Ebonyi State Has a Beach: Everything You Need To Know About the Beach in Ebonyi State

Are the beaches located in the state capital, Abakaliki? NO. So where is the beach in the Ebonyi state located? Hang in there, we’ll show you real soon as you scroll along…

Watch Video Below;

Ebonyi state is located in the South Eastern part of Nigeria.

Ebonyi state is covered with body of water called Asu River. This river spans across all the local government areas in the state.

When it comes to talks about natural resources, lead and zinc tops the chart in Ebonyi state. Have you read how we uncovered a mining pit in Ebonyi state that generates over $500,000? Check it out here.

Meanwhile, salt can also be found in Ebonyi state. You’d be surprised that if you scratch the ground to some depths, salt would start coming out. Ahah. Just kidding.

But there’s a salt lake in the Ohaozara local government area of Ebonyi state. Somewhere in Uburu and Okposi.

Before 1996, I think Ohaozara local govt of Ebonyi state used to be part of Enugu, while Afikpo used to be Abia state. Please let me know if I am correct in the comment section.

Ebonyi State (Igbo: Ȯra Ebonyi) is a state in the South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered to the north and northeast by Benue State, Enugu State to the west, Cross River State to the east and southeast, and Abia State to the southwest. Named for the Abonyi (Aboine) River—a large part of which is in the state’s south—Ebonyi State was formed from parts of Abia and Enugu state in 1996 and has its capital as Abakaliki.

One of the smallest states of Nigeria, Ebonyi is the 33rd largest in area and 29th most populous with an estimated population of nearly 2.9 million as of 2016. Geographically, the state is divided between the Cross–Niger transition forests in the far south and the drier Guinean forest–savanna mosaic in the rest of the state. The other important geographical features are the Cross River and its tributary, the River Aloma, which flow along Ebonyi’s southeastern and eastern borders, respectively; while fellow Cross River tributaries, the Abonyi (Aboine), Asu, and Eze Aku rivers run through the state’s interior. There are other smaller rivers like Ichelle and igbe which also form boundaries between Benue and Ebonyi States to the West.

After independence in 1960, the area of now-Ebonyi was a part of the post-independence Eastern Region until 1967 when the region was split and the area became part of the East Central State. Less than two months afterwards, the former Eastern Region attempted to secede in the three-year long Nigerian Civil War with Ebonyi as a part of the secessionist state of Biafra. At the war’s end and the reunification of Nigeria, the East Central State was reformed until 1976 when the state’s north became Anambra State and the south became Imo State. Fifteen years afterwards, Anambra and Imo states were divided with their eastern parts becoming Enugu State and Abia State, respectively. It was not until 1996, when Enugu State’s east and Abia’s northeast were split off and joined to form Ebonyi State.

Economically, Ebonyi State is based around agriculture, mainly of yams, rice, oil palm, and cassava crops. A key minor industry is mining due to lead, zinc, and limestone deposits around Abakaliki, and locally hand-made baskets of various sizes at Ntezi. Ebonyi has the joint-twentieth highest Human Development Index in the country and numerous institutions of tertiary education.

Anytime I hear the name Ebonyi state, the first thing that comes to my mind is, “Salt of the Nation” “Lead, Zinc…”

But Beach? Whoa! (Pause the instrumental) That’s some god-level typa shii they’ve got there.

But is it true?

Is it really true that Ebonyi state has a beach? Let’s find out together.

So we set out on a journey to Ebonyi state where we got to find out that the beach is located somewhere in Afikpo local govt area. At first, we thought we were going to see a beach in Afikpo, surprisingly, we saw ‘beaches’ instead.

If you are coming from anywhere, and you intend to journey to Afikpo via public transportation, kindly alight at the state central park opposite the state’s international market (St. Margaret Umahi International Market), there, you would see vehicles going to Afikpo.

We left Abakaliki for Afikpo around 11 O’clock in the morning and got to our destination about 2 hours later. We got there tired like people who spent previous night at a crusade. Ahah. Just kidding.

Ehugbo often referred to as Afikpo, is the second largest urban area in Ebonyi State, Nigeria. It is the headquarters of the Afikpo North Local Government Area.

It is situated in the southern part of Ebonyi State and is bordered to the north by the town of Akpoha, to the south by Unwana, to the south west by Edda LGA, to the east by the Cross River State and to the west by Amasiri town. Afikpo spans an area approximately 164 km2 (63 sq mi). It is located on 6 degrees north latitude and 8 degrees east longitude. Afikpo is a hilly area despite occupying a region low in altitude, which rises 350 feet (110 m) above sea level. It is a transitional area between open grassland and tropical forest and has an average annual rainfall of 79 inches (2,000 mm).

The vehicle alighted us at the Eke Market which seems like the central part of Afikpo. We were tempted to buy foodstuffs. It was attractive and from the look of things, the prices would be cheaper considering the fact that price of things in Nigeria had skyrocketed.

Well, we didn’t. Instead, we went straight to lodging an hotel where we can rest our and look fresh again.

…and yes, there are couple of good hotels around Afikpo and even towards the beach side.

Meanwhile, if you are planning to visit Afikpo soon and need us to scout good hotels for you and their prices, kindly reach out to us via anetravelshelper@gmail.com OR allnaijaentertainment@gmail.com.

Finally, another day is here! Afikpo beach, here we come.

After making inquiries, we realized that there is more than one beach in Afikpo and we were ready to go have a look at all of them.

The first one we went to was Ndibe Beach.

NDIBE BEACH

Ndibe Beach is located at Ndibe, in Afikpo North.

When we finally got there, what we expected wasn’t what we saw.

We were expecting to see couple of grownups having good times at a what was supposed to be a beach, right? Well, we saw grown ups, just that they weren’t having fun. Instead, they were working. They were mining the beach sand for sale.

Beach from what I used to know is a place where people go to have fun. A relaxation center.

So what’s going on here?

We meet with one of the resident who we asked couple of questions about the beach and the activities going on there.

Watch Below:

Ndibe Beach, unlike what we thought is actually called Ndibe Sand Beach. A place where sharp sand for construction is being harvested.

Did Afikpo people got the wrong definition of beach? No, I don’t think so. I think they decided to create an employment for themselves in a system where unemployment rate is high.

The river flowing in Ndibe Beach is in between two states. Ebonyi state and Cross River state. Calabar.

People from Cross River uses canoe to cross to the other side and people from here does the same. Business transactions are performed there, mostly on farm produce such as plantain, fish, garri, amongst others…

Well, you guessed right, we entered the canoe to cross to Cross River but hot temperature couldn’t allow to make recordings. The driver who sailed us to the other side attributed to “Sea and Land Breeze” which might be true.

And finally, we were through with exploring Ndibe Beach.

We then set out for another beach in Unwana in the Afikpo south local govt area.

Unwana Beach

Akanu Ibiam federal polytechnic is also located at Uwana. There, we finally got to see people who came to have fun in a beach.

We saw people who came to have a good time with their babes and those who came to do laundry.

We had fun too.

But come to think of it, between harvesting sand for construction purposes and developing a tourism center, which is more beneficial to the people?

Is Ndibe Beach a fun place?

Well I think is it. But somehow, it is more of a business hub than a fun place. People of different cultures are allowed to come and harvest sand, if you are up for the task, be sure to gun for it. However, I learnt that during December, the residents makes it a fun place instead of work hub.

Finally, is it worth risking out for?

Certainly not. Considering the stress it would take you to travel all the way from Abakaliki to Afikpo, thereafter, the location of the beaches, it’s not worth it. Cost of transportation is another thing to consider.

I mean, I understand that people have different definition for pleasure. If this suits your definition, why not? Be sure to try it out.

Away from everything, I keep thinking what this resources would bring to the state if commercialized just like the beaches in Lagos, and one of them is exposure and more money to the purse of the handlers.

Well, I got convinced otherwise that it may never happen, maybe it will. But certainly won’t be anytime soon. I’ll tell you why.

– Converting the beach automatically means shortage of revenue from the investors harvesting the sand. Two things is doable though;

1. Convert the beach to a proper beach while the sand harvesting continues. The river is wide enough to accommodate both.

2. Leave everything as it is and move on from it just like they did to Amanchor cave in the same Afikpo.

Thanks for checking out guys. Until next time, ciao.