Untold story of Bauchi’s ancient city walls

The ancient city walls of Bauchi Town, the capital of Bauchi State, were built by the famous scholar and founder of the city, Malam Yakubun Bauchi, in 1812 as one of the security architecture to secure the town and they are currently on the verge of extinction as result of negligence from successive governments in the state and the attitude of residents who contributed in the destruction of the walls by building structures amid population explosion.

The walls, popularly called ganuwa in Hausa, constructed with red mud are no longer in existence due to wear and tear and neglect: rainfall and lack of maintenance, thereby leaving only the relics of their nine historic doors (kofa) as a reminder of one of Bauchi’s cultural heritage. The doors on the walls are Kofar Inkil, Kofar Dumi, Kofar Wase, Kofar Wunti, Kofar Jahun, Kofar Tirwun, Kofar Nasarawo, Kofar Ran and Kofar Wambai.

Findings revealed that the doors which were at the verge of collapse were from 1984 reconstructed and redesigned to meet up urbanisation by the military administrations of Brig. Sani Sami and Col. Abu Ali as the doors which were initially small and allowed only the emir to pass through were made bigger to accommodate traffic and to beautify the city.

Our correspondent who went round Bauchi Town where the remains and rubles of the walls are visible, observed that buildings including houses, shops, schools, among others, have taken over the locations of the walls. Also, people continue to evacuate the red mud for personal and commercial purposes.

Investigation revealed that what has remained of the critical monument is the nine famous gates, but not in their original forms.

Alhaji Ado Danrimi Garba is the Wakilin Tarihi (Chief Historian of Bauchi Emirate Council) and he told Daily Trust Saturday that the city walls were built under the instruction of the late Sheikh Shehu Usman Danfodio because he ordered all his flag bearers to establish towns and surround them with walls to secure them.

Alhaji Garba explained that the tradition of surroundind towns with walls could be traced to an Islamic tradition which emanated from Salmanu Faris who advised Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon Him) in Medina where a wall was built to secure the city.

The wakilin tarihi further said although there were many types of walls, the one built in Medina was a trench constructed to cover the entire city, explaining that “but our own differs because usually in our African tradition we dig a ditch and evacuate the mud, mould local bricks and build very tall walls of about 22 to 25 feet, and from the top designs are cut like steps of a staircase used to fight enemies by firing shots at them from the top of the walls.”

He said the total length of the walls was 11 kilometres, but that when Malam Yakubu built them, it was not up to that because the size of the city was smaller then – starting from Bakaro to Jakara and from Gwangwangwan to Gidan Makama – adding that from 1809 to 1814 the emir expanded the walls.

Malam Garba further said another feature of the walls were a variety of trees at the doors, usually very tall trees, serving as watching towers and that there was one location of the wall attached to a big rock called Dutsen Tanshi, with the rock being used as the watch tower.

Daily Trust Saturday learnt that while Malam Yakubu left Sokoto around 1792 and began to spread Islamic knowledge in most of the southern part of the caliphate, he was invited back to Sokoto to meet with Danfodio and that Danfodio asked him where he was interested in setting up his town. Yakubu suggested Wase, Babah and Zaranda but was told that if he settled in any of the areas, his people would be rich without faith and Islam would not flourish.

Alhaji Garba explained that, “Danfodio advised him to meet an Islamic scholar, Abdun Dumi, to assist him in spreading Islam, and luckily, Dumi agreed to accompany him throughout the period of their struggle and their union played a significant role in the establishment of Bauchi Town that has now become an Islamic centre.

“Malam Yakubu then suggested Inkil, and Danfodio told him that if he establish his kingdom in Inkil his followers would become singers instead of promoters of Islam. Danfodio then advised him to consider the western part of the Warinje Hill, but warned that the place was full of snakes, but that he would pray to Allah for protection of Yakubu and his people.

“Danfodio assured Yakubu that Insha Allahu if he built his town around the Warinje Hill (present day Bauchi) nobody would be able to defeat him in war and that Islam would flourish till the end of the world. He and his subjects would not be rich but would not be poor either and Islam would spread and be sustained where seven-year-old children would compete with 70-year-old men in the mosque to worship Allah and the people of the city would live in peace and happily,” he said.

Garba further explained that, “Yakubu was told that the surface of the earth in Warinje Hill was hard but that when people sowed grains, the harvest would be bountiful, hence the saying, “Bauchi naman kai ga kitse ga tauri,” meaning the flesh of the head is full of fat and is hard.

Garba said when Yakubu returned from Sokoto, he first settled in Inkil where he located a hill on a virgin land with rocks and commenced building his town: a mosque, a prison yard and then the kingmakers’ house before building the town in the present Bauchi.

“From 1807 to 1812, Malam Yukubu completed the first building – the Bauchi city walls. Between 1807 and 1812, Yakubu built the walls with four gates: Kofar Inkil (Kofar Damisa), Kofar Tirwun, Kofar Wase and Kofar Wunti. Few years after Bauchi was founded, it developed into a cosmopolitan city with different ethnic groups such as Gerawa, Fulani, Jarawa, Nupe, Hausa, Arab, among others inhabiting it. Later, to meet the demand for space as a result of population, Yakubu expanded Bauchi by building five more gates: Kofar Jahun, Kofar Ran, Kofar Nassarawo and Kofar Dumi,” Garba said.

He explained that the name Bauchi was coined owing to the inability of the different ethnic groups to understand one another’s language, but that a more plausible version was that the name Bauchi was coined from a hunter called Baushe who also assisted Malam Yakubu to establish Bauchi and that Malam Yakubu named the city Bauchi after him in appreciation of his outstanding contributions towards the establishment of the city.

Two rooms were constructed attached to each of the nine gates, one for the tax collector and the other for guests who arrived the town late. Some of the metal doors are now in the Emir of Bauchi’s palace in Bauchi and the National Museums in Lagos and Jos.

Kofar Inkil was formerly known as Kofar Damisa and later called Kofar Idi. It was one of the first gates because Inkil was the headquarters of Malam Yakubu from 1806 to 1808. The gate was built to meet the demand of the people of Inkil, and before the door was built, there were two Eid prayer grounds with one at Inkil and the other at Ran which were later merged to form the popular Eid prayer ground behind the palace.

According to Garba, Malam Yakubu one day on his way to Inkil met a tiger, fought and killed it and that the skin of the tiger is still in the emir’s palace and is used for the traditional inauguration of a new emir. “The skin of the tiger is laid on the throne and the new emir will sit on it to be inaugurated,” he said.

Kofar Dumi was built purposely for one of Yakubu’s allies in spreading Islam, Abdun Dumi, and his people in Dumi village. Yakubu constructed the gate as a mark of respect for Dumi who led the Jihad to Wase and that after the gate was opened Dumi used to come to Bauchi every Friday for Juma’at prayers and to discuss state matters with the emir. He was later appointed wambai (adviser to the emir).

Kofar Nasarawo or (Nasarawa) was built for a cleric and one of Yakubu’s lieutenants, Malam Nasarawo, who resided outside the city. The emir at the height of the Jihadusually spent three days in Nasarawo’s house praying for victory.

Kofar Jahun was built for a prominent Fulani leader from the Jahun clan who was appointed as galadima by Malam Yukubu and he and his people used the gate to enter the city to see the emir.

Daily Trust Saturday reliably gathered that in 1902 the British colonialists led by Dr. Williams Wallace entered Bauchi through Kofar Jahun.

Kofar Wunti was built for one of Yakubu’s disciples, Muhammadu Kusu, and his people from the Wuntawa clan among the Fulani ethnic group who Yakubu appointed as sarkin yaki or commander-in-officer.

Kofar Ran: Ran was known for being a settlement which produced Islamic scholars. The gate was built as a link between the people of Ran and Bauchi with a view to integrate them into the town.

Kofar Tirwun: Tirwun village was the indigenous home of Yakubu and his relatives when he started preaching Islam. He was earlier rejected by his people but subsequently they embraced his mission and Yakubu built the gate as a mark of respect for the people of Tirwun.

Kofar Wambai:  After the expansion, Yakubu relocated the wambai (adviser) elsewhere where he built a house for him and the gate as his entrance in and out of the palace.

Alhaji Garba also revealed that, “There was a foreign organisation called Goht in Germany which attempted to rebuild the walls in their effort to preserve cultural monuments. One Umma Halima, a patriotic indigene of Bauchi, made effort to link the organisation and the emirate council for rebuilding of the Bauchi city walls but negligence from the state government which failed to pay counterpart for the project derailed the venture. I remember three years ago the emirate wrote formally to the state government on the effort to rebuild the walls since we have got a group that is ready to rebuild the walls and up till now there is no positive response.”

He noted that currently the state government was not doing anything to preserve and protect historical monuments in Bauchi Emirate and across the state as, “Right now there are graves of some former emirs scattered in different locations and nothing has been done about them. There are many other monuments that are not receiving attention from the government. The attitude of previous governments is really disturbing the emirate council but we hope that the current administration will give the required attention. We have warned that whoever builds a structure on Bauchi city walls must be prepared to vacate the area because Bauchi Emirate is determined to rebuild the walls.”

Alhaji Ladan Shuaibu Ramat is the Village Head of Doya East in Bauchi Metropolis and one of the residents that started building structures behind the eastern site of Bauchi ancient city walls. He told Daily Trust that the reason why there were many shops beside the city walls was because of the population and the boosting of the economy in Bauchi.

Alhaji Ramat said, “At the eastern part of the Bauchi city walls where I established my factory, at that time the walls were still standing right from Kofar Wambai to Kofar Idi, but with time rainfall started collapsing the walls. In those days there was no building attached to the walls from both inside and outside, but when the population increased within the city people began to build houses close to the walls and others built their homes attached to the walls and some began to dig parts of the walls for mud to build their houses”.

On the issue of connivance with village heads on the destruction of the city walls, Ramat said, “No, the remains and demarcation of the Bauchi city walls are still in their original locations and whoever has built a house or shop on them knows and no matter the level of destruction of the walls, you will still find their remains”.

The Village Head of Gwallaga in Bauchi Metropolis, Alhaji Dandada Ahmadu, who is also known to be in the forefront of protecting the city walls, told Daily Trust Saturday that the walls had a good history.

Alhaji Ahmadu said, “The city walls were the security pillars of the ancient Bauchi city and some other mini towns around Bauchi. If you go to Damanguza and other old villages you will still see the remains of their walls.

He said the late Emir of Bauchi, Alhaji Suleiman Adamu, “Appointed me in the committee saddled with the responsibility of protecting the city walls because at that time the population of Bauchi was increasing rapidly and people had begun to cut down portions of the walls. The committee consisted of prominent personalities like Sarkin Malaman Bauchi, Ambassador Adamu Yusuf. During the work of the committee I was working like a journalist based on my training in the military because when we go round to work I wrote and took pictures to support the written parts and for history.”

He further said, “The government has a responsibility to collaborate with stakeholders to work out ways to revive the city walls with a view to preserve our cultural heritage because these walls serve both physical and spiritual security purposes. Throughout my life in Bauchi for more than 70 years, I have never heard of a single case of snakebite within the confines of the walls. We heard from our forefathers that no snake will bite anybody residing in Bauchi city covered by ganuwa.”

He added that, “During those days when the sun set everybody entered their houses for fear of animals because you began to hear the screams of hyenas, tigers and lions, but with time the animals disappeared.

“I am, therefore, appealing to the Bauchi State Government to provide alternative lands to the people who have encroached the walls and look inward despite having other pressing needs to rebuild the city walls so as to preserve our greatest heritage.”