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| Kano Durbar; an annual Eid festival of pageantry and loyalty |
Riding behind a commercial motorcycle in the ancient
north-central city of Kano, Nigeria is a two-pronged experience. While it gives
you an easy and faster escape from the terrible traffic congestion and its
antecedent effects, it also provides the chance to be refreshed with air –
freshness determined by what location of the city you are in – which brings
reprieve from the scorching heat in a city, fast transiting in to the desert
region, in the agro-ecological classification of Nigeria. Kano is a beautiful
city, carved out of the clayey material remains of the alluvial plains of
central Nigeria, with a very rich history and conservative society, after
Islamic norms. And as much as the vegetative metamorphosis is ongoing, the
vagaries of globalisation seem to be fast on its heels.
With the mammoth Kasuwan Kwari – a haven for textile, dates,
rubber and plastic merchants to name a few – nestled almost at the centre of
the metropolis, little wonder the tag, “centre of commerce” has come to stay,
much to the despair of other cities like Onitsha, and Potiskum, barring Lagos,
which in its own right, is indeed, the “centre of excellence”. The city of Kano, written in the annals of
time is today an agglomeration of nine local governments of the total
forty-four which make up Kano State. Characterised by thick traditional clay
defense walls and gates, the original plan of the old city, brings repute to
the ancient planners, who had made the city impregnable, a commercial bliss and
a tourist’s destination.
Kano boasts of astute business men, ranging from Alhassan
Datata who had surpassed Umaru Sharubutu Koki and Maikano Agogo by 1922, to
become the city’s richest man. He is the great grandfather to Africa’s richest
billionaire today, conglomerate magnate Aliko Dangote, who amongst business
interests in flour, sugar, cement, oil and confectioneries, is currently
developing a tomato processing plant by the expressway before you enter the
city. The Sharada, Challawa and Bwopai Industrial Estates are situated in the
city, which has an Export Promotion Zone.
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| Aliko Dangote - Chairman, Dangote Group |
Notorious for its tye and dye, the Maitatsine uprising, the
Durbar and the groundnut pyramids, Kano is a ‘wonder’ in Nigerian history and
mythology. In January, 2012, it was a scene of deadly bombings carried out by
the terrorist group Boko Haram, targeted at government installations in the
city. This they claimed was a retribution for the city’s support for the
federal government’s effort in ending their activities. Also, in as much as
two-hundred years, the traditional Eid Durbar – a festival of class, pageantry,
royal show-off and affirmation of loyalty of the polity to the ruler – was
called off in August, due to a variation in reasons from security challenges,
to the Emir, His Royal Highness, Dr. Ado Bayero – San Kano, taking ill.
Before the bombings, it staked its acclaim during the
#OccupyNigeria protests organized by the Save Nigeria group, then seeking the
reversal of the Presidency’s decision to remove fuel subsidies, when protesters
took to the silver jubilee square, and renamed it “Subsidy Square” though the
naming didn’t stand the test of time. A British Broadcasting Service reporter
approximated the number of protesters who camped there – a la Egypt’s Tahrir
Square during the Arab spring, at two thousands. Protesters followed going-ons
across the country, via their mobile phones and transistor radios as they made
a name for themselves. The Murtala Mohammed ICT Park, a gigantic structure
built by the state government to be the information technology hub, towered
behind them. Even a twitter account, @Kano emerged from the event, highlighting
the growing influence of information technology in a highly conservative and
perceived illiterate society. Albeit, only 35 percent of the population are
litereate.
Goron Dutse and Dalla Hills overlook the city, with the Gidan
Makama museum housed in a 15th century monument and the Kurmi Market
where you can get the best of handcrafts, nestled in the old city. The Aminu
Kano International Airport, the country’s largest cargo airport is situated outside
the old city, where the first recorded flight to the city landed at the polo
field, in 1925. And while the railway system is getting a facelift, a bus or a
tricycle ride around, is another experience of its own.
However, a phenomenon scarring the beauty that is Kano is the
mass of waste produced which is improperly disposed and managed. This has not
only polluted the air and land, but also the ground water system, which
traditionally supplies the bulk of residents who are still waiting for
government pipes to reach them. Combined with poor housing planning and hygiene,
a contamination of the water system would result in a quick fire cholera
epidemic. In 2001, well over seven hundred people died and thousands more
hospitalised. The World Socialist Web Site reports that up till 2001, the only
year in which Kano had not suffered a disease epidemic, was 1997, but the year
before, there was a triple epidemic, with almost fifteen thousand people
suffering from cerebrospinal meningitis.
Most worrisome, is the flecks of sand that settle between the
lips, eyelids and eyebrows, when you ride the motorcycle around Kano. While you
might have to wait for the harmattan winds to bring you any evidence of the
fast encroaching desert in the middle belt and southern parts of the country; fine
loess filter in from the desert daily, as turbulent winds erode the Sahara
desert. And with the desert encroaching at an alarming rate of 0.6 kilometres
per annum, the efforts of the women employed by the government to sweep the
roads of daily stockpile of loess might not be enough; and take frontline local
governments in the North-Western and North-Eastern parts of the state are
already feeling the impact of the desert. Soon enough, some loess landform
might appear in the Kano horizon.
The state government is stepping in, planning to plant one
million trees this year, with nurseries already established in Danbatta, Bichi,
Gaya, Karaye, Bunkure, Dawakin Kudu and Takai local governments as well as at
the monitoring unit in Kano city, according to Alhaji Maitama Danbatta, manager
of the project. To confirm the severity of the situation, the federal
government is also set to launch the Great Green Wall Sahara Initiative in
October, a project which is expected to run across Africa, from Mauritania in
the North-West to Djibouti in the North-East, which might just help
rehabilitate the existing fifty kilometre shelter belt in the state.
Floods are among disasters that frequent the city of Kano,
with yearly records of lives and property lost in the throes. As at Friday, 14
September, 2012 there were calls for volunteers to help evacuate neighbourhoods
close to the Warawa Dam. On Sunday, it was reported; eleven thousand, five
hundred people were displaced in Kano and Jigawa States. On this occasion, a
motorcycle would be handy in saving lives and property.
Word goes around that if you can ride a motorcycle in Kano,
then you can anywhere in the country. Enjoying a motorcycle ride around Kano
has its downside afterall. Exposure to ghastly mishaps as cyclists meander
through traffic is second only to Lagos. You might also be prepared to have
your heart in your mouth sometimes, but always have some water in the bathroom
for a bath afterwards.
