Nigerian hikers blaze trails despite insecurity

Kuwait Times

4 days ago

A caravan of 100 or so cars snaked onto an unfinished highway and parked in a construction zone. With no trail post in sight, the unmarked dirt lot outside the Nigerian capital seemed an unlikely place to hike - but fans of the great outdoors in Abuja have long taken matters into their own hands. 'Most of the trails in Abuja are not properly mapped,' said Adebayo Babatunde, founder of Naija Adventurers, adding it was a shame 'because nature is a beautiful place where we all need to connect back to'.
The group and a handful of others have cropped up to provide a service the government has long left untouched, organizing hikes in a city where, despite being ringed by verdant hills, public trails are virtually nonexistent. More than 400 people made Saturday's trip, a short, 2.5-kilometre (1.5-mile) jaunt up the steep, rocky outcrops that jut out of the central Nigerian plains.
'It keeps me fit,' said Jeremiah Makpum, a 32-year-old regular, adding that the large group presence helps him feel safe - not a small thing in a country suffering from regular jihadist violence and violent kidnap-for-ransom gangs. Naija Adventurers, like the other half-dozen or so hiking groups in Abuja, doesn't reveal the exact location of its hikes until its members have met up to carpool.
An advance team goes out in the days before to scope out the trails, which are not made for hiking but rather used by farmers or livestock herders. While Saturday's hike was a welcome reprieve from the group's longer, more punishing day trips, it was still augmented by the usual slew of volunteer organizers and medical personnel - and armed security. 'If anything happens you'll be amazed, the amount of guns that will come out' from plain-clothes volunteers, Esesua Adeyemi, another organizer, told AFP.
A hiker leads a group along a rocky path as they climb a hill during a group hike on the outskirts of Abuja, Nigeria.
Hikers pose for a photograph with a Naija Adventurers flag.
A man performs abdominal exercises on a yoga mat at the summit of a hill.
A man dances while listening to music.
A hiker poses for a photograph as she descends a hill during a group hike.
Hikers pose for a photograph at the summit of a hill during a group hike.
A hiker holds a speaker as he descends a hill during a group hike.
This aerial view shows hikers resting as another is performing push-ups on a yoga mat during a group hike on the outskirts of Abuja, Nigeria.
Participants take part in an aerobics session at the summit of a hill during a group hike.
Participants take part in an aerobics session at the summit of a hill during a group hike.
Hiking, Nigeria style
As the group rounded the first summit, an expanse of farmland and rocky crags - bright green from the seasonal rains - opened up. But if anyone was hoping to commune with nature quietly, that's not how Naija Adventurers rolls. Hikers carried speakers blasting Afrobeats music, while organizers shouted words of encouragement to the sweaty trekkers. At a rest stop, dance parties and an aerobics class broke out.
Vendors lugged sunglasses, perfumes and drinks, hawking their wares on blankets spread on top of a cliff, as men showing off their abs spread out yoga mats and challenged each other to crunches. One of the organizers carried a flag emblazoned with the text 'Born To Explore'.
But the country's rapidly urbanizing character means many, especially the urban poor, grow up cut off from the countryside. 'Like the waterfalls, we have dams, we have farms, a lot of tourist attractions in Abuja,' said Kingsley Uche, founder of Kay Hikers, a 5,000-member outdoors group. 'The problem is the government presence, they're not focused on it.' National parks exist in varying states of repair across the nation, sometimes along dangerous roads. Police in April warned against hiking and camping in the Federal Capital Territory without notifying security agencies.
Most trails in the country are passed along by word of mouth, their locations unmarked, though Adeyemi said organizers are in contact with the tourism and culture ministry about getting hiking areas mapped. The first time he went hiking, three years ago, Joseph Eze's legs were shaking so hard he slowed down the entire group's descent. Now, the 33-year-old farmer is a member of multiple hiking groups. 'It's exercise, it's healthy for me,' he told AFP, while the massive crowds help with making friends. 'It lets you relieve a lot of things in your head.' — AFP