₦airaland Forum

Overall, the trip was amazing!!! What do you think? Share your thoughts and comments with me

Ishage Rock.

The first landmark we got to was the Ishage rock, a giant boulder that appears to be free-standing without support. According to legend, this rock had never fallen off the steep side of the mountain where it rests. Many people believe the Ishage to have spiritual powers and many worship at the foot of the rock. Our guide also mentions that people with certain wishes will send a white cloth to be tied around the rock after which their wishes are granted.

The Elephant Tree

This was another attraction at the top of the mountain, a little distance from the Iyake lake. The “elephant” tree is a tree that fell and somehow its truck got mangled in such a way that it resembles an elephant trunk at first glance. It is really difficult to describe, but a delight to see nonetheless! I was dared by one of the tour guides to climb to the top of the elephant head and I gamely took him up on the challenge to his surprise!

Ado awaye suspended Lake

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more photo

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Iyake Lake

This is the lake suspended on top of the Oke Ado mountain and the real reason to visit Ado Awaye town! � The lake is believed to have significance particularly for those with fertility issues. Local legend has it that the lake has never dried up and it is a taboo to swim or bath in the lake. It is believed that who ever swims in the lake will never be found again! There was a story about a certain white man who came to the mountain and attempted to swim in defiance of the local warnings. He reportedly disappeared into the depths of the lake never to be seen again. I don’t know if this actually happened or not, but it is part of the lore surrounding the Iyake lake.

My take is that the lake may actually be a crater lake that is fed through a spring in the mountain. I suspect that there might be a spring in or around the mountain because of the lush greenery surrounding the mountain, which I believe indicates some water supply nearby.

One funny sign of the times, the tour guide warned us not to touch the lake because of the latest Ebola epidemic – to discourage people to come there for healing and prevent the virus from being transferred into the lake! �

decomaniaboss:
so the picture attach to my claim wasn't proof enough Trust me dear,there are so many things out there that google knows jack about...so pls let it be now ..am tired of having this arguiment already

Not at all.
your personal Cameroonian view can't satisfy the world!
you were in Lagos and you can take a visit to Ado Awaye and confirm the existence of the second suspended Lake of the whole world!

attend this medication at your peril!
who authorize them?
with what qualification?
this man is set to exterminate igbo race!
ojukwu one will be child play!
medicine?

but why it's the foreigners that always cause headache to Nigeria?

In what seems to be a precaution action to avoid the re-occurrence of the past carnage, the federal government is set to return the leader of Indigenous people of Biafra Nnamdi kanu to prison, an investigation revealed that kanu had crossed the red line of the peaceful agitation, although there hadn't been any agitation in this country that not end up with violent and blood shed.
i. Among the violent action taken by kanu so far, is violation of law, and disregard of the sovereignty of the state.
ii. Formation of BSS
iii. Deprive of others right from exercise of their fundamental human right, "the call for No election in the Eastern part of Nigeria" which can lead to Anarchy and violent.
The intelligent revealed, Nigeria government had notice the international bodies on the action to be taken on the rebel leader.. Nnamdi Kanu.
A Diplomat from New York said, the international community can't accept the villagrant violation of human rights from any separatist group in the world, they give support to Nigeria government to stop the agitation before thing get out of hand.
oladeebo from New York.

kanu is leading what government to create BSS?
Local, state or federal.
and you people said you were literate.
can BSS arrest criminal?
and where will be her cell?

decomaniaboss:
well yes i did becos he/she deserved it....oui tu sais donc de quoi je parle ...juste o sommet du mont manengoumba ya les lac jumelle...mais elle/il veux nous faire croire que y en as que 2 dans le monde o etas unis et o nigeria ...casy faux non

but you justify insulting me? even when you can't give any evidence of your claimed,
are you serious?
thread with caution.
ok.

Intrepid01:
@oladeebo: May God bless you for this write up you posted here, As a lover of history I have heard about the Mai tatsine crisis of the '80s but never knew it was so big worth reading about. Hmm, man will continue to learn. I just keep wondering about several things I do not know but I need to know.

I am more interested in the last part of this write up that speaks to how he was able to mobilise such a multitude of followers. Mobilising people is one of the most difficult things to do in life. So many attributes are needed on a continuous basis. Yes I know that hunger, mis rule and even loss of hope in government are enhancing factors. But I so much believe there are more to it. Especially in terms of the Mobiliser; what draws people to him, how he must continuously wet the appetite of the followers with motivational even if it is brain-washing messages. How he carefully reads their expectations and provide direct and indirect answers to their concerns in speeches. These and many more are key to mobilizing people.

I would like to hear your views on this and you could probably recommend books for me on this.....Cheers brother!!

These are desperate times....something bigger than anyone is coming ahead of Nigeria....only a fool cant see it. We all need to take an active part in it!

Education is our main problem in Nigeria, in all aspects, political, economics and social.
going to school mustn't end up in gaining white collar job but for the acquisition of basically knowledge and technique of know how, that will preoccupy the wasted human resources that will develop the mineral resources for the stability of our nation.
Also it's come to a necessity to transform the Arabic scholars into the Arabic world standard education that will cut out the children of this nation from the control of evil preachers and religious fanatics.
Thanks

PERVASIVE SUPERSTITIONS
In 2011 the World Bank released a report stating that the Northern region of Nigeria has the highest rate of illiteracy not in Africa but on earth. As if that was not enough, in April 2013, the Central Bank Governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi revealed that 93% (read that again, 93%) of girls in northern Nigeria are illiterate. In such an environment with such a thick atmosphere of ignorance, it is very easy for superstitious beliefs to spread about people like Maitatsine. During his time, many believed that he even had magical powers and bullets could not penetrate his followers. The fact is that no matter the amount of the magical powder you rub on your body, a bullet will not sweat before piercing your skin. If you need real ayeta, go get the latest Kevlar vests.

A very negative impact of these baseless superstitions is that they demoralize the police. During the onslaught on Maitatsine, many police officers were very reluctant to go smoke him out, some officers did not even bother to report for work at their respective stations, they simply disappeared (who wan die) while the few unfortunate ones drafted out to confront the full wrath of Maitatsine were already psychologically defeated, they were fighting from a position of fear and trepidation, all because of superstitious rubbish. Education, is the key. For Nigeria to bloom, she must experience an explosion in information technology and a revolution in the education sector. When that time comes, we will stop holding up criminal elements as mythical and indomitable figures worthy of adulation or honour but hold them accountable for their actions as criminals. Spread the message of love and tolerance. Violence begets violence and no cobra will birth a dove.

Thank you very much for your time.

LAX POLICING METHODS
In a nation where police officers are in the pockets of politicians, it is very difficult to combat crime. Maitatsine had been arrested before a couple of times but on each occasion, he called on his friends in high places and secured his freedom. With each bout of liberation, he became more emboldened until he transformed into a monster that almost swallowed up the politicians themselves.

COMMISSIONS OF INQUIRY
Unserious Nigerian governments will set up committees to look into the ‘immediate and remote’ causes of a crisis only for them not to adopt the recommendations of such panels or inquiry or committees and that explains why we keep having a recurrence. The one instituted by the Federal Government on Maitatsine was headed by the late retired Supreme Court Judge, Justice Anthony Nnaemezie Aniagolu who died in July 2011. The commission dismissed claims that Maitatsine was sponsored by Israel, Libya, Saudi Arabia or even a political party. All the blame was heaped on his head.

THE POLITICAL ANGLE

While Maitatsine as a phenomenon cannot be said to be a creation of the greedy politicians, the growth and strengthening of the sect can be linked to the direct actions and inactions of the political class. In the Maitatsine case, politicians deliberately played ludo with the whole scenario until it became a full-blown monster. One political party would be blaming the other while also trying to shore up their respective political bases. At the end of the day, who suffers? Innocent Nigerians. That the Kano State government could put down the riots in less than two weeks show that they were not hampered in the real sense by the needed resources but by an embarrassing lack of political will.

HATE SPEECHES
Going through even the social media nowadays, one will be shocked at the level of hatred and intolerance spewed by Nigerians. If it is not childish tribal rants (which totally pisses me off), it will be one senseless argument over religions. Religious leaders have the responsibility of giving responsible teachings that will provide overall harmony and development in the society. But even if the clerics have failed in their duties, whatever happened to our own brains?

UNEMPLOYMENT
Frustrated idle youths will seek succour and relief in anything, including religion. A word may not be enough for our government. As at the time of writing this, only 1 state out of all the 36 can pay the salaries of workers (not even to talk of financing projects o) WITHOUT collecting oil money from Abuja simply because their internally-generated revenue is laughable. That one state is Lagos. As long as an army of willing, able and ready Nigerian youths are rendered useless, the Nigerian nation will never be free of turmoil. Stop shouting, it is not a curse. It is called a FACT.

MATTERS AND ISSUES ARISING:
EXTRAJUDICIAL KILLINGS
Although while agreeing that an onslaught by the military was necessary to maintain order, the summary execution of Nigerians without fair trial is a very disturbing trend indeed. When Lawrence Anini, the notorious armed robber was caught in 1986, he was shot in the legs, taken to a military hospital, treated with courtesy and care, allowed to confess and name all his collaborators before facing trial and eventually the executioners. On the other hand, the late Boko Haram leader, Mohammed Yusuf was summarily executed even when he was already subdued. The manner with which Nigerian police officers and members of the armed forces descend on everyone during insurrections and public disturbances is alarming. The militarization of the Nigerian state is yet to be diluted.

HIS WORDS:
Wanda ba ta yarda ba Allah tatsine. Meaning,(May God curse whoever does not agree with me).
All land plots in this world belong to Allah and he does not have to ask permission of anyone before building on any plot.
Maitatsine telling his followers to take over the land of the neighbours and build anywhere they deemed fit.

WHAT OTHERS SAID ABOUT HIM:
“I can still remember vividly those days when he would invite me to ceremonies like naming of children while I also invited him to attend mine. But as his weird sermon attained its peak, he ordered me – being the second Imam of the mosque near his house – to stop my muezzin from calling prayers, saying he has banned it.” -Mallam Ibrahim Adamu, neighbour.

"My father has an enormous cache of weapons in his room that can allow him wipe out your police in no time" -Tijjani Marwa, Maitatsine’s son, to a friend in 1980. 100,000 rounds of ammunition were later seized from the Maitatsine base.

”There was a day I went to fetch water from that tap (points at a pump near a bridge bordering the spot where Maitatsine’ house was located), but to my greatest surprise, his men chased me away, warning me not come near the place again as the tap was meant for them.” -Mallam Bara’u, family friend and neighbour.

"The Maitatsine is a fitnah, a corrupt jihad. It represents a direct attack on the Muslims and an affront to the very Islamic principles which all Muslims honour and cherish. All Islamic authorities agree that anyone who believes that there is a prophet after Muhammad is not a Muslim; that anybody who rejects the sunnah does not belong to Islam even if he professes belief in the Qu’ran, and that anybody who attempts to change the Islamic mode of worship is anything but a Muslim. And these exactly are the doctrines of the Maitatsine movement" -Muslim Students Society (MSS)
"The Maitatsine sect is nothing but a few organized cranks and hoodlums masquerading as Islamic teachers and preachers" -Jama’atul Nasril Islam (JNI) (Society for the Support of Islam, an umbrella body for Muslims in the country).

"Maitatsine are not Muslims" -Lateef Adegbite, Secretary-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), now late.

"It is a mistake to vest Maitatsine with the stature of a misguided Muslim reformer, which clearly, he was not. At best, he was a Muslim deviant, and at worst, a charlatan who took advantage of the societal weakness" -Jubril Aminu, professor of cardiology, former Nigerian Ambassador to the USA and Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

THE ESCAPE:

One of those who fled and escaped to Cameroon was Musa Ali Suleiman (aka Musa Makaniki) after the 1985 attacks, he was the one who took over the sect following Maitatsine’s death in 1980. He got the nickname because he was once a mechanic before becoming an Islamic cleric.


THE RE-NABBING:

You may find this difficult to believe but Makaniki would not be caught until the year 2004 under the presidency of Olusegun Obasanjo. Makaniki was initially sentenced to death by hanging but he was later freed upon appeal in May 2012.

THE RESURGENCE:

For those who felt that the death of Maitatsine meant the end of his sect, they were sorely mistaken. In 1982, the surviving members of the sect collaborated with another sect named Kala-Kato and unleashed untold violence in their base in Bullumkutu (Bulunkutu), Borno State. Before the government security forces could react, almost 120 people were already killed, with property worth millions of naira damaged. Before the smoke of Bullumkutu died down, the Maitatsine sect under the command of Maitatsine’s second-in-command, Mallam Musa Makaniki launched another round of terror in 1984 pursuing those that fled the massacre from Borno State to the old Gongola State (now Taraba and Adamawa States) in places like Yelwa, Jimeta (Jimeta Main Market was destroyed) and Yola communities like Shinko, Vinikilang, Doubeli, Zango, Va’atita, Nassarawo and Rumde. This particular orgy of violence started with the murder of a three-and-half-year-old girl, Fatima Garba. Before the police could respond again, over 800 Nigerians had already lost their lives with countless property destroyed in the carnage. About 60,000 people were displaced and left homeless (total death toll since 1980 stood at almost 5,700). That was not the end. Maitatsine did not stop there.

After their strings of ‘victory’ in Borno and Gongola States, they launched another strike in the Pantami area of Bauchi State (now in Gombe State) from the 26th to the 28th of April, 1985. Before the security forces could intervene, over 100 lives were lost. General Buhari would then launch a devastating assault on the sect, leading to the arrest and prosecution of many of them, with the others fleeing.

The almajiris are usually young boys, left to fend for themselves on the streets, beg and return the proceeds to their Islamic teachers. During the tribunal set up after his death, one of Maitatsine’s wives, Zainab, admitted that Maitatsine received alms proceeds at the rate of N200 naira on a regular basis from the almajiris. The almajiris are some of the most vulnerable in the Nigerian society.
Maitatsine’s personality also helped him a great deal. He was a fantastic orator and was described as a ‘forceful, persuasive and charismatic‘. He could charm thousands with his electrifying speeches. For a man who took his time to study the economic and political landscape, he knew just the right words to use and drive the people into a mad frenzy. His followers, mainly of the talakawa (commoner) breed were branded Yan Tatsine (Those Who Curse) by the general populace.
He was also working closely with members of the Police Force who incidentally were also members of his own sect or had just retired. These people supplied him with all the necessary tips and information with which he outsmarted and outwitted the Nigerian Police, seen by many as a nauseating bastion of corruption.
Unseriousness on the part of the politicans also worked in his favour. Instead of facing the core problems spawning the growth of the sect, selfish politicians were busy feathering their own nests, to the detriment of the population. This will make more sense to you when you realize the fact that Kano State was under the control of the opposition Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) as against Shagari’s National Party of Nigeria (NPN). Instead of tackling the problem, the inept politicians dilly-dallied trading blames with one another, just like they shamelessly do today.
Religious sentiments also played a very big role in the emergence of Maitatsine. When his real colours started to show, Baba Yaro, a member of the State House of Assembly raised alarm and even passed a motion in the House that Maitatsine be stopped from public preaching. Shockingly, he got no support from his colleagues, many of whom believe that Maitatsine’s work was promoting the cause of Islam. A disappointed Baba Yaro gently sunk into his chair and kept quiet. Today, a lot of Nigerians still find it difficult if not impossible to think straight because of religious sentiments, even the most highly-educated ones are not free from this debilitating scourge.
Maitatsine’s followers were very disciplined and when it came to bravery, they had a First Class. They were ready to die for their cause and they were properly motivated, not with the instrumentality of money or materials but the incorrigible belief that they would end up in Paradise. The officers of the Nigerian Police on the other hand, were poorly motivated and definitely not ready to die any senseless death. It must also be said that Maitatsine’s followers were not crude riffraffs but very well-trained fighters. Within their enclave, they were given adequate military training by sect members who once worked or were still working with the Nigerian security forces or in collusion with top government officials and through these people, Maitatsine laid his hands on classified government documents which he would then make copies of and distribute widely, being a sly master of propaganda.

THE SECRETS OF MAITATSINE:

So how was Maitatsine able to accumulate so much power, influence and command such a huge followership? Well, a number of factors condensed to prop him up. We look at them:
It was in the 1980s and Nigeria was awash with billions of petrodollars. However, just as it is today, much of the wealth did not trickle down to the masses. The fact that the Shagari government was generally regarded as inept and the President’s aides as corrupt did not even help matters. The effect? Unemployment and the harsh economic reality encouraged and sustained the child beggar (almajiri) system in northern Nigeria. Maitatsine would draw a vast majority of his followers from this pool of beggars and destitutes who were already fed up with life before Maitatsine came with his message of ‘hope’ and ‘salvation’. The almajiris would later have a popular song:

Yan makaranta boko,
Ba karatu, ba Sallah.
Sai yawan zagin mallam.

Pupils of western schools,
You do not learn or read the Qur’an
Save continuous abuse of your teacher.

INTERESTING THINGS ABOUT MAITATSINE:
As early as 1982, hundreds of Maitatsine members arrested were granted amnesty by President Shagari.
Maitatsine was born into rural poverty in 1927 in Maroua, Cameroon, became a brilliant student under a Quranic teacher and excelled especially in tafsir but left his birthplace for Kano when he was sixteen. His full name went thus: Muhammedu Marwa Darkwa aka Mai Tabsiri.
http://valentineodika..com/2013/12/maitatsine-bloodbath-nigerias-religious.html

ANY CONNECTIONS WITH BOKO HARAM?:
"Boko Haram is like a resurrection of Maitatsine. The similarities between the two are eerie" -Max Siollun, historian and expert on Nigerian military history.
Some Nigerians believe that the present-day Boko Haram is an offshoot or a mutation of the Maitatsine. Those who believe this state that the uncle of the Mohammed Yusuf, the late Boko Haram leader, was actually one of the senior commanders of Maitatsine but he narrowly escaped from Kano to Maiduguri during the heavy military onslaught on the sect. This uncle of his was said to have raised Yusuf as a child. However, that is not to say that other factors did not contribute to the growth and emergence of Boko Haram and it is not clear if Boko Haram has confirmed or denied this relationship. There are many similarities between the two sects but Boko Haram has remained a far more resilient organization. Both sects were anti-government, had their own autonomous enclaves and organized charismatic sermons against the use of Western items. Just as Maitatsine also had ties with the politicians of Kano State, Boko Haram was also linked with the politicians of Borno State. As a matter of fact, a suspected financier of the group, Alhaji Buji Foi, was summarily executed by the police. Foi was a Commissioner for Religious Affairs during Governor Ali Modu Sheriff’s first term in office. Before then, Foi was twice the Chairman of Kaga Local Council in addition to other top public offices that he held in Borno State. Here is a video of his execution:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QghYs_W-qck

THE AFTERMATH:

But his sect did not die with him. In fact, in October 1982, his followers would launch another round of violence. This time around, it was not in Kano but in the town of Bulunkutu in Borno State, a village 15km to the east of Maiduguri, which is presently under siege by the rampaging Boko Haram. Mohammedu Goni was the Governor of Borno State that time and he was also taken aback with the scale of the ferocity of the Maitatsine sect which lasted for four days. It was a brutal assault launched by the surviving remnants of the sect that fled from Kano. (Please note that the Kano crisis of 1982 in which Dr. Bala Muhammed, the beloved Secretary to the State Government, SSG of Governor Rimi was murdered in cold blood by NPN thugs was a different incident)That was not all. They regrouped in Kaduna were many of them were killed.

In March 1984, the surviving members of the sect launched another devastating attack on the Yola/Jimeta axis in Adamawa State. For a long time, the city of Yola was plunged into darkness because the National Electric Power Authority (NEPA)’s three substations, transformers, meters and utility poles had all been damaged in the violence. The Yola Central Market was reduced to rubble. Bloated corpses littered everywhere, posing grave health risks. Food was scarce and prices of commodities took an upward turn like a spaceship leaving Cape Canaveral.

The military head of state, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari responded with a deafening ferocity. He literally moved in his forces to wipe off the sect from existence with the same ruthlessness that he pursued Chadian forces under President Shagari. Under Shagari, Buhari was the General Officer Commanding , 3rd Armoured Brigade, Jos, Plateau State and played significant roles in containg the Maitatsine sect. Buhari flew to Yola and oversaw the military wipe out the sect (his popular vice, Idiagbon was out of the country). Buhari then vowed that Maitatsine would never sprout again. Actually, he dealt the sect a very severe blow. When Musa Makaniki, the new sect leader, fled to his hometown in Gombe, Buhari’s forces gave him a hot chase.

Following his death, Maitatsine’s enclave was demolished and all his illegal buildings levelled. Today, if you get to the area, you see an entirely different scenery, his own house was converted to a magistrate court with other buildings where he housed his thousands of militant adherents converted to police barracks and shops. Although one can barely recollect that that is the scene of the one of the most violent confrontations in Nigeria’s history, residents who witnessed it and are still alive will point to bullet holes in their houses and narrate their heart-wrenching stories.

President Shagari signed into law the Unlawful Society Order of 1982 and it clearly prohibited the formation and operation of groups such as the Maitatsine under whatever name or form. The Federal Government also set up a Commission of Inquiry but the Kano State Government, suspicious of being indicted, turned down the report of the commission and set up its own. (Initially, the FG downplayed the importance of the sect and underestimated its strength and even turned down the request of the state commissioner of police for reinforcement. Remember how Yar’adua also travelled out to Brazil while the country was burning under the terror of Boko Haram). The state government even went as far as accusing the Federal Government of breeding and supporting Maitatsine all because Kano is an opposition state. Shey you see how these people play tente with our lives? While the two parties were foolishly bickering, the survivors of the sect were busy regrouping and restrategizing and they would launch further destructive attacks.
The Babangida government was particularly ruthless with the jailed Maitatsine members. As at 1989, just 25 out of the 100 incarcerated disciples of Maitatsine were still alive after just four years in prison. Don’t ask me what happened to others.

After Maitatsine’s death, his defeated followers took his body and quickly buried it. However, the exhausted Kano State government would have none of that. The soldiers got a tip-off of the location of the shallow grave and an order was given that Maitatsine’s body be exhumed. His grave was cleared up and his corpse was brought to the surface. It was then embalmed and presented before the Commission of Enquiry. Jubilant police officers even posed with the corpse. What followed next is as dramatic as it was puzzling. The government was so determined to crush anything that left of Maitatsine that his corpse was set on fire. He was cremated. Today, his ashes, badly-burnt teeth and bone fragments are safely sealed away in a bottle at the Nigerian Police laboratory in Kano State. In a corner of an unused, dark and dusty room that reminds one of an evil dungeon, lies Maitatsine in a bottle. On the specimen bottle, is an official seal and an inscription that goes thus:

“The remains of Late Malam Muhammadu Marwa alias Allah Ta-Tsine or Maitatsine.”