Hayin Banki: Decades-old Kaduna community where Christians, Muslims remain united

Many decades  ago, when a Fulani man from rural Kaduna state, Malam Abdullahi Muhammadu Jauro arrived Kaduna and settled in a place to be called Hayin Banki ,not many would have predicted that the community will grow to become an area where people from all walks of life and all parts of the country, irrespective […]

Many decades  ago, when a Fulani man from rural Kaduna state, Malam Abdullahi Muhammadu Jauro arrived Kaduna and settled in a place to be called Hayin Banki ,not many would have predicted that the community will grow to become an area where people from all walks of life and all parts of the country, irrespective of religion or tribe, would settle and make  their second home. 

Today, Hayin Banki community prides itself as the first settlement in that part of Kaduna North Local Government area ,and an area that enjoys a lot of goodwill not only from the local authorities but even from its immediate neighbors that comprise the Air Force base, the old Kaduna Airport, the Nigerian Army barracks, the police barracks and an adjoining settlement called Kawo ,where the famous Talata (Tuesday) market usually takes place.

Besides, what makes Hayin Banki community unique and a force to be reckoned with ,is its leadership. A couple of years ago, the community was led by Sarki Galadima who was succeeded by his son, Sarki Shehu. After the death of Sarki Shehu, his brother, Hayatu was turbaned as the Sarkin Hayin Banki until his demise ,which paved way for the grandchild of Malam Jaur, Mamuda Shehu Galadima to mount the throne.

As time moved and the need to make administration easier in an area that grew in leaps and bound over the last three decades, a cousin to Mamuda, Malam Bilya was officially turbaned as the Sakin Unguwan Jauro which brought in good innovations into community leadership by conferring traditional titles to some members of the larger Hayin Banki community. These titles included that of Sarkin Kabilu, meaning leader of all other tribes in Hayin Banki who doubles as the Sarkin Yoruba. 

Our correspondent reports that this representation has gone a long way in promoting religious and tribal harmony among the people, and has created a sense of belonging which has in turn reduced mass exodus of the Igbo, Yoruba and other tribes from the community to other places during time of crisis.

For the Sarki, Mahmud Shehu Galadima, “Hayin Banki originally came into existence when a man known as Fulani Jauro came with his people to settle in the area.He later joined the forces of Usman Danfodio who came back after the jihad and named the place ‘Jama’an Jauro’ meaning Jauro’s people. They were cattle herders; they lived in the area because of the abundance of water. The coming of the missionaries before the arrival of the colonial masters gave the opportunity for people to live here, and also the missionaries looked for a place where there are many people and settled there. That was the beginning of the relationship between Muslims and Christians here.”

According to him, “From there Christians started building small churches and started some kind of classes with the Fulani. After the arrival of the colonial masters, a railway track was built for the train which passes through this area.Back then people used to call the railway track “Banki”, which brought the dispersed community together, so anyone who crossed the railway track, whenever they are coming in they say in hausa” sun haye banki” meaning, they are crossing the railway and from there the name Hanyin Banki was formed. 

“This story is about 300 years-old because we do not have a written document for the exact date, we can just approximate when the missionaries first came to Kaduna because they came and met us here. We grew up living together with Muslims and Christians without any problem. Majority of the Christians were born and brought up, while others came because of the peaceful lifestyle we are living in.”

He said, “The people around the area have great respect for the leadership we inherited.Both Muslims and Christians are in support of the leadership and if there is any problem, we all come together for judgment, this makes it easier. I think the way our forefathers built this leadership based on respect, makes it easier for us and people follow it. We settle all our issues here in the palace without taking it outside to the courts or police stations.We also have a very strong religious background both the Islamic and Christians, so we work based on that religious background.”

The Sarki explained that in order to make the leadership role easier, eight committees were formed which regulates the activities of the community including water, electricity, works, security, amongst others.

He however emphasized that it is the reason the community never has a problem with any government because they are adequately represented saying, “Every tribe has a representative that represents his tribe here in the palace at the weekly meetings.”

“The most recent problem we encountered is when the            Ministry for Youth, Sports and Culture gave an order for a boxing arena in the area ,without consultation. The project was already awarded.We immediately wrote to the ministry and asked that the location be changed because we felt it will not portray the good morals we have been trying to inculcate into our children, and the location was changed. All this is for us to live peacefully,” further stated.

He however thanked Allah Almighty for helping the leadership in achieving its goals, and also the people for giving their maximum support ,adding, “I think in the whole of Kaduna north, you will hardly find a settlement like this, with both Muslims and Christians living together like brothers and sister, because the whole city has been divided into two.”

On what he thinks is the panacea to peace, he advised communities to respect one another’s religious beliefs. “We should also learn to accept everyone the way they are, a Yoruba man should live in peace with Nupe, Hausa, Gwari and all other tribes and through that, we gain respect for one another.”

He however said, “I think people enjoy living in this area because we have an organised system working for the people. Muslims and Christians live peacefully here, because you will see a group of Christians helping a Muslim neighbour ,and vice versa. There was a time when a church was having a service, a Muslim neighbour was in labour, and the pastor left the service used his car to take the woman to the hospital. There was another time when an elderly Christian woman was sick, the Mosque committee came together and paid the woman a visit where they prayed for her. So this is the kind of foundation our parents have laid, and we are living in it peacefully.”

He said in order to ensure security in the community; a local vigilante was inaugurated called “Jarumai da Gora” adding  “We choose this name for them instead of the usual “Kato da Gora” because we felt it represents the intention behind the group better.”

On his part, the Sarkin Yarbawa of Hayin Banki Chief Ayo Akande, a Christian who said since 1967 he has never witnessed religious fighting or any form of fighting between different faiths and tribes in the over 50 years he has been in the area.

Chief Akande who is also the leader of all the tribes of Hayin Banki said, “Living in peace is the most important thing you would find in this life and we have it here. I found myself living here, we have a very good leader who seeks help and advice from us before doing anything, may God bless him. I am a Christian.I have been to Jerusalem twice in my life; we thank God that we live peacefully. All my life that I have lived here, we never had any misunderstanding, we live like brothers and sisters.I am respected here equally by Muslims and all other tribes that live here ,including Jaba, Igala, Nupe and all other tribes and we live peacefully. We hope for a peaceful Kaduna, peaceful Nigeria, and peaceful Hayin Banki.”

A resident and Chief Imam of Hayin Banki Juma’at Mosque, Imam Ishaq Ibrahim said during his sermons, he urges individuals to be patient with one another in the interest of peace saying, “Even the Christians do so during their church service.”

According to him, “One of the causes of division of the state into two sections that of the Muslims and that of the Christians, when a problem arises, the people that created the problem are not punished and are instead left room the streets to the displeasure of others.

“The government and security agents should make it a duty to prosecute people found wanting for a crime so that it will serve as a deterrent to others and forestall any other crisis, as well as assurance to the people that their lives and properties are safe everywhere they reside.”

He advised individuals to respect each other’s religion, its teachings and not criticize saying,“During Friday sermon, we always preach on youth restiveness and we publicize everything using a loud speaker ,in the hope that it will be heard and the problem will be solved which in my opinion, is the antidote to peaceful coexistence.” 

Another resident, Amos Tuna said he has lived in Hayin Banki for 36 years said it is one of the most peaceful communities in Kaduna; I did my primary and secondary education there, took my A level’s, got married, had four children and built my own house in Hayin Banki. 

“Some members of the community who anticipated that religious crisis will reach the community left, and people keep asking me what am I still doing there.Even some of my relatives have warned that if I don’t leave that place, one day I will be killed. I believe that, wherever you are, if death comes knocking, it will surely find you.

“As far as I am concerned, anything that has to do with religious crisis does not exist in Hayin Banki. I met the father of the present Sarki,the father gave my father a piece of land when my father was in the same area where we used to farm with my parents, and during sallah we visit them and they visit us during Christmas.”

 He however noted that there are one or two fights from members of the community which is quickly brought to the attention of the Sarki if the tribal leaders cannot handle it ,in order to address the problem first hand.

He advised communities to respect each other’s religion saying.When you go to Rome, act like the Romans, when you go to church as a Muslim, remove your cap and when you go to the Mosque as a Christian, remove your shoes.I believe peace will reign.”

Besides, Mr. Noah Ademola who is in his 40’s said he has been in the Hayin Banki community since the 1970’s ,and there has never been a time where Muslims and Christians fought along religious or tribal lines.   

According to him, “Hayin Banki is a good place to live. But like every other place, there must be bad eggs amongst us ,and those bad eggs are the ones who bring bad people into the community who try to encourage our children to behave the way they do.

“Thank God for the exceptional leadership we have in the community.We have been able to tackle the problems as they come without having to go to the police, even people that left the area during religious crisis have started coming back , because they have seen that Christians like us are still living in the community peacefully and unharmed.”

Mr. Noah who is a member of the civilian JTF in the area, said when misunderstanding takes place between members of the community, they prefer to come to the Jarumai da Gora,instead of going to the police ,because they believe their interests will be better protected.

However, a medical doctor and researcher, Dr. Yusuf Nadabo, who has done some research work on the history of settlements in Kaduna State, doubts the centenary claim of the community.

Although the scope of his Nadabo said though the scope of his work did not cover Hayin Banki, there were simple means of verifying the history of settlements, one of which he said was to trace the authority they paid their tax to.

He said in Kaduna, any settlement that was older than 100 years paid tax to the Zazzau emirate.

“Rigachikun took tax to the Zazzau emirate. Kinkinau took tax to Afaka and Afaka further remitted the tax to the emirate. Even Barnawa which is older than them all took tax to Zazzau. So based on this, the other settlements that claim to be over 100 years should tell us where they took their taxes to and from there, and their records can be accessed because all settlements that are over 100 years have records in Zaria.

“Another thing is that the word ‘Banki’ is not a Hausa word and there is nothing like that in the Hausa collocation, except that the settlement came into existence with modernization, so by their own name, they are a modern settlement.

“About 30 to 40 years before Kaduna was established, splinter Fulani groups left Kinkinau, they followed the river and settled in Northern Kaduna. When they got there, they found trees known as Kawo and they named the settlement Kawo.  

“However, less than 50 years of establishing the settlement in the area, because then the Kaduna river had encircled the town in a ‘C’ cycle, moderation came in, the rail line was being constructed and they felt if they did not move nearer to where the rail line was being constructed, they would be sidelined in terms of development. So they left the old settlement in the riverine area and moved to the new settlement which is the modern day Kawo.

 “They carried their old name from the old settlement and named the new one same and at the same time, the Gwari people of Chikun quickly started taking their taxes to Zazzau and their settlement was named Rigachikun, before the establishment of Kaduna. So the question is, where did we get Hayin Banki from?”

The researcher explained that the reason why the communities paid taxes to the Zazzau emirate was because by the time they came to settle in the area, the emirate had won over the land by contest.