In 1999 UNESCO inscribed the Sukur Cultural Landscape, located in the Mandara mountains of northeast Nigeria, on the World Heritage List. The citation calls it an exceptional landscape illustrating a form of land-use that marks a critical stage in human settlement and its relationship with its environment. The cultural landscape of Sukur is also eloquent testimony to a strong and continuing spiritual and cultural tradition that has endured, while constantly adapting, for centuries.

Sukur was an anomaly among World Heritage sites in that, prior to achieving that status, it was virtually unknown beyond its immediate area. In 2017, due in part to the depredations of Boko Haram (see below), the endangerment of its cultural heritage was recognized by its listing on the World Monuments Fund’s 2018 Watch List. This “brings international attention to the challenges facing cultural heritage sites and their communities around the globe.” Further, “Inclusion on the Watch provides nominators and site owners with an important opportunity to promote sites locally and internationally, to work towards improved site protection, and to build community engagement in their preservaation efforts.” It is both sad and ironic that, as of January 2020, the plans for heritage management and preservation outlined in the nomination document and in the Nigerian National Commission for Museums and Monuments’ 2017-21 Sukur Management Plan are still postponed for reasons of insecurity.