Queen of Wawa is dead

Queen of Wawa is dead

…Fidau on 6 July

By MAURICE ARCHIBONG

The Queen of Wawa, Hajiya Fatima Garba, is dead. The late Queen (Magajiya in Hausa language and Datsen Manga in the Bissan tongue), who reigned for 54 years, died on Sunday, 30 June, 2013 after a brief illness.

Hajiya Fatima Garba in 2011.
PHOTO: MAURICE ARCHIBONG. All Rights Reserved.

Although her exact age was not known, it is believed the late queen, who lived in Wawa’s Kibe Forandi quarters, was almost 100 years old at the time of her transition.

It is worth pointing out, that in this Bussanci-speaking community; the queen is usually not the king’s spouse. So, the departed queen was not the wife of the ruling monarch (Dodo) of Wawa, Mallam Mahmud Ahmed Aliyu; the 16^th sovereign of this community, where Aski, the shaving of a prince’s head in public; is an inextricable part of a king’s enthronement.

A daughter of the 10^th traditional ruler of Wawa, the late HajiyaFatima Garba was installed Magajiya in 1959, during the reign of Ahmed Aliyu. Mallam Ahmed Aliyu was Wawa’s 12^th Dodo, and he ruled from 1946 to 1958.

Mallam Alhassan Aliyu, whose reign lasted from 1958 to 1960, had succeeded King Ahmed Aliyu; followed by the 14^th King, Usman Tondi (1961-1989) as well as 15^th King Ibrahim Ahmed Aliyu, who was turbaned in 1989.

Wawa, hitherto known as Gbere, stands near Kainji and New Bussa in Niger State, central Nigeria. Speaking with mauricearchibongtravels, the traditional ruler (Dodo) of Wawa, Mallam Mahmud Ahmed Aliyu; confirmed the queen’s passage.

TheDodo, who revealed that the late queen’s mortal remains were buried same day in line with Islamic injunctions, added that a prayer (fidau) for the soul of the deceased woman has been slated for Saturday, 6 July. That fidaufalls on the eighth day after the queen’s transition.