By Correspondent in Lokoja
Lokoja, the capital of the confluence Kogi state,has been described as a place to beat in terms of relics and other historical materials that remind the present generation of Nigerians of where they are coming from and how the present can shape the future.
The European cemetery is one of such very important tourist sites capable of attracting large number of tourists home and abroad.
History has it that the European/African Cemetery is the largest cemetery in Nigeria, and was initiated by the British colonial masters. It was in use between 1870 and 1900, and it’s the place where administrators and soldiers, as well as white and black missionaries were buried.
Located on the Murtala Mohammed Way, Lokoja, a short distance to the Lokoja Local Government Secretariat is the cemetery which is the size of two football pitches.
This cemetery houses the dead bodies of men and women, European and African, soldiers and missionaries, who contributed and shaped the Nigeria history in the 1800s. Each grave has insignia and inscriptions about those who were buried there.
The insignia and inscriptions talks briefly about the life of those who were buried there, which includes name, address, profession and some nature of death.
Without doubt, the European/African Cemetery is important to Nigerians and the British, as it served as a place where their ancestors were laid to rest.
It is highly significant to the Nigerian history and as such it is an attraction centre for tourists around the world, as it doubles as the first European cemetery and the largest European African Cemetery in Nigeria.
By virtue of the importance of the cemetery as a site with great potential to attract tourists,most especially tourists beyond the shores of Nigeria, some residents of Lokoja have called on the state government to improve the structures of the site.
This is the with a view to making it a tourist destination to improve the revenue profile of the state as well as boost the image of Lokoja as an important historical town in Nigeria, among other advantages.
