In Kachia, chiefs ordered to dump turbans for leopard skin
The decision by Agom Adara, the paramount ruler in Kachia Local Government Area of Kaduna State, asking all traditional title holders under his chiefdom to change from using turban to leopard skin has continued to generate mixed reactions from different parts of the state and beyond.
The Agom Adara Mr. Maiwada Galadima is said to have inspired other chiefs in southern Kaduna to follow suit, leading to an order on their subordinate chiefs to stop using turban as a symbol of their cultural and traditional attire.
Mr. Galadima, who spoke through the Secretary of his council Mr. Markson S. Dangiwa, told Weekly Trust that the introduction of the leopard skin as an attire to all traditional rulers in the chiefdom was aimed at showcasing their ancestral tradition. “It is not a measure to infringe on the rights of anyone,” he said.
Dangiwa said the constitution of the chiefdom provides that anyone vying for the position of a traditional ruler must adhere to the leopard skin attire.
“The land belongs to Adara Chiefdom and anybody that feels he will not abide by the resolution taken during the meeting asking all traditional rulers residing in Adara Chiefdom, answerable to Adara Chiefdom, to abide by the attires of Adara is making a mistake.
“We don’t want a situation where individuals will bring confusion to the Chiefdom, because the decision was taken in the presence of all. Anybody who is not ready to comply by the constitution of the Adara Chiefdom then, the Adara traditional council will not take it easy with him. If you need more information, you can wait when the Chief of Adara is back from America, he would feed you more, but the wearing of the leopard skin is our tradition and identity and there is nothing wrong with our identity and culture,” Mr. Dangiwa said.
Four out of the 26 district heads in the Adara Chiefdom – Kufana, Ankwa, Kasuwan Magani and Kachia – are headed by Muslims. Some of the heads of these districts are not Hausa/Fulani, investigation shows. These Muslims’ district heads are reportedly not comfortable with the leopard skin attire, citing religion and culture as reasons.
Sources confided in our correspondent that the Muslims among the traditional title holders in Adara Chiefdom are not opposing the decision of the Agom Adara, but what they want is to allow all traditional title holders in the Chiefdom to enjoy their constitutional rights that allow all Nigerians to practice a religion of their choice and dress according to their cultures.
“Bajju and Jaba are not wearing turban, because they are following their culture, but for the Muslims title holders in this Chiefdom, our culture and religion do not allow us to wear the leopard skin. Wearing the leopard skin can deny us access to our mosques. For me, some Chiefs can wear their leopard skin and we should be allowed to wear our turban as that cannot stop us from working together. For example, this is the Agom Adara (pointing to a picture), he puts on his skin and here is a picture (pointing to another), the Chief puts on his turban. Has that in any way stopped them from working together as subordinates and boss?
“The Agom Adara’s religion did not stop him from putting on leopard skin, but Islam has forbidden its followers. Everyone has his own fundamental human rights,” the source said.
“We want the Chiefdom to be fair to all of us by guaranteeing our rights,” our source said. “It will not be good because I am under somebody and that person denies me the rights of practicing my culture and religion. We have district heads that are Muslims and Christians under the Adara Chiefdom. Is it fair to say that Christians’ villages must adhere to Muslims culture and vice versa?
“So, it would be good for the Chiefdom to look into this aspect very well. What is obtained in the Zazzau Emirate is not similar to our situation here in Adara Chiefdom. In Zazzau Emirate, all of them are Muslims, and where you have non-Muslims, they are allowed to use their attires, which their cultures and religion allow them to use. For example, in Sabon Gari area of Zazzau Emirate, you can have the Chief of Igbo or Yoruba and they are allowed to use their attires without any discrimination even during Sallah durbars.
“Here in Adara Chiefdom, our situation is different, because we have a mixture of Adara, Hausa/Fulani, Bajju, Kuturmi and everyone has his religion, culture and district,” our source said.
In Kachia and Kasuwan Magani, which are under Adara Chiefdom, the district heads are Hausa/Fulani. The other two district heads in Kufana and Ankuwa are Adara by tribe but practice Islam.
“This is why we have some reservations about this whole idea. If you say all of us should put on leopard skin, it is not all of us who are Adara. In the same vein, if you say we should put on turban, not all of us are Muslims. This is why it is better to leave everyone to wear what he wants as this would not stop us from being the subjects of the Agwon Adara,” our source said.
A Kaduna-based sociologist Hassan Abubakar said the move by the southern Kaduna chiefs should be seen in a proper context. “They have been dominated for so long, and now that they have their own separate chiefdoms, they are trying to make them different from emirates. But I really cannot say how they can go because even the titles they are using such as Galadima, Yarima, Magaji, Waziri etc are also alien to them.”
All attempts to get official response from the Kaduna State government were in vain. The state Commissioners for Information and Chieftaincy Affairs Sa’idu Adamu, did not reply the text messages sent to them on this matter. On the other hand, the governor’s special assistant on Media and Publicity, Reuben Buhari, said they would investigate to find out the true situation.
https://dailytrust.com/amp/in-kachia-chiefs-ordered-to-dump-turbans-for-leopard-skin
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