Life on the Rocks
High on the sun-warmed rocks of Plateau State, the Rock Firefinch begins its day in a world carved by wind and altitude. The plateau shapes everything about this tiny bird: the cool air that lifts its flight, the craggy outcrops where it hides its nests, and the grasses that feed the insects it depends on.
For generations, its perfect life has played out in this elevated theatre. The male’s bright feathers catch the morning light as he searches rhythmically for food, while quiet pairing rituals unfold in the safety of stone. But that safety is thinning. Rock-crushing, mining, and the rapid spread of homes into the hills are shattering the very spaces the Firefinch needs. Nesting crevices are being ripped open, and feeding grounds turned to rubble. What was once an undisturbed rhythm of life in the open Plateau air is now a daily negotiation for survival.
Life Underground
Beneath the same landscape, under farms, footpaths, and quarries, another life stirs. The Nigerian mole-rat, unseen by most, burrows through the Plateau’s soil in tight, cooperative colonies. These colonies act like the heartbeat of the earth. Their tunnels aerate the ground, allowing water to sink deeper; their movement recycles nutrients and keeps the soil healthy enough to support farming, grazing, and the wider ecosystem humans rely on.
Yet their world is also collapsing. Farmland expansion compacts the soil, quarrying fractures entire colonies, and construction chokes the grasslands and rocky spaces they need to survive. You may not love rats, but without this one, the land becomes poorer.
Quiet Neighbors
The firefinch in the rocks, the mole-rat underground, the shy chimpanzees in shrinking forests, the Plateau agama guarding its warm stones, even the clawless otter slipping through cold streams—these are just a few of the quiet neighbors sharing Plateau State with us. They tirelessly perform small jobs that keep the land stable, the rivers clean, insects balanced, and the soil alive. They do not shout or negotiate; they simply exist, holding the place together in ways most people never notice.
Why Should You Care?
How does any of this concern you? What do birds and rocks and burrowing rats have to do with the price of cement, the cost of rent, or the need to build a new road? Should anyone pause a project because of something small and feathered, or something hairless underground? Here are some reasons why you should care as a human living, growing, and thriving in Plateau State:
- Small losses become big changes:
Nothing disappears all at once. Things go missing quietly, like a room losing colour when the curtains fade. One day, the Rock Firefinch stops nesting on a slope. No one notices. Another month, a mole-rat colony collapses because the earth above it has been scooped out for mining. Again, no one notices. These small absences gather until, suddenly, the Plateau feels different and nobody can explain why. - Rocks are more than building materials:
If the rocks are crushed endlessly, the day comes when a child asks, “Where are the giant stones you said were here?” and all you can show them are heaps of gravel and concrete blocks. The same rocks that once held the land steady would now exist only as stacked building materials. When the ground begins to sink or crack under buildings—as it has already in some communities—the question becomes, “Who dug the holes underneath us?” and the truth sits unspoken, slowly, one truck at a time. - Rivers remember:
When streams are treated like dustbins, the water remembers. Plastics choke the shallow parts, detergent foam clings to the edges, chemical runoff slides in after rainfall. At first, the river keeps flowing, but it changes. Otters leave. Fish thin out. Water smells different. And when people fall sick after drinking from streams their grandparents trusted, the truth is sitting there at the surface like a forgotten wrapper. - Balance sustains comfort:
Everything we enjoy on the Plateau (cool air, fertile soils, stable weather, streams and wells that run even in the dry season) depends on a balance far more fragile than it looks. Once that balance tips, comfort becomes memory. Memories don’t grow food, lower temperatures, or keep buildings standing.
Living with Nature
So the question is no longer, “Should people stop building, farming, or travelling?” On the contrary, the real question becomes: How long do you want Plateau State to remain a home for agriculture and tourism? And what are you willing to protect to ensure your children inherit it, rather than just hear stories about it?
This is not a strange question. Around the world—from Nairobi to New Delhi to São Paulo—people are expanding, building, mining, and farming. Plateau State is right there in the mix. As more tourists drive in, more adventurers hike, businesses expand, and houses rise where farmlands used to stretch, it means Plateau is growing. As we care for people, we must also make room for other creatures.
Plateau’s beauty has never been just the cold breeze or the impossible sky. It lives in the very things people hardly notice: granite humps that steady the land, wild shrubs that keep soil from washing away, minerals hiding beneath the surface, and streams that gather rain and carry it gently downhill. Those rocks being crushed into gravel? They are older than entire continents. They anchor the Plateau, hold its shape, and store its history. Those trees cleared for expansion? They keep the weather bearable, the soil firm, and the landscape alive. Yet mining pits keep scraping deeper every year, leaving hollow spaces beneath communities—spaces that make buildings tremble long before they collapse.
What Can We Do?
Protecting Plateau’s natural rhythms doesn’t require giving up comfort. It only asks for wiser versions of the things already done. A house can still rise, a road can still stretch forward, a farm can still flourish. The difference lies in how gently these actions touch the land. Every small, thoughtful choice makes life easier, cooler, greener, and more beautiful.
- Tree cutting: Leave some trees standing or plant new ones where old ones once lived. Shade remains, birds keep homes, and soil stays firm. Resting under a surviving tree or enjoying a calmer breeze becomes a quiet reward: something stayed alive because someone allowed it.
- Energy choices: Cooking with cleaner fuels keeps walls from blackening and lungs from tiring, and also prevents forests from being cut for charcoal. Cleaner travel—better engines, shared rides, fewer unnecessary trips—keeps Plateau’s horizon clear and its morning air light enough to breathe.
- Recycling: Returning plastic and waste to the right places keeps rivers and fields safe and protects the creatures that help Plateau thrive. Clean water stays clean, streams keep flowing, and life keeps its rhythm.
A Sustainable Future Begins with You
None of these actions demand grand gestures. They are small habits, quiet decisions, and everyday choices—but the results are immense. A single spared tree keeps a path cool for decades. One recycled bottle keeps a stream alive. One clean-burning stove keeps a hillside standing. One careful journey keeps the air clear enough for the Rock Firefinch to find its way home.
Whenever something on the Plateau remains vibrant—an untouched rock face, a bird returning, a mole-rat busy underground, a stream running clean—whoever made the gentle choice to protect it becomes part of that survival story.
Comfort stays, nature prevails, and the people of Plateau get to claim the quiet pride of knowing that the best parts of their home are standing because of them.