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4 August 2008
A lot of people who aren't familiar with Hausa customs have described as ridiculous some ways in which people and places are named. A few others who do not think of it as ridiculous, however, say it is offensive.
One of such places, Babban Dodo, is situated in Zaria City. This place is known, not only for its odd name, which means mighty masquerade in English, but for its garbage-clogged footpaths where most of its residents most times seem to be in a hurry.
Various accounts have been given regarding the origin of the name 'Babban Dodo,' some of them lurid or sensational and others full of inaccuracies. Although most of the narrators do not know or do not remember the names of the people involved, they all have one thing in common-the Europeans.
Although all respondents are certain that Babban Dodo ward was named after one of the first European settlers who visited Zaria, there are contradictions concerning what he did for a living and the reason for his visit. While some say he was a Christian missionary, some say he was a health worker, while others say he was a commander of an Army garrison.
According to Ahmed Datti, Babban Dodo ward was named after a European Christian missionary who was also a health worker, but came under the pretext of being only a health worker.
"I cannot say for sure if he was the first European to have come to Zaria, but I am certain he was a Christian missionary. If I remember correctly, some people say his name was Miller. He had come to Zaria to destabilize the religious institution the people had founded. As a foreigner, he was given the utmost attention and a royal treatment. He was even given a house to stay not too far from the palace and a place he could use as an office to attend to his patients. This office is what people call Asibitin Babban Dodo today. If he had revealed his actual intentions, he wouldn't have been accepted," Ahmed narrated
He continued: "So he used his position as a health worker to win his way into the hearts of the people. It was a good thing having a health worker in their midst because not everyone was as learned as he was. He could heal what seemed like the worst diseases. By the time his actual intentions began to manifest, he had lured several people in this settlement into Christianity, including some children from the royal families. That was unheard of. How could a potential ruler of the Zazzau emirate be a Christian? When the Emir found out, he had done more harm than good."
Ahmed said the man became a thing of terror to the people of this settlement. He was a threat to their religious beliefs. Babban Dodo seemed to be the most appropriate name any one could have called someone who had caused so much havoc within a very short time. 'Dodo' in Hausa means something fearsome and 'Babban Dodo' means a big fearsome creature. The emir sent him packing with his followers to another settlement outside the gates of the city, far away from where he could cause more trouble. At his new settlement, Wusasa, he continued his job as a missionary and succeeded in converting most of the people in this settlement to Christianity. He also continued to render health services to these people who had come to believe in him. The people of Wusasa at that time were said to have been neither Christians nor Muslims. They had found a new religion which was good for them. For those in Zaria city, he had become a menace, but for the people of Wusasa, he was special. He looked different from them and he could heal the sick.
"Despite the fact that he had left the city, the people of Zaria still called the hospital 'Asibitin Babban Dodo' and they used it as a means of description. Gradually, people began to refer to the settlement itself as 'Babban Dodo'. Somehow, it lost its original name. This new name had come to stay and no one really gave it so much thought," Ahmed remarked.
Just like Ahmed Datti, Mohammed Abba says Babban Dodo was named after a European Christian missionary, but Mohammed differed from Ahmed on his profession, saying that he was a teacher and not a health worker.
"People have given different accounts about the origin of Babban Dodo. One cannot really say which one of them is the most authentic, but everyone wants to believe that his is the real one. When I was growing up, we were made to believe that Babban Dodo was a kind of monster. At least, that was what most of our grand mothers told us. After a while, though, we were told on a more serious note that the man called Babban Dodo was a European missionary who was also a teacher. But they didn't know his name. They told us that he had come to teach people how to read and write and in exchange for the services he rendered, they would convert from Islam to Christianity," According to Mohammed.
"Although some people say that the people of Zaria were pagans at that time, many argue that this wasn't true. To the people of Zaria, this missionary was different. He was scary. It was said that he was given a house not too far from the palace where an eye could be kept on him. But they couldn't control what he did, who he spoke with and who he converted to this new found religion. When the Emir realized nothing could be done about this man, he was asked to move to another settlement where he wouldn't come in constant contact with the people of Zaria. They said it was an abomination for the people of Zaria to convert to Christianity ," he Mohammed added, noting, "People say he relocated to Wusasa others say he died. It was said that after he left this settlement, which used to be called Fadamar Bono, the people still called the place Babban Dodo because, according to them it would tell many generations to come the history of what happened there."
While Ahmed and Mohammed say the name originated out of fear for this European, Shehu Ibrahim Baba has a different story to tell.
According to him, Babban Dodo was named after a British officer who was assigned to come to Zaria to head the local authorities.
"It would be extremely hard to find people who would give you an eye witness account. Most of us just narrate what our parents told us. While we were growing up some 59 years ago, the house he lived was still as intact as when he lived there. Out of curiosity, we often asked what that house was meant for. It looked deserted, like there was never a person in the house. We were told that the house had been occupied several years before by a British soldier who had been assigned to come to Zaria as head of the local authorities. When he came to Zaria, the people already had an Emir and several traditional office holders who were responsible to make decisions for the people and who the people, in return, were answerable to. There was no way he could take over leadership from this people. So he only contributed when necessary. Somehow, he was like a supervisor. Some people say it was more like an indirect rule. When he came to Zaria, the people hadn't ever seen a white man before. They were scared of him. Thus, they began to call him 'Zaki Babban Dodo,' which means 'Lion- the mighty masquerade," Shehu made his own narration.
According to him, "He was given a place to stay not too far from the palace and when food was given to errand boys, it was often said to them, 'Ku kai gidan Babban Dodo', which means, 'Take it to the house of Babban Dodo.' The name 'Zaki' was faded away, leaving the 'Babban Dodo.' On the daily basis more people referred to him as Babban Dodo and his house as Gidan Babban Dodo. Today, this house he lived in has been renovated into the Babban Dodo Healthcare Centre. Although some people argue that the other one called Asibitin Babban Dodo used to be the house he lived in, I can assure you it isn't. Most people of my age must have seen his house as it was before it was renovated and they would tell you that Asibitin Babban Dodo was established by the Wusasa missionary specifically for women. No one really knows what happened to him at the end. Some say he died, and others say he left. That is one part I cannot say anything about because he came and left several years before we were born."
Of all the accounts that have been given about the origin of Babban Dodo, the one which could, possibly, be the most authentic was given by Abdulrashid Zakari Aliyu. Like Shehu Ibrahim Baba, Abdulrashid said the place was named after a European soldier. One point of conflict, however, is the location of the house this man once lived in.
According to Abdulrashid, Babban Dodo was named after one of the first European settlers who was the commander of an army garrison that visited Zaria with the intention of taking over control of the Zazzau Emirate.
Abdulrashid gave his own account: "During the reign of Sarkin Zazzau Kwasau in 1900, two batches of military troops arrived Zaria. One batch was said to have come from Wushishi under the command of Major Morland and the other, from Benue under Colonel Lawrey Colel. When both troops arrived the city gates, they weren't let in. For two days, they waited outside the gates, determined to do what they had come to do. The Emir met them by the gates at the end of the second day. Their presence in Zaria was as a result of the raids by Sarkin Sudan of Kontogora, Nagwamatse. Sarki Kwasau had appealed to the Governor in Lagos for military assistance. So a company of frontier forces was dispatched to Zaria. But the military remained in Zaria as a permanent garrison and this wasn't what the Emir wanted. One would have thought the presence of the military was to protect the emirate against more raids by the emir of Kontogora, but Sarki Kwasau thought otherwise. It was obvious they had come to overthrow him. So he began to show his hostility towards the Europeans. While some people say that the emirs' hostility led to his banishment in 1902, others say he left of his own free will to avoid a confrontation with the Europeans, which might have caused so much blood shed. "
Being a small settlement, the news about foreigners being in town had spread all over within a short time. The people of Zaria had never seen a white- skinned person before and didn't know in what way they could describe them. Thus they chose to call them 'doddani,' meaning 'masquerades' in English. They went round the town, telling those who hadn't seen them "doddani sun shigo gari". It meant that masquerades had come into town. For them, these people were not in any way normal. They were scary and that was the only word one could have used to describe them.
During and after the reign of Sarki Kwasau, Babban Dodo was still known as Fadamar Bono until the era of Sarki Aliyu Dan Sidi, the Emir chosen to rule the emirate in 1903. While some people say he was chosen by the Europeans, others say he was nominated by the electoral council of kingmakers in Zaria.
Abdulrashid continued: "After Sarki Kwasau was deposed, Babban Dodo still had its old name, Fadamar Bono, until the reign of Sarki Aliyu. Not long after he became Emir, however, another European came visiting. This European was said to be the overall head of the army garrison that had been in Zaria since the era of Sarki Kwasau. The Emir had organized a welcome gathering in honour of this newcomer. Typical of the people in this city, the news travelled very fast. Within a very short time, everyone had heard that the overall boss had arrived and there was going to be gathering at the Emirs' palace. As usual, they went round, telling those who hadn't heard, 'za ayi taro a fadar sarki, an hada ma Babban cikin doddanin liyafa.' It meant that there would be a gathering at the Emirs' palace and a reception in honor of the head of the masquerades had been organized. The people around began to refer to him as Babban Dodo, which means the mighty masquerade or the overall masquerade. As far as these people were concerned, they had given him a title which was due to him. They recognized him as the overall boss of the troops and had no better way they could have called him."
Contrary to what so many people think about the origin of the name 'Babban Dodo,' one truth remains that it wasn't intended to be any kind of mockery. It probably happened to be the only way the people of Zaria could have described what they thought of as creatures from another planet.
As the overall head of the troops, Babban Dodo, as he was now called, was given an apartment to stay not too far from the palace. He was said to have conducted all his personal and official dealings from this place. Today, on the spot this house once stood, stands the Babban Dodo shopping complex and the Nuhu Babajo Township Stadium.
"After Babban Dodo settled in Zaria, this place was still called Fadamar Bono, but people began to use his house as a mark for description. His house was the most prominent among all the houses in the area. As such, everyone who lived in that area and wanted anyone to get a clear description of where he stayed often said, 'Kusa da gidan Babban Dodo,' which means 'not too far from Babban Dodo's house.' After a while, people began to call the place Babban Dodo, not minding the fact that Babban Dodo was, in fact, a person and not the place. But it had already started and gradually Fadamar Bono seemed to fade away."
To some, Babban Dodo might be a fiction but, to others, it is a reality that cannot be changed. It may also be true that the inhabitants of Zaria have an absurd way of naming people and places but, however absurd or weird people think it is, there is always a basis for such actions.
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