By Denen Achussah
ON Monday, 2nd May, 2022, at exactly 8:42am, a group of 17 hikers from the BHG made it to the roof of Nigeria, on the Chappal Waddai Mountain. They were accompanied by four potters and four Park Rangers, National Record learnt.
The Keeper of Benue Hike Group (BHG), Tersoo Samson Akula a.k.a Kugia u Kwande, says it took the group five days from Makurdi, the Benue State capital, to get to the peak of Nigeria’s highest point: Top of Mount Chappal Waddai.
The expedition, according to Akula, was in solidarity with victims of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and BHG’s contribution to actions and initiatives aimed at drawing more attention and influencing action towards the reduction of GBV in Nigeria.
“The 5-day trip saw us travel hundreds of kilometres in and out of Taraba and Benue states, with our first place stop at Serti,” says Akula. Serti is located in Gashaka Local Government Area (LGA), Taraba State. They are the first group to reach the summit of Nigeria in such numbers – seven males and 10 females, National Record learnt. They are also the first to trek all the way from Njawai, Gashaka LGA, to the summit. From Njawai to the summit is approximately 40Km.
Code named ‘Roof Top of Nigeria,’ Chappal Waddai is a 2,419m (7,936 feet) mountain and represents Nigeria and West Africa’s highest point and the second highest point in sub-Saharan Africa, after Mount Cameroon.
Located at the eastern corner of Gashaka Gumti National Park in Taraba State, Nigeria, the Chappal Waddai Mountain is a majestic spectacle, straddling the Cameroonian border with Nigeria. The mountain, also known as Gangirwal, meaning: the ‘Mountain of Death’ in Fulfulde, because of an insurmountable gully that exists in the Southern corner of the Nigerian side of the range, is a part of the Bamenda-Adamawa-Mandara Mountain chain of Nigeria and Cameroon.
Narrating the experience to the summit, Akula says: “Between the 29th of April and 3rd of May 2022, Benue Hike Group carried out an expedition to Chappal Waddai. Summiting this Mountain is a challenge we have always wanted to take on. We are extreme hikers, which means we take on the most daring trails in very difficult and hard to reach areas. We are also night hikers.”
He said from Makurdi, the party first camped at the transit camp of the Gashaka-Gumti National Park (GGNP), Nigeria’s largest national park.
According to Akula, the group, escorted by armed Park Rangers, left Serti on 30th April.
He narrated: “We travelled 77km to Nguroje using the snake-like beautiful road. This road is undoubtedly the most dangerous road in Nigeria.
“Nguroje is actually the transit town (in Taraba State) to Njawai, which is the last town on the Nigerian border with Cameroon. Our trip to Njawai was done by using two Hilux trucks. We had alternatives of hiring Land Rovers or motorbikes from the locals, but we decided to cut cost by burdening our vehicles. One of the Hilux vehicles was provided for us by the park officials.
“The terrain from Nguroje to Njawai was rough and difficult. The trip took us six hours to arrive our destination. We were also lucky the heavens were dry; the rains would have made the journey much more difficult as the road would have become slippery.
“We got to the Rangers outpost at Njawai by twilight and linked up with the Park Rangers and got ourselves two more armed escorts. By our plan, we were supposed to hike to Amansale, a village in Cameroon the same day. But we didn’t reach the bargain with the bike riders who were supposed to convey our luggage to Amansale and also the potters on time. It was well after 9pm when we reached a bargain. Then the rains came down to disrupt the rest of the schedule. We had no choice but to spend the night at Njawai.”
The group would proceed on a 22km hike to Amansale from Njawai, completing the distance in five hours.
“We hiked through a beautiful but difficult terrain, which took us in and out of the Republic of Cameroon. We finally got to Amansale, which is the base camp for the Chappal Waddai.
“We were supposed to spend the night at Amansale but we had lost 10 hours due to the stop at Njawai. So we would proceed to climb the mountain that same day. This was a great test of our endurance.
“The hike from Njawai also helped our bodies to adjust to the high altitude. This was important especially for those who may have had high altitude sickness,” explains the BHG Keeper.
According to him, the six-hour hike to the ‘Roof of Nigeria’ began at 4:45pm, same day.
“This time, we were deeply into the Republic of Cameroon. But the fatigue of the trek from Njawai started to get to us. It became obvious we couldn’t summit Chappal Waddai that day as planned, plus the mountain became excessively cold and windy that night,” Akula said.
He further narrated: “The party was also tired and hungry. So we made a decision to stop at a place where summiting the next morning wasn’t going to be difficult again.
“After hiking five more hours, from Amansale, we pitched our tents and just behind us was Dutsen Dodo, a unique rock formation that has left many researchers and tourists in awe.
“It was a cold night. The clouds enveloped us; we literary slept in the clouds. The next day, we didn’t leave the camp area on time as planned because of the cold. But by 6am, we were up and began the final climb to the top of the Mountain of Death.
“On our way, we saw companies of baboons, some jackals, majestic landscapes, and well-fed cattle grazing lazily on the grandeur montane land. We hiked through a rain forest, savannah and montane vegetations. Such is the vegetational diversity of the Chappal Waddai.
“So, at approximately 8:42am, we summited the top of Nigeria – 17 of us, plus 4 potters and 4 Park Rangers. We become the first group to reach the summit of Nigeria in such numbers – 7 males and 10 females, also the first to trek all the way from Njawai to the summit.
“The summit of Chappal Waddai was marked by a wooden signpost in 2020 by a group of climbers who visited the mountain with TVP Adventures. This has become the official highest point. At this point we are higher than 200 million people in Nigeria, over 420 million in West Africa and over 700 million in sub-Saharan Africa.
“We proceeded to have photo sessions in solidarity with messages against GBV (Gender-Based Violence) and also pictures to promote the products and services of our sponsors and partners. The journey down to Amansale took just 2 hours, 50 minutes approximately, as against the over six hours we used in climbing.
“The group had rested and recovered well from the fatigue of the day before and were able to pick speed!”
The BHG Keeper narrated how his colleague hiker, Charles Erukaa a.k.a Iron Draggon, summed the moment at the peak of West Africa, quoting him as stating: “This is the highest point in Nigeria. Right over there,” he said, pointing as he runs towards a wooden post on which is engraved: Chappal Waddai. “We, have made it,” Erukaa says, straddling his arms in fulfilment.
“Taking to his Facebook page, where he uploaded a video of the moment, Erukaa wrote: ‘Right behind The Keeper Kugia U Kwande and just ahead of the V6 crew led by Judith Ngohile Nenge the Wild Spirit, I couldn’t resist some theatrics, as Benue Hike Group (BHG) conquered Chappal Waddai, the Mountain of Death, West Africa’s highest point. The Keeper aimed the camera and I simply blazed away…got drowned by the wind and photo bombed by the Wild Spirit.’”
The BHG Keeper expressed profound appreciation to their partners: Office of the First Lady of Benue State, Exodus Cinema, Community Links and Human Empowerment Initiative (CLHEI), TheSixth Photography, Kasejene, The Scent Shop, KSS, Jumifa Bread, MHWUN SPAGz and Abeda Ventures.
He says it’s a leap for BHG. “I am excited, I am happy to be here today,” he says, walking up to the highest point on Chappal Waddai. “Legend status sealed,” he adds. “We are the first hike group in Nigeria to reach the top of Nigeria with 17 people.”
