How children drown in Argungu rivers
The Argungu River is one of Nigeria’s hottest tourist destinations, especially its yearly fishing festival which draws visitors both at home and abroad in record numbers who come to witness close to a century-old tradition of fishing and to witness how the rivers in man’s environment has shaped his lifestyle, customs and tradition. Seeing the […]
The Argungu River is one of Nigeria’s hottest tourist destinations, especially its yearly fishing festival which draws visitors both at home and abroad in record numbers who come to witness close to a century-old tradition of fishing and to witness how the rivers in man’s environment has shaped his lifestyle, customs and tradition. Seeing the fishermen deploy their fishing art in the long and deep waters of the famous river, it is easy to romanticize about the rivers in Kebbi State. But much as they have made their communities famous, these are rivers that have claimed the lives of children.
Malam Muhammadu Ba’are is a driver at the Argungu emir’s palace and among the parents that lost their children during such episodes. He told Weekly Trust that his son Aliyu Muhammad returned from the Islamic school he attends one Sunday but later went out. He got disturbed on noticing that it is taking so long for his son to return. He had thought initially that the boy has gone to the shop where he is an apprentice mechanic. But by Monday the following morning, all the family members went in search of him at the banks of the rivers. His dead body was later found in the river by the Sarkin Jirgin Kabi, Muhammadu Alhassan Jirgi who serves the function of a local equivalent of a life guard.
This is a normal routine adopted by parents in the communities where the rivers are situated. When a child gets missing, the next thing is to check the rivers. When the authorities noticed with dismay the way children are dying in the rivers, they came out with a law banning swimming among children. While the law came too late to save Aliyu, the children still venture out to the rivers to play in apparent defiance of the law and from lax parentage that would have made them to comply. On a typical afternoon, naked children still congregate to dive into the rivers, splashing water on each other as their nimble limbs cut into the waters thrusting them forward deep into the rivers.
Malam Jirgi recalls that over a period of two months when the rainy season sets in and as the water level in the river continues to rise, 16 children lost their lives. Most of the casualties, he says, are children from the cosmopolitan areas of Argungu and remote from the waterside, hence they are not well equipped with the skills and acumen of swimming. The Jirgin Kabi says a task force of volunteers including vigilante groups, local life guards and other traditional and governmental bodies took measures to bring to an end such deaths, which happen mostly at Gamdi, Mala and Matan Fada rivers.
Chairman of the Argungu Vigilante Group, Alhaji Adamu Dan Nani, who is also one of the custodians of the rivers there, confirmed that sometimes death occurs at the rivers. He said sometimes they find corpses of children floating or some parents inform them about their missing children who could have likely died there. He laments over the way some parents do not cooperate with them in trying to reprimand the offending children.
Despite measures taken to stop them, many children can still be found swimming in the rivers, seemingly scoffing at the idea. 12-year-old Rilwanu Usman whose parents reside at Matan Fada Area says many children still swim in the rivers as he made his way on an afternoon to take a dip in its waters. Acknowledging the dangers of his adventure he says, “Surely, there are some children who do not master swimming who fall deep into the river and get drowned and sometimes die instantly.”
Rilwanu says four months ago the corpse of a classmate of his was found floating in the river. He admits that some of the deceased meet their deaths when the calabashes they use to remain afloat, a float the Argungu fishermen prefer most, capsizes or gets upturned by the moving waves of the river. The lad stubbornly maintains that they are only prohibited from fishing in the river, not swimming. Prodded further he says it is only those who do not know how to swim who are prohibited from swimming in the river.
Like most such rivers, the people of the communities attach certain beliefs bordering on superstition about the rivers. Alhaji Yakubu Bagaye, Wakilin Bagaye in the Argungu Emirate says there has been a covenant between the people of Argungu and the creatures in the water that they will not harm the people of the community.
This belief has spawned a tradition of incantations to the powers of the rivers and the appointment of a custodian from among people to take charge of the river. Alhaji Hussaini Ibrahim is the holder of that coveted position in Argungu kingdom, earning him the title of Makwashe of the kingdom. He won the title for his dexterity in river usage. The Makwashe is one of the key decision makers in organizing a successful fishing festival every year at the Argungu River. He says: “It is a known fact that there are a number of aquatic animals that could be dangerous and threatening to human beings. It is only God Almighty that knows the number of such creations. There are a number of incantations that are done to tame the aquatic animals in order to avoid unwanted things that may be inflicted on human beings by the animals. All these things are done to ensure peaceful celebrations both within and outside the rivers. The knowledge of such incantations is peculiar to us, something which we inherited from our ancestors.”
While such traditions might be a throwback to a past era where the rivers are infested with dangerous mammals, the incantations have not been able to stop the water claiming the lives of children who venture into its depths. As a custodian of the river the Makwashe is well-aware of the bans in place concerning certain activities in the rivers and says, “Immediately after the end of every fishing festival nobody would be allowed to fish in the river. Whoever dares violate the law would be severely penalized. There is also prohibition against swimming in the river. The law is to protect children from drowning who do not know how to swim. That is why swimming is not allowed in the river. However, if one can swim and get to the bank of a river or wants to cross, we do not see any blame in that.”
He says about the rescue operations in the river: “When we notice some swimmers are about to drown we take quick measures to rescue them before the situation goes out of hand. There are instances in which we put them in canoes to save them from drowning. This normally happens when children who did not master swimming fall in the river in the expectation that they could perform as their peer groups.” He says casualties in the river have reduced quite much in recent times. But to safeguard the lives of the children who venture heedlessly into the rivers, this is something that must be sustained.