I would have loved to tell more about my journey down to Benue State, but I was unable to make proper documentation during the transit. Even though I am unable to share information about my transit, let me share the experiences I have had so far in this ancient Kingdom. It is my first day here, though not for the first time, but I have had the need to explore and to share amazing facts about this great community.
Frankly speaking, I did not I did not just travel all the way from Port Harcourt to explore, I came for business. Benue state is known for being the food basket of the nation, it is the case that Nigeria as a country depend on Benue State for most of her food. My plan is to see if I can visit communities that are known for cultivating and selling these foods at a very cheap rate, then find a means to export them to the city of Port Harcourt. The business journey will begin properly on Monday (10/02/2024). Meanwhile, I am using this time to explore and have as much fun as possible before work begins.
The Abinsi Community with is located in Benue State is said to be a Jukun Wanu land. However, the land is not exclusively occupied by the Jukuns; the Hausas, Tivs, and even Igbos are also part of this community.
Abinsi Slaughter and the central Mosque. These were the first pictures I took before going to my friend's shop.
As at 6:30am, I was already awake. I took my bath, looked for what to eat and started my exploration. I walked through the slaughter line before going to meet my friend Sam Justice in his Cyber Cafe. I sat there for some time writing this very post, inspired by the few pictures I had already taken while walking through the slaughter. Among the pictures was the central Mosque that was built in less than six months, it is said that the richest man in the community (Hon. Adbandoma) single handedly built the mosque. I was suprised to see it standing at that spot as it was not there formerly.
The Abinsi food market
Abinsi market is not generally referred to as a food market, but I certainly see the need to call it that. Over 60 percent of the items sold in this market are food, which is certainly a good enough reason for the 'food' title. Experiencing how cheap things are in this market for the first time in 2023 made me realize the need for the business step I just took. That notwithstanding, there are markets that are yet cheaper than Abinsi.
After Visiting the Market, I took a walk down the River. I first encountered herdsmen and their cattles, and then I saw children bathing and swimming in the river. This suppose to be the almighty River Benue, but it has almost dried up. Apart from the seasonal changes, the river is gravely suffering from a lack of dredging. That explains while many part of the river are sandy.
After my visit to the River, I decided to walk to the community where I lived while Serving here in Benue State. Benco is located just immediately after Azyoko, but I had the need to take the picture of the sign board that indicates welcome to Azyoko while on my way to Benco. Azyoko, being a purely Jukun land, is classified alongside Benko and the main Abinsi town under the Abinsi council ward.
When I got to the compound I lived while serving, I met the people who live there pilling tobacco leaves, and I simply joined them. They were amazed and surprise to see me. As we discussed, I came to realize that they have not had electricity for over a year, as their transformer had been spoiled all that time. I imagined how difficult it must have been to survie in such a typical village without electricity. I stayed for a while with them before walking my way back to Abinsi which is about 3 kilometres aways. The journey was quite long, but it was nothing I could not handle.
I forgot to say something about the manual borehole water pump. It is from that pump that we got every of the water we used during our service, and it has not stopped producing water. I only have a problem with the surrounding of the pump which is never clean...
After I got back and had some rest, I had one more place to visit, one of the biggest church in the whole of Benue State. The Christin Reformed Church Nigeria (CRC-N), not withstanding the fact that it is located in a village is said to be the biggest church in the whole of Benue State. I am not entirely sure if it is the biggest, but it is certainly a large church, and I acknowledged that.
There are certainly more to be said about the ancient Kingdom of Abinsi, but this is just what I was able to gather in just a day. I appreciate the fact that you were able to read till the end of the post. Note that every of the picture was taken by me... One Love✌️