The Gambo Sawaba Story 1 The Gambo Sawaba Story THE GAMBO SAWABA STORY © Echo Communications Limited First Published 1990 Second edition 2004 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means: electric or mechanical including photocopy, recording or any information storage or retrieval system with- out permission in writing from the publisher. 2 The Gambo Sawaba Story The Gambo Sawaba story ISBN - 978-37305-0-9 Echo Communications Limited, Suite One, Inwade House Plot 1331, Jere Street, Garki Two PO.Box 9476 Abuja [email protected] ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. A project, such as this one, with all its complexities, depends essen- tially on the good will of people. 3 The Gambo Sawaba Story We acknowledge the patience of Hajiya Gambo Sawaba, who not only accepted the project without second thoughts but on several occa- sions, stopped attending to her numerous friends and associates to go through the rigorous interview sessions which seemed so unending. To Mohammed Alangade and Lawan Danbazau who gave us attention those times we knocked on their doors, Baba Bida, Mudi Spikin, Abubakar Rimi, Solomon Lar, Hajiya Hussaina, Baba Amartey and Mrs. Ladi Shehu, we are very grateful. Of course, we can hardly forget Ayodele Abubakar, Danjuma Sani, Abdulkareem Danladi Lawal, Captain John Franklin, Danjani Hadeija, Lili Gabari, T.I.A. Ojelade, Bilkisu Ojelade, Dr Tegbo, Adaman Kandawaro, Habiba Adamu, Haruna Jibrin, Binta Buredi, Baba Keffi, C.E. Nwaolori, Fati Misisi and the Kuti family. There are many more whose invaluable contribution to the success of this project cannot be overemphasised. We are also very indebted to Abubakar Sokoto Mohammed, Dung Pam Sha, Thomson Adanbara, Emmanuel Gogwim, Franklin Samuila Kure, Titus Mann, Chris Abashi, BaIa Takaya, and Mrs. Ladi Shehu for the pains they took in going through the script and making valuable comments. To those such as Toure Kazap 4 The Gambo Sawaba Story and Aminu Yusuf who lent us their books, we say a big thank you. To Habu Dauda, Daniel Patrick Bawa, Bagauda Kaltho and Joseph Miapyil who dedicated themselves to research, words can hardly express our gratitude. Nor can we forget Louis Nwankwo, Hussaini Suleh and Celina Yaro We also wish to acknowledge the use of photographs from sources too numerous to mention here. Echo Communications Limited, P. 0. Box 7534, Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria 5 The Gambo Sawaba Story 1 FOREWARD I eagerly await the public outing of this material in a book form. For, here is the unveiling of a living legend: GAMBO SAWABA! Truly, Gambo Sawaba is a household name, not in vain. She is every- thing that is ENIGMA. Why? Imagine an uncompromisingly radical Woman Political Activist in the glorious era of emirate hegemony, a hegernonic era that represents the epitome of male chauvinism reinforced by an ortho- doxy of anti-feminine Islamic darika dogma! At once you get the feel of a woman Don Quixote riding out against the windmills. Yet, not so vulnerable this young quixotic Gambo; for, unlike old Don, she is a sure signal-flash of a new era threatening those towering anachronisms! Is she super human? Where does she derive her ideas? How come she has got such boundless energy? How come her thoughts are several generations ahead of her contemporaries, uneducated though she is? Does 6 The Gambo Sawaba Story she possess mystic powers and super-natural abilities? These are some of the questions that engage the minds of Gambo’s admirers and adversaries alike, now put to rest in this book. Right from the start, the major aspects of Gambo’s character emerge very boldly. To Gambo, oppression is unbearably revolting; hence she stoutly defends the rights of the weak. She does not brook undeserved wealth and even shares every kobo of hers with the poor. Deeply nationalistic, she abhors ethnicism, regionalism or any forms of discrimination based on pri- mordial factors. She is always humble and unassuming but prides herself of having borne the negative consequences of defending the rights of the op- pressed. Hear her: “If I don’t know book, I know rights... I have not been a member of any House of Assembly (legislature). I have not held any office except that I was a member of the House of Prison.” That is your enigmatic Gambo Sawaba, the natural champion of Hu- man Rights and a symbol of women (nay, human) liberation. The scourge of oppressors this Gambo who, though a poor talaka, would not give up the struggle even in the face of temptations and pressures. Indeed when her 7 The Gambo Sawaba Story comrades-in-arms sell out and grow rich, Gambo would rather, she grew poorer; being contented, even punished as example for other non-com- promising activists. Gambo is truly the living embodiment of A Luta Continua and you can see, radiating in her, even in old age, the absolute confidence that Vic- toria A Certa! B.J. Takaya University of Jos, Nigeria May, 1990. 8 The Gambo Sawaba Story 1 IN THE BEGINNING Between 1900 and 1910, a young man came to Zaria; one of the thirty Emirates in Northern Nigeria1 He was one of the thousands of immi- grants who came to the ancient city. His accent was Ghanaian. He was a Christian. As an educated elite from Ghana, he was clad in a well-tailored suit. A surveyor, who graduated from the Ghana School of Survey in Accra, he sought for employment with the Nigerian Railways Corporation. He thus became one of the pioneering staff of the nascent railway corporation. The name of the young man was Theophilus Wilcox Amartey Amarteifio. He had traveled all the way from Tudun Matan Fada near Accra to Zaria. Of course, he was not a complete alien. For such migrations and settlement were very common in the West African region, especially those that were under British sovereignty. Besides, migrations and resettlements had predated the coming of the British. The people of the region had lived 9 The Gambo Sawaba Story together, migrating from one area to another for hundreds of years. Fur- ther, British rule only imposed artificial borders, often splitting tribes into different countries. However, Amarteifio’s case was a peculiar one. His people, then liv- ing in Ghana trace their roots to Nigeria. Though there are two conflicting accounts of their first home of origin in Nigeria before the migration to Ghana, the two accounts are agreed on the fact that the Amarteifios pres- ently living in Nigeria and Ghana, began their migration from Nigeria. The first account has it that the Amarteifio family first began its journey from Benin in the present day Bendel State of Nigeria. From there it was believed to have traveled along the coastline to where it is presently settled in Ghana2.The second account, however, has it that the Amarteifio family started its journey from Argungu in Sokoto3. Both accounts are agreed that the family was a fishing family and has re- mained a fishing family in Ghana. When Theophilus Wilcox Amarteifio arrived in Zaria he was not a complete alien. He felt at home and went about his activities without inhibi- tions. 10 The Gambo Sawaba Story However, the Nigeria, which his great grand parents knew, particu- larly the Northern parts of the country, was quite different from the one he met. Several changes had occurred. The land mass then, known as North- ern Nigeria, was not the one political entity the British colonialists were trying to create out of it. There was neither a centralized political authority nor a dominating economic power. There were, however, various inde- pendent political Kingdoms, which were at different stages of develop- ment. The most prominent of them was the Sokoto caliphate whose head- quarters was in Sokoto. It was headed by the caliph, the descendants of Usman Danfodio who led the very formidable revolt of the early nineteenth century against oppressive material conditions and spiritual degeneration of the Hausa States. Next to the caliphate was the Borno Kingdom. Led by the Shehu of Borno the people had stoutly and successfully resisted the onslaughts launched against it by the caliphate. Borno was, and still, is known today as a seat of Islamic learning. Besides these two, there were also other independent kingdoms, which were not under the control of either Borno or Sokoto. There were the 11 The Gambo Sawaba Story Hajiya Gambo Sawaba (left) with a friend when she was twenty one years old 12 The Gambo Sawaba Story Hausa States of Abuja, Kebbi and Yawuri. There were also numerous other groups such as the Kaje, Tangales, Bachamas, Kilbas, Kutebs, Jukuns, Birom the Tivs, the Nupe among hundreds of others. The latter were largely non Islamic. On the eve of the intervention of colonialists, Islam was the single most prominent religion. Majority of the people still adhered to their differ- ent deities whose mode of belief and worship differed from one area to the other. Christianity, which arrived before effective colonial rule, was also growing in influence at this time. The advent of colonialism, which was strongly resisted by the people, was, however, to change this picture. Propelled by the need to get market for their finished goods and room for new investments, Africa was invaded by Europeans in what is today known as the scramble for Africa. Due to the superiority of European weaponry and the weakening African States suffered as a result of the several centuries of slave trade and the “legiti- mate trade”, among other reasons4, Africa fell to the invading Europeans. When the conquest of Africa had been completed, the colonial masters set about organising the society in a manner that suited the objectives for which 13 The Gambo Sawaba Story 14 The Gambo Sawaba Story they invaded the continent.