Whereas countless Nigerians resident in Burkina Faso are first generation immigrants, the case of Alhaji Gambo Abubakar is very different.
He has been living in Burkina Faso for decades, but this is not to say that he travelled there, when he first set foot in this country.
Alhaji Abubakar didn’t need to travel to Burkina Faso because he was born there. Interestingly, even his own father, Alhaji Ibrahim Gazere, also emerged into this world in the former French colony, once known as Republique du Haute-Volta (Republic of Upper Volta).
And, the story gets even more exciting, when you are informed that Alhaji Abubakar’s family has lived in Burkina Faso more than 100 years. Even with all these, another thriller was to follow: “My grandfather, Alhaji Mohama Gazere, who came to Burkina Faso, practically trekked all the way from Kano in Nigeria to this country”, Alh Abubakar revealed.
Immediate neighbour of Benin Republic, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger Republic and Togo; Burkina Faso stands at least two countries away from Nigeria. Although that country’s capital, Ouagadougou, can be reached within two hours’ flight from Lagos; by road, even riding in a sound bus and counting-in border-crossing formalities, the traveller must brace himself/herself for some 48-hour trip.
Coming from northern Nigeria, as Abubakar’s grandpa did over a century ago; the wayfarer must first enter Niger Republic and travel over 1,000 km before getting to the fringes of Burkina Faso. Ostensibly, Burkina Faso stands very, very far from Nigeria.
This means that Alhaji Mohama Gazere must have trekked thousands of miles to get to his new home. Evidently, with enough patience anyone can get very far. A Chinese adage says the longest journey begins with the first step: so, where did Mohama Gazere take that decisive first step? “I learnt that my grandparents started the journey from their hometown, Kano in Nigeria.
From there, they advanced toward Burkina Faso, little by little. After departing Kano, they went to Jibiya”. Abubakar could not tell how long it took his grandpa to make that voyage, but; from oral tradition, apparently; as relayed to him by Alhaji Ibrahim, Abubakar’s late dad; his grandfather finally berthed in Burkina Faso, after several stop-overs.
Hear him: “They (his grandparents) came here (Burkina Faso) about 100 years ago. Long, very long, before this country got independence. Jibiya is a rustic border town and stands roughly 40-minutes’ drive north of the Katsina State capital, Katsina City (Birnin Katsina). Birnin Katsina was one of the seven aboriginal Hausa States (Hausa Bokwoi), ruled by indigenous kings (Sarkun) until the Othman Dan Fodio war, a little over 200 years ago.
According to Abubakar, after his grandparents crossed the frontier at Jibiya, they headed first to Maradi, a town in the south-eastern parts of Niger Republic said to have been founded by Nigerian Hausa folks that left Jibiya and migrated north, following dispute among local nobility.
After sometime in Maradi, Alhaji Abubakar’s grandparents then began their journey to Burkina Faso, proper. Abubakar again: “I was also told that before they finally decided to settle in Ouagadougou, they had first lived in another Burkinabe town, called Poutenga.
It was at Poutenga, they began the last lap of their journey to Ouagadougou”. A polyglot, who can hold his own in conversation in French, Peule (Fufulde), More, Dioula and Hausa; Abubakar was elected Vice President of Nigerian Community Burkina Faso (NCBF), in 2006.
He is also Seriki (King) of Nigerian Hausawa (Hausa Community) in that country. His turbaning as Seriki Hausawa was consequent upon the passage of his elder brother, the immediate-past occupant of that throne.
That late older sibling of Abubakar, named Ali Gazere, died in 2008: five years ago. Taking us further into the lore of his ancestry and heritage, Abubakar explained that the Seriki Hausawa throne is not some recent endowment.
It is decades-old and like a sort of dynasty, runs in the family. This is how Alhaji Abubakar put it: “My grand-father was given the title of Seriki Hausawa by the King of Mossi”. Mossi is the tongue of the More, one of the major ethnic groups that inhabit Burkina Faso. Aside the Mossi, the Dyula (also spelt Dioula) and Peule (Fulani) are also predominant, here. Abubakar again: “After my grand-father’s transition, the King of Mossi also installed my father the Seriki Hausawa.
In fact, my current position as Seriki Hausawa also has the blessing of the current Mossi king ”, Alhaji Abubakar said. Now, what does this vice president of Nigerian community in Burkina Faso do for a living? “I am a trader”, he replied. When asked what ware(s) he trades in, this is what he had to say: “I am a jewellery merchant”. As to the source of his items of trade, Abubakar remarked: “I go to Lagos to buy and bring the items to Ouagadougou to sell”.
When asked to point out his contribution to the local Nigerian Community, since his election as NCBF Vice President in 2006, Abubakar replied: “We are living in a very, very large community and the government with numerous other very important things to do, does not have to wade into every issue; especially, where it is obvious that the community concerned can find a solution.
“For example, if there’s a problem in some clan or village, the chiefs of the area concerned are expected to come together to resolve the issue. This is where my capability to help Nigerians becomes glaring. Through our knowledge of numerous communities, many problems have been amicably resolved.
Also, we have contributed through helping to pre-empt problems that might have erupted, if we were not blessed with experience and trust by both Burkinabe and Nigerians”.
Concluding, Alhaji Abubakar submitted: “Apart from Hausa language, I also speak More, Dioula, French and some Peule (Fulani). These have made my work easy. Because I was born here, countless Burkinabe, including people in Government, know me.
And, because Burkina Faso is the land of my birth, which means that I am one of them, they also trust me”. Though Nigerian by ancestry, as third-generation settler, Alhaji Abubakar is also a typical Ouagalais (Waga-lay).
Ouagalais is how an inhabitant of Ouagadougou is known. Apparently due to his contribution to the social life of his new country, Alhaji Abubakar was decorated with a Medal of Merit by the Government of Burkina Faso, last year, his Nigerian ancestry notwithstanding.
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