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Southern Kaduna

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(Redirected from Southern Zaria)
For the Local Government Area, see Kaduna South.
Not to be confused with Kaduna South Senatorial District.

Southern Kaduna
Gurara/Nok
Southern Zaria
Cultural region
Nok plastic head on a truck during the SK Fest 2023, Township Stadium, Kafanchan
Nok plastic head on a truck during the SK Fest 2023, Township Stadium, Kafanchan
Nickname: 
Chongai S/K
Part ofKaduna State  Nigeria
- Settlement of Nok culturec. 1500 BC
- Nok culture areac. 1500 BC - c. 500 AD
- Kwararafa confederacyc. 900 - c. 1700
- Northern Region British Nigeria (later Middle Belt, Nigeria)1903-4 (1950s)
- Southern Zariac. 1900
- Nerzit regionc. 1950
- Southern Kadunac. 1990
- Gurara/Nok Stateproposed
Founded by- Proto Nok people
Capital• Kafanchan (Economic capital)
Composed of
List
Government
 • Type• Chief
  • Agwam
  • Agwom (Agom)
  • B'gwam
  • Ere
  • Esu (Sa)
  • Etum
  • Kpop
  • Ngbiar
  • Odyong
  • Pukgom
  • Res
  • Tum
  • Uchu
• Clan heads
• Village heads
Area
 • Land26,000 km2 (10,000 sq mi)
Population
 (2016 estimate)
 • Total4,564,100
Demographics
 • Major indigenous languages
 • Major non-indigenous languages
Time zoneWAT

Southern Kaduna (Tyap: A̱tak Ka̱duna [ǝtag kǝduna] ⓘ; Jju: Ka̱tak Ka̱duna [kǝtag kǝduna] ⓘ; Hausa: Kudancin Kaduna [kudǝnt͡ʃin kəduna] ⓘ; formerly Southern Zaria)[1] is an area of the Nok Culture region inhabited by various related ethnic groups who do not identify as Hausa, living south of Zaria, Kaduna State. It is located in the Middle Belt region of Nigeria. According to the Southern Kaduna People's Union (SOKAPU), Southern Kaduna consists of 12 (or 13[2]) Local Government Areas out of 23 in Kaduna State.

In September 2020, the SOKAPU national publicity secretary, Luka Binniyat, in a statement he signed said the region makes up 51.2% of the entire state's population as shown in the 2006 census figures, occupying 26,000 sq. km. of the state's 46,000 sq. km. total land mass, with 57 registered ethnic nationalities of the state's 67 identified ones.[3] Angerbrandt (2015) views it as being less of a geographical identity and more of an ethnic identity concept.[4]

History

[edit]
Nok male figure; 500 BC – 500 AD; terracotta; 49.5 cm × 22.2 cm × 16.8 cm (19.5 in × 8.7 in × 6.6 in); at Kimbell Art Museum (Fort Worth, Texas, USA)

Antiquity

[edit]

The Nok culture thrived in the area now known as Southern Kaduna as early as 1500 BC and lasted up until circa 500 AD.[5]

Middle ages

[edit]

Achi (2005:378) mentioned that the itinerary settlement of Zangon Kataf, established circa 1650 AD for the itinerant Hausa traders became important.[6]

Geography

[edit]

Administrative divisions

[edit]

The table below contains the 12 Local Government Areas of Southern Kaduna:

LGA Headquarters
Chikun Kujama
Jaba Kwoi
Jema'a Kafanchan
Kachia Kachia Town
Kaduna South Makera
Kagarko Kagarko Town
Kajuru Kajuru Town
Kaura Kaura Town
Kauru Kauru Town
Lere Saminaka
Sanga Gbantu
Zangon Kataf Zonkwa

Demographics

[edit]
Gugwa group at Ayet 2023
Shurwa fluters at Afan 2024
Əgworog archers at Afan 2024
Gbagyi dancers at SK Fest 2023

Ethnic composition

[edit]

Southern Kaduna is composed of closely related ethnic groups and several subgroups united by a common culture and history. James (2000) classified these people based on their ethno-linguistic affinities under the topic "The Middle Belt (Composition of the Nok Culture Area)", and grouping the subgroups into the following groups:[7]

The Proto-Plateau ethnolinguistic cluster

[edit]
S/N Groups Sub-groups
I. Northern or Adara Group
  • Adara (Kadara)
  • Ada (Kuturmi)
  • Ajure Adara (Kadara of Idon)
  • Anumafa Adara (Kadara Kateri)
  • Semi Ajure (Ankuwa, Gora)
  • Bakulu (Ikulu)
II. Western or Koro Group
III. Ham or Northwestern Group
IV. Nerzit or Kataf (Atyap) Group
  • Atyap (Kataf, Katab)
  • Bajju (Kaje)
  • Əgworog (Aegworok, Oegworok, Baguro, Kagoro)
  • Asholyio (Osholio, Asholio, Moro'a)
  • Fantswam (Kafanchan)
  • Bakulu (Ikulu)
  • Anghan (Angan, Kamantan)
  • Atakad (Atakat, Attakar)
  • Atyecharak (Atyacherak, Attachirak, Kachechere)
  • Terri (Challa, Chara)
  • Atuku (tuku) Kuu""
V. South-western (Aninka) Group
  • Ninzo
  • Northern Mada
  • Gbantu (Gwantu)
  • Nindem
  • Nikyob (Kaninkon)
  • Kanufi
  • Nungu
  • Buh - Ayu
  • Ningeshe
  • Nandu
  • Numana

The above grouping on the Proto-Plateau ethnolinguistic clusters was however modified based on the spoken languages by Blench (2008) as follows:[8]

S/N Groups Sub-groups
I. Northwest or Adara Group
II. Atyap (Nerzit, Nenzit) Group
III. Koro Group
  • Ashe
  • Tinɔr (Waci-Myamya)
  • Idũ, Gwara
  • Nyenkpa-Barde
IV. Ham Group
  • Shamang
  • Cori
  • Ham
  • Zhire
  • Shang
V. Gwong Group
VI. Ninzo Group
  • Ninzo (Ninzam)
  • Bu-Niŋkada
  • Mada
  • Numana-Nunku-Gbantu-Numbu
  • Ningye-Ninka
  • Anib
  • Nikyob
  • Nindem
  • Nungu
  • Ayu
VII. Ndun Group
  • Ndun (Nandu)
VIII. Alumu Group
  • Sambe
  • He also said that Nisam is a presumed Plateau language once spoken in Nince Village, Kaduna State, however, its place within the Plateau branch cannot be ascertained due to the lack of linguistic data and that in 2005, there was only one speaker of Nisam.[9]

The Proto-Kainji ethnolinguistic cluster

[edit]
S/N Groups Sub-groups
I. Eastern Kainji Group
  • Atsam (Chawai)
  • Amap (Amo)
  • Abisi (Piti)
  • Kuzamani (Shuwa-Zamani)
  • Ngmgbang (Ribam)
  • Dinani (Dingi)
  • Ribina
II. Eastern Kainji Group
  • Agbiri (Gure)
  • Aniragu (Kahugu)
  • Akurmi (Kurama)
  • Koonu (Kono)
  • Vono (Kiballo)
  • Tumi (Kitimi)
  • Nuno-Kaivi (Kaibi)
  • Mala-Ruma (Rumaya/Ruruma)
  • Abin (Binawa)
  • Kuvori (Surubu)
  • Atumu (Kinuku)
  • Shuwa-Zamani (Kuzamani)
  • Dungi (Dungu)

The Proto-Nupoid ethnolinguistic cluster

[edit]
S/N Groups Sub-groups
I. Gbagyi (Gwari) Group

The Proto-West Chadic languages

[edit]

Outside of James (2000)'s classification lie the groups from the Proto-West Chadic ethnolinguistic cluster:

S/N Groups Sub-groups
I. West Chadic

Population

[edit]

The Southern kaduna population is estimated to be over 4.5 million people out of the estimated 8.5 million population in Kaduna state in 2016. Predicted 5.1 million people out of 12 million predicted population of Kaduna State in 2021. The common general languages spoken in the area are Hausa, English and the Nigerian Pidgin.[11]

Languages

[edit]

Southern Kaduna consists of a diverse minority of ethnolinguistic groups, who speak languages belonging to the Niger–Congo and West Chadic language groups.[12] Below are the languages and dialects spoken by the people of Southern Kaduna:

LGA Languages
Chikun Gbagyi
Jaba Ashe; Duya; Hyam
Jema'a Ashe; Berom; Duya; Fantswam; Gyong; Hyam; Jju; Kanufi; Mada; Kyoli Nikyob-Nindem; Ninzo; Nungu; Nyankpa; Shamang; Tyap; Tyuku Zhire; Numana
Kachia Adara; Doka; Gbagyi; Hyam; Iku-Gora-Ankwa; Ikulu; Jju; Nghan; Koro Wachi; Ada; Shamang; Tyap; Zhire
Kaduna South Adara; Gbagyi; Hausa; Idoma; Igbo; Tyap; Yoruba
Kagarko Ashe; Duya; Gbagyi; Koro Wachi
Kajuru Adara; Ajiya; Gbagyi; Kuzamani
Kaura Gworok; Firan; Iten; Takad; Sholyio; Tyap and Tyecarak (Tyecaat)
Kauru Bisi; Bina; Dungu; Ikulu; Kaivi; Kinuku; Koonu; Mala; Mbang; Rigwe; Ruma; Sheni; T'kurmi; Tsam; Tumi; Tyap; Vono; Tivori and Hausa
Lere T'kurmi, Timap; Bina; Lere; Tugbiri-Niragu and Hausa
Sanga Ahwai; Ayu; Bu; Gwandara; Hasha; Ninzo; Numana; Nungu; Sambe; Sha; Toro
Zangon Kataf Ikulu; Jju; Nghan; and Tyap; Tyecarak (Tyecaat)

[13]

Religion

[edit]
[edit]
  • Gurara River, Gidan Akwaja.
    Gurara River, Gidan Akwaja.
  • Kabyiek Tityong (River Wonderful) waterfalls, Aduwan V-Batadon, Kafanchan.
    Kabyiek Tityong (River Wonderful) waterfalls, Aduwan V-Batadon, Kafanchan.
  • Kogum River, Kogum Station.
    Kogum River, Kogum Station.
  • Kaduna River, Zangon Kataf.
    Kaduna River, Zangon Kataf.
  • Cuk ntseei (horse's seat), Afan Gworog (Gworog Mountain).
    Cuk ntseei (horse's seat), Afan Gworog (Gworog Mountain).
  • Dung volcanic mountain in Dung (H. Jaban Kogo).
    Dung volcanic mountain in Dung (H. Jaban Kogo).
  • Deleb palm windbreak, Zankan.
    Deleb palm windbreak, Zankan.
  • Chen Zat (Fantswam traditional forest), Kafanchan.
    Chen Zat (Fantswam traditional forest), Kafanchan.
  • Traditional kitchen, Agban, Gworog Mountain.
    Traditional kitchen, Agban, Gworog Mountain.
  • Nok Terracotta head, Nok museum.
    Nok Terracotta head, Nok museum.
  • Tin mining, Godogodo.
    Tin mining, Godogodo.
  • Deserted houses during the harmattan season, Ukpee (H. Ungwan Toka).
    Deserted houses during the harmattan season, Ukpee (H. Ungwan Toka).

Economy

[edit]

Natural resources

[edit]

In the mid-2000s, former Nigerian Minister of Solid Minerals during the Olusegun Obasanjo regime, Leslie Obiora, compiled a list of minerals across the country, which amounted to a total of 74 minerals; 34 were declared fit for mining on a commercial scale, with Southern Kaduna having over 30 minerals with over fifty percent (50%) of them minable.[14]

In August 2016, the NTA reported the discovery of nickel in the village of Dangoma, a village over 11 km south of Kafanchan, by a private mining network led by an Australian mining veteran, Hugh Morgan. The Australian was said to have reported that the discovered nickel balls which are rumored to have a nickel grade exceeding 90 percent and believed to be a global innovation due to their wide distribution, present an opportunity for generating immediate revenue through a straightforward and cost-effective screening process. This revenue can be utilized to finance a comprehensive evaluation of the discovery, which has sparked excitement within the exploration community. The newspaper added,

"...the discovery is unusual because the nickel is found in small balls up to 3mm in diameter of a high purity in shallow soils in what could be the surface expression of a much bigger hard-rock nickel field."

[15]

Agriculture

[edit]

Ginger

[edit]
Ginger warehouse Kafanchan

Southern Kaduna is the epicentre of ginger production in Nigeria.[16] In the 1990s, ginger farmers enjoyed profit from the sales of their harvested crops due to the availability of ginger processing companies all over the region. Still, today, most of those companies have shut down without efforts to revive them on the government's side.[17]

A fungal disease outbreak was noticed across many areas in Southern Kaduna in the first week of July 2023.[18] In September 2023, while speaking in Kachia, the President of the National Ginger Association of Nigeria, Nuhu B. Dauda, decried the loss of about 10 billion Naira by the state's economy due to the strange disease that affected the ginger production for the year.[19][20] A month later, in October, while also speaking on the outbreak of ginger blight, a fungal disease, across seven Local Government Areas of Southern Kaduna, which affected about 2,500 farm hectares,[21] the senator representing Kaduna South Senatorial District, Sunday Marshall Katung, in an interview with Arise News demanded support from the Nigerian federal government and stated that 85% of Nigeria's ginger production was from Kaduna State, largely contributing to making the country the 2nd highest producer of the crop in the world. He added that Nigeria realized about 10 billion Naira from the export of the crop in the 2nd quarter of that year.[22] In May 2024, Daily Trust reported that in addition to the loss of seeds to the outbreak, farmers faced the risk of being kidnapped by kidnappers in their farmlands around Kachia and Kagarko Local Government Areas.[18]

Education

[edit]
Classroom block, College of Agriculture, Nuhu Bamali Polytechnic, Samaru Kataf (Chenkwon) Campus

It was asserted by Kazah-Toure (1999:130) that Southern Kaduna took a lead in education in the defunct Northern Region, during the period around the Nigerian Civil War (between 1966 and 1970s).[23] Bonat (1989:55) claims that a majority of the educated people from this region who are non-Hausa, were in the teaching profession and in the middle cadre of the civil service in contrast to the Hausa who were dominant at the highest bureaucratic levels.[24]

In March 2024, a group, Kaduna Indigenous Publishers Network spoke of the establishment of the Southern Kaduna Educational and Human Capacity Development Commission, to create access for the youths of the region to good education and training opportunities.[25]

Present tertiary institutions

[edit]

Politics

[edit]
Main article: Southern Kaduna People's Union

The Southern Kaduna People's Union (SOKAPU) had been the umbrella socio-cultural body for the about 67 recognized ethnic groups of Southern Kaduna over the decades.[26] The group is currently under the leadership of Samuel Tabara Kato. He succeeded Awemi Dio Maisamari in December 2023 as National President of SOKAPU.[27]

In September 2022, the Southern Kaduna Leadership Council (SKLC) chaired by Ishaya Dary Akau, listed SOKAPU as its member. Other members of the council announced included the Southern Kaduna Elders Consultative Forum, Southern Kaduna Autochthonous Community Development Associations Forum, Forum of Southern Kaduna Professors, Southern Kaduna Christian Leaders Association, Southern Kaduna Retired Military and Para-Military Officers Association, Southern Kaduna Lawyers Forum, Southern Kaduna Leaders Forum, and the Visionaries for the formation of the Council.[28] The listing of the SOKAPU under the SKLC, however, was not popular with some members of the SOKAPU executive as the group was soon plunged into an internal crisis which climaxed with the resignation of Maisamari.[29]

In 2021, while speaking to Guardian Nigeria, the SOKAPU President, Jonathan Asake stated that Southern Kaduna had demanded the creation of Gurara State for over 30 years. He added that the proposed state was among the 18 proposed states in the report of the 2014 Nigerian National Confab conducted during the presidency of Goodluck Jonathan given amending the Nigerian constitution.[2]

Notable people

[edit]
Main article: List of Southern Kaduna people

Among the notable people from Southern Kaduna are:

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Kafewo, S. (2009). "Giving Voice: Instigating Debate on Issues of Citizenship, Participation, and Accountability". Development in Practice. 19 (4/5): 678–687. doi:10.1080/09614520902866454. JSTOR 27752105. S2CID 37550776. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  2. ^ a b Akhaine, Saxone (27 May 2021). "Christians, Hausa/Fulani agree to split Kaduna into two states". Kaduna: Guardian NG. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  3. ^ Hassan-Wuyo, Ibrahim (1 September 2020). "Southern Kaduna holds 51.2% population of Kaduna state — SOKAPU". Vanguard Nigeria. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  4. ^ Angerbrandt, Henrik (7 August 2015). "Religion, ethnicity and citizenship: demands for territorial self-determination in southern Kaduna". Journal of Contemporary African Studies. 33 (2). doi:10.1080/02589001.2015.1066081. S2CID 154843125. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  5. ^ Chesi, Gert; Merzeder, Gerhad (2006). The Nok Culture: Art in Nigeria 2,500 Years Ago. Germany: Prestel. ISBN 3791336460. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
  6. ^ Achi, B. (2005). Local History in Post-Independent Africa in Writing African history. University Rochester Press. p. 375. ISBN 9781580462563.
  7. ^ a b James, Ibrahim (2000). The Settler Phenomenon in the Middle Belt and the Problem of National Integration in Nigeria: The Middle Belt (Ethnic Composition of the Nok Culture).
  8. ^ Blench, Roger M. 2018. Nominal affixes and number marking in the Plateau languages of Central Nigeria. In John R. Watters (ed.), East Benue-Congo: Nouns, pronouns, and verbs, 107–172. Berlin: Language Science Press. doi:10.5281/zenodo.1314325
  9. ^ Blench, Roger M. 2012. Akpondu, Nigbo, Bəbər and Nisam: moribund or extinct languages of central Nigeria Babur.
  10. ^ "Ethnologue entry on Gwandara". Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  11. ^ James, Ibrahim (2007). The politics of creation of chiefdoms in Kaduna state. Vanguard Publishers Ltd.
  12. ^ "Languages of Africa". www.fmprc.gov.cn. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  13. ^ "Nigeria". Ethnologue (22 ed.). Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  14. ^ Haruna, David Livingstone (20 February 2020). "Nigeria: Southern Kaduna and Tale of Illegal Artisans, Miners". All Africa. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  15. ^ "Australian Discovered Nickel In Dangoma, Northern Nigeria". NTA. 29 August 2016. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  16. ^ Ayodele, Titilayo; Sambo, Banake (2014). "Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) Production Efficiency and Constraints Among Small Scale Farmers in Southern Kaduna, Nigeria" (PDF). Journal of Agricultural Science. 6 (8). The Canadian Center of Science and Education. doi:10.5539/jas.v6n8p141. ISSN 1916-9752. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
  17. ^ Isuwa, Sunday (16 December 2013). "The Lost Glory of Ginger in Southern Kaduna". Daily Trust (Abuja). Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  18. ^ a b Ali, Ahmed (12 May 2024). "Fungal Infection: Kaduna Ginger Farmers Count Losses, Struggle For Survival". Daily Trust. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
  19. ^ Hassan-Wuyo, Ibrahim (31 August 2023). "Strange disease destroys Ginger farms worth billions in Southern Kaduna". Vanguard Nigeria. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
  20. ^ Isenyo, Godwin (1 September 2023). "Kaduna ginger farmers lose N10bn to strange disease – Association". Punch Nigeria. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
  21. ^ Taoheed, Mohammed (23 May 2024). "SPECIAL REPORT: Kaduna ginger farmers count losses as disease ravages crop, ruins livelihood". Premium Times NG. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
  22. ^ Samuel-Ugwuezi, Ozioma (17 October 2023). "Kaduna Ginger Blight: Nigeria Has the Purest Form of Ginger, Used in Pharmaceuticals and Cosmetics, Says Senator Katung". Arise News. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
  23. ^ Kazah-Toure, T. (1999). "The Political Economy of Ethnic Conflicts and Governance in Southern Kaduna, Nigeria: [De]Constructing a Contested Terrain". Africa Development / Afrique et Développement. 24 (1/2): 109–144. JSTOR 24484540. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  24. ^ Bonat, Z. A. (1989). "Aspects of the Economic and Social History of the Atyab c. 1800-1960 A.D.". Savanna. 10 (1). Zaria: ABU Press: 55.
  25. ^ David, Tarkaa (8 March 2024). "Southern Kaduna Group Seeks Stakeholders' Support To Develop Region". Leadership NG. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  26. ^ "SOKAPU youth wing elects new leaders". Peoples Gazette Nigeria. News Agency of Nigeria. 11 February 2024. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
  27. ^ Labaran, Abubakar (13 February 2024). "SOKAPU elects new youth leaders". Blueprint. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
  28. ^ Hassan-Wuyo, Ibrahim (16 September 2022). "Southern Kaduna Leadership Council debuts". Vanguard NG. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  29. ^ Grace, Ihesiulo (8 June 2023). "Leadership crisis hits SOKAPU as National Exco reject suspension by NEC". Daily Times Nigeria. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
[edit]

Media related to Southern Kaduna at Wikimedia Commons

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