A Peep Into Maiduguri’s  Past

By

Abba Mohammed Bashir Shuwa

abashirshuwa@yahoo.com

Over the recent past Borno State has experienced a calamity reminiscent to those of the period when Rabeh invaded the old Borno Empire. The state which was known for its peaceful nature has been a home to all and sundry. Maiduguri the state capital is known for its hospitality and is being admired by people all over the world. Many important personalities were being hosted and prominent among those were foreign heads of state, royalties, diplomats, intellectuals, and tourists.

 As a source for the acquisition of Islamic knowledge it has attracted scholars from all parts of the world who looked up to the state to add value to their knowledge of Islam. Modernisation and expansion of the state capital saw a growth in population and many people took advantage of the easy life of the area and migrated into the town in search of greener pasture. Maiduguri provided these new comers with free food given away by residents to Almajiris. Soon these Almajiris graduate to become Gardi and start a new life probably taking menial jobs like nail cutting and hawking fruits etc.

Since these immigrants found it easy to assimilate and integrate they gradually started building new settlements even though the areas where they settled were not properly planned and lands were allocated to them by Lawans and Bulamas without recourse to official approval. That made such settlements to be utterly in a state of disorder and confusion. As a result many criminal elements took advantage of the disorderly character of these areas and made life to become unbearable to the inhabitants.

Considering the porous nature of our borders and with the state having boundaries with Cameroon, Niger and Chad the control of the influx of foreigners became difficult more so because of the cultural similarities of the people who sometimes are bonded by kinship. Among those coming from outside the country, some arrived with negative attitudes which found fertile ground for cultivation from disgruntled elements as well as those prone to criminalities.

That was the reason why high incidents of crimes were recorded in areas such as Custom, Kasuwan Shanu (Top Calypso Hotel area), Bulabulin, and Gwange etc in the 1980’s. In addition these areas became a haven for prostitution, drugs, alcohol and violence. Some people may question my inclusion of Gwange but I believe that those who know Maiduguri very well will agree with me about how dangerous it was to pass along the Gwange Bridge at night as well as being around the notorious Naira Hotel where many people’s lives were cut shot and knife fights were rampant in those days. These also brought a lot of conflict especially with the inhabitants who saw the gradual erosion of their societal norms. The rise in burglary, alcoholism, prostitution and drug addiction which were attributable to the negative influence brought in by the immigrants was erroneously blamed on western Education.

However the fact still remains that our educational institutions do not tolerate any of those bad habits and anyone found indulging in them were punished or dismissed from school. But all these were to change because many people who came to the state from other parts of the country noticed that they can bring in their wards and relatives to enjoy free education. With their gradual influx also came a lot of bad manners creating the condition for the rejection of Western Education by those who view it with suspicion.

It is rather disheartening that our educational system has been debased and abused by those who partake freely in gratifying their improper, irregular and unlawful desires thereby giving credence to the growing suspicion of the inhabitants. We were all aware of the disciplined nature of students and how well behaved they used to be. The bad habits brought in by the outsiders were mistaken for modernity and foolishly copied as civilization while traditional values were ridiculed.

For us to reclaim our society therefore we must be ready to confront all the social malaise that contributed to the debasement of our values, make those who want to live with us to realise that they cannot impose their way of life onto us much as we cannot do same to them in their own localities. In doing so we must resuscitate our traditional institutions and include them as part of our local administration.  We can be accommodating but would not allow outside influence to subdue our culture.

Also the issue of town planning and registration of residents must be given priority. A well structured township plans for waste disposals and refuse clearing services, drainages, street naming and house numbering, provision of shopping outlets, registered places of worship etc. One can actually say that Benjamin Franklin was right when he said ‘if you fail to plan, you are planning to fail’ and so it is about time we structure and plan our societies in such a way that we can have clear process of controlling, directing and regulating our affairs. Just as Rabeh was conquered and dispelled we must likewise rise against all the negative influences that are retarding our progress and bring back our lost glory.