Twenty eight(28) of Nigeria thirty six(36) states can be accessed through water, with over 250 ethnic groups it is estimated the one quarter of Nigeria population live in the coastal zone
10. CALABAR RIVER
The Calabar River in Cross River State, Nigeria flows from the north past the city of Calabar, joining the larger Cross River about 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) to the south. The river at Calabar forms a natural harbor deep enough for vessels with a draft of 6 metres (20 ft).[1]
The Calabar River was once a major source of slaves brought down from the interior to be shipped west in the Atlantic slave trade. Slaving was suppressed by 1860, but the port of Calabar remained important in the export of palm oil and other products, until it was eclipsed by Port Harcourt in the 1920s. With improved roads into the interior, Calabar has regained importance as a port and is growing rapidly. The tropical rain forest in the Calabar River basin is rapidly being destroyed, and pollution is decreasing fish and shrimp catches in the estuary. Those that are caught have unsafe levels of contaminants.
Location
The Calabar River drains part of the Oban Hills in the Cross River National Park.[2] The geology of the river basin includes the Pre-Cambrian Oban Massif, Cretaceous sediments of the Calabar flank and the recent Niger Delta sedimentary basin.[3] The basin is about 43 kilometres (27 mi) wide and 62 kilometres (39 mi) long, with an area of 1,514 square kilometres (585 sq mi)[4] At one time it was entirely covered by tropical rainforest.[5]
The region has a rainy season from April until October, during which 80% of the annual rain falls, with peaks in June and September. Annual rainfall averages 1,830 millimetres (72 in). Average temperatures range from 24 °C (75 °F) in August to 30 °C (86 °F) in February. Relative humidity is high, between 80% and 100%.[3] The basin has 223 streams with a total length of 516 kilometres (321 mi). This is a small number given the size of the basin.[6] Drainage is poor, so the basin is subject to flooding, gully erosion and landslides. A 2010 study said that flooding had increased in recent years.[7]
In 1862 the Zoological Society of London received a description of a new crocodile named Crocodilus frontatus that had been taken from the Old Calabar River, with a much broader head than in Crocodilus vulgaris.[8] A new bat called Sphyrocephalus labrosus was also reported.[9]
The river system formed by the Cross River, Calabar, Great Kwa and other tributaries forms extensive flood plains and wetlands that empty into the Cross River estuary. The system has an estimated area of 54,000 square kilometres (21,000 sq mi) As of 2000 about 8,000 tonnes of fish and 20,000 tonnes of shrimp were being caught annually.[10] Shrimp provide a relatively cheap form of protein to the people of Calabar. The fishermen land their catches at Alepan’s beach on the Calabar River, and the catch is sold in the surrounding markets.[11]
The city of Calabar is bounded by the Calabar River to the west, Great Kwa River to the east and the wetlands of the Cross river estuary to the south. It can only grow to the north, into the Calabar River catchment area, and this has been happening.[25] The Calabar river watershed was originally covered by tropical rainforest. Much has now been replaced by agriculture, road construction, forestry, industry and housing for the growing population of Calabar.[5] For example, the National Integrated Power Project covers a large area of land besides the Calabar-Itu highway at Ikot Nyong in Odukpani Local Government Area.[25]
A study of changes in land use in the Calabar river catchment between 1967 and 2008 showed that the area covered by high forest decreased by almost 30% during that period. In 1967, high forest covered almost 70% of the basin area. By 2008 it covered less than 40%, mostly in the north. Industrial quarrying began in the 1980s and now affects a significant area. It may be causing stream siltation and flooding as well as air and water pollution.[26] The built-up area more than doubled from 3.5% to 7.6% of the land area in the study period.[27]
Calabar Municipality has no waste treatment facilities. Human wastes and those from cottage industries are dumped in surface sites or into open drains. The torrential rains wash most of the wastes into the Calabar and Great Kwa Rivers.[28] Urban pollution and oil exploration activity in the near shore area both threaten the ecology of the estuary, greatly reducing the numbers and diversity of the species that provide food for shrimps and fish.[29] A 1999 study of fish caught in the Calabar and Kwa rivers and in the estuary showed levels of copper and hydrocarbons were above the World Health Organization permissible levels in all samples. Iron content was above permissible levels in 20% of samples.[30] The rate of accumulation of hydrocarbons was greater in the wet seasons, probably because of higher levels of contaminated material washed from vehicle maintenance shops by the torrential rains.[31]
Calabar Municipality and Calabar South had a combined population of 371,000 in 2006. The population of Cross River State has been growing at the rate of about 3% annually since 1991. Growth rates are considerably higher in Calabar city.[32] The state government faces a serious challenge in accommodating this growth while maintaining income levels and avoiding ecological disaster.
9. CROSS RIVER
Cross River (native name: Oyono)[1] is the main river in southeastern Nigeria and gives its name to Cross River State. It originates in Cameroon, where it takes the name of the Manyu River.[2] Although not long by African standards its catchment has high rainfall and it becomes very wide. Over its last 80 kilometres (50 mi) to the sea its flows through swampy rainforest with numerous creeks and forms an inland delta near its confluence with the Calabar River,[3] about 20 kilometres (12 mi) wide and 50 kilometres (31 mi) long between the cities of Oron on the west bank and Calabar, on the east bank, more than 30 kilometres (19 mi) from the open sea. The delta empties into a broad estuary[4] which it shares with a few smaller rivers. At its mouth in the Atlantic Ocean, the estuary is 24 kilometres (15 mi) wide. The eastern side of the estuary is in the neighbouring country of Cameroon.
The major tributary of Cross river is the river Aloma coming from Benue State to merge with the Cross river in Cross River State. Cross River State is connected with a major highway to its sister state Akwa Ibom. The distance between Oron and Calabar is 21 kilometres (13 mi) by boat and about 200 kilometres (120 mi) by road. The population of the lower Cross River traditionally use water transport and Calabar has long had a major seaport, in the Calabar River about 10 kilometres (6 mi) from its confluence with the Cross River and about 55 kilometres (34 mi) from the sea. The Itu bridge on the Cross River is along Itu-Calabar highway and is reported to be one of the landmark achievements of the Gowon administration when it was completed in 1975.
The Cross River forms a boundary between two tropical moist forest ecoregions: the Cross-Niger transition forests, which lie west of the river between the Cross and Niger Rivers, and the Cross-Sanaga-Bioko coastal forests, which lie to the east between the Cross River and the Sanaga River of Cameroon
8. RIVER SOKOTO
The Sokoto River (formerly known as Gublin Kebbi) is a river in north-west Nigeria and a tributary of the River Niger. The river’s source is near Funtua in the south of Katsina State, some 275 kilometres (171 mi) in a straight line from Sokoto. It flows north-west passing Gusau in Zamfara State, where the Gusau Dam forms a reservoir that supplies the city with water. Further downstream the river enters Sokoto State where it passes by Sokoto and is joined by the Rima River, then turning south and flowing through Birnin Kebbi in Kebbi State. About 120 kilometres (75 mi) south of Birnin Kebbi, it reaches its confluence with the Niger River.
The plains around the river are widely cultivated and the river used as a source of irrigation. The river is also an important means of transport. The Bakolori Dam, about 100 kilometres (62 mi) upstream from Sokoto, is a major reservoir on the Sokoto River. It has had significant impact on downstream floodplain cultivation.[1]
7. RIVER KADUNA
The Kaduna River is a tributary of the Niger River which flows for 550 kilometres (340 mi) through Nigeria. It got its name from the crocodiles that lived in the river and surrounding area. Kaduna in the native dialect, Hausa, was the word for “crocodiles”.[1] It starts in Plateau State on the Jos Plateau 29 kilometres (18 mi) southwest of Jos town, flows through its namesake Kaduna State and through its capital Kaduna, and meets the Niger River in Niger State. Most of its course passes through open savanna woodland, but its lower section has cut several gorges above its entrance into the extensive Niger floodplains
6. OSUN RIVER
The Oṣun River (sometimes, but rarely spelt Oshun) is a river that flows southwards through central Yorubaland in southwestern Nigeria into the Lagos Lagoon and the Atlantic Gulf of Guinea. It is one of the several rivers ascribed in local mythology to have been women who turned into flowing waters after some traumatic event frightened or angered them.
The river is named after the Oṣun or Oshun, one of the most popular and venerated Orishas.[1] The annual traditional worship at the Ọṣun Shrine near the Ọṣun River at Osogbo has become a popular pilgrimage and important tourist attraction, drawing people from all over Nigeria and abroad to the annual festival in August.
Osun is one of the river goddesses in Yorubaland, she is noted for providing for the needs of the people. She was reputedly one of the wives of Ṣango, the Yoruba god of thunder. The river goddess has been able to give the barren babies and change the lives of many people.[2] And also there has been many fictional stories about goddess oshun, for example, Shegun Coker and the cursed temple by Kolawole Michael, 2008.
5. OGUN RIVER
The river rises in Sepeteri Oyo State near Shaki at coordinates 8°41′0″N 3°28′0″E and flows through Ogun State into Lagos State.[2] The river is crossed by the Ikere Gorge Dam in the Iseyin local government area of Oyo State. The reservoir capacity is 690 million cubic metres (560,000 acre⋅ft).[3] The reservoir abuts the Old Oyo National Park, providing recreational facilities for tourists, and the river flows through the park.[4] The Ofiki River, which also rises near Shaki, is the Ogun River’s chief tributary.[citation needed] The Oyan River, another tributary, is crossed by the Oyan River Dam which supplies water to Abeokuta and Lagos.[citation needed] In densely populated areas the river is used for bathing, washing and drinking. It also serves as a drain for mostly organic wastes from abattoirs located along the river’s course
In the Yoruba religion, Yemoja is the divinity of the Ogun River. The catechist Charles Phillips, father of the Charles Phillips who later became Bishop of Ondo, wrote in 1857 that the Ogun River was generally worshipped by the people who live along its banks from its rise until where it empties into the lagoon.[5] The river ran through the heart of the old Oyo Empire. Metropolitan Oyo was divided into six provinces with three on the west side of the Ogun River and three to the river’s east.[6] At one time, the river formed an important route for traders carrying goods by canoe between Abeokuta and the Lagos Colony
4. IMO RIVER
The Imo River (Igbo: Mmiri Imo) is in southeastern Nigeria and flows 240 kilometres (150 mi) into the Atlantic Ocean. In Akwa Ibom State, the river is known as Imoh River, that is, Inyang Imoh, which translates to River of Wealth (Ibibio: Inyang means River or Ocean, and Imoh means Wealth). Its estuary is around 40 kilometres (25 mi) wide,[3] and the river has an annual discharge of 4 cubic kilometres (1.0 cu mi)[4] with 26,000 hectares of wetland.[5] The Imo’s tributary Rivers are the Otamiri and Oramirukwa.[6] The Imo was cleared under the British colonial administration of Nigeria in 1907–1908 and 1911; first to Aba and then to Udo near Umuahia.[7]
The deity, or Alusi of the river is the female Imo Mmiri who communities surrounding the river believe to be the owner of the river. Mmiri in Igbo language means water or rain. A festival for the Alusi is held annually between May and July.[8] The Imo River features an 830-metre (2,720 ft) bridge at the crossing between Rivers State and Akwa Ibom State
3. ANAMBRA RIVER
Omambala De mystic River;Obala nkpume na eti mkpili, oke mmili ndu, mmili ala na-azu Omambala, the mystic artery/vein of the dark race.
The Anambra River (Igbo:Ọnwụbala ; Ọma Mbala), the natural landmark from which Anambra State was created, was named by the white men as Anam Branch of the River Niger. This name later came to be shortened to Anam bra (Anambra), the name it officially bears to date.
Inhabitants of the coastal areas of Omambala region; mainly the Aguleri, Anam, Anaku, Nando, Umueri, Nsugbe, Onicha, etc believe in the sanctification power of the Omambala River. “Ritual bath” in the River they say, cleans from iniquities.
In the ancient times, people from different kingdoms/empires such as Idah, Nri, Idu, Ilo-ife, etc consider Omambala a very sacred River, that is why they personified Omambala in their various ethos, myths & legends. Priests and priestesses sojourned from far and near to perform certain sacred rites & ordinances of sacrifice to Omambala.
Many wars were fought between slave raiders, traders and the inhabitants of the Omambala region which spilled great volume of human bloods on the river, down into the Atlantic Ocean for alchemical interactions with cosmological forces.
Many Ndi-Anam believe the Omambala goddess, collects the mineral remains of their ancestors during period of great flood when the aquatic-spirit penetrate ancestral graves.
Natural philosophers which include dibias from Anam, observed a thunderous phenomenon which follows a seasonal pattern: the Nsugbe-Omambala area, thunders during the dry season and Ahaba-Niger area, thunders during the wet season.
The Anam people who literally occupy East bank and Westbank of the Omambala River, often refer to it as”Ọnwụbala” in their folklores.
The Anambra River flows 210 kilometres (130 mi) into the Niger River and is found in Anambra, Nigeria. The river is the most important feeder of the River Niger below Lokoja. The flow of the Anambra river is released into the Atlantic through various outlets forming the 25,000-square-kilometre (9,700 sq mi) Niger Delta region.[2]
2. RIVER BENUE
The Benue River (French: la Bénoué), previously known as the Chadda River or Tchadda, is the major tributary of the Niger River. The river is approximately 1,400 kilometres (870 mi) long and is almost entirely navigable during the summer months. As a result, it is an important transportation route in the regions through which it flows.
It rises in the Adamawa Plateau of northern Cameroon, from where it flows west, and through the town of Garoua and Lagdo Reservoir, into Nigeria south of the Mandara mountains, and through Jimeta, Ibi and Makurdi before meeting the Niger River at Lokoja.
Large tributaries are the Faro River, the Gongola River and the Mayo Kébbi, which connects it with the Logone River (part of the Lake Chad system) during floods. Other tributaries are Taraba River and River Katsina Ala.
At the point of confluence, the Benue exceeds the Niger by volume. The mean discharge before 1960 was 3,400 cubic metres per second (120,000 cu ft/s) for the Benue and 2,500 cubic metres per second (88,000 cu ft/s) for the Niger. During the following decades, the runoff of both rivers decreased markedly due to irrigation.
The Benue River flooded in October 2012, resulting in a large increase in the population of venomous snakes in the Duguri District, Alkaleri Local Government Area, Bauchi State. A July 2013 report indicated that over 200 people in the district had died of snakebite. The General Hospital in Kaltungo, Gombe State in Nigeria, is the nearest location for treatment of snakebite; “whoever is lucky to make it to Kaltungo is treated in only two days and then they return home.”[1]
1. RIVER NIGER
The Niger River (/ˈnaɪdʒər/; French: (le) fleuve Niger, pronounced [(lə) flœv niʒɛʁ]) is the principal river of West Africa, extending about 4,180 km (2,600 mi). Its drainage basin is 2,117,700 km2 (817,600 sq mi) in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in southeastern Guinea. It runs in a crescent through Mali, Niger, on the border with Benin and then through Nigeria, discharging through a massive delta, known as the Niger Delta or the Oil Rivers, into the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean. The Niger is the third-longest river in Africa, exceeded only by the Nile and the Congo River (also known as the Zaïre River). Its main tributary is the Benue River.
The earliest use of the name “Niger” for the river is by Leo Africanus in his Della descrittione dell’Africa et delle cose notabili che iui sono published in Italian in 1550. The name may come from Berber phrase ger-n-ger meaning “river of rivers”. As Timbuktu was the southern end of the principal Trans-Saharan trade route to the western Mediterranean, it was the source of most European knowledge of the region.
Medieval European maps applied the name Niger to the middle reaches of the river, in modern Mali, but Quorra (Kworra) to the lower reaches in modern Nigeria, as these were not recognized at the time as being the same river. When European colonial powers began to send ships along the west coast of Africa in the 16th and 17th centuries, the Senegal River was often postulated to be the seaward end of the Niger. The Niger Delta, pouring into the Atlantic through mangrove swamps and thousands of distributaries along more than 160 kilometres (100 miles), was thought to be no more than coastal wetlands. It was only with the 18th-century visits of Mungo Park, who travelled down the Niger River and visited the great Sahelian empires of his day, that Europeans correctly identified the course of the Niger and extended the name to its entire course.
The modern nations of Nigeria and Niger take their names from the river, marking contesting national claims by colonial powers of the “Upper”, “Lower” and “Middle” Niger river basin during the Scramble for Africa at the end of the 19th century.
SOURCES:
https://www.wikipedia.org/
https://nigerianinfopedia.com.ng/