Okomu National Park: Home of endangered wildlife

Written by Duncan Wednesday, 11 May 2011

Located in the Ovia South-West Local Government Area of Edo State, the Okomu National Park is west of the River Niger in South-West Nigeria.  It lies between North latitudes 6O 15’ and 6O 25’; and East longitudes 5O 9’ and 5O 23’.  It is bounded in the west by the Okomu River and in the north, east and south by a series of straight cut lines.

The park covers a land area of approximately 19,712 hectares, making it the smallest of Nigeria’s seven national parks. The park is accessible through the main gate at Iguowan along the Udo to Nikorogha road.  From Lagos and other western cities, one passes through the Lagos Benin expressway, turning right at the Okada junction through Iguobazuw and Udo. The park’s gate is about eight kilometres from Udo.

There is an alternative route from Benin City straight through Soluko road and turning left at Obarenren junction after Ora on to Udo. The park is approximately one hour’s drive from Benin City; four hours from Lagos and six hours from Abuja.

Okomu National Park is part of the former 123,800ha Okomu Forest Reserve gazetted in 1935. The presence of the White-throated monkey and forest elephant in particular, led to the creation of a Wildlife Sanctuary in 1985 to protect these and other endangered species.  In 1999, its status was elevated to a National Park.

Topography
The topography of the park is gentle, ranging from 30m and 60m above sea level; several areas have no noticeable slope. The area is well drained by the Okomu River and a few of its tributaries.  There are many areas where the water table rises above ground level to form treeless freshwater pools and marshes, some of which dry up in the dry season.

Okomu National Park lies in the geophysical region known as the Western Coastlands characterised by sedimentary rock of the Eocene Era.  Soils are of acidic sandy loams, derived from deep loose deltaic and coastal sediments, sometimes referred to as the “Benin Sand.

Climate
Mean annual rainfall is about 2,100mm with most of it falling between February and November, and the highest in June, July and September.  The driest period is December and January. The mean monthly temperature is 30.2OC and relative humidity is about 65 per cent during the afternoons throughout the year.

Flora and fauna
The vegetation of Okomu National Park consists mainly of secondary high forest on well drained plateau sites. Despite heavy logging of the area between 1920s and 1980s, the area still remains the least disturbed representative example of the rainforest ecosystem west of the River Niger.  The park contains a unique assemblage of plant and animal diversity some of which are endemic to this area.

Buffalo
The park contains a viable population of the Nigerian White-throated monkey, one of Africa’s most threatened primates, and one of two monkeys endemic to Nigeria.  It also contains a population of the rare Red-capped mangabey, and is one of the last refuges of the chimpanzee in Nigeria, in addition to two other primates: mona monkey and putty-nose monkey.

Dwarf Kingfisher
Besides primates, there are other species such as the Forest elephant, Forest buffalo, Yellow-backed duiker, Red river hog, Africa dwarf crocodile and an impressive variety of birdlife and butterflies. One of the beauties of the Okomu National Park is its rich and illuminating cultural environment, Benin Kingdom. As far back as 900AD, Okomu has been an important part of the vast and prosperous kingdom that has come to be regarded as the cradle of black civilisation.

The greatness and splendour of the kingdom is best expressed in its complex but stable traditional institution, culture, arts and crafts, as well as technology. At Udo the Odighi pond is still worshipped by the people as the site where Arhuaran, their legendary giant of a king, was said to have disappeared into, in about 1504 AD, a prospective candidate for the World Heritage Site.

The Oba’s palace and the famous Bronze Art centre on Igun Street in Benin City are interesting attractions to visit.  Most of all, visitors to Okomu National Park can also savour the captivating annual Igue and Ugie in the middle of December.

The Okomu National Park can be thrilling, as visitors explore the wonders of nature and also enjoy the serene disposition and soothing balm of the rainforest. Its natural tranquility along with its communities of animals, birds, insects, etc combine to make it quite a destination.

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