Ogoja: Story of Hausas who are now like the locals
Ogoja, with its forests, festivals and fun loving-friendly people, is their new home and they accepted this simple truth long ago. These are the Hausas of Ogoja. Their grandparents hailed from Kano, Sokoto, Bauchi, as well as from many other parts of the North,and their parents were also born in Ogoja, and grew up speaking […]
Ogoja, with its forests, festivals and fun loving-friendly people, is their new home and they accepted this simple truth long ago. These are the Hausas of Ogoja. Their grandparents hailed from Kano, Sokoto, Bauchi, as well as from many other parts of the North,and their parents were also born in Ogoja, and grew up speaking the local language, learning the culture, mastering the rich cuisine, and sometimes seeking wives from within the host community.
A multicultural community which swiftly bridged north and south, then began to blossom in the gentle green valleys and habitations of Ogoja. So, there is a continuing line of Hausa families that were born in this quiet Cross River town, and whose bold grandparents initiated this continuing cycle, by travelling down to Ogoja long ago seeking Elephant Tusks, for indeed some of them were famous hunters. Alhaji Salisu Hassan who has lived in the town for many years, comments “Our forefathers used to come here and trade in woven mats. But the indigenes also knew of their special ability to hunt, and so they told them of the wild animals, especially the Elephants, which used to destroy their farms. They appealed to the Hausas to stay and help in killing all the animals. Finally, after the animals had been killed, they allowed them to reside in a place called Abakpa, which in translation means ‘Hausa’.
Other members of the community were great traders as well as eminent Islamic scholars. Soon they became very popular in many parts of the South-South, and Mahdi Adamu captures some of this growing fame in his The Hausa Factor in West African History. These Hausa migrants first settled in the part of Ogoja known as Abakpa, which translates to mean “Hausa quarters.” Circumstances later made them move to Igoli, their present location today, where they are countless in number, and which does resemble a northern town in many respects.Alhaji Salisu Hassan adds that it was in the year 1947 that the Hausa community moved from Abakpa to Igoli, and this was as a result of an outbreak of fire at the former location.
He says “As a result of the fire the Hausas had to pack out of Abakpa, and then they settled at Ishibori. When their population expanded, they now moved to Igoli, and were the first non indigenes to settle at Igoli.”
He salutes the people of Ogoja, describing them as “good, peaceful people ,and we intermarry a lot. Many of the Ogoja women our people married long ago, later converted to Islam.”
A few other members of the Hausa community tell Daily Trust “After Calabar, the state capital, it is in Ogoja that one finds the highest population of Hausas in the state.” They add that there are many Hausa lady’s who have mastered the local delicacies, and can quickly prepare these. Alhaji Hassan says that he has witnessed the reigns of five leaders of the Hausa community in Ogoja, which seems to indicate that the group is of considerable age in Ogoja.One striking feature of Igoli is the fact that most streets in this part of Ogoja bear names that are northern in origin. For instance, there is a Kaduna, as well as a Sarki Audu street, the latter is clearly in memory of a former leader of the Hausa community. Many members of the Hausa community were born in Ogoja. One of such is Hajiya Kande, who sells beans cakes by the road side. She says “I was born here in Ogoja, and I like the town a lot.”
She adds that she can speak the local language very well, and says that her husband is Fulani from Katsina. Abdullahi Mohammed is a cobbler. He too was born in Ogoja. But he adds that his mother was also born in the town as well. He emphasises, that his grandmother was also born in Ogoja, he adds with a smile. He says that he married a Tiv wife from Benue state, as well as a Hausa lady from Ogoja, whose mother hails from Ogoja. His is a truly multicultural household. Then Daily Trust was taken to meet a group of tailors,who were all of northern extraction, but born in Ogoja. The tailors are six in number and are all very proud of their Ogoja roots.
Samaila Sarki Adamu says he wishes to marry a lady from Ogoja, and says he cannot even blend fully if he were to return to the north today. The tailors are in complete agreement on this point. They say that they possess certificates of indigeneship of Cross River State, but they add that they have not enjoyed scholarships yet from the state. They add however, that in the politics of the area, they are always carried along. As though to buttress this point, they mention that in the local government council, the Chief of Protocol to the Chairman, is a gentleman of Hausa extraction. Finally, we meet Aisha Rabiu Hassan, who before marriage was known as Patience Egiga, and hailed from Ikom local government. She got married to Alhaji Rabiu Hassan in 1970, at which point she converted to Islam. She comments on the popular beliefs about Hausas at about the time she got married. Her words “In those days we believed that the Hausa man will always speak the truth. In Ikom we still believe this.My father believed the Hausa man speaks the truth, and so when my marriage came up, my father did not hesitate to give his consent.”
On Islam, she says “I don’t play with the religion. I have become deep in Islam, and in 2011 I was given a seat to Mecca by the Cross River state government.”
She adds that fasting in Ramadan, and the use of the veil, are some of the points making making lady’s in Ogoja to shy away from marrying Hausa men, but otherwise the two communities have a beautiful relationship, she says with a smile. Her son, Auwal Rabiu Hassan, was born in Ogoja, can speak the language, understands the local culture very well, and has had all his education in the state, and there are many like him in the famous town.