Argungu: How feuding kingdoms found peace through a festival

During the 2nd quarter  of the last century, a  festival emerged to mark the end  of  warfare  between two communities and it represents an  indigenous attempt at peace building in Nigeria’s north west: this is the simple story of the famous Argungu fishing festival of Kebbi state in which a celebration  is held  for  the  […]

During the 2nd quarter  of the last century, a  festival emerged to mark the end  of  warfare  between two communities and it represents an  indigenous attempt at peace building in Nigeria’s north west: this is the simple story of the famous Argungu fishing festival of Kebbi state in which a celebration  is held  for  the  peace, joy and elevation of two  kingdoms.
This  fishing festival has always existed among the Kebbi people, and the new glossy work Argungu International Fishing and Cultural Festival (2010) written by Olagunju & Mera sheds light on this “It predates the conquest of Kanta of Kabi in the early 16th century. The festival started  initially in the form of religious rites prior to the time of Surame-Gungu of Kabi kingdom. In other words, it began as an informal family and communal affair. Since that time the festival has undergone several changes and modifications.”
In  other words the festival is much older than its 81 years as people say today. It may  well be over 400 years  in age, come to think of it, for it evolved out of an original shape  which Kanta himself knew and experienced in the 16th century, to  assume  the form it has  taken today. In Fish in Art and Culture (2011), Raji and Okaeme write “Today, the Argungu Fishing Festival has metamorphosed from a local get together to an international event with glaring modifications in the entire programme content.”
During the Argungu festival the fisherman who catches the biggest fish goes home with the prize amidst a background of drumming, song and dance. No fishing is allowed in the river in the course of the year, unless it is festival time, and this allows for the healthy growth rather than the extinction of species. The popular fish known as Giwan Ruwa (Nile Perch) which is found in the river will flourish under these conditions. Shortly after the 1804 Jihad of Usman Dan Fodio, Sokoto and Kebbi emerged as rivals in the region, and this hostility manifested in occasional skirmishes and raids between the two.
But through the instrumentality of Sultan Hassan Dan Mu’azu and Sarki Muhammadu Sama of Argungu, the festival rose to forge peace between the two Kingdoms, as retold by Emir Samaila Mohammadu Mera of Argungu, and Abubakar Ladan, Director General of the festival. The latter says “The festival originated in 1934 and it began as a celebration of peace between Sokoto and Kebbi kingdoms. Sultan Dan Mu’azu, the Sultan of Sokoto had a personal friendship when he was a prince, with the person who was the Emir of Argungu then, Emir Muhammadu  Sama. When he became the Sultan, he decided to visit Argungu town, in order to formally end the hostilities between the two communities. Because of this, the people of Argungu decided that they should do a fishing festival, since the people are renowned fishermen. It is called a celebration of peace, because it formally ended the hostility between Sokoto and Kebbi kingdoms at that time.”
 Thus was born the Argungu international fishing festival which at its peak drew some 30,000 fishermen from all over the region, attracts tourists and guests from neighbouring West African countries, and is the venue for countless events when it holds .In 2009 there were 250,000 spectators present during the festival. But the festival, initially a yearly event,has not held for about 4 years now.Abubakar Ladan comments  ‘It normally holds every year, but there are times when, for one reason or the other,the festival was not held. It is 81 years old now, but the last festival held was the 60th, which means there were some years when it did not hold. In  2010, the festival was postponed because of the death of President Yar’Adua, who is an in law to the governor here.”
He explains that other factors led to the postponement of the festival  in subsequent years “In  later  years, we had to postpone the festival  because of the current security challenges in the country.We were afraid that if  we were to hold  the festival, and there were some security breaches, it could inflict permanent damage on the reputation of the festival. Thats  the main reason why the festival was postponed, at least until we have a conducive environment for it to take place.”
He now speaks on one figure, whose presence is key to the holding of the   festival, and who would still be a star attraction whenever it holds. This is Sarkin Ruwa, also known locally as Makwashi “Sarkin Ruwa  ensures that the waters are protected throughout the year, and that no fishing is done either by day or by night.There are people employed by the Argungu emirate who  guard the place 24 hours a day ,and they  traverse the length and breadth of the water. Many people believe Sarkin Ruwa has magical powers to protect the water, and if anybody goes into the water to fish, without his command,  he will come out empty handed. So people fear going into the water. There are crocodiles in the river, and it is held that during the festival,  Sarkin Ruwa will command the crocodiles not to harm anybody. But if you go in at any other time, they may harm you, for there are so many beliefs associated with Sarkin Ruwa.”
Alhaji Hussaini Makwashi is Sarkin Ruwa and he is the 4th in the line of Sarki’s who have watched over the river. He says “My great grandparents played the role of Makwashi here in Argungu, and  the ability to play this role runs in the family. Anybody appointed to serve as  Sarkin Ruwa or Makwashi, must  be somebody accepted in the community,and he should be an individual  with integrity.”
On his work as Sarkin Ruwa, he says “My role is to clear the river and the environment of any negative activity, from crocodiles or any aquatic  forms.”
He explains that he has the duty of  informing  all the competitors of  the dos and don’ts of the festival.Then he explains how the festival commences “There will be somebody by the riverside with a flag.I will direct him to raise the flag,and  a sign will then be given to the man with the gun.He fires the gun thrice.This is the sign to the fishermen who will start rushing into the river. The drummers are with me in a boat, and when they hear the signal the women begin to sing and the drummers also begin to drum. It’s all very exciting.” On the effect of the fishing  festival  on Sultan Dan Mu’azu who was visiting in 1934 “The sight of the many fishermen impressed him,we were told.He was looking at the small river, from which emerged  big fish. So, he prayed that Argungu will become famous.”
He emphasises that fishing in the  river, outside the time of the festival is banned “Nobody fishes here except at festival time. Anybody caught fishing  in the river will be prosecuted, and there is a one year jail term if someone is caught.”
Abubakar Ladan says that the events has faced a number of challenges over the years.He adds that there has been a challenge in the area of funding ‘We need to upgrade the facilities at the fishing village, because most of the structures we have were built before the creation of Kebbi State itself, and some other structures  were built early in the 80s. This is a major challenge.”
Next, he speaks on breaks in the holding of the festival “There is the inconsistency in the holding of the festival. We  believe if the festival holds  annually, it will keep growing to the extent that it will get to the desired level, but because of the inconsistency, this has  affected  some of the sponsors and participants. So tourists cannot plan to come, since they do not know when it is holding.”
But the  annual event  has made a number of achievements, he says “One of the greatest achievements is that the festival has put Kebbi on the tourist map of the world. Right now,there is no part of the world that has not heard of the Argungu international fishing festival. Then economic activities in the area receive a boost whenever the festival holds. For instance, sponsors make huge contributions during the festival, and people in the environment  buy  and sell countless items during the festivity. So, people gain a lot economically during the event. Locally manufactured fishing gears are also sold during the event. This has a lot of economic potential for the state, if harnessed properly. The locals are always yearning for the festival and because it hasn’t held in recent years, they are certainly losing a lot.”
He says that the Argungu festival easily outshines similar fishing festivals in neighbouring West African countries “None of the other festivals is comparable to   Argungu in terms of  its structure  and the name it has achieved. There is no other fishing festival in west Africa, that can be compared to Argungu. Ours has recognition and the backing of all governments, in addition to the  support of many  company’s. Because the federal government supports our festival, many state governments  are also involved.”    
Giving evidence of what federal government support has done for the festival, he says “In the 70s immediately after the civil war, one of the cultural activities used in support  of the federal governments integration process was the Argungu festival. The government felt that after the war there should be many activities that will bring people together in unity,and Argungu was one of those included on this list,and that was when the federal government started sponsoring the festival. States in all the riverine parts of the country were now involved in the Argungu festival .So states in both north and south of the country were involved in the Argungu project. Plots were provided for Rivers state to build a permanent pavilion at Argungu. Rivers actually started to construct its own, but this was abandoned after a while.”
But Abubakar Ladan says that the Matan Fada river, the venue of the festival itself, has changed in recent times “It is not like it used to be. The volume of water has drastically reduced over the years, compared to how it was in the past. Again, the catch has declined compared to how things were in the 70s and 80s. In those days as soon as a festival is over, you  will find people selling fish for many days following the festival. But now immediately after the festival, you may not see any fish again. The yield has declined greatly, and some species are no longer there. But then we notice that some other species might have migrated from other places and come to this area, but significantly, the main species which we call Giwan Ruwa, which is the fish that becomes the winning fish, is always available in the river.”
He  shows that the river has become silted over the years, and this has implications for the population of fish present “The river has silted over the years. The depth which used to be there is no longer  available. At some point in the past you may have a place which is up to 30 metres  deep, now you can hardly find places that are more than 6 to 10 metres deep. The big fish stay at the deepest part of the river, but because it is no longer deep, these  big fish migrate elsewhere. We  are looking at the possibility of dredging the river, but there has been some resistance from locals who believe that nobody should interfere with the river by artificial means.But ,we are consulting with the Argungu emirate council, to see what can be done.”
Abubakar Ladan now describes  the great dash into the river by the thousands of fishermen present ,an event which has never failed to attract the attention of foreigners and locals alike  “During  the festival,there are countless  fishermen present and they  pass the night by the river bank, but they must stay at least a kilometre away from the river. They  remain there until the flag off.Sarkin Ruwa fires the dane gun or gives the instruction ,and as soon as they hear the gun shot, then  all the fishermen will start running. Its big fun.  This is one of the  memorable parts of the festival: 30,000 people carrying their fishing items dash to the river from a point   over a  kilometre away, each one trying to be first into the river,each man trying to outrun his neighbour,  and all the photographers and tourists aiming  to get the best shots at that moment when  the men enter the  river.”