, the Hunki Ox- bow Lake, Akiri Warm springs in Awe, the salt processing village at keana, and the Bakono Games Reserve which hosts diverse species of wildlife.
