Maiduguri: The jewel
in the Sahara
By IKENNA EMEWU
Saturday, August 7, 2004
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By Sun News Publishing |
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Many Nigerians who have never been to the city of Maiduguri,
the North West extreme location that boasts to be the farthest
city from the south of Nigeria know one thing about it –
that there is a legendary horde of flies that follow everbody
like the nomads up there follow their many cattle and sheep.
The prominent story told of Maiduguri is that before you could
open your mouth to say ina kwana or respond to such, a thousand
flies must have had access into your mouth. The story also
goes that a stranger in Maiduguri is easily noticed by one
knack – the willingness to drive out flies from your
food. They say the residents are already used to it that they
only say gafara hanya to the flies just to find a space and
dip their spoons or hands into the dish and scoop up their
food. By implication, the flies, I mean houseflies that serve
as vectors of bacteria that cause cholera are just partners
on the table of everyone in that city. Funny or biased enough,
the tellers of that story never brought it to the knowledge
of the listeners that while Maiduguri has flies and mosquitoes,
it also has beauty, serenity and peace.
Behold a beautiful city
Its sure astounding beholding a beautiful city that looks
almost unNigerian when a new comer gets into the city Maiduguri.
The city which became the seat of power in 1967 as the North
West State before the creation of Borno State in 1976 is a
piece of elegance, order, neatness and planning. The streets
of Maiduguri lined with endless rows of trees, neatly constructed
roads and well-paved lanes show a carefully structured city
with a good sense of esthetics and orderliness. Compared with
other cities in Nigeria, Maiduguri looks extraordinary and
portrays what a normal city should be. The streets are exceptionally
well-taken care of that one could argue that it remains one
of the most beautiful cities of the nation.
Beating the harsh sun
The excessive flies Maiduguri is known for results from excessive
dryness which makes the flies desperate in search of moisture,
hence their penchant for flocking around anything where there
is moisture to keep them alive. The heat of the sun and its
brightness makes one have a feeling that Maiduguri is closer
to the sky that the rest of Nigeria. As early as 6.30 am,
the day is already so bright and sunny that you would start
to doubt your clock. At about 10.00 am, the heat of the sun
is already burning and harsh like it were after midday. The
sun has a field day in Maiduguri, and in fact all over Borno
State. For this reason, the people of the state and the residents
know that there is no hiding place, so all the streets of
Maiduguri are lined with trees that provide shade. The rows
of trees on the streets are so amazing and makes feel like
lying down under them for fresh breeze. The shade provides
a wonderful ambience that brings all lovers of nature closer
to their roots, as the mere appearance of the streets satisfy
the soul and gives a feeling that man fashions his environment
into whatever he wants it to be. It is unbelievable that a
city of hundreds of thousands of trees could exist in a niche
as dry and unfriendly as the Sahara fringes. Any day the government
of Borno State finds an industrial use for dogonyaro seed,
leaves or the stem, it would launch into unprecedented wealth,
because over 90 per cent of the trees in Maiduguri belong
to this species.
A place of peace
In additon to the beauty, the city is an epitome of peace
and hospitality. Residents from other parts of the country
testify to this rare quality. According to Chief Chris Okonkwo,
an oil merchant and Managing Director of Chris Chamaco Nigeria
Limited, “Maiduguri is more peaceful than my own town,
because of the peculiar peaceful nature of this city, I don’t
worry about the distance from my state- Anambra. I have lived
in this town for 32 years, I grew up here and married here
too, so I have no problem being here. I know that any day
I leave Maiduguri, I am going home as a retiree, because there
is no other place than this city where I can live and feel
at ease”. The residents attest that it has never happened
in the history of the city that strangers or ‘settlers’
(as a governor would prefer to say) were attacked. “The
Kanuris are naturally peaceful people, so violence or religious
killing is not their way of life. We enjoy peace here, quite
unlike many other places in the northern part of the country”.
Ask the Deputy Governor, Alhaji Shettima Dibal of the prevailing
peace in the state and Maiduguri, he points out quickly that
“our ancestors and founding fathers instituted peace
and love. We follow that track, our upbringing makes us understand
that someone that acts disoderly brings shame and disrepute
to his family and indentity, so we guard that honour jealously”.
A historic city
The city, which apart from its political position in today’s
world had been the stronghold of the Kanem Borno Empire that
flourished for centuries and was at its height between the
16th and 19th centuries before the Fulani and Arab invasions.
Recalling the great history of the Kanuris’ the Director
of Press to the Borno State Governor, Mr. Usman Chiroma said
‘Kanuris always laugh when someone refers to Sokoto
as the cradle of Islam in Nigeria because it is well recorded
in history that we had Islam here hundreds of years before
the Uthman Dan Fodio invasion of some parts of the present
northern Nigeria”.
Great landmarks
Maiduguri, the citadel of the ancient Borno has a university,
a Polytechnic, museum, zoological garden, an airport, a naval
base, army cantonment, police college and many other major
landmarks and monuments. Also important is the imposing mosque
in the premises of the Shehu of Bornu, Alhaji Mustapha El-Kanemi.
At the campus of the University of Maiduguri, one is confronted
with a very conducive atmosphere provided by thousands of
trees that make some places in the campus shut out from the
sky. The main entrance to the campus conveys the picture of
a well-planned academic environment that carries with it an
air of a place of serious business. It was great strolling
round the campus and watching students on a Sunday evening
converge at the El-Kanemi Hall for their evening fellowship
attended by hundreds of Christian students. Hospitality centers
and hotels to take care of visitors are also available. While
the Borno State Hotels is a piece of elegance, the old Lake
Chad Hotel reveals the past of the city as one that is familiar
with hospitality, while the Dasab Hotel represent an enclave
for people of the higher economic ladder.
Modern housing
The city has modern reserved areas with spotlessly clean streets
and roads constructed with walkways. Adjacent the main gate
to the University of Maiduguri at the opposite side is an
imposing and magnificent modern housing estate said to have
been developed by the last administration of the state headed
by the former governor, Mala Kachala. As if to give further
impetus to the policy of housing, the present administration
under the leadership of Senator Ali Modu Sheriff has commenced
the construction of a 700-unit housing estate close to the
airport. The mega housing estate, according to Usman Chiroma
who is the spokesman of the governor is to boost availability
of houses in the state and enable civil servants to own houses
and be encouraged to contribute more meaningfully towards
the development of the state.
A business centre
Maiduguri serves as a major business centre in the north eastern
part of the country with the fish markets, the livestock markets
and other markets for manufactured goods littering the city.
At the city centre, there are series of actvities that make
the city a bustling one. In the day, it is a common sight
to see traffic jams at the major streets especially those
linking the NIPOST and NITEL office areas. The position of
the city and the almost lack of another big urban centre in
the state makes Maiduguri the only and major centre of attaction
from people from all parts of the state and beyond. The position
of the city as a trans-border location in the olden days made
it a prime trade centre in the days of the Trans Saharan slave
trade. Today, Maiduguri is not less important in commerce
and politics. The major streets of Maiduguri are littered
with all manner of commercial banks that it is hard to find
any operational bank in Nigeria that hasn’t a branch
in the city.
The other Maiduguri
Don’t conclude hastily that Maiduguri is an eldorado
in a nation of mad urban centers that lack plans. It is not
really a wonderland tale until you visit the shanty at the
Gamboru area. This is the zone where the Kasuwan shanu (cattle
market) is located. It was a sharp contrast seeing a part
of Maiduguri at the throas of flood, lack of plan and ugly
houses and untarred streets. As is common in Nigerian suburbs,
children of the shanties were busy wallowing in the floods
that covered most of the streets. Considering the neglect
written all over Gamboru and some other parts, especially
along the Monguno road, after the baga market where flooding
has ravaged the entire residence, one would only ask if it
is the same government that takes care of the beautiful side
of the city that also has powers over the neglected zone.
Maybe, this is the area reserved for the legendary army of
flies and mosquitoes the city is erroneously known for.
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