Nasarawa communities where humans live with hippopotamuses and crocodiles

By DANJUMA JOSEPH, Lafia

Nasarawa State, known as Home of Solid Minerals, located in North Central Nigeria, is richly endowed with a variety of solid minerals of various categories ranging from precious metals, gemstones and industrial minerals.

Apart from solid minerals, the state is also blessed and surrounded by multiple rivers and streams, with some of these communities located at the bank of River Benue. For instance some communities at the river bank are under Awe, Keana, Doma and Nasarawa local government areas.

Meanwhile, Giza, Ugah, Tungan Nupawa, Kekura, Wuse, Jangwa and Agyema, are different communities spread across four local government areas of the state where humans coexisted with crocodiles and hippopotamus for decades.

Giza, is the headquarters of Giza development area in Keana Local Government Council where ‘Crocodiles Pond’ called ‘Ogiza’, existed for decades.

So also, Ugah and Tungan Nupawa communities are under Lafia East Development Area with headquarters in Assakio, under Lafia Local Government Council, where hippopotamus have coexisted with humans in the lake and a river also for decades.

Kekura, is under Awe Local Government Area, where another ‘Crocodile Pond’, called Dahyun, is also found and they both coexisted with humans without harm for more than 300 years.

Wuse and Jangwa communities are under Azara development area in Awe Local Government area of the state, whose community’s river annually serves as transit route for the hippopotamuses, who travel from Tungan Nupawa, through Sabon Gida river and back to base.

On the other hand, Agyema, is a community at the River Benue bank under Ekye Development area of Doma Local Government Council and there are two places called ‘Anagbula and Ogbulagya’ waters that are housing hippopotamus for ages.

Another significant point of note about all these historical sites is that most of them are just a little above 500 meters away from their host communities. It is also believed that where hippopotamus and crocodiles are found, water never dries there.

Despite farming activities the crocodiles in Giza, still maintained their pond, while the ones in Kekura, have shifted grounds to a nearby forest within the community’s vicinity, where hunting are not allowed near them by the two communities.

For Ugah, Tungan Nupawa and Agyema, the magic behind a dangerous specie like hippopotamus cohabiting near humans in a lake and rivers, for several decades is still a misery to the host communities.

The reason for this is that hippopotamuses are classified as mammals, whereas crocodiles are reptiles. Both animals are known for their strength and wild nature, which they exhibit in both water and on land. Hippopotamuses are semi-aquatic mammals, spending much of their time in rivers and lakes, while also venturing onto land. Crocodiles, on the other hand, are reptiles that thrive in aquatic environments, but also bask in the sun on land.

Sadly, since the hay days of Benue-Plateau State, to Plateau State and now Nasarawa State, no administration made any effort to gazette these historical sites, to make it a tourist destination and equally preserve it for the generation yet unborn.

Hon Adamu Adi (Sarduanan Giza), an indigene of Giza, who was an overseer of Giza development area and also a former Executive Chairman of Keana Local Government Council, confirmed that the crocodiles still exists.

“We were told that the founder of Giza over 400 years ago, from Owuno ruling house came along with the crocodiles and preserved them in the forest as a means of protection and security to the community”

“Last year, one of our illustrious sons, Alhaji Abu Giza, brought excavator to dredge the holes where the crocodiles are, because the holes were almost sealed by sands”, he said.

Multiple sources who are indigenes of Giza, confirmed that one of the eldest crocodiles with a ring on one of its hands used to come out every Friday, from the pond and craw to the Palace of the traditional ruler of the community (Sangarin Giza), stayed a while then it will also go round a shrine (Odu), directly opposite the palace and go back.

They said it normally comes out in the afternoon and it doesn’t harm anybody and no one is allowed to also harm the crocodile, “but it has been long we don’t see it again”, they said.

They recalled instances of a mysterious encounter some curious persons had with the crocodiles either in their pond or when they craw out, they attempted to photograph them, but any moment they focused their cameras on them, they won’t capture their images.

After many futile attempts, they will all give up and go their ways with miraculous stories to tell about the crocodiles, the multiple sources from Giza, emphasized.

Mr Nyapa Atoto Alamanta, the Makungujin Kekura, said they met the crocodiles in the pond in a forest called (Dahyun) in Jukun language and they have stayed together for over 300 years, after they migrated from the old Awe town just about 3 kilometres away from Kekura.

“We met them here and we have stayed together for over 300 years and there was no trace of any harm done to us by the crocodiles, rather they are our companion in terms of crisis and difficult situations”

“Be you from Kekura or an outsider, if you attempt to kill them, they will descend on you or you get mad. We had a case of a visitor who saw one of them and he attempted to kill it, the crocodile escaped and the guy nearly run mad, it took the grace of God for him to be cured”

“We were told by our parents that in those days if a childless woman was taken to the crocodile’s pond where some sacrifices and incantations were made, she will certainly conceive and give birth”

“If the crocodiles sensed that any danger will befall us, they come out to our defence, that’s why we have an annual festival to appease the gods and the crocodiles so they can continue to protect our community” Makunguji said.

Other sources from Kekura, added that the crocodiles mostly comes out in the middle of nights to the community’s market square to eat crumbs, then they go back to their pond, “they don’t harm us and we don’t chase them” they said.

Yakubu Abdullahi, an indigen of Ugah community said they co-existed with the lake called ‘Obile’ and hippo for over 200 years without any harm done to them or their forebearers.

“The hippopotamus normally comes out by 4pm to take breeze, then in the nights they also go out to graze and in the process, they destroy our crops in most cases” he said.

Abdullahi, affirmed that the hippopotamus are still in the lake in their large number and they are multiplying, “we don’t allow people to hunt them, since they are not harmful to us in the community”

When asked if there’s any cultural festival connected to the existence of the lake and the hippos, he said no, “we only have an annual fishing festival in the lake and some rivers surrounding our community, then the traditional worshippers also perform some ritual at the bank of the lake when we lost an elderly person” he said.

Hon. Stephen Otukpa, is a traditional title holder of (Osapulanya) and he’s in charge of Anagbula river in Agyema, a riverine and border community under Ekye development area in Doma local government area of Nasarawa State.

“We have two water ponds called Anagbula and Ogbulagya waters, where we observed Anagoga annual fishing festival and there are hippopotamus in the two ponds. They normally come out take breeze and return back to base”

Hon Otukpa, disclosed that the hippopotamus living in the two ponds mentioned above feed on fishes. “All of them are staying in the same place, so if they (hippopotamus) are hungry, they feed on the fishes’.

When asked how they meander there ways during annual fishing festivals where there are multitude of hippopotamus in the two fishing ponds, he said is only them that knows how they go about it.

These are few out of many Nasarawa’s communities where nature lives in harmony with humans before farming activities made the places plain.

All the members of the communities called on the Nasarawa state government and the authority of their various local government areas to make efforts to preserve these historical sites for generations to come.