Biu: The Place, the People, their History A review of Bukar Usman’s History of Biu

For Dr. Bukar Usman, who retired from the Presidency as a Permanent Secretary in 1999, his new phase as an elder statesman is a vindication of the proverbial wine that grows better with age. His literary output in the recent past has been phenomenal. The year, 2015, brings another, A HISTORY OF BIU, (Klamidas Communications […]

For Dr. Bukar Usman, who retired from the Presidency as a Permanent Secretary in 1999, his new phase as an elder statesman is a vindication of the proverbial wine that grows better with age. His literary output in the recent past has been phenomenal.
The year, 2015, brings another, A HISTORY OF BIU, (Klamidas Communications Limited, Abuja; 2015), a 693-page publication containing fourteen chapters which treats a wide variety of subjects on the location, the people, their past and, in certain instances, present realities. Notably, Biu (an English corruption of ‘Viu’ – the actual pronunciation) as a city-state, was founded around 1535 by a Kanem-Bornu prince known as Yamtarawala.
The establishment of Biu was the result of a royal contest between Yamtarawala and his younger brother over the right of succession to the Kanem Bornu throne. The former, a warrior-prince lost out in a simple palace test of legitimacy and migrated with a retinue of families, fighting wars and conquering towns and villages until he arrived and settled down at Biu.
The first three chapters deal with ‘Location and Physical Features’, ‘Origin of Biu Kingdom’ and ‘Settlement History of Biu Kingdom Groups’ in that order.
The expedition of Yamtarawala, leading to the establishment of Biu Kingdom, has a modicum of mythic accounts which the author compares with that of ‘Oduduwa of the Yoruba and Bayajidda of the Hausa people of Daura.’ Written aspect of the history, though documented only as late as 1956, traces the remote ancestry of the Biu aborigines back to Kush.
Of this, J.G. Davies writes, ‘The tribes (Bura, Marghi, Kimba, etc.) were an early Kushite stratum, earlier than Kanuri or the ruling families of Biu or Shani, and they covered Biu Division being the earliest inhabitants of the area who are still there…… ‘
Drawing from Bukar Usman’s reference and relying further on Roland Oliver and J.D. Fage in ‘A Short History of Africa’, it probably means that the real antiquity of Biu could have stretched as far back as the late first millennium and early second millennium B.C. And from that point a south-westward migration from the Nubia area to the Lake Chad region commenced, culminating in the settlements peopled by those whom the author refers to as ‘indigenous people who generally spoke Bura language and lived in fairly independent communities.’
Chapter Four takes the reader through ‘Traditional Administration in Biu Kingdom’, whose Traditional Ruler is reverently referred to as Kuthli. The establishment of Biu town by Kuthli Paskur and its futuristic lay-out by visionary-warrior Kuthli Mari Biya (which remains the archetypal plan of the city till this day) are explained in this chapter. It also outlines the traditional administration system as well as some historic deviations that altered the hereditary, primogenitorial order of succession to the throne. Royal burial and installation are among the traditional observances highlighted in this chapter.
The Fifth Chapter, ‘People and Languages of Biu Kingdom’ is literally a showcase of ethnic plurality where the Babur, Bura, Tera, Kanakuru, Chibok, Marghi, Pidlimdi, Jara, Komberi and Fulani live together.
Chapter Six is based on ‘Cultural Practices’ of the Kingdom ranging from folktales through tribal marks, which is running out of fashion nowadays, to marriage tradition. The practice of the Native Doctor is mentioned with poetic relish. ‘The forest, not the pharmacy shop’, writes the author, ‘is the traditional healer’s source of medicine.’ One remarkable point about these traditional medicare providers is their humaneness in practice. ‘They accepted whatever the patient could afford which, at times, was no more than a chicken to be offered for sacrifice.’ The chapter also reveals, under the section on the traditional barber who carries out male circumcision, that ‘no female circumcision takes place among Biu communities.’ This is a noble precursor to the current advocacy against female genital mutilation.
Chapter Seven offers a refreshing insight into the advent of the British colonialists in Nigeria. The transitional phase from tradition to modernity has been a major topic in the history of African communities, some of which – like Opobo, Benin, Kano, Lagos and Itsekiri – have experienced brutal expeditions from the British.
One notable point of interest about the dynamics of change in the colonisation process in Biu – as the book shows – is the tacticality of Kuthli Mari Garga Kwamting and his son, Mai Ari Dogo, who succeeded him, in negotiating power-concession and power-retention without endangering the Biu polity with any threat of war. In this process, under the Native Authority/Indirect Rule system, Biu rulership and, by extension, the community grew in status with expanded territory which later became an Emirate. The Kuthli was, thereafter, addressed as an Emir.
Chapter Eight elaborates on the Native Authority Administration, the sub-division of Biu into five Districts, protocols, functions, tax collection, establishment of the Native Police and other developments, based on the systematic upgrading of the Biu monarch. The political authority of the Emir and his Council of traditional or public administrators flourished during the colonial era and the First Republic. However, such political profile began to wane in all traditional institutions across the country with the advent of military rule in January, 1966, until it was virtually wiped out by the Local Government Reforms of 1976.
Focusing on ‘Biu City, Districts and Local Government Areas’, the Ninth Chapter goes a little bit back to the pre-colonial years, especially during the reign of Kuthli Mari Biya (1873-1891), who is regarded as ‘the first demographer of Biu town.’ He established the plan on which the town is patterned even today. Infrastructural transformations have since taken place, but his ward-centred town-planning continues to drive new physical development over a hundred years after.
And, despite evidences of modernity in terms of social amenities – roads, housing, potable water, electricity, telecommunications, schools, etc. – within the last hundred years, the author frowns at the unsavoury profile of the Local Government in the new political order. He points, for instance, at a situation where between 1970 and 2012 (about 42 years) only eight out of 33 Chairmen of Biu Local Government were elected. ‘The rest,’ he concludes, ‘were appointees of the state government which tagged them as “chairmen”, “sole-administrator” or “caretaker”.
The reader will particularly enjoy, in this chapter, the story of Dorugu and Bukar Abiga (a.k.a. Abbega). They were Hausa and Marghi respectively. They were slaves who ended up in England and performed the role of Hausa-language teachers to their bosses. They rose from slavery to positions of eminence.
Chapter Twelve treats the subject: ‘Politics and Social Development’, opening with a brief history of Nigerian nationalism from the pioneering days of Herbert Macaulay when primordial differences leading to inter-tribal wars were sunk and Nigerian nationalist elites collaborated to face a common enemy; the colonialists. Upon the attainment of independence came a reversal of the gains of nationalism. Mutual suspicion and self-preservation take hold of the political class, and it has been one manifestation of primordial cleavages or the other, dressed in new rhetoric, that Nigeria and Nigerians have had to contend with.
On ‘Values and Lifestyle’, in Chapter Thirteen, the author touches on some social values in the lives of people. They include respect for family values, abhorrence of sexual immorality, dignity of labour, sense of community, reverence for ancestors and respect for elders. Of course, religion plays a vital role in character development. Thus and in view of the melting-pot nature of Biu and the ingrained humanism among the people, religious tolerance and peaceful co-existence are taken very seriously as being fundamental to beneficial interpersonal and group relationship. Bukar Usman refers to the Yoruba and the Zuru as bearing similar attributes with the Biu in this respect.
Bukar Usman, like a newsman, breaks in his book, the culturally alarming news – at least it’s news to me – that the Durbar, one of Nigeria’s most dignified, colourful and edifying showpieces in communal carnival art, has not been held in Biu in the last thirty years. Could it be because of the feudalistic ideology and martial motif that runs through it? Tribal wars belong in the past. But the prestige and dignity of culture and the arts, the gracefulness of bodies in rhythmic motion, the agility of riders and their horses, the display of economic prosperity in flowing linearity and a loud language of grandeur under the regal inspiration of the traditional ruler, should not be thrown away with the bath-water. Even as a personal advocacy, in response to the ‘news’ from Bukar Usman, one would ask the situation to be redressed as soon as practicable.
The story of Biu Robin Hood, Malam Gulani who, in the 1960s, robbed the rich to pay the wretched, is one of those human interest bits that spice up this history book. It is the kind of historical experience – except for our overly conservative tendencies – that can be developed into a rich literary material, shorn of undue sensationalism, while exploring its paradoxes.
The last chapter of A HISTORY OF BIU is about ‘Environment and Tourism’. It gives  an account of the Emirate’s flora and fauna. The author reveals even the history behind  some of these natural objects. For instance, the neem tree which is natural to Biu was  presented as a special gift to the Saudis by the late Premier of Northern Nigeria, Sir  Ahmadu Bello. According to the author, it now ‘provides shades at the Arafat in  Mecca.’
So far, this review has only attempted to expose the reader to some of the key facts  contained in A HISTORY OF BIU. There are, however, other matters to consider.
Concerning sources of history – oral, dug up or written, Bukar Usman clearly acknowledges the efforts of foreigners at documenting aspects of Biu history. It was a  good job, but limited in terms of chronological range, covering only between 1850-  1960. Oral history and correlative archival materials make up for the massive chunks  that the foreigners just could not access.