Destroyed heritage site: we need FG, UNESCO’s intervention–Official

Mr Anthony Sham, the care taker of Sukur, a UNESCO’S World Heritage Site has expressed optimism of government and UNESCO’s intervention on the destroyed structures by activities insurgents.

The Sukur Cultural landscape is located on the hill above the village of Sukur in Madagali Local Government Area of Adamawa State.

It is situated in the Mandara mountains close to the boarder with neighbouring Cameroon.

Sham spoke in a telephone interview with Newsverge on Monday in Abuja.

“A team from the Head Quarters came to the sites sometimes ago and took inventory of the damage done to the sites by members of the Boko Haram.

“We are still expecting their intervention for the destroyed site; we have written to remind them; I don’t know their reasons for not responding.

“Similarly, we made a presentation about the destroyed site to UNESCO in a programme in Tanzania last year.

“They promised to send an active monitoring team to come and look at the level of damage at the site, but up till now, we have not see them,” he said.

Sham explained that Sukur community members who earlier fled when the insurgents invaded the area and destroyed house have restored their houses.

“They are now coming back to their houses, but the monumental structures are yet to be restored.”

NAN reports that the Sukur community was invaded in late 2014 by the insurgents and destroyed structures at the site including houses belonging to the community members.

Newsverge also reports that Sukur is a stone-age iron smelting community; the recent history is traced to the Dur Dynasty of the 17th century.

The Dur established the region as a major supplier of raw material for iron manufacture to northeastern Nigeria; this was perpetuated to the first decade of the 20th century.

Its UNESCO inscription as World Heritage Site was based on cultural heritage, material culture and the naturally-terraced fields.

Sukur is the first African cultural landscape to receive heritage list inscription in 1999 at the 23rd Session of UNESCO.