Neither bird nor beast – whither Malam Bahaushe?

That is what Malam Bahaushe has become – and the term Bahaushe is used very loosely in this instance as is done almost everywhere else, because it includes the Fulani, Kanuri, Gbagyi, Shuwa,  Nupe, Igala, Jukun, Berom, Dakarkari, Marghi, Mumuye, Eggon and many other ethnic groups of the North. All these and others not mentioned, […]

That is what Malam Bahaushe has become – and the term Bahaushe is used very loosely in this instance as is done almost everywhere else, because it includes the Fulani, Kanuri, Gbagyi, Shuwa,  Nupe, Igala, Jukun, Berom, Dakarkari, Marghi, Mumuye, Eggon and many other ethnic groups of the North. All these and others not mentioned, though heterogenous, yet have close affinity, many similarities, enjoy a shared history, closely interwoven social ties, customs etc.
This article was conceived after listening to a news magazine programme called Al-Adunmu Na Gado that is aired Tuesday mornings after the 7am news on Radio France International (RFI) Hausa service. On Tuesday April 15, 2014 they had aired the second part of a programme on the Hadandawa People.
The Beja or Bedawi people, better known as Hadandawas are a minority ethnic nomadic people of The Sudan living in the north-east of the country and spilling into Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia. In Sudan, they live in proximity and interact with the Hausa people who also constitute an ethnic minority that have settled and lived there in significant numbers due to the ancient Trans-Sahara Trade and as a result of Sudan lying along a once highly patronized land route to Mecca and The Holy Lands. The Hadandawa have enjoyed a long beneficial co-existence with the Hausa and have come to respect, trust and look up to them. In fact, according to reports, such was the high esteem in which the Hausa were held that the Hadandawa used to swear (take an oath) by them. Anything that the average Alhaji or Malam (ie. Hausaman) said used to be accepted entirely on its face value, was rarely questioned or disputed.
Alas, that is no longer the case. The image of the Hausas has taken such a tumble, endured much battering, and has become so tarnished that it is now a shadow of what it used to be. This, according to the elderly Hausa community leader who spoke in the programme, was as a result of the actions and the behaviour of the latter day Hausa people which are a departure from that of their forefathers.
What happened, when, how and why?
What caused such massive deterioration and decline in the image, behaviour, integrity, high ethical and moral standards, values and attitudes of these people, leading to the tarnishing of their image, loss of fortune, respect and esteem?
This has happened not only in The Sudan, but also here in Nigeria and in other places where they live. This is sad, and is a lamentation that has been heard from different commentators on many occasions, in many fora; and a variety of reasons have been advanced as the cause for this.
The most curious and interesting was the one that I heard espoused very passionately by a friend during a heated debate on the topic. According to him, the main reason was as a result of their gradual but partial “Nigerianisation”! He went on to state that the Hausa have, as a result of colonization, found themselves conquered and railroaded into a new country called Nigeria.
But that is not the story, because the same thing happened to other people elsewhere. In the new colony they were lumped with some very strange bedfellows – people who were very different from them, with whom they had no affinity, little in common apart from all being Africans and black skinned.
To conform, the Hausa adapted by marginally and incrementally lowering their standards and values, gradually becoming and behaving like some of the others until they found themselves in the sorry state that they are now in. Clearly they have become like jemagu – sub a tsuntsaye ba, su ba dabbobi ba! Neither birds nor beasts; being neither here nor there.
But, I challenged my friend, in that case why has this happened not only here in Nigeria but also in Niger Republic, Cameroon, Ghana, Sudan, Congo, Central Africa and other places where they live?
According to him, Hausa societies, wherever they are found, are interconnected so that the decay and deterioration gnawing away at every fibre of their body, lowering their standards and general individual and group behaviour as a result of their incremental “Nigerianisation” will manifest itself in other pockets of Hausa societies no matter how far or how remote.
Before any of us could recover and regain our composure enough to react, our friend went on to wrap up his analysis and conclude that the Hausa people have reached a major crossroads. They need to stop, step back and look at their lives, the situation in their country, and reflect at the dilemma that they are in.
Firstly, he suggested, they can maintain their status quo and stick to the path that they are on. This is the easiest and requires very little or no effort. This alternative means they will remain perpetual jemagu.
Secondly, they can recover some of the humanity, dignity and sense of purpose that they have lost along the way over the years, reconnect to their traditional sacred values, higher standards and the admirable code of conduct that was their driving force and their guiding lights. This will be the most difficult course which will require lots of sacrifices and shunning bad influence. They will thus go back to being the beautiful birds that they once were.
Thirdly, they can go the whole hog. That is go ‘The Whole Nine Yards’ as the Americans would put it. This will be much easier than choice number two, yet more difficult than number one. It entails giving up all pretenses and dilly-dallying and going flat out no holds barred to be like the others, copying them copiously, adopting and imbibing their very basic values, questionable ethical and moral standards, unscrupulousness and disreputable conduct. With this they will complete their gradual transformation (transmutation?) into full-fledged beasts of their own!
So, Malam Bahaushe the ball is in your court. Which is it going to be?
Danauta can be reached at [email protected]