Our attention has been drawn to the purported rejoinder of the Zaar Sayawa Traditional Worship Shrine in response to Professor Salisu Shehu’s recent advertorial “A THRONE ON A SEA OF BLOOD: A VICTIM’S REFLECTION ON THE FATE OF TAFAWA BALEWA AND THE DISTRICT HEAD OF TAFAWA BALEWA” the advertorial was published by Alfijir online newspaper of December 18th, 2025.
The said Zaar’s response was titled: PRESS STATEMENT REJECTING FALSE NARRATIVE, DEFENDING HISTORY AND PROTECTING PEACE IN TAFAWA BALEWA MOSQUE BUILT ON A ZAAR TRADITIONAL WORSHIP SHRINE.
On behalf of the members of the Tafawa Balewa Town Development Association (TABTODA), we find it necessary to respond to the Sayawa Press statement because their rejoinder was full of lies and distortions of historical records, misconceptions and contradictions aimed to bury centuries of documented history.
It is in order to clear such phantoms that our rejoinder becomes imperative to explain what has happened and the tragedy in which the Muslim Ummah of Tafawa-Balewa town found itself over three decades (1991-2025).
First and foremost, there is the need to note that Professor Salisu Shehu (Walin Tafawa Balewa) is a bona fide native of Tafawa Balewa town who is considered a very important stakeholder representing the displaced Muslims of the town and its environs who had suffered many barbaric atrocities of the Sayawa Christians. His statements are not unilateral but a representation of our collective interests
and decisions. To us, he is a hero and a celebrated patriotic citizen and peace-loving personality who always insists that only justice can bring peace.
Besides that, in their rejoinder they described Professor Shehu’s write up as “threat to peace, distortions deliberately designed to incite hatred against Zaar through false allegation of genocide….” In our response to that, we hereby state unequivocally that all what they have said is not true. Indeed we hereby inform the World that they had actually committed incessant and internecine atrocities against the Muslims and now they want us to remain silent so that the truth can be suppressed.
They are now shamelessly pretending to be innocent and peace-loving people because they have now achieved their obnoxious aim through unorthodox means by expelling their innocent neighbors. That was how they were described by the Report of Justice Babalakin Commission of Enquiry into the 1991 crisis.
The Sayawa should note that all their atrocities are properly documented and the general public are entitled to know the correct version of it and it is only history that can vindicate the just so that the world can scrutinize the truth. Babalakin in the aforementioned report clearly pinpointed the aggressors (SAYAWA CHRISTIANS) and the aggressed (THE MUSLIM COMMUNITY) and the records are there in all relevant government offices., agencies and archives, and we also have full records of everything!
In addition to that, they accused him for refusing to acknowledge the Zaar Muslims who live peacefully alongside their Traditional and Christian kinsmen. That is also a wicked lie.. How many Sayawa Muslims were killed during the attacks and aggressions in Tafawa Balewa in 1991, 1995, 2001 and 2011? How many Sayawa Muslims were forced to leave the town and since then are living as Internally Displaced Persons? Don’t they ostracize and ‘ex-communicate’ their kinsmen who convert to Islam and derogatorily call them “Volti Nazari” (those Sayawa who somersault in prayer)?
They consider such Muslims as traitors. If you visit the present-day Tafawa Balewa you will find that the town has become a domicile exclusively for Sayawa Christian only. In fact, the situation is so terrible that there is even no sinlge SAYAWA MUSLIM, to the best of our knowledge, that is presently living in Tafawa Balewa town as at the time of putting down this particular piece. As far as we know, is the only community of that size (in terms of population) that the residents are exclusively one religion and one single ethnic group in Nigeria. Is that what they call living peacefully alongside their traditional and Christian kinsmen? Who was it that killed over 80 persons that were buried in a mass grave inside the District Head Palace in 1991? Are they looking for a justification for the siting of the Zaar Palace over the mass grave? That was what Professor Salisu Shehu was describing as A THRONE ON A SEA OF BLOOD!
Another point is the Sayawa claim that, “the present ruined Central Mosque in Mhrim (Tafawa Balewa) was historically a Zaar Traditional Worship Shrine (known as “the Lot”) headed by Sengwari Jondi, the Chief Priest at that time. The shrine existed long before the migration of Fulani Islamic Jihadist into the ancient town of Mhrim, the ancestral home of Zaar people”. Do you know that written history and archeological facts are considered more authentic and reliable if they are in disagreement with oral tradition? The myth about the existence of a shrine of Sengwari Jondi at the District Head’s Palace is a concocted story which is recently peddled to actualize their mission.
Authentic history reveals events, places, names and dates the events took place. In that case, when did the Sengwari Jondi reign at that place? Who was the pioneer Sarkin Tsafi of the Zaar tribe? Who did Sengwari Jondi succeed? Tafawa Balewa town has never been referred to as Mhrim or Pusji in any historical record, The Sayawa Christian militias now disguised themselves as idols worshippers to claim the ownership of the District Head’s Palace and the ruined Central Mosque and call it an idol worshipping center.
It is even laughable that the Sayawa people have not yet settled amongst themselves about the name of Tafawa-Balewa in their language (sayanci). Only about three 3) decades ago they coined the name Pusji (black rock), never heard of before. They have now realized that they are being mocked at regarding that name, as they had only tried to translate the Fulani naming of the town in Fulfulde -Tafawa-Balewa (Huge black rock) into their language. They are now trying to abandon that because of shame and have come up, less than one year now with the new name, Mhrim, never heard of before. For the avoidance of doubt, we wish to state that, the word Pusji, is never seen, and cannot be found in any book of history or archive, not to talk of Mhrim.
We challenge Mbami Iliya Sabka to provide a genealogy of the priests of the the shrine prior to the Sayawa expulsion by the Fulani. Do you know that it was during Yakubun Bauchi in 1807 that the District Palace was relocated from Lere to Tafawa Balewa for administrative convenience? Do you know that the origin of the Sayawa is Bogoro? For ease of reference, kindly refer to the Memorandum on the Ethnographic Notes written by Mr. W. Morgan the Residential Officer of Bauchi Province in 1923. Mr. Morgan revealed that “The first Chief of Sayawa tribe to come from Kanem was one Gwom who settled at Bogoro, their biggest place of “Tsafi” of that region is at Dazara in Boi Gunduma which is said to have been found there on their arrival” The document was registered as: SNP 425/1923/19 in the National Archives, Kaduna. So, Tafawa Balewa has never been a place for Sayawa Traditional Worship Shrine. On the owners of Tafawa Balewa, we refer you to page 5 of the Right Honourable Gentleman, The Life and Times of the Prime Minister of Nigeria: Alhaji Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa by Trebor Clark.
On top of that, the Sayawa in their rejoinder to Professor Salisu Shehu have mentioned that: “We trust that His Excellency Governor Bala Muhammad Abdulkadir understand, the historical sensitivity surrounding the present Central Mosque which stands on a land that was originally a Zaar Traditional Worship Shrine and will continue to uphold fairness, truth and peaceful coexistence in Bauchi State”
Which history book has the Governor read that entitles him to this bogus claim by the Zaar people?
In view of that and on the issue of citing the headquarters of the Sayawa Chiefdom and certainly the construction of palace for the said Chief, our position was already made clear. The issue is currently being prosecuted at High Court 6, Bauchi in a suit No. BA/31/2025 BETWEEN ALH. MAIGIDA ABDULLAHI (Sarkin Tafawa Balewa) & 206 OTHERS (suing for themselves and on behalf of the Non-Sayawa Communities and the Internally Displaced Non-Sayawa Citizens of Tafawa Balewa now residing in Bauchi, Bununu, Burgel, Dass, Mararaban Liman Katagum and environs) VS BAUCHI STATE GOVRNMENT & 75 OTHERS. The Sayawa are already a party to the case. Though there was a Court contempt but we would pursue it to its logical conclusion insha-Allah. However, since they claimed that Governor Bala Muhammad understood the historical sensitivity surrounding the ruined Central Mosque of Tafawa Balewa, this is a welcomed development. On our side, we are fully aware that anything religious is taken very sensitive, easy to raise tension and certainly cause destructions. We agree, the Governor is in the better position to clarify whether it was originally a Mosque or Shrine of the Sayawa?
Finally, we believe that no matter how long it will take truth will triumph over falsehood. The Bauchi State House of Assembly and the Executive Arm of the Government have done what they have done, but they should remember the saying of one Hausa singer who said that the Government Chair is like that of the barber. When the barbing is finished the barbed must leave the Chair. As the Government has reversed the decision of its predecessors, so we believe that this decision of theirs will one day be reversed. The Truth shall always prevail over falsehood. “Wal Aqibatu Lit Taqwa, Wal Aqibatu lil Muttaqeen”
Singn
Dr Shuaibu Saleh Umar (Magayakin Tafawa Balewa) CHAIRMAN TABTODA
Yunusa Ado (Sa’in Tafawa Balewa) SECRETARY GENERAL
3rd Rajab, 1447 (25th December, 2025)
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