A Sabon Gari (strangers' quarters or literally new town in the Hausa language, plural Sabon Garuruwa) is a section of cities and towns in Northern Nigeria, South Central Niger and Northern Cameroon whose residents are not indigenous to Hausa lands.
A Sabon Gari (strangers' quarters or literally new town in the Hausa language, plural Sabon Garuruwa) is a section of cities and towns in Northern Nigeria, South Central Niger and Northern Cameroon whose residents are not indigenous to Hausa lands.
Before the British arrived in Northern Nigeria in 1900, there were already established communities of strangers who lived separately from the indigenous population. These communities, found in Northern Nigeria and other parts of West Africa, maintained their segregation from the Hausa population due to religious beliefs. However, despite their separation, these communities were still subjected to the authority of the local emir. With the passage of time, the composition of these communities began to change, and today, apart from Kano in Northern Nigeria, the Sabon Garis have become areas of mixed habitation.
The establishment of British colonial rule under Lord Frederick Lugard and the construction of new railway lines led to a large influx of laborers and traders from Southern Nigeria. The immigrants, which were mostly Igbo and Yoruba people, settled in new towns or Sabon Garuruwa, as these new towns were called by the local Hausa people. The Cantonments Proclamation of 1914 institutionalized this system of residential segregation. The Sabon Garuruwa became Native Reservations, officially reserved for employees of the government and commercial firms, and in practice inhabited by residents not indigenous to Northern Nigeria.
Under British colonial rule, power in Northern Nigeria was indirectly exercised through the emirs, who remained part of the colonial administration. Initially, the emirs administered the Sabon Garurus, but the Township Ordinance of 1917 shifted the administration of these areas and their residents directly to British rule. Residents of Sabon Garis were granted more rights than those under the authority of the local emir. For instance, they had the opportunity to send representatives to the advisory board (court) responsible for their township and could choose between courts that applied either Muslim or British law.
Sabon Garuruwa were established in all major cities of Northern Nigeria, most notably in Kano, Kaduna and Zaria. One exception was Maiduguri, which never had a Sabon Gari. A typical city or town in Northern Nigeria would consist of the old city within fortified walls and inhabited by indigenous Hausa or Fulani people. The Sabon Gari would house immigrants mostly from Southern Nigeria. The Tudun Wada would house people from Northern Nigeria that were not indigenous to the local area. Europeans would live in the European Reservation Areas.
When General Ironsi abolished the Nigerian federation in 1966 with Decree no. 34, it led to widespread pogroms against Igbos residing in Sabon gabris in Northern Nigeria. [1] These pogroms killed an estimated 8,000 to 30,000 Igbo, half of them children, and caused more than a million to two million to flee to the Eastern Region. [2]
Over time, the initially strict residential segregation would partially break down. Eventually, a typical Sabon Gari would house a diversity of people from all parts of Nigeria and to a lesser extent from other parts of West Africa. For example, in 1939 various ethnic groups were represented in the Sabon Gari of Kaduna as follows: 27% were Hausa, 11% were Igbo, 19% were Yoruba, 15% were Nupe and 28% were other ethnicities. [3] [4]
The estimated average temperature in Sabon Gari Local Government Area is 32 °C. The Local Government Area has two distinct seasons: the dry and the wet. The average wind speed in the Local Government Area is 9 km/h. [5]
Trade is a major component of the Sabon Gari LGA's economy. The region is home to a number of markets, including the large Sabon Gari Zaria and Samaru Zaria markets, which draw thousands of buyers and sellers of various goods. The Local Government Area is home to a thriving agricultural industry that grows a wide range of commodities. The residents of Sabon Gari Local Government Area also work in leather goods, hunting, and animal rearing, which are key businesses.
Even today, Sabon Garuruwa are predominantly inhabited by people from Southern Nigeria. Ethnic and religious tensions between groups from southern and northern Nigeria lead to frequent riots and civil unrest in the Sabon Garuruwa of northern cities. With the introduction of Sharia law in some of the Northern states of Nigeria, some Sabon Garuruwa with its predominantly Christian population have become the place commonly known for it forbidden activities like alcohol consumption and gambling. [6] Zinder and Maradi, the two largest Hausa cities in Niger's Hausa speaking southeast retain Sabon Gari districts. [7]
According to the 2016 Nigeria population census the Sabon Gari Local Government is populated with 393,300. [8]
Lokoja is a north-central city in Nigeria. It lies at the confluence of the Niger and Benue rivers and is the capital city of Kogi State. While the Yoruba (Oworo), Bassa Nge and Nupe are indigenous to the area, other ethnic groups, including the Kupa-Nupe, Hausa, Ebira, Igala, Igbo, Bini/Edo, and Tiv have recently established themselves. Lokoja is projected to be the third fastest growing city on the African continent between 2020 and 2025, with a 5.93% growth rate. It was listed as a second class township by the 1917 township ordinance of the colonial administration, indicating that Lokoja is an old city.
Kaduna State is a state in the northwest geopolitical zone of Nigeria. The state capital is its namesake, the city of Kaduna, which was the 8th largest city in the country as of 2006. Created in 1967 as North-Central State, which also encompassed the modern Katsina State, Kaduna State achieved its current borders in 1987. Kaduna State is the fourth largest and third most populous state in the country, Kaduna State is nicknamed the Centre of Learning, owing to the presence of numerous educational institutions of importance within the state such as Ahmadu Bello University.
Northern Nigeria was an autonomous division within Nigeria, distinctly different from the southern part of the country, with independent customs, foreign relations and security structures. In 1962, it acquired the territory of the British Northern Cameroons, which voted to become a province within Northern Nigeria.
Zaria is a metropolitan city in Nigeria, located at present time within four local government areas in Kaduna State. It serves as the capital of the Zazzau Emirate Council and is one of the original seven Hausa city-states. The local government areas comprising Zaria are Zaria, Sabon Gari, Giwa, and Soba local government areas of Kaduna State, Nigeria.
The Zazzau, also known as the Zaria Emirate, is a traditional state with headquarters in the city of Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria. The current emir of Zazzau is H.E Alhaji Ahmed Nuhu Bamalli CFR, who succeeded the former emir, late Alhaji Shehu Idris.
Kafanchan is a town located in the southern part of Kaduna State, Nigeria. The town owes much of its development to the railway development in the area. The railway is situated at a particular junction of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) station built in 1927. It sits on the railtrack connecting Port Harcourt, Enugu, Kafanchan, Kuru, Bauchi and finally Maiduguri. As of 2007, Kafanchan had an estimated population of 83,092.
The Hausa are a native ethnic group in West Africa. They speak the Hausa language, which is the second most spoken language after Arabic in the Afro-Asiatic language family. The Hausa are a culturally homogeneous people based primarily in the Sahelian and the sparse savanna areas of southern Niger and northern Nigeria respectively, numbering around 86 million people, with significant populations in Benin, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Chad, Central African Republic, Togo, Ghana, as well as smaller populations in Sudan, Eritrea, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Senegal, Gambia. Predominantly Hausa-speaking communities are scattered throughout West Africa and on the traditional Hajj route north and east traversing the Sahara, with an especially large population in and around the town of Agadez. Other Hausa have also moved to large coastal cities in the region such as Lagos, Port Harcourt, Accra, Abidjan, Banjul and Cotonou as well as to parts of North Africa such as Libya over the course of the last 500 years. The Hausa traditionally live in small villages as well as in precolonial towns and cities where they grow crops, raise livestock including cattle as well as engage in trade, both local and long distance across Africa. They speak the Hausa language, an Afro-Asiatic language of the Chadic group. The Hausa aristocracy had historically developed an equestrian based culture. Still a status symbol of the traditional nobility in Hausa society, the horse still features in the Eid day celebrations, known as Ranar Sallah. Daura is the cultural center of the Hausa people. The town predates all the other major Hausa towns in tradition and culture.
Zungeru is a town in Niger State, Nigeria. It was the capital of the British protectorate of Northern Nigeria from 1902 until 1916. It is the site of the Niger State Polytechnic and is located on the Kaduna River.
A series of massacres were committed against Igbo people and other people of southern Nigerian origin living in northern Nigeria starting in May 1966 and reaching a peak after 29 September 1966. Between 8,000 and 30,000 Igbos and easterners have been estimated to have been killed. A further 1 million Igbos fled the Northern Region into the East. In response to the killings some northerners were massacred in Port Harcourt and other eastern cities. These events led to the secession of the eastern Nigerian region and the declaration of the Republic of Biafra, which ultimately led to the Nigeria-Biafra war.
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Sabon Gari Local Government is a local government area in Kaduna State, Nigeria. It is one of the local government areas in the Zaria metropolis as well as being one of the districts of the Zazzau Emirate Council. The towns and villages are Dogarawa, Bomo, Basawa, Zabi, Samaru, Kwari, Barashi, Muchiya and Palladan. The Local Government council is chaired by Alhaji Mohammed Usman.
Nigerian traditional rulers often derive their titles from the rulers of independent states or communities that existed before the formation of modern Nigeria. Although they do not have formal political power, in many cases they continue to command respect from their people and have considerable influence in their community.
Muhammadu Aminu was the 17th Emir of Zazzau and Chairman of Zazzau Emirate Council. He was succeeded by Alhaji Shehu Idris on February 8, 1975 following his demise.
Ja'afari Dan Isiyaku was the sixteenth Emir of Zazzau, he reigned from 1937 to 1959. As Emir of Zazzau he was administrative head of Zaria Emirate Native Authority which consisted of seventeen districts and he was responsible for the maintenance of law and order within the emirate.
Suleiman Abdu Kwari is a Nigerian politician and public finance management expert, senator for the Kaduna North Senatorial District of Kaduna State Nigeria. He was elected during the February 2019 Nigeria general elections under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC). He was the commissioner of Finance Kaduna State (2015-2019) appointed by the Governor of Kaduna State Nasir Ahmad el-Rufai and was also a member of the House of Representatives for Sabon Gari Local Government cConstituency of Kaduna State.
Samaru is a town and ward in Sabon Gari Local Government of Kaduna state, Nigeria. The town is a semi-urban area in which Ahmadu Bello University main campus is located. Samaru is one of the most popular town in Zaria with different ethnic groups living together in peace and harmony. Samaru is home for all tribe.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)Repeated outbursts of violence between June and October 1966 peaked in massacres against Igbos living in the Sabon Gari, the 'foreigners' quarters' of northern Nigerian towns. According to estimates, these riots claimed the lives of tens of thousands. This violence drove a stream of more than a million refugees to the Eastern Region, the 'homeland' of the Igbos' diasporic community.