Azaghvana E-Book 2003 - Flipbook - Page 61
connecting Korana Basa and Ghwa’a. We are completely exhausted, but also satisfied
because we managed to walk from Ghwa’a to Ngoshe Sama, which is the most southern
administrative village of the Gwoza LGA, and back, in only one day.
Mountains versus plain
The Gwoza hills give the GLGA its typical shape. We realise that the international boundary
formed by the Kirawa river makes for very limited land resources in the eastern plain, while
the western plain, with Gwoza town as the administrative centre, has far more potential for
expansion and development. We also realise that the Guduf saddle and the Dghweɗe and
Gvoko massif are still quite densely populated, while the Zelidva spur is almost completely
abandoned. The demographic situation in the hills also ties in with its geography, considering
that the Dghweɗe massif is easier to access from the eastern plain. This makes not only the
eastern plain, in particular in its narrower southern part, but also the Dghweɗe and Chikiɗe
massif, the most disadvantaged parts of the Gwoza LGA. The only tarmac road (see Figure
3), which connects Gwoza town with Bama and Maiduguri in the northwest, and Mubi and
Yola in the south, makes the adjacent western plain of the Gwoza hills the main place of
transit for people and goods. This gives Gwoza town quite some advantage as the central
place within the Gwoza LGA, which is further enhanced by the fact that it also has a hospital
and a secondary school.
Gwoza is the only LGA along the western chain of the northern Mandara Mountains with an
intramountainous eastern plain, and it includes an international boundary which does not
allow for any expansion. Madagali, about 25km down the main road and situated at the foot
of the Sukur massif, is the administrative centre of the next LGA, which appears equally
impenetrable from the west, at least along the heights of Tur. Further south, around Michika
(Figure 1), the hills stretch much further into the western plain, and they are also easier to
access, for example the Futu massif. As soon as we get to Mubi, the hill area to its east is
lower and easier to access altogether. Although Mubi is only about 100km south of Gwoza
town, we have by now left the Sudano-Sahelian transition zone and can therefore count on
regular higher rainfalls.
The above adds environmental and climatic factors to the understanding of the general
situation in and around the northwestern range of the Mandara Mountains. The fact that the
Gwoza and the Madagali LGA are part of the semi-arid zone makes the plains more
vulnerable to desertification. This means that the terraced slopes of the Gwoza hills have an
important ecological function in retaining water, though downhill migration has been rapidly
leading to their erosion, especially in the northern and western parts of the hills. Those
terraced mountain areas which are still occupied, in particular the Guduf saddle and the
Chikiɗe and Dghweɗe massif, must be considered a valuable local resource, but unfortunately
in terms of the traditional past only. There is no developmental policy in place which would
pick up on this and try to encourage development in the hills and its adjacent eastern plain.
The demographic situation in Dghweɗe proves this point. Most people who were still living
up there during my time were women, children and older people, while most younger and
many middle-aged men were away earning money elsewhere. Tourism was not considered an
option for sustainable development in the Gwoza hills, a very unfortunate circumstance since
for example Sukur, with its famous stone enclosure and paved pathways, had become a world
heritage site. The Gwoza hills, together with the heights of Tur and the equally intact cultural
landscapes further across into the Cameroonian parts of the mountains, would have provided
a truly unique environment for recreational tourism. Sadly, the lack of policies and investment
into the appropriate infrastructure didn't provide for such opportunities which could
potentially have maintained the existing cultural landscape and created income for the hill
population. This is why young men continued to find alternative income in the cities of the
northeast or even further afield, where they were exposed to the radical ideas of Boko Haram.
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