Can we actually boast about knowing the true nature of the Niger river And the river Benue? I guess no, even though many have heard about the spectacular wonders that occur at their meeting points, but many are yet to discover what I have just uncovered regarding the wonders of these two rivers that meets at a specific point known as the confluence, in Lokoja - Kogi State, Nigeria.

The Niger is said to have been named by the greeks since it's discovery, although it has so many other names such as the Kwarra, Kworra, or Quorra at it's lower stretch; the Mayo Balleo and the Ida Eghirren at it's central reach; and Joliba (Malinke: "great river") at it's upper course. The Niger River has a length of about 2,600 miles/4,200 kilometres, considered the principal river of western Africa and ranked as the third longest in Africa.

The Niger River rises in Guinea at 9°05' N and 10°47' W, inland from the Atlantic ocean and flows through so many channels before passing through the southern fringe of the Sahara and then it flows into the Niger. At this point, it is still navigable into the Atlantic ocean even though navigation seems to be seasonal due to the water level fluctuations during the rainy season's and the dry season's.

The River Niger enters its lower course downstream from Jebba, Nigeria and is joined by the Kaduna river through a broad and shallow valley 5 - 10 miles/8 - 16 Kilometres wide. From this point, it contributes about one fourth of its annual discharge of the river below the Niger-Kaduna confluence and about 25 miles/40 kilometres above lokoja- Kogi state, then it turns to the south. This is where it receives the greatest tributary from the Benue river, whereby doubling it's annual discharge volume.

The Niger River is responsible for being the source of hydroelectricity, whereby the Kaiji Dam is it's largest project to be built in the 1960s, among other projects such as the Shiroro which is on the Kaduna tributary in Nigeria, the Sotunba and Markala in Mali and the dams in Jebba- on the Niger.

By now we already know the Benue River to be the longest tributary of the Niger River. The River Benue is also spelled as Bénoué, covering about 673 miles/1083 kilometres in length. The River rises in the northern part of Cameroon at 4,400 feet/1340m and descends through many falls and rapids, not as interrupted as that of the Niger, in clear fact it is largely uninterrupted. During floods it is linked through the Mayo-Kebbi tributary and the Logone, which flows into Lake Chad. The River Benue and the Gongola is joined in between Yola and Makurdi after which it then flows east and south for about 300 miles/480 Kilometres.

There is a sandbag that crosses the Benue and the Niger and this allows only about 2 feet/0.6m of water whenever the flow is minimal. This then delays the river traffic that moves upstream from the Delta into Lokoja - Nigeria, while it waits for a enough depth of water and is obliged to return before the water level falls very low.

For many of us who did not understand the the origin of the two rivers and how they both came to meet at the confluence, I believe i have given a brief explanation of how this came about. Below is a brief explanation of the confluence, it's spectacular wonders and the revelation of present day activities that can be found there.

The Confluence in Lokoja is the meeting point of both the River Niger and River Benue, this meeting point became a wonder to behold in the sight of the first Europeans that came to Nigeria, not until it was passed through by John and Richard Landers on 25th of October 1830, whereby completing the journey started by Mungo Park in 1796.

The Confluence by it's look is a Y-shaped structure in what appears to be a spectacular sight of wonder, with both rivers displaying their very obvious uniqueness such as the Niger River being brownish, while the Benue River being greenish in colour. So much of fishing activities are presently being carried on around the confluence; boat, ferry and cruising facilities are in place within the view of this confluence.

The meeting points of these two rivers is truly a beauty sight to behold by whichever means that this geographical spectacular wonder Is being accessed, boosting tourism in the Lokoja region since it is well visited by both the international and the local tourists as well. Lokoja - Kogi is well celebrated and mostly known as being the host for this confluence.

The wonders of this confluence might as well be the major reason why the then Governor General of Nigeria - Lord Frederick Lugard ruled the nation from Lokoja-Kogi state, and till date, for tourists who view this natural wonder either from an aircraft or a chopper it still remains to be a beautiful sight to behold.

In summary, the Confluence, or the conflux in Lokoja - is the meeting point of two giant arms of water spread across an expanse of land, and it is dotted with green vegetation with a large number of settlements within it's environs. It is also said that the two rivers are like oil and water which never mixes together and this is due to a fact that the Niger River is brownish and muddy at the confluence, while the benue appears to be light green and plain. The Confluence is truly a sight to behold.

There has been rumours that Mungo Park discovered the River Niger when he reached the Niger in 1796, but in 2018, a report by Dailyposts states that this claim was maid void by the present Vice President - Professor Yemi Osinbajo, when he mentioned that Mungo Park did not discover the River Niger. In view of this please verify by clicking here .

Some other report contradicts the other, and now the question goes thus: Who truly discovered the Niger river or was the first to reach the Niger river? Let's see if your opinion suits the curiosity that has left many speechless. Do drop your comments below and thanks for reading