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The afternoon sun stood half way, high up in the sky, stripped of its usual burning arrogance. Mild, gentle, a lovely evening, with a splendid regalia of tradition, loyalty and to some measure, religion.

That was the simple face of Bamaina, a small but expanding city, at the far end of Birnin-Kudu, a predominantly Fulani town, in Jigawa State , standing on the threshold of history.

That was on this day, a Monday, 15th October, 2007, the people, a sundry of simple village folks, returned to their heritage, in commemoration of the traditional horse riding festival, otherwise known as Hauwan –Durbar in the Hausa language.

But the most striking and illustrious of it all, was not just the Durbar, (though it was great on its own account) but the exciting and memorable display of the harmony of nature, represented by the boy king of Bamaina, Alhaji Mustapha Sule Lamido. On that day, saddled in a tradition of his fathers, he was in one of his finest hour, shining in the blaze of glory, as has never been witnessed in the history of the people of his domain.

Celebrated for his calmness, adored for his passion for tradition and respected for the elegant prospects of his reign, as a link to the future of his people, the boy king of Bamaina, who is also the San Turaki of the Dutse Emirate Council in Jigawa State, a very influential title in the emirate, did nothing in the whole day to disappoint the burning expectation, that goes with the Durbar experience.

In his every step, he was a chip off the old block; in every way, he is the son of his father, Alhaji Sule Lamido and in several manners, he carried the day and himself, with the requisite grace and splendour. The dignity of his office was not lost, at all, and was famously complemented by the fact, that he is also the son of the governor of the state, a factor which brought in a rare and elegant colour to the beauty of the celebration.

The Durbar, a rich deep historic monument for the Fulani man and for the people of Bamaina, took off on a very sound and famous note. Long before the siren heralded the coming of the dignitaries to the tiny village, there were choruses of native flutes and the sound bites of numerous drumbeats everywhere. The flutes were over heard from the distant village of Babaldu , hilarious in tonation,over-reaching the open air, where the people and visitors waited in a glaring anxiety. The wait was long but in the end, well rewarded.

The ceremonial gun shots, boomed periodically to the open air, eventually heralded a rich caravan of the various traditional trains, riding on horse backs, down to the village of Bamiana, at about 4.00pm. The procession was stretched, but was abridged by the trains of different categories of the village and ward heads, within the domain, each band dressed in uniformed attire, offering a rainbow variety of colors, to the admiration of all.

Some of those who accompanied the 25 year old boy king to the special arena include the village heads of Babaldu, Bamaina, Kiyaku and Zaramba as well as the village heads of the remaining villages in his domain.
As the drums persisted in bold personification, and the shots re-echoed, and the air rent by the jamming rhetoric of the fluting instruments, the city came to a stand still; as they rode down through the road paths, from the distance of Babaldu, in large turn out of horses of different stocks, in several colours of the rainbow of the sky, the simple city of Bamaina , native and innocent, simply exploded in ecstasy.

Hundreds and thousands of Fulani men and women and children greeted by the eminence of tradition, hundreds of visitors shocked by the magnificent tribute of a people’s culture, simply cramped themselves by the roadsides, waving, cheering and screaming to the horse riders and the institution of the monarchy.
By 4.30 in the evening, the son and his father, treated the gathered public to the most unusual irony of life: that of a rare disposition, where the boy King, as protocol requires, leads his entourage to a courtesy call on his father at their home. The governor in turn, having received the message, returns the tribute by paying homage to the traditional ruler and district head of his village, who happens to be his own son. In this irony, both the son and father re-enacted the timeless claim that the son is indeed the father of the man.

From their family home, both the dignitaries and the traditional villagers, all began a journey, alas by foot, to the heart of the village, another ancestral home of the people of Bamaina. And in this journey to their ancestral home, the horses and their riders, led by their warriors led the match. Dressed in chain-like, silver wares of light irons, each of the horse riders, held on to a long and intimidating spear and glared at the distance ahead, with the war chest of great fighters and warriors.

Some of them had black turbans, others had red and a lot more had different design of theirs, tied to their heads, shrouding some features of their faces . Some were referred to as the Dakaran Sarki. Others were referred to as the Hakimis, the Dagatshi, the Urgwani and the Fadawas, different bands of deputies and assistants to the district head. They all journeyed through thinly erected pathways and lawns of road paths, through the huts and thatched houses and a few dots of modern day structures to the heart of the village.

As the journey approached the centre of the village, a lot more women began to join the bystanders. Children too, some on hats, some holding on to long sticks, some with long drawn Fulani marks, all stretched the long row and became a party to the flowing crowd while some girls, slim, tall and tread like peeped through the walls in the heat of the passion to catch a glimpse of the young monarch.
A prayer was said in Hausa language by the chief Imam of Bamaina, Alhaji Abdulmuhadi, seeking Allah's blessing, peace and progress for the land. The entourage, which included the PDP party chairman in the state, Alhaji Duniya ba Hutu, Ambassador Musa Kazaure, Alhaji Danladi Sankara, the State Police Commissioner, Alhaji Abubakar were received with open hands.

Minutes after, both father and son, and a small number of elders were led back to the custody of compound, to backyard of their family home, beyond reach of others, marking the end of the process. When the governor came back later, he came back alone and together with the dignitaries and visitors, they set back, at dusk, to his house by the Express road, where he organized a reception for all those who had come for the occasion, to a light refreshment of drinks and foods in which the rich and the poor sat on the same table.

But for the young king and his subjects, for the people of Bamaina and their visitors, the drumming, the singing, the fluting continued through the night, decreasing in presence, to the birth of the new day.
Reacting to the triumph of the day, the former Deputy Senate President in the Third Republic , Alhaji Garba S. Taura, who is also the Sarkin Yakin of the Ringin Emirate Council of Jigawa State, observed that the celebration could not have been any better than what was offered by the entire people of the town.
Commenting on the history of the Durbar in the area, he said that the festival is a traditional celebration, which began long ago, right from the time of the great grand fathers of the present king. He told Saturday Sun that the festivity, which takes place twice in a year – during the Eid Fitri and Eid Kabir Sallah celebration- is a matter of tradition adding that immediately after the district head had finished his responsibility of riding his horse in the Durbar of the Emir of Dutse, Alhaji Muhammadu Nuhu Sanusi, the next day, he also comes back to lead his own traditional subordinates to another Durbar, in his domain.

He remarked that, “today’s event is very important for two reasons. First, the father of the district head is the governor of the state and by implication, when the family of the governor of the state is celebrating a unique experience, it is only natural that so many people would want to be associated with that celebration. And so, you can see the number of dignitaries here present - the commissioners, the special advisers, the visitors from far and near”.

He further noted that the governor himself is a traditional and cultural person in every respect, and has done every thing possible to promote the significance of the traditional institution in the state, noting that this particular Dubar experience is one whose allures of culture, draws him closer to the people and reenacts their common bond

Speaking to Saturday Sun, Alhaji Sule Lamido said “he was born into the title, into this tradition, his grand father was the chief of that village, and his great grandfather too was the chief of that village”.
He recalled that when his own father died at the age of 90, it was actually his responsibility to assume the throne of the monarchy, noting however, that he could not assume the throne simply because of his political profile. And for that very reason, he disclosed, the throne was assumed by his younger brother, who became the king of Bamaina.

He disclosed that some eleven years ago, and on one painful morning, his younger brother, who was then the king of the village died. And once again, the throne was vacant. Said Lamido, “There was again the problem of who will be the king and of course, they wanted me to become the king and although I did not decline, I felt there is much more for me to do for the people of Bamaina, in a different capacity, than becoming the king.”

“Luckily for me, this son of mine was there. As early as age five, he had started showing the passion for tradition and loyalty. You can imagine that at the age of 5, when he was so young, he had started going out with his group to witness the Durbar of the emir of Kano and so for me, he was a natural successor”, he stated.

The significance of the traditional horse riding means so much to me. My father did it up till age 85, but only stopped when he was approaching 90 years. Mustapha, my son, has only come to blossom the splendour of a rich tradition that is a part and parcel of our heritage. I am committed to that tradition, because it is my foundation; it is my moral, social and religious anchor. What I am doing today, is simply to my history” the governor declared.