This question was attempted by few candidates and most of those who did it performed poorly because they misunderstood Niger – Benue Trough for Niger Delta.
The people and population of the Niger – Benue Trough included:
- Several small ethnic groups such as the Idoma, Igala, Gwari, Tiv, Nupe, Jukun, Bassa and a host of others;
-
Two major ethnic groups which are the Tivs and Nupes.
-
Mostly rural settlers;
-
Sparsely populated area;
-
Average density of 20 persons per km2;
-
Dispersed settlements;
-
Major population concentrations at New Bussa, Lokoja, Makurdi, Yola, etc.
The resources and economic activities include:
- presence of rivers which support fishing;
-
aboundance of fertile valley plains supporting agriculture;
- presence of good sites for HEP generation e.g. the Kainji at Jebba and Shiroro on Kaduna river;
-
mineral resources include salt, limestone, iron ore, marble;
-
transportation along the rivers;
-
cultivation of crops like sugar cane, beniseed, rice, soya beans, etc;
-
local crafts like pottery, brass work;
-
industrial activities – limestone mining in Gboko, cement manufacturing, etc.
The problems of development include:
- sparse nature of the population does not encourage siting of major industries;
-
harsh weather conditions (e.g. too wet for northern crops and too dry for southern crops);
-
prevalence of diseases and pests;
-
high cost of provision of social amenities and infrastructure;
-
land conflicts;
-
frequent flood disasters;
- seasonality of rivers;
-
rapids and falls along rivers, etc.
|
