Kano to Ilorin by Road:Adventure and Discoveries (II)

It was the second time in a little over a year that I would lodge at the hotel, which is now quite decent and comfortable, after a major rehabilitation work. We all collected the keys to our rooms and looked forward to some rest and a good dinner. However, word quickly came that our chief […]

It was the second time in a little over a year that I would lodge at the hotel, which is now quite decent and comfortable, after a major rehabilitation work. We all collected the keys to our rooms and looked forward to some rest and a good dinner. However, word quickly came that our chief host, Professor Abdurraheem, would have a private dinner with us at home.
It was a warm family re-union as we hugged and joked and Hajiya asked after members of our individual families – well, the older ones she could remember. She was not alone to blame, because when we later shook hands with one “Dr Sadiq, lecturer at the University of Ilorin” casually, we did not immediately recognise him as the little Sadiq that we knew who used to run around in uniform in the BUK Staff School! The Vice Chancellor of the KWASU, Professor Abdurrasheed Na’Allah, joined us there; together we used the opportunity to brief Professor Abdurraheem on the arrangements for the 2013 Northern Nigeria literature conference, which is always dear to his heart, because he was the founding father.
Colourful Ilorin
The following morning we all trooped to the office of the Vice Chancellor, University of Ilorin, Abdulganiyu Ambali, the soft-spoken Professor of Veterinary Medicine, to exchange pleasantries and say our appreciation for the warm welcome. It was also a good opportunity to meet some old colleagues teaching in the university. Subsequently, we moved to the huge theatre that was the venue for the day’s occasion, where, in addition to Professor Abdurraheem, four other distinguished persons received honours at the Leadership Summit organised by the Students’ Union. They included the first Military Governor of Kwara State, General David Bamigboye, the current Minister for Sports, Malam Bolaji Abdullahi. Others were Professor Na’Allah, the KWASU Vice Chancellor and Dr Bola Olaosebikan, the former Kwara State Health Commissioner who now publishes an herbal health magazine.
It was a mixture of contours and colours that morning, with the guests, especially the Royal Highnesses and the women, wearing flowing and elegant dresses. The BUK VC delivered the “Guest Lecture”, after which there were speeches and more speeches; with the dignitaries calling for hard work and honesty in the service of the nation. The occasion concluded with prayers and lunch in the official residence of the Vice Chancellor and we drove out of the university campus back to the hotel.
That night we were back in Professor Abdurraheem’s house for the special reception organised to mark the occasion. Like in the morning, many distinguished members of the Ilorin community were there and spoke well about the celebrant. One could not really dismiss the after smell in the atmosphere, of the politician who played a notable role during the last elections in Kwara State; but it could also have been another matter.
To start the activities, learned scholars offered many prayers for the well-being of the host, Kwara State and the nation in general. Afterwards, there was much to eat and drink in a relaxed atmosphere, which must have inspired a demonstration of surprising eating skills from some of my colleagues. I thought that when we got back to Kano, I should ask my VC in particular for a lecture on the most successful strategy to adopt against amala and ewedu. Somehow, I end up ruining my white dress whenever I battle the long ‘draw’ tentacles of the ewedu gravy, while at the same time attempting a social conversation.
The following morning we headed for Malete, where the KWASU VC, Professor Abdurrasheed Na’Allah, was already waiting for us with warm hugs, together with a team of the university officials. It is always a pleasure to review the academic progress and quality infrastructural development going on in KWASU under Na’Allah, especially the high-ranking academics that he has been able to attract from around the world. A living example was the presence of the ‘Old Man’ of African literary criticism, Professor Abiola Irile, among us that morning as a staff of the university; later we watched a documentary that featured the renowned world academics who worked on projects there or visited, including the ‘godmother’ of Postcolonialism, Professor Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak.
Immediately we turned round to enter into the VC’s office, however, my mind went back to the trouble I got myself into a couple of years ago, in the big theatre situated immediately behind the building. I was sitting with some senior colleagues during a conference when a particular lady professor walked in carrying a big handbag that was literally about to overflow. I at once proposed to help her empty the bag and re-arrange the items inside, so that none would fall out. No sooner I made the innocent offer, however, than all the other women professors sitting nearby jointly descended on me, using unkind words on both my person and my gender and threatening blindness for any man who dares to look into a lady’s bag, with or without her permission. It was all unfair, as I stated my case before a gender court, constituted under an impartial professor learned in such matters. I finally secured my freedom only when the court accepted my evidence, brought from the various books published by the women, which clearly showed how they had always had pre-meditated bias against the male gender. In delivering its verdict, the honourable court actually commended my kindness and good conduct, for volunteering to help a lady in distress!
We were lucky this time that, although there were a number of women present, no such risk threatened our meeting, which the VC of KWASU chaired. Afterwards, we had lunch and exchanged more pleasantries, before driving back into the city through some of the major streets. We immediately noticed the new physical developments taking place, particularly the improvement of the road infrastructure; as well as the demolition of some buildings, which had encroached on the public walkways.
“See, demolitions everywhere”, someone called out as we passed by in our bus. “It seems Nigerians have little respect for public facilities, otherwise how could anyone bring their buildings right onto the walkway?”
“What’s more, the only language we appear to understand is the use of force in making us abide by what should normally be routine conduct”, another person further explained. “Remember the recent demolitions in Kano, including those on Gwarzo Road, which links our old and new university campuses? The pulling down of illegal structures has now become commonplace in Lagos and many of our big cities since El-Rufa’i popularised it in Abuja; and see what sense that has brought to the cities.”
“Madness in Shakespearean Plays again!,” someone joked, as we went round savouring the beautiful colours of the city. Ilorin has always had certain uniqueness about it, with its traditions drawing from its proximity to Western Nigeria, while firmly asserting its position as the gateway to Northern Nigeria. Its rich history of learning underscores its social culture, which frequently finds its roots during conversations or public discussion in references to the Qur’an and other Islamic books. Nothing says this better than the re-built Ilorin Central Mosque, with its appealing Ottoman designs that make it, arguably, the most elegant mosque in Nigeria today.
“I used to run around these areas with other boys when I was growing up,” Professor Bhadmus recalled with nostalgia as our bus negotiated the heavy traffic near the market, by the side of the mosque. “That was in front of the old mosque, before the current expansion took up the space.” Eventually we went round to enter the Emir’s Palace, with some members of the bus parliament asking more questions as they tried to figure out what sort of ‘boy’ the present Dean of BUK Student Affairs might have really been when he was young. One or two voices wondered loudly if he was not naughty, for him now to be an accomplished professor of drama.
Saying Goodbye
With everyone exhausted after the day’s excitements, we finally retreated to the hotel just before sunset. There were beautiful souvenirs for everyone from the two universities and nice hand-woven aso-oke cloth sets for our wives from Professor Abdurraheem. After a shower, prayers and a couple of hours’ rest, we finally had the opportunity to take our revenge on the roasted fish with fresh vegetables that we had missed since we came. It was a quiet evening, with the distant sky broken by occasional flashes of light and a sweet breeze that hinted at a possible rainstorm later in the night. The charm and joyful melody brought in additional romance to the atmosphere, as though to make our hearts heavier for departure the following morning.
We got further hint of this at dawn when the Kwara Hotel would not let us leave on an empty stomach, insisting on a packaged breakfast before we checked out. We drove past the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital as dawn broke in the east, heading for Bode Sa’adu and back to Kano. “Look at the road to Lafiagi/Tsonga,” someone pointed out as we passed the junction. “How far are they from here?”, another wanted to know. “About one hundred kilometres to Lafiagi; one fifty to Tsonga, two of the southernmost Nupe kingdoms,” yet another person explained, casting a glance at Zukogi, the only Nupe man on the bus.
Within a couple of hours, we were across the River Niger and back again in Gada, where the same large pots we met earlier were still boiling with assorted meals as the bus parked nearby. However, the time was too early for lunch; rather, the young man selling the long kuli-kuli sticks got the patronage, lucky that he had a container load of fresh supplies. He wore a colourful tee shirt that announced his allegiance to the Manchester United Football Club. “You, Man U?,”, someone queried him. “And you expect us to buy from you, when we are from the ‘Gunners’, your rivals?” Fearful of losing his market, the young man quickly explained that the offensive tee shirt was a gift that he wore only because it was hot. We all laughed.
That was when I thought I should try the only Nupe greeting I mastered: “Kewa no?,” I asked him. The young man was not Nupe. I was disturbed for my Nupe friends. How was it that my good in-laws, the Nupe people, were losing control on this strategic resource, which they had traditionally monopolised for time immemorial? I made a mental note to alert Dr Mohammed Umar Ndagi of the University of Abuja or Dr U. B. Ahmed, since it was nearer his hometown of Bokane.
Another striking feature of Gada we did not notice before was the large number of Almajiri boys hanging around the vehicles. We had to walk literally through a crowd of them to get into our bus. “Have you noticed the large number of Almajiri boys?”, someone asked as we got back on the road. “Yes, they must have come from different places to take advantage of the traffic that stops here,” others answered. “One wonders what type of Qur’anic School they would attend in this village, anyway.”
“Or, indeed, what future they could have in the end. Education today has changed from what the traditional schools can provide,” another person explained. “Even in matters of the religion one cannot undertake meaningful Da’awah work or conduct the affairs of the Ummah, without recourse to knowledge in current world affairs and economics and the technology that supports the present mode of living. Besides, Islam always speaks to the followers in the language of their own social context and, definitely, the Almajiri system does not prepare its pupils to receive the message in the Twenty First Century.”
“Have you noticed the condition of the primary and secondary school buildings along the way from Kano to Ilorin?”, someone said, pointing at a school as we passed by. “Many of the schools have their roofs blown off; others are dilapidated or neglected. In fact, some look so run down that one could swear that they are not in use, were it not for the few pupils hanging around. That summarises the collective attitude of the society to the schools. The UBE Law came into effect in this country in 2004, making education free and compulsory from the primary to the junior secondary school. Nevertheless, until now, not a single state or the Federal Government itself that championed the law, have made serious effort to implement its provisions, especially for the Almajiri. Yet, look at many of the unproductive programmes the same governments undertake, which hardly have any bearing on the development of the people.”
Education was an area the bus parliament felt passionately about; hence, the discussions continued most of the way, right up to Birnin Gwari, where we stopped for fuel. Speaker after speaker further analysed the different facets of the problem, from the primary schools to the tertiary institutions, until we arrived at the Dankande Mosque in Kaduna. We got down, said our prayers, bought fruits and snacks and moved on, but the problem of education in Northern Nigeria dominated the discussion.
Oh, So Far Away
“Fifty years ago, the Northern Nigerian Government had the foresight to spend up to forty-six percent of its budget on providing quality education in its public schools”, one person observed in a very serious voice. “Sadly enough, the state governments in the region do not consider it fit anymore to allocate half of that amount to the sector; the Federal Government’s own annual provision is usually only about fifteen percent. Truly, the elite group has collectively failed in its handling of the social affairs of the people.”
“In another dimension, governments in states with large Muslim populations, like the colonial administrators, continue to ignore the provision of authentic Islamic religious education to the children. It becomes more complicated when you consider that neither the parents nor the teachers that run the Almajiri schools are fully aware of the circumstances of Islamic learning today. Frankly, I would say that the time has come for our governments to re-structure the Islamic school system in the North completely. Unfortunately, even the public primary and secondary schools under their care are often a failure. How many of these states can boast of fifty percent genuine credit pass, including English and Mathematics, among their SSCE candidates annually? Besides, how far does the curriculum at each level of our education system truly prepare the learners for the challenges of today’s life? The social instability we are experiencing now is one of the direct consequences of the underdevelopment of our education sector. As someone mentioned at a public occasion recently, before Boko Haram, many sections of our leadership had adopted the policy of Zalunci Halal and Sata Halal in running the affairs of our society!”
This prompted another speaker to remember that famous statement in Sheikh Uthman Danfodiyo’s book, Bayan al-Wujub al-Hijrah: “‘A nation can endure with unbelief, but it cannot endure with injustice.’ Yes, like we are witnessing today, a nation can find peace even with unbelief, but there can be no peace in a society riddled with injustice, no matter how pious its citizens are!”
“And late Dr Yusuf Bala Usman’s lament about how the modern leaders repeatedly fail to recognise what our earlier leaders had perfectly understood and implemented as state policy two hundred years ago!”, someone else further recalled.
“‘Unless philosophers become kings, or those who aspire for leadership become sufficiently inspired with philosophy, there could neither be peace nor progress for mankind’, was how Plato put it in his Republic,” someone explained to end the discussion, even as we reached the military checkpoint, just before the Na’ibawa intersection.
“I can’t believe we have been on the road for about ten hours now!” The observation came with an element of surprise, as if the speaker had not been part of the journey. “Oh, yes, Kano is really far from Ilorin;” someone replied in similar vein, “a minimum of nine hours by road.” It reminded me of an incident many years ago, when Alhaji Ibrahim Umar Sanda of the FCT Education Secretariat, a former colleague, led an official delegation to visit Katsina. “Wow!”, he had said to me. “Sir, can you imagine how long it had taken us to reach here from Abuja? Frankly, you in Katsina live too far away from the rest of the people in this country. Why don’t you pack your things and move further inland, rather than continue to live on the fringes? Come to us in Nupe land, we have a lot of bush that could accommodate you. We can give you a place, say somewhere between Agaie and Lapai. You can build your new settlement there!” Some of his fellow Nupe men on the delegation loudly supported him.
As our bus crossed the checkpoint into Kano, however, Alhaji Sanda’s observations assumed a new significance for me. I recalled the distance we had travelled since we passed the Lafiagi/Tsonga junction at sunrise. Yet we had only been able to reach Kano now, when the sun was quite yellow in the west. How much longer should it be, if we were going up to Katsina? I also considered how tired and worn out we were, in spite of the relative comfort inside the air-conditioned bus and the cheer we got from talking together and calling our families and friends constantly on our handsets.
These considerations brought in memories of my warrior grandfathers back in history, who trekked all the way from Katsina, carrying their food supplies on their heads and bearing their weapons in their arms and on their shoulders. They had crossed the thick bush to go to war in Nupe land, ransacking the kingdom and chasing away the Nupe soldiers from their homes, right across the River Niger to Lafiagi and other distant lands. I could not help feeling overwhelmed by their extraordinary prowess. Silently, I saluted their valour and stamina with greater admiration and respect. I mean, what spirit did those great Katsina warriors have? Even more importantly, how did they do it, exactly?
Maybe one day I should find out from my retired brother, Alhaji Abdullahi B. Yawa, trusting that, as an old and learned educationist, he must have somehow stumbled upon the details in ancient Nupe annals. Or, perhaps, ask my fellow Katsina man, Mannir Ali Dan-Ali, Executive Director/Editor-in-Chief of the Trust newspapers, who made me write this article.
Concluded.
Professor Isma’ila A. Tsiga teaches Literature in the Department of English and Literary Studies, Bayero University, Kano (email: [email protected]).