Giddy-up as horsemen hail Nigeria city ruler
ZARIA: Riders wearing brightly coloured warrior robes and bearing spears were again packing the streets of this northern Nigerian city, greeting their traditional ruler as locals celebrated 1 000-year-old tradition in a region hit by Boko Haram.
Last week the traditional ruler in Zaria city rode in a horse carriage to kick off the Durbar celebrations that mark the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
The Durbar is a custom dating back more than 1000 years which involves warriors from villages and towns in Nigeria’s Muslim north travelling once a year to the emir’s palace to renew a pledge of respect to their ruler.
But the thousands who packed the streets and minarets of mosques to watch were a far cry from last year, when many stayed indoors from fear following an attack by Boko Haram fighters that killed about 35 people in Zaria.
Now, following a military crackdown on the militant group, Alhaji Shehu Idris, Emir of Zazzau, rode to his palace.
He greeted people lining the potholed streets of this dusty city as he passed by.
Once at the palace, he watched with officials as each area of his traditional constituency presented their turbaned chiefs and warriors in a mark of respect.
Several men – wearing white, red, blue or yellow robes – demonstrated their horse-riding skills on the unpaved parade ground. However, some women and girls also walked during the procession.
The Nigerian military has retaken much of the territory lost to the Boko Haram jihadists. But police cars and gun-wielding police officers posted at the unpaved parade ground in front of the palace were a reminder that suicide bombs by the group remain part of life.
Xinhua reports that Nigerian troops have dislodged Boko Haram fighters from Mallam Fatori town, a base of the terror group in Nigeria’s north-eastern state of Borno, an army spokesman said yesterday.
The troops, together with the multinational joint force against Boko Haram, engaged the Boko Haram fighters in a fierce battle in Mallam Fatori, Colonel Sani Usman, spokesman for the Nigerian army, told reporters
An unspecified number of terrorists were killed during the military operation, which included air strikes by the Nigerian forces. He said military operations will continue in the area.
Boko Haram uses Nigeria’s north-east region as its stronghold and has been frequently raided in the past six years. Over the past months, the Nigerian government has launched several military operations to eliminate the terrorist threat.