Kano Jalla Babbar Hausa

A reputable ancient city with an aged cultural heritage and a center of commerce as it is well known across the nation. That makes Kano a unique city even in the whole West Africa. The origin of the old city began with the original in habitats of Dala hill which has today grown beyond the imagination of it’s founding farther.

Kano could be traced back to about 999AD when Bagauda the grandson of Bayagidda established an organized authority and political system in the area. By the end of the end of 9thc before the conquest of Kano by Bagauda some hunters hailed from the north and settled at some Hill in Kano i.e. Dala, Goron Dutse ,Magwan and Fanisau .The engaged in hunting at a little valley that was believed to be the soul of Jakara where Kurmi market got it’s name. When the hunters tried the fertile land they noticed that is was conducive for agriculture so they began to farm. The area became very inviting for more settlers and when the population enlarged in mass they appointed a leader were to protect the rights of hunting, trade and also to protect their symbol of worship (Tsumburbura) , of couse the leader was Barbushe.

During this time the then settlers were best known as the Maguzawa who were engaged in rituals and magic, and so there were let of dashes among the people and there erupted the conquest of Kano by Bagauda. But from 999AD when he took over Kano up to the end of his descendants’ rule in 1476 there was no stable political set-up or religious order.

The most notable era in the development of the ancient city of Kano began at the time of Mohd. Rumfa who expanded the city and restructured the Habe rule and gave it a new form that the Habe hold as a pride even today. His reign also had a great influence on the city economically, religiously and socially.

Economically, the city emerged as a centre of trade with the magrib countries and North Africa. He constructed the kurmi market, thereby leading to the emergence of a very strong economic system in the city. The kurmi market today serve as a tourists’ attraction centre in Kano. There are also other existing market in Kano e.g. Sabon Gari market where vistors especially from the southern and eastern parts of the country come to trade, while some of them have lived there permanently over the years. There is also the Kwari market in the metropolis where cloths are the major items of trade. There is also the newly established international animal market at Dawakin Kudu. 

Despite being businessmen, the people of Kano have engaged in farming with high concentration on groundnut and cotton, they farm both during the rainy and the dry season. The people also engaged in mat weaving, pottery, dyeing, the production of hides and skin, blacksmithing etc . 

Religiously, the Rumfa administration greatly influenced the religious lives of Kano people because it was during his reign that Islam was restricted to be the state religion and was applied in all aspect of his administration. But the British temper with the religion when they came to Kano.

Socially, the historic sites of the city make it a heaven of tourist today. Even before the introduction of modern architectural site of the British administration in Kano, there were solid buildings of attraction like the emir’s palace, the gidan makama (presently a museum under the National Commission for museums and monument) Gidan Dan Hausa, the Kano gates, the central mosque and the kofar mata dye-pit. The people also have been famous for their love for horses which makes the Kano men superb riders especially during sallah celebrations and durbar (a welcome ceremony for visiting personalities to the city). The British relic in Kano has also added to the beauty of the old city such as Gidan murtala, British council library, the municipal building etc. This makes Kano a city with civilization.

In the health sector, there were traditional healers before the introduction of hospital and health centres by the British. Whenever people fall sick in those days they were being treated with natural herbs by herbalist. With the coming of the British, hospitals and medical centres were introduced thereby introducing drugs to be replaced with natural herbs and treatments. Some traditional healing centres were up dated and improved by British. Today Kano city can boast of so many hospitals that are owned by the government and some by private individuals with qualified doctors, government owned hospitals include Murtala mohd General hospital, Nassarawa Hospital, Infectious Diseases Hospital (IDH), Aminu Kano Teaching hospital and so many health centres across the city. 

Another sector that Kano preserves is scholarship, because even before the introduction of Western education, existed Islamic scholars like Al-Maghili, who were invited to the teachings of Islamic education, which was later considered as informal education. With the coming of the formal education i.e Western by the British to Kano, many schools were established in both urban and rural areas, with the first schools being the Nassarawa School and Rumfa College respectively.

Today Kano boasts of so many schools ranging from Primary, Secondary and Tertiary institutions like Bayero University Kano, The new State University of Technology in Wudil, The Nigerian Law School, e.t.c. are few examples. There are higher 5nstitutions like the State Polytechnic, Federal Colleges of Educations e.t.c.

It’s position as a centre of scholarship and learning, the State has produced a number of elites in the army, banking industry, teaching profession, Health and medical personnel e.t.c. It was clear that one of it’s products was the one time Head of state and Commander in chief of the Armed Forces Federal Republic of Nigeria i.e. Murtala Ramat Muhammed. It has also produced great politicians like Malam Aminu Kano, Alhaji Sabo Bakin zuwo, Alhaji Abubakar Rimi, and so on.

The administration of Kano used to be completely under the absolute power of the aristocracy before the conquest of the land by the Colonial Masters, who reduced the power of the Aristocracy, but the present Emir HRH Dr Alhaji Ado Bayero still retain his royal powers and still hail as one of most outstanding and respected royal fathers in the whole of the African sub-region. The people Kano have retained their loyalty to the Emirate Council in accepting and obeying orders from the Emir.

Kano for all, a home of hospitality and accommodation of people, from various parts of the country and the globe as a whole, a powerful kingdom over one thousand years old, a permanent settlement and a homely city, a special Emirate of it’s kind, a city full of rich cultural heritage and advanced economic, political and educational development, an architectural city of both ancient and modern arts. A centre of trade and commerce and a safe home for investors.

Welcome to Jalla babbar hausa Kano ta Dabo Cigari.