Meet man who has lived in Zaria river for 45 years
Malam Abdullahi Musa, the Sarkin Ruwa (king of water), is very popular in Zaria, Kaduna State, largely because of his unique aquatic way of life. Apart from living in the middle of the Galma River, he also engages in other bizarre activities.
The ability of Malam Abdullahi Musa, the Sarkin Ruwa, to build and maintain a mud house in the middle of a river, is one of the issues that make residents of the ancient city of Zaria believe that he is an extraordinary human being. He is widely seen as a weird character whose lifestyle is shrouded in mystery. His family members also live in the mud house, and they appear hale and hearty. There is no sign that they are negatively affected by the cold environment. In fact, the location offers Musa’s family members the opportunity to engage in dry season farming.
Sitting pensively at the gate of the mud house, with head down and hands on the knees, Musa was reciting the holy Qur’ran when our correspondent visited.
Musa’s house still firmly stands as it was when our correspondent first visited him in 2007, about 10 years ago. The house, which was built with clay, has a thatched roof. What amazes passersby and even residents is the fact that during the rainy season, the flowing water from the river threatens all the structures around it, including the bridge that passes above it, but not Musa’s mud house.
But Sarkin Ruwa said there was nothing amazing about his lifestyle and the mud house, adding that such environment is the best place for people like him.
“As I told you during your first visit, a jungle is not supposed to scare a true hunter. Therefore, no matter how a river is, it is not supposed to frighten a fisherman like me. So there is nothing new to tell you apart from what I told you during your first visit,” he said.
Malam Musa settled in Zaria as an almajiri (pupil of local Hausa school), but three things moved him to the Galma River. His love for hunting and fishing, as well as his desire to live inside water, made him to build a house in the middle of the river.
Sarkin Ruwa said he came to Zaria from Gwade, a suburb of Kafanchan town of Jama’a Local Government Area in 1972 with a wife and three children. He first settled at Unguwan Dan Dutse, Tudun Wada, Zaria, at the residence of a Qur’anic tutor, Malam Abubakar Bagobiri. From Dan Dutse, Malam Musa went to other places before he finally settled in the river.
He said he was not officially turbaned as Sarkin Ruwa; it was residents that nicknamed him as such because of his amazing relationship with water. “People call me Sarkin Ruwa, but I don’t know their reason. However, I don’t want to commission myself as Sarki (king). It is true that this mud house has been standing in the middle of this river since 1973. The house has never collapsed despite the fact that it was made of thatch and mud. People say different things about me and the house because they don’t know why and how I live in the house. I am not living with any charm here; it is rather a special gift from Allah,” Sarkin Ruwa said. For Musa, there is no mystery behind the location of his house. As far as he is concerned, living in the river is a divine blessing.
“The secret behind this house is simply that I am a hunter and fisherman. As I said earlier, no jungle scares a true hunter, just as no river scares a true fisherman because that is where they earn a living. A fisherman like me is supposed to live in this type of house to allow me practise my profession judiciously.
“I do not live here by my ability; it is a divine gift. People around here and passersby can testify that no matter the water level, as you can see, I have never left this place. And my house, which is made of clay, has never collapsed,” Malam Musa said.
Residents of Zaria, especially those who live near the Galma River, testify that at the peak of every rainy season, the river takes over everything around its banks, not to talk of what is right inside it, but Musa’s house has never experienced any problem.
According to Sarkin Ruwa, the water can neither harm him nor cause any damage to his mud house or family members.
“During the peak of the rainy season, this place is usually taken over by the rampaging water. What I do is to relocate my family members to my other house in the town because they are not 100 per cent blessed with what Allah has given me. When the water subsides they come back and meet me here. It is up to the water to enter my house or not. I and the water are creatures of Allah, and he is the one that gives me control over it,” Malam Musa said.
Sarkin Ruwa described his bond with water as intimate, saying it is similar to his relationship with his family.
“Throughout my hunting, fishing and farming life, I have never met anything that frightened me. On the other hand, I scare whatever I come across in the jungle or river, and this is from Allah. It is not my making or power. Whenever you do not meet me here in this house, it means I have moved out to the town for some activities. Immediately I am done with my activities in the town, irrespective of the time, I will come back here and spend the night,” he said.
If the water cannot harm Sarkin Ruwa and his family, why does he move his family members out of the house at the peak of the rainy season? He answered, “The reason is not because the water can harm them, but because they cannot move freely to school and other places they need to go. They will be made to use canoes all the time. I told you this is not my power but a gift from Allah.’’
Another aspect of Malam Musa’s life, Daily Trust on Suday gathered are the pattern and timing of his activities. Malam Musa does his fishing in the night.
Again, if the need arises, Sarkin Ruwa doesn’t need to go inside the river in search of a corpse or a drowning person. He does some invocation to achieve his aim. “When a human being drowns or is drowning in my river or any river, I don’t have to physically enter the river. I will only make some invocations and the corpse will bring out itself to its relatives. The same thing happens if the person is alive. It is not only Zaria residents that I assist when such accident occurs; people from different places usually come here for assistance in case of waterrelated accidents.
“I do my fishing in the night, and that is a gift; it is not my making. I usually dispose my catch very early in the morning. You can confirm this from those selling fish by the side of the bridge (Galma bridge),” Malam Musa said.
Some residents of Zaria, who spoke to our correspondent concerning Sarkin Ruwa, described his lifestyle as amazing.
Malam Rufa’i Halima said: “I sell fish here (beside the river bank). I have spent about 10 years doing this business here, but anytime I look at Sarkin Ruwa’s house I tell myself that the man is not ordinary. However, it is not possible to say that the man is not a human being because we interact with his children. We also see his wives whenever they are going out from the house.
“Apart from fishing, I know that people come from far and near for medication, especially on diseases that are waterborne. To say that this man’s life is full of amazement is an understatement.”
Another resident who visits the Galma River often is Malam Rabi’u Sani. He described Sarkin Ruwa as a “special creature.”
“I have been coming here for years to buy fresh fish. All these years, this house has been standing firmly inside this river. It is really amazing, but it is real,” he said.