[size=13pt]In Kogi, Fulani find new wealth, new tongue .[/size]

Wednesday, 15 September 2010 01:00
Jibrin Abubakar, who was in Kogi .
They are in a perpetual state of flux. Nomadic Fulani are the most widely travelled ethnic group in Nigeria. Many of them have become Hausa, some are now Yoruba. But there is fear that the Fulani tongue may disappear in years to come.

This is corroborated by the fact that many Fulani people cannot speak Fulfulde. In Kogi, they have found a new melting pot where the pasture is richer and greener.

In Kogi’s Bunu-Kabba Local Government, the story is not different but the evolution is taking business dimension where the Fulani assimilate Owe as a business language helped by inter-ethnic marriage. The Owe speaking people are scattered around Bunu-Kabba and Yagba West Local Governments of the state.

Zango in Bunu-Kabba is considered the goose that is laying the new ‘golden eggs’. It is seen as a melting point and a catalyst to the evolution of the new ‘tribe’. Zango is a place where both ethnic groups meet to do hard cattle business, and then all other things follow.

On daily basis, Zango causes the immigration of more Fulani people. It is a place to make money. The aborigines are said to be hospitable to their guests. The green grass also smiles at the nomadic pastoralists.

The daily value of trade in cattle is put at about N4 million in Zango, while an average of 20 heads of cattle are sold or bought. This is apart from the small auxiliary businesses flourishing around the area.

The chief Imam of the Hausa community, Malam Muhammadu Ahmad said that there is growing trend of inter-marriage taking place between the Hausa and the owe speaking people.

“We have been marrying ourselves. Our children speak the owe language fluently. This is not a problem, it is normal,” he said.

According to him, most Hausa people came to Bunu-Kabba to take refuge from South East of the country during the Biafran War.

“The people of this region gave us refuge and accommodation when we were being killed during the war. In fact, the sarkin Hausa of the town was born here.”

He said he came to the area in 1980s when he was trading in wrist watches and clocks. According to him, the Owe-speaking people are very hospital and peace loving.

Yakubu Haruna is in his 70s. He immigrated to Bunu-Kabba in 1980. He said nomadic life brought him to Kogi State from Plateau. He said he has about 200 cows and that the average price of a grown cow is N100,000. He said most of their children now speak the local dialect and that inter-marriages preceded his arrival. He, however, added that the only ticket needed for marrying a Fulani man or woman is Islam.

Speaking also, sarkin Zango (Head of the zango), Malam Abubakar Aliyu, who is also a Fulani, originally from Sokoto, said he left his ancestral home 27 years ago in search of green pasture; but when he arrived Bunu-Kabba, he said to himself he has found a new home.

Regaling our reporter with the story of Zango, he said: “The story of Zango is not more than 15 years back when we applied to use this land that was originally slated for market purposes. When they gave us the go-ahead, we started with three cows. Today, an average of 80 cows are sold on daily basis. This is in the region of N4 million.

“The cows come from Jega, Wudil, Shinkafi and Tambuwal. Our major problem here is that we have no tap water and we want the government to also contribute to environmental sanitation.”

He advised government to develop interest in what is happening in Zango as it generates about N50,000 into government coffers.

Alhaji Muhammadu Altini, who is the Sarkin Pawa (in charge of slaughtering) is Hausa, originally from Tambuwal, Sokoto State. He left Tambuwal 33 years back to join his elder brother at Ajaokuta. He left Ajaokuta to Bunu-Kabba eight years ago and was later asked to head the slaughtering segment of the Zango. He is credited with the construction of all the shops in Zango.

Speaking about his department, he said he has up to 18 staff in his unit.

He added, “we have some problems here. Our abattoir is not in good shape. Cows’ waste is not properly disposed of and this poses serious environmental hazard. We, that have titles are also not paid salaries or allowances. We want the local government and the traditional institution to show more concern in what we are doing here.”

Despite some of the concerns raised by the immigrants, Bunu-Kabba is a new home and Owe, a new tongue they have found. Salient cultural changes are also taking place, some are noticed, others are not. The underlying current now is business.