MY ADVENTURE TO KAJURU CASTLE

I have met well educated people who cannot pronounce the word- CASTLE rightly; of a truth the word isn't an everyday word, maybe because a castle itself is not an everyday sight- especially in Nigeria.

For knowledge sake, the letter T in the word is silent and a castle is "a large building, typically of the medieval period, fortified against attack with thick walls, battlements, towers, and often a moat." I doubt if you've been to one as there is only one castle across the length and breadth of our architecturally rich country- Nigeria, I excuse those who have visited or lived in Ghana and South Africa which is respected to have more castles than any other African country

With no apologies, the least number of wrong guesses you'll make as to where it is located will be five, it's not in Lagos, not Port Harcourt, not Enugu, not Kano, not even the Federal Capital Territory- Abuja. 

As at the time of this writing, June 30, 2016, the only castle in Nigeria is sited in the uncelebrated village of Kajuru in Kaduna state, Nigeria; I was privileged to visit the Kajuru Castle earlier this year- January 19 precisely, it was my birth day.

The ostentatious monument that greeted me ‘Welcome’ at the end of the bumpy-jagged hills that ascends to the castle was astounding.

I knew I was in one of Nigeria’s underrated tourist site- the wears on the vehicle's tyre and the fears on my naïve mind were compensated.

“Kajuru Castle was built in 1978 by a controversial German expatriate living in Kaduna named Hermann Huebner many believe that the German expatriate who built the place was deported over controversies of wanting to seize the magnanimous structure during the Ibrahim Babangida Administration.” An indigene explained to me, shockingly.

The interior look is mind blowing as it contains all sort of complete armouries for fighting eg Swords  and what you see in the picture above

As a Quantity Surveyor and one that is familiar with buildings and the construction industry, I was, no, I am still amazed at the wonderful architectural master-piece and layout of the castle built on a Big Rock. For a moment, I thought I was in South Africa because the style is a mix of European and German with a baronial hall, dungeon-style bedrooms and several towers with crenulated walls iced with enthralling natural view of surrounding mountains and fascinating outlook


The castle accommodates a magnificent large stainless steel swimming pool and self-catering modern kitchens.

You’ll gain entrance into the Kajuru Castle if you can part with a meagre sum of Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira, I mean 250, 000 Naira only and a permission from Dragon. Remember it’s a Private Property, not governments’ and by the way Dragon is the name of a German lady- not what you were thinking.





As I roamed within the castle, I lost my breath when I stumbled upon some happy crocodiles in a pit used to protect the huge castle, castle-cats, and a peacock; obviously, they were well fed, thanks to their creator, they don’t feed on tomatoes, and rice for your information.

Indeed, the first timer may assume he is imagining things or his eyes are probably playing games on him, but it is real.

Needless to say, the interiors is completely mind-blowing, my mouth cannot tell, my pen may not justly describe the suits of armour, the constant electricity generating artificial damn and every other thing my eyes saw. I can only leave you to imagine more.




I'll drop my pen here.
Adebo Mayowahttps://www.facebook.com/MarquessQonsult/?ref=bookmarks