Koma: The Story of a People Living in Two Worlds

As we meandered through potholes and gullies and navigated through rivers, valleys, mountains and plains on the 180 kilometre trip from Yola, the Adamawa state capital, the sun rayed out, brightening the thick fog occasioned by climate change, chasing away the early morning cold. Suddenly, we were left at the mercy of the dry- dusty-wind […]

As we meandered through potholes and gullies and navigated through rivers, valleys, mountains and plains on the 180 kilometre trip from Yola, the Adamawa state capital, the sun rayed out, brightening the thick fog occasioned by climate change, chasing away the early morning cold.

Suddenly, we were left at the mercy of the dry- dusty-wind blowing across the Sahara desert, tormenting both human beings and animals. We came face to face with the whirlwind on that lonely road leading to Koma district of Jada local government area of Adamawa state. Though I waited with deep excitement and great expectation to see the people I had only read about on the pages of newspaper, years back, my initial excitement was short-lived when I saw the  mountains and valleys our vehicle meandered through.

Sani, our driver, and David, one of my co-travelers, had Herculean task of encouraging those of us traveling for the very first time on that road. We were visibly scared because, at a point, you have to alight and push the car and at another point you have to say your last prayers when the vehicle is descending steep valleys, facing big and Rocky River with narrow wooden bridge across.

While those us who had never traveled on the road before were scared of the dangerous terrain, where you run into all manners of animals at short intervals, our co-travelers were catching their fun. I summed up courage, because I had purposed in my mind to enjoy the trip and to catch my fun by all means. It was at this point that I comforted myself with the fact that there are people like me living and plying the road regularly.

When we crossed the last of over 10 rivers, Sani, the driver broke the news that we were already in Koma. I checked my time piece, it was 10 am. The journey that ought to take two hours dragged on for five hours due to the road that is in bad shape.  This time it was Koma Nasarawo.

At trip to Koma does not only require strong vehicles that can withstand the rough hillypath. It demands ‘elastic patience’ on the part of travelers because of the monotonous thud of the mountainous road.

We stopped there to get drinkable water as we had exhausted the one we took from Yola. We finally got packaged water popularly known as pure water for N10 instead of N5 it is sold in Yola at the only provision store in the village, the headquarters of Koma district.

From Koma Nasarawo, we move to Koma Tantile, the two are as on the plain. Here, we came in contact with the hospitable Koma people. Our first difficulty was that of language barrier, but our driver came to our rescue. He understands the language and interpreted to us.

They kept welcoming us in their dialect, saying Mayah, meaning you are welcome to our land, and they usually followed the greeting with a bowl of water as a sign of their hospitality. The acceptance of the water determines the success of whatever transaction that takes you there. The people, particularly those on the plain are warm and receptive.

Koma people are found in Ganye Chiefdom, in the present Jada local government area of Adamawa State. It is a district of mountainous settlements bordering Cameroun Republic and all the inhabitants live in caves, naked. Writers have often described the hill settlements as a big animal farm because the people co-habit with animals, sharing food and drinking water sources.

Worthy of note are the beautiful hanging mountainous sceneries over looking one another with valleys that combine to regulate the weather condition of the area. Koma hill is a serene hideout blessed with natural and beautiful topography and lively inhabitants who are accommodating but do things their own way.

There are about 36 settlements on the mountain top led by different clan heads or chiefs. Amazingly, too, the 36 settlements or clans have different languages but with similar dialects. They also have cultural variations.

The only common or identical thing about them is geography. They all dwell on the mountain and they have similar anthropology due to long historical linkages. While those who accepted modern civilization moved down to the plain land, those who prefer to maintain the Stone Age life style remain in their cave-like settlements on the mountains and are still naked.

Each clan is governed by the clan leader or clan head, but once in a while they hold meeting with the agent of the government who is the district head. At such meetings they speak Fulfude and those who do not understand Fufulde contribute through an interpreter. Each time they come down for the meetings or markets in Nasarawo Koma, they wear leafs and animal skins covering only their vital parts.

The Koma people, according to findings, have respect for their chiefs, elders and the government agents, but would never trade their beliefs, culture and tradition for anything, not even money, but they are cut-off from the rest of the Nigerian societies in terms of modern civilization.

A visit to Mani Koma, Tantile and Koma Nassarawo revealed that over two decades after the purported “discovery” of the Koma people, there is no significant difference between the old and new Koma people in terms of civilization because a large segment of the population profess allergy to modern civilization as they retain their Stone Age style of living.

When the then Military Governor of the defunct Gongola state, Colonel Yohannah Madaki of blessed ‘discovered’ the Koma people living naked on mountains and in caves about 24 years ago, the media celebrated the story with robust headlines.

The media hype that followed was not unexpected as people could not understand why Nigerians could still live such a primitive life in the twenty-first century.

However, the successive governments after Madaki failed to continue with the genuine agenda to bring civilization to the people as the mobilization of the people to embrace modern civilization started and ended with the late military governor.

Even those who opted to imbibe modern civilization and relocated from the mountain top to the plain are cut-off from development as the successive governments after Madaki failed to accommodate them in their development agenda, leaving them at the mercy of the missionaries and non-governmental organisations.

Investigation by Sunday Trust revealed that there is no single functional infrastructure provided by the state government in the community except for a few provided by the missionaries and Non-Governmental Organisations.

It was also gathered that even those who descended from the mountains with the expectation of experiencing a new dawn had to return to their caves on the mountain top beyond the reach of the so-called civilization because, to them it was rather a problem to think of modernity in that circumstance.

It was observed that Nassarawo Koma, the supposed headquarters of the Koma district and Koma Tantile where the presence of missionary activities and faith based NGOs are felt, there is the dire need of development.

For instance, in Nasarawo Koma, being the biggest modern settlement of the Koma people on the plain, their only drinking water source is a stream which they share with animals.

In the entire community, there is no decent eatery, no pharmaceutical shops or dispensary, except for a provision shop that functions when people come on visit. A bottle of 35cl soft drink sells for N60 while packaged water (pure water) sells for between N10 and N15.

They use natural cooling system where a pot of water is half buried in the ground to provide cooling effect.

Investigation also revealed that in the entire Koma district with over 30 settlements, there are only two local government clinics.

They are in Nasarawo Koma and Tantile Koma where the sick go for medical attention. It was also noticed that apart from the few primary and secondary schools constructed by missionaries, those owned by the government are rarely in use because the houses are in a bad state and without furniture.

It was also noted that none of the settlements in the district has electricity, no safe drinking water, just as the roads linking the villages are mere bush paths that are not motorable.

Ironically most of the Koma people are not concerned about the absence of these basic amenities as they have their natural ways of solving their problems.

It was also observed that the people, mostly the elderly ones in the new settlement as well as those who refused to be resettled, still retain all their traditional and natural lifestyles.

They still use traditional salt (Mangul) produced from the hills for cooking. They don’t use matches to make fire, but rub stones together to ignite fire. They also use some special oil produced via a natural technology and other forms of foods not common to other ethnic groups around the state.

It was also observed that while the youths in resettled areas wear modern dress, a large percentage of the people still cladded in their traditional dress, using leaves and animal skins that barely cover their vital parts.

A cross section of the youths and the district head of Koma, Alhaji Hamman Jalo, who volunteered information to Sunday Trust, admitted that there was nothing anybody could do to separate a typical Koma man from his natural ways of living.

He said the Koma community had suffered so much neglect before a one-time chairman of Jada local government, Alhaji Misah Fulani Kojoli (now late) came on board, adding that Koma was being remembered now by the local government.

The district head said some individuals that were not from the community had done a lot for them, adding that the new generation of Koma was willing to go to school and to socialize.

He, however, confirmed that sizeable populations of Koma people have refused the overtures by government, missionaries and NGOs to embrace modern civilization.

It was gathered that those that refused modern civilization had their natural healing means and would have nothing to do with orthodox medicine. They have refused to embrace either Christianity or Islam.

Two schools of thought emerged as to why the people are against any thing that has to do with civilization. The first say the people had a rough experience with tax collectors during the pre-colonial and colonial period who were collecting their money without any meaningful development in their land.

The people then resolved one day to chase tax collectors away each time they went for the collection. They chased them away, and they incurred the wrath of government officials.

The proponents of this school traced the origin of the name to that action. Koma in Hausa language means, go back.

The other school says it was a generational thing, that the people were backward and prefer to be like that because their name is Koma. The school says anywhere you put a Koma man, he would certainly go back to his native life because their name has much to do with their behaviour and ways of life.

Notwithstanding the two schools, the people are unique in their culture, peculiar in their life style and daring in their actions. To most of them, living a life in the pure natural form is the best.

Koma hills have become a centre of attraction for soul winners as evangelical churches within and outside the country now scramble for the souls of these people to win them “for the Lord”. These missionaries are behind the little development in the area. They built faith based schools, sunk boreholes for the people and supplied clothing for them, all in a bid to draw them closer and catch them for God.

Muslim organizations are not left out in the soul wining strategies, as Islamic organizations have their camps in Koma where they work hard to convert as many as possible.

The missionaries have made tremendous impact in the Koma land. Those in Tantile, Mani, Jalingo and Nasarawo new settlements have the opportunity of watching modern programmes on television and films provided by missionaries who assemble them at regular intervals to watch programmes after which they preached the gospel with them.

More and more churches are springing up at the new Koma settlement while evangelists go to the hill top settlements once in a while to preach to them. It was gathered that on market days, the hill dwellers come down to the market to make some purchases and go back to their base.

Observes are of the view that government neglect was responsible for the low pace of civilization in Koma land, arguing that if the government could do half of what missionaries and NGOs did, the people would be better for it.

It was gathered that all the structures put in place by Madaki regime were discontinued by the successive governments, complaining of the lack of fund. The resettlement and rehabilitation committee put in place by Madaki was scraped by his successors.

“During Madaki they used to repackage government programme, translated in their dialect and aired to them but that is no more,” he said.

The government should take advantage of the rich agricultural potentials to encourage the people and explore the suspected mineral deposits on the Koma mountains.

The beautiful mountainous terrain, is another potential tourist’s attraction which the government could explore to its advantage. It must, however, improve the condition of roads to the area to enable visitors come in.