The Yobe State government is set to make the ancient Dufuna Canoe a tourist attraction in the state.
A statement signed by the Senior Special Assistant on Digital and Strategic Communications to Governor Mai Mala Buni, which was made available to LEADERSHIP in Damaturu, Yobe State capital, quoted the Commissioner of Home Affairs, Information and Culture, Hon. Abdullahi Bego, as saying that the desire of Governor Buni administration was to salvage and restore the 8,000-year-old Dufuna Canoe, which was discovered and excavated in 1998 and position it as a major tourist attraction in the state.
Bego disclosed this while meeting with the new Director General of the National Commission for Meseums and Monuments (NCMM), Mr. Olugbile Holloway, and some of his management staff in Abuja.
According to him, the canoe is dated at over 8,000 years old and is said to be the oldest watercraft in Sub-Saharan Africa, which underscores government’s desire to make it one of the tourist attractions in the State.