Marok Gandu

Marok Gandu, also Marock Gandu and Marok Gandu of Magata (18?? - 1902) was a West African anti-slave raiding Atyap war leader who died in defense of his homeland.

Marok Gandu of Magata
Born	18?? Magata, Jei, Atyapland, West Africa (now Magata, Jei, Atyapland, southern Kaduna State, Nigeria)
Died	1902 Santswan forest, Atyapland
Cause of death	Execution by impalement
Occupation	Soldier Farmer Hunter
Known for	Military commander of the Atyap anti-slave raiding forces

Gandu was

"...the leading warrior and the most gallant military commander of the Atyap anti-slavery raiding forces..."[1]

— Toure Kazah-Toure

He was later captured by the Hausa forces led by the last independent king of Zazzau (Zaria), Muhammad Kwassau, during his 1902 raid on the Atyap which had been on since circa 1897. According to British claims, these raids caused the massacre of only over 1,000 Atyap people.[2] These raids came to be known as Tyong Kwasa̱u in Tyap (meaning, "running away from Kwassau"). Gandu hailed from Magata, an important village of the Jei sub-clan of the Agbaat clan, which happens to be the leading military clan of the Atyap.[1] His heroic acts as a legendary commander against external aggression in the history of his people's resistance was thought to have been almost totally neglected.[note 1]

Capture and execution

Gandu was captured in 1902 by the Hausa feudal forces in an ambush while the Atyap staged a fight but could not salvage their leader. He was tortured and later executed by impalement at Santswan forest, Atyapland.[note 2] A spear was then plunged into his heart from his chest. To symbolise mockery, a flowing gown of the Hausa was then worn over his body and a turban round his head. Other Atyap fighters caught by the Kwassau forces were then led to the execution spot and told to behold their chief.[3] It was reported that Kwassau resorted to impaling his captives on stakes, setting others ablaze alive and burying yet others alive, to force the rest of the people into submission.[note 3][4]

Another version presented by Ninyio (2008) from an oral account reveals the capture of Gandu as thus:

"Some Atyab people betrayed him by collaborating with Zazzau slave raiders. Before he was murdered, he was dressed with complete Hausa Sarauta (chieftaincy) regalia i.e. a big gown capped with Jan dara (red cap) and turbaned. In addition, he was given cigarette to smoke with kola nut to chew like a Hausa ruler and he was mocked and addressed "raika shidade Sarkin Katab." This literally means 'long live the king of Katab (Atyap)'."

He was reportedly impaled on a stake after the dramatic mockery. The execution of which led to a great weakening of Atyap resistance against the British on the eve of the colonial invasion.[5]

Yohanna (n.d.) and Akau (2014) also made mention of his execution, but with a date at variance with the others'.[6][7]

Legacy

According to Kazah-Toure in Achi et al. (2019), a solemn song was sung in his memory up until the 1940s, all over Atyapland during celebrations and ceremonies, to remember his heroism, fall, brutal execution and the turbulent times of his days, and which ironically was not composed in Tyap, but in Hausa language. [8]

References

Footnotes

1. There has been (perhaps) a deliberate attempt not to keep the heroic figure of Marock and his memory alive among the Atyap people. Partly through the dominant ideological and other influences of the Church both its Catholic and Protestant variants coupled with all the British colonialists did to hide as well as distort Atyap history (in collaboration with the Hausa aristocrats) nothing came to be taught to the later generations about their own past and martyrs like Marok Gandu; and the deeds of Marock should remain sacred on the memory of the Atyap people. Marok paid the highest price on defence of his homeland and its people. : Achi et al. 2019, p. 136
2. Continuous military attacks by Zazzau and the resultant devastation did not put down the resistance by the Atyap, while they could not repulse the external raids completely. Between circa 1900 and 1902 the leading warrior and commander of the Atyap forces, Marok Gandu, was captured by the Zazzau invaders. This culminated in his capture and execution, by impaling on the stake. A resultant development was the serious weakening of the nerve of the resistance on the eve of British invasion (Kazah-Toure 1995). : Kazah-Toure 2012, p. 92
3. At Magata, Mayayit, Makarau and Ashong Ash[y]ui, Kwassau met with stiff resistance. He resorted to impaling captives on stakes and burning others alive. Among those said to have been impaled on stakes was Marok of Magata. It was also said that Zinyip Kutunku and Kuntai Mado of Mashan were buried alive. This action was to coerce people into submission. Instead, such insensitivity, and cruelty created a lingering resentment of all that the emirate stood for to the extent that the generation of today still nurse the same resentment. : Achi et al. 2019, p. 92

In-citations

1. Achi et al. 2019, p. 123
2. Spurway, Michael V. (1932). "Zango Katab Notes". National Archives Kaduna (NAK): ZAR Prof No. 607
3. Achi et al. 2019, pp. 123-4
4. Kazah-Toure 2012, p. 92
5. Ninyio, Y. S. (2008). Pre-colonial History of Atyab (Kataf). Ya-Byangs Publishers, Jos. pp. 82–2. ISBN 978-978-54678-5-7.
6. Yohanna, S. (n.d.). The National Questions: Ethnic Minorities and Conflicts in Northern Nigeria. Kagoro: Macrom Prints. p. 147.
7. Akau, K. T. L. (2014). The Tyap-English Dictionary. Benin City. pp. xiii–xiv. ISBN 978-978-0272-15-9.
8. Achi et al. (2019), pp. 124-5

Bibliography

• Achi, B.; Bitiyonɡ, Y. A.; Bunɡwon, A. D.; Baba, M. Y.; Jim, L. K. N.; Kazah-Toure, M.; Philips, J. E. (2019). A Short History of the Atyap. Tamaza Publishinɡ Co. Ltd., Zaria. pp. 9–245. ISBN 978-978-54678-5-7.
• Kazah-Toure, Toure (2012). "Citizenship and Indigeneity Conflicts in Nigeria" [Identity Conflicts: Belonging and Exclusion in Zangon Katab]. Citizenship Rights Africa: 88–121.