Malikawa-Garu’s Kilishi: Processed in village, sold in cities

Malikawa-Garu is a village in Bichi local government area of Kano state. Like the people of Agadasawa in the Kano city, residents of this village are also  famous for  Kilishi processing, Daily Trust gathered. The trade in  Kilishi has existed in the small village for the past 80 years, says  one of the oldest Kilishi […]

Malikawa-Garu is a village in Bichi local government area of Kano state. Like the people of Agadasawa in the Kano city, residents of this village are also  famous for  Kilishi processing, Daily Trust gathered.
The trade in  Kilishi has existed in the small village for the past 80 years, says  one of the oldest Kilishi processors in the village, Abdullahi Muhammad Malikawa.
The 55-year old Malikawa practiced the business for 33 years before he recently resigned from it, after he had trained all his children in the trade.
Daily Trust observes that virtually everybody in the village  practices one aspect of the business or the other. The business has no age barrier as both young and adult participate in it.
Like Yar’riga community in Mashi local government of Katsina state, where each family is involved in the  cap making trade, the business of Kilishi is also considered by many as a family trade in Malikawa-Garu,as virtually every household in the village has a joint where its members practice the business.
It was further observed that presently there are more than  200 Kilishi processing spots across the village, where the occupants are sourcing their means of living.
Though a remote village, the Kilishi processed there is widely accepted both within and outside Nigeria. This may not be unconnected with the way it is being processed.
Daily Trust observed that courtesy of the business, youths in the area have never involved themselves in the habit of travelling to major cities searching for odd jobs.
The processors have a depot at Kano Abattoir, where they display their Kilishi for onward sale  to interested buyers.
Malikawa said “You can always get our Kilishi there from 11.00 am upward every day. People from far and near also place their orders to us for their weddings and other ceremonies. Some Shopping malls and fast food joints also buy Kilishi from us.”
Corroborating Malikawa’s point , the Sarkin Fawa, Tambai Audu, said: “The ingredients we use always make the taste   of our Kilishi different from others. We do export ours to Saudi Arabia, London, America and other foreign countries.”
However, when asked to expantiate on how they process theirs and the type of ingredients they use, Sarkin Fawa simply laughed and said: “that is our top secret and we will not reveal it to anyone. But all I can say is that we always make ours neat and delicious. You can also keep it for a period of one year without  it showing any  sign of decay.”
He said in the past, they only process Kilishi with goat and sheep meat, but now they use cow meat, noting that “I started this business since 1980. My father and grandfather are all Kilishi processors.”
Muhammad Lamido, a graduate of Business Accounting  from the Federal College of Education (Technical), Bichi, is also a full time worker in the Kilishi trade in the village. He graduated in 2011 but he had never sought  a government job.
He told Daily Trust that he has no intention whatsoever to quit the business in the near future, saying “this is a family business and it is succeeding. In as much as this business will continue to flourish, I will never join government as  a civil servant. Whatever I am looking for from the government, I also get  it from this small business and I am contented.”
Hassan Salisu  joined the Kilishi business 10 years ago and he told our correspondent that youths in the village never experienced the bitterness of unemployment, saying “provided you are not a lazy person, you will have something doing for a living from the series of job opportunities emanating from Kilishi business.”
He pointed out that the business is the major source of employment to youths in the village. It provides job  opportunities much more than farming does.
He said: “On a typical working day, you will find over 2, 000 youths participating in one aspect of the business or the other. To be honest with you, no farmer in this village can afford to engage even half of the people that this business is providing with jobs.
“We used to buy meat worth N2m from  the Kano Abattoir and process same for Kilishi every day. And if we decide to slaughter the animals at our local abattoir here, we normally slaughter between 10-15 cows in a day.”
Surajo Isa on his part said if government can improve their abattoir and expand their market, the village can produce enough Kilishi that Nigeria can export to various countries across the globe, to boost its revenue generation.
He said that with the current economic crisis, government can generate a lot of revenue through the business if it is  improved. He therefore appealed to the state Governor Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje to come to their aid through his empowerment programmes, and also register their association.
He said their major problems as far as the business is concerned, include water scarcity, transportation and  a befitting Abattoir. He said if the business can have the blessing of government, things will be better not only for the people of Malikawa-Garu ,but for the entire Bichi local government, Kano state and Nigeria as a whole.
Buhari Hudu called on government to provide soft loans to them to boost their business, noting that “some of us didn’t have enough capital to expand their market to other parts of the country and beyond.”
Hudu explained that the business means everything to him, since  according to him through it he had married two wives and built a house. He said although he could not proceed with his education pursuit beyond secondary school due to some economic challenges faced by his parents, but he had promised to sponsor his children to study up to the tertiary level.
Ali Bille is not actually a Kilishi maker but always works  with the people in the trade to run his business ,which also has to do with meat. He buys  the unwanted meat removed from the animals, and processes same to prepare pepper soup to sell.
He said: “I used to take the pepper soup to various markets across the state, the business is profitable. It is my main business after farming and I gain  a lot from it.”
Mallam Kabiru Sanusi Kofar-Mata is a regular buyer of Malikawa-Garu’s Kilishi. He was seen by our correspondent while  bargaining with Abdullahi Malikawa at the Kano Abattoir.
He said: “I do buy this type of Kilishi for two main reasons; one, it is very delicious, and two you can preserve it for a very long time without it developing any problem. I have known this Kilishi for the past 15 years.
“I enjoy it more than any other type. I have tasted different types of Kilishi, but I consider the one processed in Malikawa-Garu as the best, and I always buy it for my family. And whenever I am traveling outside Kano, I also tend to buy it.”