Kano State

By Prof. Abdalla Uba Adamu

My posting about MU Adamu’s 1968 paper on the influence of Arabs on Kano culture, economy and religious practices has ignited a few responses of personal nature from some readers interested in their own interconnected life stories. This is a follow-up and update.

I think it is wonderful that we begin to interrogate our past so that we can appreciate our present in order to make better plans for the future. We were all besotted with this implausible concept of ‘Hausa-Fulani’ that we tend to ignore other genetic tributaries that constitute the Hausa genetic pool, especially in Kano. Such Majma’al Bahrain is either unknown to many or ignored. Bringing it out means that the ethnic picture of the Hausa is more than the mingling of the Fulani genes with the Hausa – there were dashes of Arab in there thrown for good measure.

For the most part, the Arab voices had been silent. I think it is time for them to voice out their life histories in conversations with their elders. Not to further divide a monolithic Hausa society but demonstrate how the Hausa have been developing into distinct, absorptive people. Clearly, then Hausa is not a language but a people. Ask any individual in Kano with ‘Fulani’ or ‘Arab’ ancestorial roots, and they will tell you they are Hausa, ‘even though my grandmother is Fulani/Arab/Russian/Greek, etc.’

Let’s split hairs here. Having different languages but the same skin colour – whether you are black, white, brown, yellow or (if an alien) green, and submitting to the same central, national governing authority makes you ‘ethnic’. Having the same attributes but without recognition of national authority, only blood and kinship ties make you ‘tribal’. Separation across skin colour is a race, not an ethnic issue. Arabs are a separate race from Africans. So, what happens when the racial divide is crossed (bred)? Will a new ‘race’ emerge?

The Arabs’ contributions to the economy and culture of Kano are far more than any other ethnic group, including the Fulani. Consider the Yemeni alone and their massive contributions to the animal skin trade in northern Nigeria. Initially ‘imported’ as Italian trade agents from Yemen in the early 20th century, they have now become domesticated to the Hausa society. Yes, they are light-skinned, and quite a few speak Arabic; but the mid-generations have lost the Arabic language. As a ‘minority’ group, they intermarried with local African women and their offspring contributed to the sustainable development of culture and life in Hausa societies without the consciousness of being ‘the other’. What are then the cultural specificities that tie them to the Arab world? Can it be in dress, language, food, existential rites and rituals (birth, living, death)? How do theirs – if at all present – differ from those of the Hausa?

Then consider the Lebanese and their input into the goods and products found in various Kano markets – including their influence all over West Africa. They are less integrative with their African hosts but have been linguistically domesticated, and for all intents and purposes, many self-identify as Hausa and retain some living rituals (e.g., food habits). This is an area initially mapped out by Sabo Albasu’s monumental groundbreaking research, “The Lebanese in Kano” (which is based on his 1989 doctoral thesis), and unfortunately, not much else was done on such a scale by other people. I wish he could update and re-print it, as now, more than ever, is the time for it.

The Sudanese, more than the other Arabs, had integrated more effectively into northern Nigerian Hausa communities, perhaps due to the gradation in their skin colours – from extremely dark to extremely light – than either the Tripolitanians, Yemeni, Lebanese or Syrians/Jordanians, whose clearly light skins made them stand out in any group. Establishing themselves in the city of Kano at Sudawa (Sudanese settlement), they formed part of the identity of the Kano city populace.

The Sudanese influence was also more intellectual. While they were instrumental in trade, their main contribution was in education. For instance, when the School for Arabic Studies – undoubtedly the Oxford of Arabic Studies in Nigeria – was established in 1934, it was to Sudan that inspiration was sought, including the teachers. Even what later became Bayero University Kano was first headed by Abdullahi el-Tayyeb, a Sudanese. No talk of Sudan itself being a destination for studies at all levels by northern Nigerians. You don’t see such rush for education in Lebanon or Yemen.

While rummaging through the caverns of an old abandoned hard drive, I came across a booklet that Kantoma (Muhammad Uba Adamu) had asked me to extract from his “Confluences and Influences” as a standalone paper (presented in 1998) and later with additional material, as a booklet. We named it “The Presence of Arabs in Kano”. Lack of funding prevented its publication, but I was able to get it published as a paper in a book project. A link to the paper is given at the end of this posting.

For those interested, I have included the table (from the paper attached) of the 25 Arab-dominated Kano inner city wards. I did this because not many would have the time to read 43 pages of the paper!

Adamu, Abdalla Uba. 2014. The presence of Arabs in Kano. In A.I. Tanko & S. B. Momole (Eds.). Kano: Environment, Society and Development (pp. 125-164). London & Abuja: Adonis & Abbey Publishers.

Or: https://shorturl.at/dgzW0

By Jamilu Uba Adamu

Late Mallam Sa’adu Zungur (1915 – 1958) in his song Arewa Mulukiya ko Jamhuriya said;

“Ya Sarki Alhaji Bayero,

Ga Yan birni da Kanawiya.

Tun Bagauda na saran Kano, Suka fara fataucin dukiya.”

Kano State has been a trading and crucial commercial centre throughout its history.  History has shown that Kano has produced several wealthy individuals whose names will always be there in the annals of history.

The ability of Kano and its people (Kanawa) to create wealthy individuals did not start in this modern era. The likes of Madugu Indo Adakawa, Muhammadu Dan Agigi, Madugu Dangomba, Umaru Sharubutu, Mai Kano Agogo, Alhasasan Dantata, Adamu Jakada, Muhammad Nagoda and many others were among the wealthy individuals that Kano produced.

Late Alhaji Haruna Kundila (1810-1901) was known for his great wealth and fortune in the pre-colonial Kano during the reign of Emir Abdullahi Maje Karofi and his successor Emir Bello Ibrahim Dabo.

This popular Hausa saying attributed to him, “Ba na siyarwa ba ne; ya gagari Kundila”, means that there is nothing Kundila can’t afford to buy unless it is not for sale because of his massive wealth and purchasing power.

Haruna Kundila was born in 1810 at Makwarari Quarters in Kano city. 

The story about his source of wealth says that “one day when he came out from the house, he met Mallam Sidi (according to the story, Mallam Sidi is a pious, God-fearing Islamic teacher, and many people believe that he is a “Waliyyi” ). Mallam Sidi asked Kundila how he could help him get those that could evacuate his sewer pit. Kundila answered him positively.  When he checked and couldn’t find anyone to do the job, he decided to do it himself. When the Mallam returned and asked whether he had seen the people? He told him that the people had already come and done the work; Mallam Sidi asked him again, “How much were they supposed to be paid for the work? But suddenly, someone who witnessed how Kundila did the work alone intercedes and tells Mallam that Kundila did the work alone. When the Mallam heard that, he shook his head and said; To , Insha Allahu, duk inda warin masan nan ya buga gabas da yamma, kudu da arewa, sai ka yi suna, ka shahara an san ka “

History tells us that Haruna Kundila, who was a slave trader in those days, had trade relations with traders coming to Kano from foreign countries such as Mali, Sudan, Libya, Senegal, Damagaram, Agadas, Garwa, Duwala, Bamyo and Fallomi. 

In his heyday, no one in Kano has Kundila’s wealth. Kundila was rich and had estates by each city gate (Kofofi). It was said that he owned more than one thousand enslaved people. He was the wealthiest trader in nineteen century Kano. 

The name Kundila is because Haruna has a younger sister named Binta, who follows him at birth. After she grew up, one day, Haruna went home and found his sister in their mother’s room. He said to her, “Please, Binta, miko min kundina”. The sister started repeating the words “Ina kundina? Ina kundina? Since then, Kundila has followed him for the rest of his life. Until today, some government housing estates in Kano, such as Kundilar Zaria Road, bear the name.

It was said that when he died in 1901 (two years before the British conquest of Kano), Kano was shaken by the loss of one of the greatest wealthiest individuals in its history.

Jamilu Uba Adamu wrote from Kano via jamiluuba856@gmail.com.

By Bilkisu Kabir Ibrahim (Mrs)

It is often said, “Destruction is easy, but rebuilding takes more time to achieve.” 

Politics and governance are two sides of the same coin, as they are often used interchangeably even though they differ in veracity. In modern democratic societies, citizens (and leaders, by extension) fail to understand the difference between the two concepts in terms of meaning and operation. 

Barely less than two weeks after the swearing-in of the newly democratically elected governors and members of the states’ assemblies across the states of the federation, several governors focus on so many engagements as part of the fulfilment of their campaign promises, ranging from suspension and removing many top heads of the state’s ministries, departments and agencies alongside forwarding of new nominees to their respective state house of assemblies for various positions.  

However, the reverse is the case in Kano State as the new governor fulfils his campaign promises where demolishing illegal structures is part. In his inaugural speech, his Excellency Abba Kabir Yusif revoked all sold public places and assets by his predecessor by ordering security agencies to take over such sites. A few days later, he began a demolition exercise with a 3-story building with 90No. Shops along Racecourse Road Nassarawa GRA which were reportedly owned by the son of the outgoing governor of the state, followed by another multi-billion Naira project via Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement initiated by his predecessor, situated at old Daula Hotel (state’s property) on Murtala Muhammad Way, Kano.

Nevertheless, several structures have been marked and knocked down as illegal buildings, which include; Eid-Ground Shops (Masallacin Idi), shops detached from Sani Abacha Stadium Kofar Mata and Buildings at GGSS Dukawuya Goron Dutse as well as some structures at Kano Hajj Camp among others. 

Subsequently, mayhem erupted in the state capital and neighbourhood when the governor ordered the demolition of the historic Kano roundabout structure in the early hours of Wednesday, 14th June 2023. The roundabout, known as Kano Golden Jubilee Monument, was erected in 2017 and conceived and designed by a young female architect to commemorate Kano’s 50-year attainment as a state.

While several indigenes and residents have condemned in totality the demolition of the monument, the press secretary to the governor, Sunusi Bature D/Tofa, in his reaction, revealed that the roundabout was demolished for security and safety reasons, “it also poses traffic challenges around the area due to its size blocking the view of drivers accessing all routes linked through the roundabout”. 

Nonetheless, mixed reactions become the order of the day; some residents are hailing the governor for staying firmly to his campaign promises, while many traders lament the demolition exercise as it truly affects their commercial activities by creating a hostile business environment forcing many of their customers from within and outside the state to stay away. During my interview sessions, a respondent feared the ongoing action as “it scared away private investments in the state, which is the time needed for a successful administration”. Another respondent (a victim) revealed that, on Saturday, he supplied aluminium and other equipment for a window project at Old Daula Hotel worth N30,000,000.00 but were all looted in the night immediately after the demolition, which the looters termed as “GANIMA” in Hausa. 

Similarly, it was reported that, in the heart-wrenching incident, a young boy lost his life after being struck by a truck during the demolition of a structure. The unfortunate event occurred amidst the efforts to clear the unauthorised constructions. The boy was not the only one affected, but also several individuals sustained severe injuries as they attempted to take advantage of the demolition exercise and loot multimillion items.

Some critical questions were asked about this light exercise. This government is supposed to concentrate on critical infrastructure and human development to overshadow its predecessors instead engaged in revenge and self-centred aggrandisement. 

His Excellency Abba Kabir may wish to remember that some projects need maintenance and sustenance to suit the rising demands of the good people of the state. Instead, the government should have to determine the legality or otherwise of the allocated lands by constituting high-powered technical committees to, among other things, investigate the following: 

a. Whether the due process for land allocation is followed;

b. Whether all building codes and regulations have been complied with;

c. The rationale behind the building purpose;

d. Was the land sold at market price, and whose account was the money deposited into or allocated as enshrined in the Land Use Act?

e. Was the land allocated to the rightful applicant? 

f. Was the roundabout demolition in the interest of most of the populace? Etc.

g. The committee to proffer some recommendations to the government for a proper solution. 

To crown it all, the governor may further wish to recall the Oath of Office taken during the swearing-in session, that “….I will not allow my personal interest to influence my official conducts or my official decisions …” Surely, Almighty God will ask for such utterances. 

Bilkisu Kabir Ibrahim (Mrs) wrote from Kano state, Nigeria. She can be reached via bilkisukabir1@gmail.com.

By Uzair Adam Imam

A Nigerian doctor based in Russia has pleaded with the Kano State Governor, Engr. Abba Kabir Yusuf, to spare his newly built house from demolition.

The doctor, whose name is withheld, told Kano Chronicle that he borrowed almost $500,000 and added his savings of $500,000 to build the house.

The passionate plea to the governor was in a letter written by the doctor, which Kano Chronicle shared on its verified Twitter handle.

Recall that the governor had decided not to back down on demolishing illegal structures built by his predecessor.

Abba’s administration had torn down a three-storey shopping complex located at Race Course Road, Nasarawa GRA, with 90 shops, Daula Hotel and other buildings at Hajj Camp, to mention but a few.

However, the doctor, who insisted that he put the house up for N500,000,000, pleaded with the governor to spare his home, adding that he would be at a loss if the house is demolished.

He stated, “I spent close to 8 years working in Russia now, and I have developed a successful business. So I decided to take a loan on my business name and use my savings to move to real estate back in my home state Kano Nigeria. I borrowed close to $500,000 and added $500,000 together with saving from some family members to buy land for 15,000,000 nairas and build a mansion on it.

“My home has been completed, sir, and I have even put it on the market to service my debt due to the economic situation in Nigeria. I won’t even make a profit on it. I will take a loss because I put the house up for 500,000,000 Naira as a distress sale.”

“Yesterday, I was informed that (Knupda)  has marked my house for removal, and I followed all instructions before building. I got their approval and a C of O . I didn’t put up a single block on that land until (Knupda)  gave me approval. Please consider my situation, sir. 

“If that house is taken from me. I will be in very serious financial problems coupled with the debt I took for the building,” he added.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari 

The Kano State Government has resumed awarding local and foreign postgraduate scholarships to indigenes of the state. 

This was made public on Friday through a statement signed by the Secretary to the Kano State Government, Dr Abdullahi Baffa Bichi.

Dr Bichi called for entreaties from qualified Kano graduates. Graduates with first-class honours who are from the state and are medically fit to travel abroad are eligible to apply. 

He also noted that the last time the state awarded scholarships of this kind was in 2025, during the administration of Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.

Part of the statement reads: 

”Applications are invited from suitably qualified graduates for Kano State postgraduate foreign and local scholarships for the 2023/2024 Academic Session.

Recall that the last scholarship was offered in 2015 by Sen. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso’s Administration which sponsored the third batch of 503 first-class graduates to 14 different countries.

After eight years without postgraduate foreign scholarship by the last administration, H.E. Engr. Abba Kabir Yusuf, The Executive Governor of Kano State, has approved the resumption of the postgraduate foreign and local scholarship with effect from the 2023/2024 Academic Session.”

Applicants are called on to fill out relevant application forms obtainable for free from www.kanostate.gov.ng/scholarship_application.

The state concludes that:

“Eligible applicants would be invited for a screening interview.

Completed application forms together with copies of credentials (indigene certificate, medical certificate, birth certificate, Primary School Certificate, WASC/GCE/SSCE certificate, Degree certificate etc) should be submitted to the secretariate of the screening committee, Old Conference Room, Office of the Secretary to the State Government, Cabinet Office, 1 Wudil Road, Kano within two weeks of this advertisement.”

By Murtala Sani

Beyond the eloquence and vibrancy that are attributed to the newly elected Deputy Governor of Kano State under the platform of New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Comrade Aminu Abdussalam Gwarzo, there are other special qualities that earned him the title of a Comrade. His entire life, from teenage to date, is spent in the struggle for the betterment of the lives of the people.

Comrade Aminu Abdussalam Gwarzo was born at Gwarzo Local Government, Kano State, on 6th November 1960. He was set for the quest for Islamic knowledge at Alkalawa Islamiyya and then transferred to Kofar Fada Islamiyya, all in Gwarzo town. He was later enrolled into Gwarzo Central Primary School from 1966 to 1972 and then proceeded to Kano Educational Development Centre (K.E.D.C) in 1973 for Secondary School Education.

Within one year, Aminu was transferred to Kano Teachers College (K.T.C) and graduated from the college in 1977. In the same year, he started teaching at Kara Primary School on 1st July 1977 for six months, when Kano and Jigawa States were in the folder old Kano State. The brilliant young Aminu was the youngest primary school Headmaster when he headed Salihawa Primary School in Gwarzo Local Government.

In his quest for more knowledge, Aminu got admission into the School of Management Studies, Kano State Polytechnic, in 1981, where he obtained a National Diploma in Banking and Finance, the qualification that propelled him to get a new job at the Kano State Board of Internal Revenue in 1986. In the same year, Aminu was re-admitted to the same School, School of Management Studies, Kano State Polytechnic, and bagged Higher National Diploma in the same course, Banking and Finance. In 1988, Aminu received his National Youth Service Certificate (NYSC) after serving as a corps member at Nigerian Mining Corporation, Jos, Plateau State.

As a youth, the comradeship of Comrade Aminu started manifesting glaringly when his activism beckoned him to join Gwarzo Youth Progressive (GYPA) in 1980. The Association was founded in 1979, but he became its first Chairman in 1981 due to his immense struggle to bring positive change within his society. The dominant role he played in stabilizing the then embattled Gwarzo Development Association (GDA), an association of Gwarzo elders, made the elders accommodate the useful Aminu into their association. They also considered his impact on the progress of GYPA, especially the way his wonderful leadership brought huge development within Gwarzo Local Government.

As a civil servant, his activism earned him the seat of Interim Secretary General of the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) of the Gwarzo branch in 1981. Again, he became the Secretary-General and then Chairman of the National Civil Service Union (NCSC) board. Noticing his charisma while steering the leadership of the Union in the board, the then Chairman of Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Kano State, Comrade Baffa Gaya, suggested that talented people like comrade Aminu should not be limited to a low level. Therefore, Comrade Aminu was propelled to the position of Auditor General of the Nigerian Civil Service Union (NCSU), Kano State branch, from 1987 to 1991.

After carving Jigawa State out of Kano State, Aminu Abdussalam clinched the seat of Chairman National Civil Service Union, Kano State. As a politician, the Comrade was among the seven Local Government Chairmen that initiated the formation of the Association of Local Government Chairmen of Nigeria (ALGON) in the whole Country. He was the pioneer Chairman of ALGON in Kano State. He was the pioneer National Co-ordinator of ALGON North-Western States comprising Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfara and Jigawa, and lastly, the pioneer National Auditor of ALGON.

His passion for the struggle for the masses led him to support Mallam Aminu Kano’s Peoples Redemption Party (PRP). He was also an active member of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), the political party registered alongside Nigerian Republic Congress (NRC) by General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida. Comrade Aminu’s diving into mainstream politics was when he contested and got elected the Chairman of Gwarzo Local Government of Kano State in 1996 during the reign of General Sani Abacha’s military regime. After the formation of New Political parties by the same Government, Aminu vied for membership in the Federal House of Representatives to represent Gwarzo/Kabo Constituency under the umbrella of the Democratic Party of Nigeria (DPN). The controversial election declared his opponent, Alhaji Aminu Sule Garo of the United Nigeria Congress Party (UNCP), the winner of the election. Therefore, Aminu Abdussalam challenged the victory in court.

On 5th December 1999, Comrade Aminu Abdussalam was elected as the Chairman of Gwarzo Local Government, Kano State, where he defeated Engineer Abdullahi Tijjani Muhammad Gwarzo, who contested under the platform of All Peoples Party (APP). His pragmatism led him to develop Gwarzo through the execution of countless developmental projects, providing employment and other humanitarian activities. This moulded him to become a strong political clout in the stream of Gwarzo Politics. From 1999 to 2011, Comrade Aminu was the Director General of Senator Bello Hayatu Gwarzo’s Campaign Organization, the leadership that hugely contributed to the victory of the senator throughout his four Senatorial races. During the Presidency of late Alhaji Umaru Musa ‘Yar’adua, the Comrade was appointed the Federal Commissioner of the National Assembly Commission.

When Dr Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso was re-elected as the Governor of Kano State in 2011, he appointed Comrade Aminu Abdussalam as the Commissioner of Monitoring and Evaluation. Satisfied with his hardworking, honesty, trustworthiness and loyalty, Kwankwaso promoted him to the position of Commissioner of State Affairs, thus, occupying the office very close to the Governor. The duo decamped to the All Progressives Congress (APC) and supported Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje to become the state’s governor. In President Muhammadu Buhari’s tenure from 2015 to 2019, Comrade Aminu was appointed the Chairman Governing Council of the Federal College of Education, Kwantagora.

After the eruption of a feud between Kwankwaso and Ganduje, Comrade joined his boss, Kwankwaso, by decamping back to PDP, where he and Abba Kabiru Yusuf contested for Deputy and Governorship seats, respectively, in 2019. Although they won against Ganduje with more than twenty thousand votes, the election was declared inconclusive by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) due to the controversy that trailed the election. Again, Comrade and Abba contested and won the election against Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna and Murtala Sule Garo under the platform of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) during the 2023 gubernatorial election.

One of the greatest challenges against Comrade Aminu was when he was contesting for Member at the Federal House of Representatives to represent Gwarzo and Kabo Constituency. At that moment, more than twenty of his prominent supporters were arrested by the forces challenging his candidature. This made others flee from Gwarzo to other hidden places within and outside Kano State, seeking refuge.

At the same time, Comrade’s house was invaded by political goons who attempted to break into his house and assassinate him. With the help of his die-hard supporter, a ladder was erected for him and his entire family and escaped to his neighbouring house. This forced him to run for political asylum in the Cameroon Republic, but on his way, he found refuge in Gombe State. Again, the Comrade escaped lynching by some political thugs in 2003 at the Madadi ward of Gwarzo Local Government when they set his official car ablaze.

Every discerning mind could detect Comrade Aminu’s erudition and intellectual analysis either on the podium of a political campaign or interview. He expresses himself with facts and figures while debating. He laces his speech with quotes from Qur’an or Hadith.

Comrade faces a lot of criticism, one of which is his austerity measures at home office or public. He doesn’t pamper his children to run a luxurious life. He doesn’t embezzle government funds or throw money at his followers. Furthermore, Comrade frowns at favouritism and nepotism. He only relies on creditability and merit. Moreover, he detests thuggery and bloodshed; he allows things to flow naturally. More so, the Comrade doesn’t hesitate to get his beautiful, educated and morally sound children married to commoners or children of commoners.

The Comrade has two wives with twenty-three children.

Murtala Sani, a lecturer at Kano State Polytechnic, writes from Kano.

By Prof. Abdalla Uba Adamu 

In 1968 I was a twelve-year-old whippersnapper and found solace in my father’s library (hate football and games anyway!). A journal, Kano Studies of the year, caught my attention because of the way my Dad held on to it. I fixed my sights on it, eventually opening it and trying to read it. Oh, I did, quite all right, but I did not understand half of what was written! However, I did not give up and continued perusing the journal. 

Eventually, during high school years, a couple of years down the road, I discovered what glued my late father, Muhammadu Uba Adamu, alias Kantoma, to that specific issue – his article. The article was titled “Some Notes on the Influence of North African Traders in Kano”. This time when I read it, it made sense. I found it fascinating, and I can genuinely say it planted the roots of historical interest in me. However, I was keener on race, culture and identity, and in particular, how new racial identities emerge as a result of what Kantoma himself later referred to as ‘confluence and influences.’

“Some Notes on the Influence of North African Traders in Kano”, as I was to discover later, was based on the methodology of what Victor Turner referred to as “the anthropology of experience”. Kantoma embedded himself in the Arab community (a bit easy to do, with an Agadesian grandmother) in the Alfindiki community in the heart of the city and close to his traditional family homestead at Daneji. It was through extremely loose focus group discussions that he was able to gather as much data as he could. And he was then a student of Political History at Ahmadu Bello University Kano (via Abdullahi Bayero College). 

Years later, I had the chance to befriend one of Kantoma’s teachers, John Lavers. He glowingly told me how excited he was with Kantoma’s initial paper and how he made a series of suggestions that eventually turned the paper into a classic. John Lavers was one of the founders and editors of Kano Studies. 

The paper was extensively revised by Kantoma as “Further notes on the influence of North African traders in Kano”. It was presented at the International Conference on Cultural Interaction and Integration Between North and Sub-Saharan Africa, Bayero University Kano, 4th–6th March 1998 – some thirty years after the original. Unfortunately, despite being the person who typed it up for him, I could not locate a copy (remember, we were using floppy drive storage in those ancient days!).

Some notes planted in me an interest in race, culture and identity and the interrogation of the specific gravity of racial identity in Africa. For instance, take a community of Tripolitanian Arabs who settled in Dandalin Turawa, Kano, right on the edge of the Kurmi market. Years later, they were no longer ‘Turawa’ but African – at least in colour and language, as most have also lost the Arabic language of their forebears. So, what exactly are they? Arabs? Hausa? Or do they create a crazy hyphenated identity – Hausa Arabs (like the ridiculous ‘Hausa Fulani’)?

So, I started my own anthropological trajectory by writing a proposal for a Stanford University (US) residency on Race, Culture and Identity. I wanted to map the six groups of Arab residents in Kano to determine how they self-identify – language or genes. These are Shuwa, Sudanese, Tripolitanians, Syrians, Lebanese, and the Yemeni. Again, Kantoma had much data on especially the Yemeni, in addition to his earlier Tripolitanian engagements.

For a few years, I worked with him to flesh out the project and even got some of the Yemeni elders interested in proper documentation of their community (as was done by S.U. Albasu in “The Lebanese in Kano”). I did not get the Stanford residency, and other things about the daily grind kept me away from the project, so I put it on hold! I can’t even locate the original proposal now. But who knows? Once I have a free year or so, I might rummage through some forgotten hard drives and see what lurks there and, if possible, get back into the race (pun intended!). 

Here, for your archival pleasure, is a gift from Kantoma pending a full-blown site that will have all his writings much later in the year (hopefully by Fall). Download from here:  https://bit.ly/3p2LeOx.

By Dr Shamsuddeen Sani

Where I got History of Imamship of Kano by Muhammad Wada is somewhat hazy in my memory, but it is an MA thesis that underwent a transformative process. The author undertook significant efforts to draw from diverse historical sources. This task merits recognition due to the inherent challenges associated with such an endeavour in the Kano historical tradition.

Despite its small physical size, this book ambitiously tackles a weighty subject matter. The initial chapter, which ideally should have served as a generous introduction, takes a look at the historical backdrop concerning the role of Imams within classical Sunni Islam. In doing so, it imparts valuable insights into their spiritual and intellectual significance. The second chapter charts the evolution of the Imams’ role within the classical religious culture of Kano before the advent of the Sokoto Jihad.

Commencing with the arrival of the Wangarawa during the 14th century, their influence played a pivotal role in the domestication of Islam as a state religion during that era. With the gradual expansion of their spiritual responsibilities and socio-political influence within the royal court, the Imams assumed a central position within the annals of Kano’s historical tradition.

The third chapter examines the transformative impact of the Sokoto Jihad at the turn of the 19th century, bringing about substantial changes to the role of Imams and how they were selected. These changes also served to define an expanded set of functions for the state-appointed Imam.

The author peppers fragments from the biographies of early post-Jihad Kano Imams alongside pivotal milestones punctuating their official lives. As the colonial powers exerted their influence in the early 20th century, the 4th chapter examines how the role of Imams underwent a notable shift, culminating in their formalisation within the judicial council, albeit with a subsequent reduction to primarily spiritual functions.

The book’s final chapter highlights the Imams and their ever-evolving roles from post-independence to the present. Moreover, it investigates the expansionist developments surrounding the establishment of Friday congregational prayer mosques across the state. While the book serves as a comprehensive introductory exploration of its subject matter, it might require additional intellectual depth that one might expect within broader, modern academic discourse.

There are also some ectopic clerical errors in the book that could have been identified and corrected before printing. While acknowledging the inherent challenge of achieving complete neutrality in historical works, it is reasonable to expect greater nuance and fairness in a work of this nature.

Dr Shamsuddeen Sani wrote from Kano. He can be reached via deensani@yahoo.com.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

The Governor of Kano State, Abba Kabir Yusuf, in the early hours of Friday, flagged off open heart surgery for patients with heart-related diseases.

The Governor flagged off the exercise, which was sponsored by the Saudi Government in partnership with Muslim World League, at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital Conference Hall in the State.

During the event, the governor reiterated the commitment of the Kano State Government to partner with any non-governmental organizations and individuals willing to assist in providing training to health personnel and medical care to patients in need of such services.

He said: “We are very much delighted to have you in Kano for this gigantic assistance. Kano state is the most populous state in Nigeria, with over 21 million People. We have the most vulnerable people, downtrodden masses that do not have any means of taking care of their health needs,” said the Governor.

He added that “We will stick to our campaign promises of building general hospitals across the 44 local governments and Primary health care centres across the state and the re-introduce mobile clinics to cater for the people in the rural areas who are in need of medical attention free of charge.”

The head of the medical team from Saudi Arabia, Dr Utman Al-uthman Saad, said the medical team comprised 20 Cardiac surgeons who will perform the surgery and pledged to do their best to achieve the set goals.

By Mohammad Qaddam Sidq Isa (Daddy) 

Notwithstanding the appropriateness or otherwise of the recent and unprecedented wave of demolitions in Kano by the newly inaugurated governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, it may have triggered a vicious circle of the incumbent governors and their predecessors taking turns revoking, converting and reallocating public land and facilities in the state. 

Though purportedly guided by relevant legislation and overriding public interest, successive Kano state governors have been involved, to various extents, in controversial public land and facility-related scandals. However, the immediate past governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, having literally overdone it, has been particularly notorious in this regard. 

Now with the recent demolitions, Governor Abba has proven that it’s indeed his turn. The way they were conducted, which made the operation look more like mob action, has been effectively set as a precedent for future similar operations in the state. 

So, unless this looming vicious circle is averted, Kano may, after every four or eight-year tenure, witness similar operations with persistently worsening intensity and impacts.   

Having monitored the situation from afar, thanks to the viral video clips on social media, I felt not only sad but extremely embarrassed watching helplessly how my city, a supposedly aspiring mega city, was being systematically bastardized.

I watched in shocked dismay how the lives of innocent traders, who simply happened to be tenets in the targeted buildings, were being turned to, perhaps, perpetual misery overnight by crowds of sadist creatures feigning being human looting their (traders) merchandise. Some buildings had already been looted even before the demolition team got there. There are verified heartbreaking stories about the plights of many victims. In a particular instance, one was reliably reported to have gone mad out of frustration. 

The sheer ferocity with which the mob plundered traders’ goods suggests deep-seated populist sadism and sheer envy in a society where tacit gloating over the misfortune of any real or perceived wealthy person has become normal. I have also observed tacit attempts on social media by many otherwise reasonable people to underestimate the plights of the victims and even put the blame on them for their ‘failure’ to evacuate their goods in time. 

Meanwhile, the cumulative impacts of this vicious circle on the state’s economy and other strategic interests cannot be overestimated. It’s already seriously affecting local investor confidence, for no one will consider the viability of any significant investment, especially in, say, real estate development and other related sectors, knowing that the land allocation is prone to arbitrary revocation and the structures are subject to impulsive demolition at any time. 

Equally, banks and other financial institutions will have to discontinue recognizing Kano government-issued certificates of property ownership as collateral, knowing that they may at any time be rendered as worthless as takardar tsire. 

Likewise, the state’s attractiveness to direct foreign investment (if there is currently any) will be hit even harder, for no prospective foreign investor, being typically particularly sensitive to any red flag suggesting policy inconsistency, will consider investing in Kano knowing that whatever policy or incentive attracted him can be impulsively terminated at any time. 

Now, obviously, Governor Abba is aware deep down that that wasn’t how he was supposed to handle the situation in the first place. His approach is enough to vindicate those who insist that he is simply on a vengeance mission with a premeditated resolve to settle scores with political opponents and their associates on behalf of his political godfather, Rabi’u Kwankwaso. 

He can address whatever land use abuses his predecessor committed, which are so many, by the way, but he should do it in a civilized way through due process leading to the demolishing of what indeed deserves to be demolished and sparing what deserves to be spared for the purpose of reclaiming and converting it into a public facility. 

Mohammad Qaddam Sidq Isa (Daddy) wrote from Dubai, UAE, and can be contacted via mohammadsidq@gmail.com.