Remembering Bussa and Bakolori
In 1962, Nigeria decided to dam the River Niger. The area chosen was the area around the catarats where Mungo Park died. After the architects, Balfour Beatty, finished the plans, it became clear that the ancient town of Bussa, the capital of the Bariba people, would be flooded.
Plans were made, and it was decided that the entire town of Bussa would be rebuilt elsewhere before the dam was filled. Thus, New Bussa came about, and the people of Bussa were relocated before the Kainji Dam became operational in 1968. But there was a problem…
The construction of the dam destroyed valuable farmland, and New Bussa was not as fertile as Bussa. The locals thus essentially became peasants. Money that was voted for compensation did not make it to those it was meant for. Essentially, a very Nigeria story in 1968!
Thus it was that without any irony, the very next year (1969) the government decided to build another dam, about 500km away in Bakolori in what is now Zamfara State. Resettlement of the natives started in 1973, and construction started in ’74. Then problems arose…
The same issues with New Bussa propped up, but the people couldn’t really protest as per military government things. But construction, meant to end in 1978, was delayed. Then the government changed in 1979…
So in November 1979, convinced of their democratic rights, the people of Bakolori went to demonstrate at Government House, Sokoto in front of Governor Shehu Kangiwa, who promised to address their grievances promptly. So they waited, and waited, and waited…
Days turned to weeks, and weeks turned to months, and it became clear that Governor Kangiwa had forgotten about them, so they decided to block the construction site, and all hell broke loose. A detachment of the police moved in and removed the protestors by force. Many died. The people of Bakolori said that 380 of their people were killed that day, but the government said that, “only 25 were killed.”