The Bambados of Lagos

In a part of Surulere, Lagos and just   off a major thoroughfare which seems to slice this part of the city into two, the visitor comes upon a Fulani palace. On the left is a mosque and a number of persons are seated on mats, and there is a decorated doorway to the right. […]

In a part of Surulere, Lagos and just   off a major thoroughfare which seems to slice this part of the city into two, the visitor comes upon a Fulani palace. On the left is a mosque and a number of persons are seated on mats, and there is a decorated doorway to the right. The Imam is busy reading, and he bends his well built frame to achieve this. Very soon it is time to pray and he makes to rise. Everyone rises. You step inside the main hall which plays host to guests and numerous visitors when occasions hold, and you soon notice many symbols, signs and icons on the walls. It is the palace of Mohammed Abubakar Bambado, Sarkin Fulani of Lagos, and Chairman, Association of Fulani Chiefs in South West Nigeria. The edifice was built by Bambado’s grandfather, who a long time ago, journeyed from Elleman in  Jigawa State to seek  his fortune in Lagos.  

Mohammadu Bambado’s world

The trip from Elleman to Lagos must have been a long and risky one, at the time Mohammadu Bambado made the journey. A descendant of bold and enterprising Fulani migrants from Senegal, he soon made a name for himself on Lagos Island, where he became a major force in the Bureau de change business, as well as in Stevedoring work. He emerged as a  liason between visiting Hausa and Fulani from the north, and  the Yoruba of the city. Kosoko was the part of the Island where he flourished and people from his part of Jigawa State also identified with this section  of  Lagos, and it was  a natural hub  for the bureau de change trade. Visitors from the north needed a place to rest and gather strength after the long journey, and they required a good guide who knew the locality well. Bambado rose to become that able guide, and he could easily navigate the social and economic corridors of Lagos. In the wake of all these, his businesses blossomed, and his fame spread far and wide. Bambado, a gifted trader, made a home for himself in Lagos. Travellers from the north needed him, and his Yoruba hosts courted him, for he was significant, not only economically but also culturally. This is the story of how a migrant Fulani merchant soon became a major force in Lagos,a city which has always extended a welcoming hand to newcomers or visitors.

‘First indigenous stevedore’

Mohammed Abubakar Bambado, Sarkin Fulani of Lagos, comments on the life and legacy of his forebear “My grandfather came to Lagos as a businessman. He left Elleman, stopped at various places, before settling in Lagos, and because of his skillful interactions with his hosts, the Fulani community decided to make him Sarkin Fulani, Lagos. It was my grandfather who started the bureau de change business, and he engaged in  trade  with the Europeans. This was on Lagos Island and later he began the business of stevedoring, and we are the pioneers in this effort too, for  he was the first indigenous stevedore in the country.” Bambado was also a contractor, and he played a role in the supply of cattle “He was supplying meat to the Nigerian Army, and cows were transported from Kano, Jigawa, Sokoto all the way to Lagos. He was  also involved in the import and supply of cows.” 

‘Merchant, philanthropist’

Abdulhamid Ahmadu Pass has known the Bambado family for many years, and he speaks on the career of Sir Bambado, as he was also known “He was a merchant and a philanthropist. Whenever they are leaving the north, people will ask of his address in Lagos, and when you get the address, it’s as though you have just received the visa to enter Lagos. As soon as you get to Lagos and you meet him, he is ready to accommodate you.” 

He sheds light on his other activities “Once Sarkin Fulani is told that a new person from the north is in Lagos, accommodation is prepared for him. If he has no job, within a few days a job is secured  for him. He accommodated most of the northerners in the port, and if you are educated, you can work in the clearing and forwarding area, or as clerks in the industry. He transported cattle to the east, and this was by means of trains travelling out from Lagos.” 

During the civil war he was also very useful to the Nigerian side, says Pass “At that time he transported foodstuff to the soldiers at the war front.” In addition to this “he was the coordinator of all those engaged in the bureau de change trade, and this was so because he was Sarkin Fulani. The men in the bureau de change business were untouchable, and he was very close to the Lagos dynasty, that is the ruling family of Lagos.”

Hassan Lamin Haidara in his book titled Brief Biography of Sarkin Fulani Alhaji Sir Muhammadu Bambado (2012), writes “His (Bambado’s) business success in Lagos was attributed to his business relationship with indigenes of the place. He purchased goods delivered  to Lagos from England and sold them to Hausa people who came to Lagos. His fame in Lagos earned him the title of Sarkin Fulani. And the Governor General Sir Robinson gave him the staff of office in 1943, and the Yorubas testified before the English rulers of his ability to lead.” (p.7) .

‘Advocate for peace’

When Bambado passed on in 1969, his son became  Sarkin Fulani. Pass recalls “Nasidi Abubakar Bambado started well. He was a famous advocate for peace on Lagos Island and was also a member of many Yoruba clubs here in Lagos. Gradually, he became widely accepted by the Yorubas because his membership of the clubs exposed him a bit more to yoruba culture and traditions.” Like his father, he engaged in  beneficial work around the ports “he became a stevedoring contractor, and registered  as a clearing and forwarding agent. He established a travel agency, and  was involved in so many activities. He set up a poultry farm in Agege, and employed many people from the north there.” But he was very strict, especially when it came to proper conduct “If you have a genuine case to present, he will do his best to help. But  he was not interested in criminal cases. He will even punish the particular individual, before handing him over to the police.”

The future beckons 

Sarkin Fulani Bambado who was turbaned in 1994 upon the passing of his father, opens up on the matters that confront the Fulani today “The issue of grazing land is the major problem.Those grazing lands are no more. When you go into the south west,you hardly find such. The Fulani come with their cows and wish to rear them here,but the lands are no more. Its a big problem.” He comments on other problems “For instance, there are factories which have been built on the stock routes and the land set aside for grazing purposes will now be taken over by the government, and used for something that has nothing to do with the life of a nomad. When the nomad finds that the stock  route has been compromised, he has to take a roundabout route, which may now see him entering farms with his cows, but not many understand his predicament.” He adds “Some governors are ready and willing to identify the areas  in which to help, but a few governors  are telling the Fulani to leave, but that cannot work because we are all Nigerians.”

‘I am a Lagosian’

Bambado identifies problems with the very idea of expelling the nomads “if you ask the Fulani to leave the south west, and  now the governors in the northern part of the country say that the Yoruba should leave, that  means that the country has been divided. If a Nigerian is in a part of the country for more than ten years, automatically you are an indigene of that place.” But he confesses “I am practically a Lagosian. My father was born here. I was born here, and my children were born here. The south west has accommodated us very well, and we have been living with our host community for years without any problem. 

‘Yorubas also have cows in north’

Looking ahead, he says “The future is bright if we resolve all the problems happening now.We want to take the issue of grazing to another level, in the sense that we need investors to come and invest in this field called cattle rearing. People feel that it is only a Fulani man that does this business. Do you know the Yorubas are the owners of most of the cows you see with the nomads? The Yoruba only ask the Fulani to rear it for them, but they are into the business. It is not just the Fulani who have cattle, for Yorubas have cows in northern Nigeria, but people don’t know  about this.” 

He turns to  the era of his grandfather in Lagos “We have been interacting with the yoruba community over the years. They involve us in anything they want to do. If the government has  any activity or function, they would insist that my father should be present. For instance,when the Indian Premier came to Nigeria in the 60s, my grandfather was one of those who received him at the Lagos airport.”

‘Ministry of livestock’

He explains a number of paradoxes occuring around the nomads  today “Funny enough, people always think that  Fulani understand Hausa, but there are some nomads in the south west  who don’t understand the language. They don’t even know the Hausa word for ‘come’. The only language some nomads  understand are Yoruba and Fulfulde. If you speak Hausa to him, he wont understand, but, again, people don’t know this. Most of the nomads in the south east can only speak Igbo, because that’s where he was born, and that’s the only place he knows.” He exclaims “That’s the beauty of the Fulani, for we are part and parcel of those places. We move there and make new  places our home.” Making  a suggestion, he adds “I am even proposing a ministry of livestock, just as we have a ministry of Niger Delta.We used to have such in the 60s. Those things we used to have, worked for us, and I think we still have to go back to them.”