Gwamna Awan ( Former Chief Of Kagoro) OFR, OON, MBE, DD: Eulogy Of A Collosus

By Emmanuel Gandu

“Gwamna is an epitome of justice and peace, an embodiment of hard work, a bridge builder, gentleman, and a detribalised Nigerian” – Sir Ahmadu Bello Sardauna of Sokoto.

HIGHLIGHTS
• Birth and early life
• Becoming the 5th Chief of modern Kagoro in 1945
• Initial developmental strides
• Administrative/Political involvement
• @ The Northern House of Chiefs
• Creation of districts in Kagoro district
• Educational background
• Working life
• Administrative/leadership responsibilities
• Membership of Boards/Organizations
• Awards/Honours
• Marriage and family
• Death of a Vintage

BIRTH AND EARLY LIFE
Gwamna Awan was born in December 1918 at Kagoro to Awan Batwab and Zayirang from the Mungwob clan of Tsonje Agban Kagoro.
Zayirang was the daughter of Bishut. Bishut was the father of Kaka Bishut. Kaka Bishut became the first Chief of Kagoro who was enthroned by the colonialists in 1905.
Being the first born of his mother, Gwamna was asked to go and stay with his uncle (according to tradition) to assist him in the discharge of domestic chores. The young boy was glad to go and stay with his uncle Kaka Bishut house in Uchio (Fadan Kagoro) where his mother came from.
This movement was the beginning, the turning point in the life of Gwamna Awan.

By 1927 when the Sudan Interior Mission (SIM) arrived, and introduced christianity to Kagoro through the first white missionary Thomas Archibald, Gwamna Awan was among the first youth converts.
In 1928 Gwamna Awan along with a few other young boys enrolled in the evening class organized by the missionaries where they were taught religious lessons alongside reading and writing programmes.

Due to dint of hard work, scholarship and discipline, young Gwamna was invited by Chief Biya Kaka to be his secretary.
As scribe to the chief, Gwamna introduced some far reaching reforms such as :
© Improving the mode of tax collection in order to reduce the rate of exploitation of the people.
© Construction of roads by cutting down cactus and levelling parts of people’s farms that are so close to these new roads.
© Better record keeping especially on court and tax records.
© Reconstruction of the Palace with wider gates.

BECOMING CHIEF OF KAGORO.
It is on record that Gworok (Kagoro) was an independent entity, and had attained the status of a Chiefdom before many Emirates in Northern Nigeria, and had equal status as Zazzau and Katsina Emirates.
Interestingly, Malam Gwamna Awan as Oegwam Oegworok (Chief of Kagoro) was the only chief from Southern Zaria that was attending the Northern Council of Emirs/Chiefs meetings with others including the Sardauna of Sokoto Sir Ahmadu Bello.

PAST CHIEFS OF KAGORO
At the very beginning/early stages of the Gworok people existence, they constituted a committee of clan heads saddled with the responsibility of administrative, judicial, cultural, and religious system. This group of clan heads had an oversight function on the life of the Oegworok people in order to ensure peaceful democratic processes in the land.
Unarguably, the council of clan heads was led at several times by distinguished personalities including Gundong, Bishut, Mungu from the 16th century to 1905.

This form of representative governance went on successfully for hundreds of years among the Kagoro community until in 1905 when the British colonial District Officer (DO) in conjunction with the elders decided to appoint the first chief of modern Kagoro :

1. Kaka Bishut : 1905 – 1926
2. Aluwong Benyan : 1926 – 1929
3. Mugunta Atin : 1929 – 1932
4. Biya Kaka : 1932 – 1944
5. Gwamna Awan : 1945 – 2008
6. Ufuwai Bonet : 2008 – Date

GWAMNA AWAN’S DEVELOPMENTAL STRIDES
At the death of Chief Biya Kaka in 1944, Gwamna Awan was installed as the 5th Chief of Kagoro in 1945 at the age of 27 years.
As soon as he consolidated his position on the stool, Chief Gwamna Awan embarked upon giant developmental projects.
Some of them include :
(1) Road construction which he had started when he was the scribe.
(2) Linking up of villages with wide and motorable roads.
(3) Laying of pipes from the source at the foot of the hill for water to parts of the town including the few institutions which was later extended to Kafanchan. As a matter of fact, Kagoro had enjoyed portable tap water from 1948.
(4) Ensuring the building of Leprosirium at Agban Kagoro for the entire people of Southern Kaduna.
As time went by, HRH Gwamna Awan took his penchant for developmental projects was focused on education in the following areas :
(1) Influenced the establishment of educational institutions such as
a. ECWA Theological College Kagoro.
b. Kagoro Teachers College.
c. Kagoro Secondary School.
d. Kwoi Girls Secondary School.
(2) RH Gwamna Awan was instrumental to the establishment of a Postal Agency in Kagoro where he gave part of his house for its operation.
(3) Created the Kagoro market at Kpak.
(4) Extension of electricity to Kagoro in 1979.
(5) Ensured that peace reigned in Kagoro without the shedding of anybody’s blood.

GWAMNA AWAN’S INTERNATIONAL/LOCAL ADMINISTRATIVE AND POLITICAL INVOLVEMENT
Being a diplomat, administrator, and a royal chief, Gwamna was able to establish cordial working relationship with Her Majesty the Queen of England through the resident colonial administrators/representatives in Nigeria.
As a testimony to his good leadership which bordered on the culture, economic development, security of life and property of his chiefdom, etc, Mr. J. N Smith on his assessment tour of Kagoro district had this to say and report back to Britain about HRH Gwamna Awan : “The district under its present chief is undoubtedly well run and …… I was much impressed with the man’s intelligence…… I think the chief should be highly……. of district administration”
HRH Gwamna Awan was further supported with the firmness of a seal when the premier of the Northern Region Sir Ahmadu Bello the Sardauna of Sokoto said : “The confirmation of a second class staff of office to Mallam Gwamna Awan was not in any way because of the vastness of his chiefdom, but rather for the good qualities and attitudes which he possesses”
Little wonder, in 1958 Princess Ann visited HRH Gwamna Awan in Kagoro. After that visit Chief Gwamna made several visits to the United Kingdom and Israel.

Sadly enough, post independent politics in Nigeria saw the emergence of political parties on regional basis. While the AG was for the West, NCNC was for the East, NPC and NEPU was for the Hausa North. This development left the Middle Belt sidelined without anything but to play second fiddle.
Gwamna Awan saw that all will not go well with the Middle Belt. He therefore invited people like Rev. Bagaiya Nwaya, Haruna Kwoi, Aleidero, Achimugu, Pastor David Lot, and a few others. He spoke to them to read the handwriting on the wall. In his address to them he said : “There is the need for us to form a forum through which the Middle Belt would participate in politics otherwise by the time other areas would be enjoying the benefits of politics, this area would not have such benefits. This dream can only be realised if we wake up and move alongside with other areas”
At the end of the consultation on the need for the Middle Belt to unite and move on the same direction, the Middle Belt Forum (MBF) was formed.
As soon as this MBF was established by the Key figures with Gwamna Awan as the initiator, he (Gwamna Awan) quitted active politics.
It was this MBF that later gave birth to the United Middle Belt Congress (UMBC) as a political party.

GWAMNA AWAN AT THE NORTHERN HOUSE OF CHIEFS
The Northern House of Chiefs was established in 1946 by the Colonial Administration in recognition of the roles the traditional rulers play as administrators, commanders in war times, religious leaders of the people.
It was also meant to deliberate on issues that affected the well being of the people of the North in Nigeria, and above all to ease the work of the colonial administrators.

Accordingly, the selection of Emirs and Chiefs was guided by the ‘Northern House of Chiefs Regulation 1951 section 3’.
This regulation provided that the membership and eligibility was restricted to First Class Chiefs only.
By 1953, HRH DR Gwamna Awan was still a Third Class Chief, yet he was made a member of this Northern House of Chiefs.
He was made a member on Honorary Capacity. He was also made a member so as to represent the minority Chiefdoms in Zaria Province.

While in the house he made many contributions including the following few :
(1) HRH Gwamna Awan moved the motion for the creation of the Ministry of Local Government was promptly supported and approved.
Following its subsequent creation, Sir Ahmadu Bello the Sardauna of Sokoto was made the first Minister of of the Ministry of Local Government.
(2) Due to his gentlemanly and friendly disposition, the Sardauna Sir Ahmadu Bello visited Kagoro on 3 different occasions where he passed the night on each of the visits in the Palace of the Chief of Kagoro. This move was a master stroke especially as it debunked the long held view of the so called irreconciliable/tribal and religious dichotomy.
(3) As a member of the finance committee in the Northern House of Chiefs Gwamna Awan Influenced the establishment of Native Courts, markets and prisons for Kwoi, Kagoro and Maro’a.
(4) His sound debates / contribution led to the establishment of Agricultural colleges across the Northern region.
(5) The creation of Sardauna Province is credited to the work of the Committee on Administrative Division in the North in 1959 of which HRH Gwamna Awan was the spokesperson in Settling the warring factions in the crisis of that province.

CREATION OF DISTRICTS IN KAGORO DISTRICT
Kagoro had been a single district. As a result of increase in population, and for government policies to get down to the grass roots, government accepted the proposal for the creation of three (3) districts in Kagoro.
By 1991, the administration of the then Military governo Col. Tanko Ayuba established the following three districts :

1. Fada/Kpak
2. Kukum/Agban
3. Kadarko/Malagum.

Before long, and with Gwamna Awan’s efforts, the Kaduna state government converted the former three districts to six as follows :

1. Fada
2. Kpak
3. Kukum
4. Agban
5. Kadarko
6. Malagum

By 2001, the Chiefdom experienced the creation of another additional districts making a total of ten districts and a total of 75 villages by the administration of Alhaji Ahmed Makarfi as follows :

1. Agban
2. Garaje
3. Kukum Gida
4. Kukum Daji
5. Fada Tsakiya
6. Fada Daji
7. Kpak
8. Kadarko
9. Malagum
10. Tafan

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND
1.SIM Mission Station School 1928 – 1932

2. Saint Bartholomew Anglican School Wusasa Zaria 1932 – 1933
3. Toro Elementary Teacher’s Center 1933 – 1935
4. Institute of Administration Zaria 1954 – 1957
5. Business Training Institute London UK 1975

WORKING LIFE

1. Teacher SIM Kagoro 1936 – 1937
2. Teacher/Pastor SIM Kafanchan 1937 – 1939
3. Teacher SIM Elementary Teachers Training Centre (TTC) Kagoro
4. Native Authority Scribe Kagoro 1940 – 1944
5. Chief of Kagoro 11th April 1945 till death on 30th September 2008

ADMINISTRATIVE/LEADERSHIP RESPONSIBILITY

1. Football captain Training Centre Toro 1934 – 1935
2. Captain Boys Brigade 1935
3. Renowned preacher/conference speaker
4. Elder SIM/ECWA church
5. Member Northern House of Chiefs 1953 – 1966
6. Member privy Council of Northern Nigeria 1957 – 1966
7. Vice president Jema’a Federation Local Government 1957 – 1960
8. President Jema’a Federation Local Government 1960 – 1976

MEMBERSHIP OF BOARDS/ORGANIZATIONS

1. Member World Constitution Drafting Committee of Boys Brigade 1960
2. Member Reconciliation Committee of Northern Cameroon’s Trusteeship 1960
3. Chairman Pankshin Chiefdom Dispute Committee 1964
4. Member Board of Governors of the following institutions :
   a. Muri Teachers College
   b. Abuja Secondary School
   c. SIM Secondary School Kagoro
   d. Bible College Kagoro
   e. Katsina College of Arts, Science and Technology Zaria
5. First Chairman Governing Council of Advanced Teachers College Kafanchan (now College of Education Gidan Waya)
6. First Chairman National scouts Training Centre Kagoro.
7. Patron Boys Brigade Kaduna State
8. Patron ECWA Youth Fellowship Nigeria
9. Patron National Union of Kaduna State Students Association.
10. Member SIM scholarship Board

AWARDS / HONOURS

1. Queen of England Coronation Award 1953
2. Member of the British Empire (MBE) 1956
3. Second Class Staff of Office 1958
4. Order Of the Niger (OON) 1965
5. First Class Staff of Office 1982
6. National Gold Medal Awar Boys Brigade 1983
7. Long Service Award ECWA 1983
8. National Council of Farmers’ Society Award 1985
9. Bible Society of Nigeria Life Membership Award 1979
10. Bible Society Award for Financial Contributions 1988
11. Member Kaduna State Council for Arts and Culture 1990
12. Order of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (OFR) 1998

MARRIAGE AND FAMILY
Young Gwamna Awan took Miss Talatu Song Aluwong from the Lawat clan in Kagoro to the alter on 7th January 1937 and we’re joined in Holy Matrimony till death do them part. This marriage was one of the earliest christian marriage in Kagoro.
The bride’s father, Mr. Song Aluwong had been a Native Authority police (Dandoka) .
God blessed Gwamna Awan family with 12 children (6 girls and 6 boys) who grew to become responsible, industrious, and committed in their chosen career.

DEATH OF A COLLOSUS
HRH DR Gwamna Awan, the longest ruling monarch in Africa at that time died on 30th September 2008, having ruled for 65 years. Gwamna Awan died at the age of 90 years.

Peace 🙏