Zulum Flags Off Jerusalem Pilgrimage, Urges 230 Travellers to Be Good Ambassadors

Tada Jutha, Maiduguri

Borno State Governor, Prof. Babagana Umara Zulum, has bid farewell to 230 Christian intending pilgrims heading to Jerusalem, urging them to conduct themselves responsibly and pray for peace and development in the state and the country.

The farewell ceremony held on Wednesday at Wulari–Jerusalem EYN Church in Maiduguri saw the governor represented by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Malam Bukar Tijani.

“I thank our governor for facilitating this year’s Christian pilgrimage to Jerusalem in Israel,” Tijani said, noting that despite past security challenges, Borno residents are now living in an atmosphere of peace and harmony.

He encouraged both male and female pilgrims to be “responsible ambassadors of Borno and Nigeria” by demonstrating exemplary conduct throughout the two-week holy trip.

Tijani further highlighted the importance of unity, peaceful coexistence, and prayers for leaders and the nation, urging the group to “act as brothers’ keepers, uphold goodwill, and promote positive values.”

Executive Secretary of the Borno State Christian Pilgrims Welfare Board (BOCPW), Elder James Rangi Ndirmbita, expressed gratitude to Governor Zulum, Deputy Governor Usman Kadafur, and the Commissioner of Religious Affairs for sustaining government support to Christian pilgrims.

He said the exercise was vital for spiritual development and strengthening bonds among diverse communities in the state.

In a vote of thanks, Bishop John Bakeni—represented by Rev. Iliya Ndirmbita—appreciated the governor for “people-orientated development projects” and for enabling the pilgrimage to become a reality for many Christians in Borno.

He noted that Christians in the state “continue to enjoy peaceful coexistence under the governor’s exemplary leadership” and assured that pilgrims would intercede for Borno and Nigeria while in the Holy Land.

Other dignitaries present included the Commissioner for Religious Affairs, Alhaji Babagana Malarima, and other senior government officials.

The ceremony underscored the state government’s commitment to promoting spiritual welfare, harmony, and mutual respect among its citizens as the pilgrims embark on their journey to Jerusalem.

Zulum Flags Off Mega School Projects in Hawul, Targets Out-of-School Children

By Tada Jutha, Maiduguri

Borno State Governor, Prof. Babagana Umara Zulum, has kicked off the construction of two mega secondary schools in Hawul Local Government Area as part of renewed efforts to reduce out-of-school children and strengthen education delivery in southern Borno.

During a two-day working visit to the council, Zulum also laid the foundation for a 48-classroom High Islamic College (HIMC) in Shafa community along the Biu–Garkida–Gombi road. The facility, he explained, will operate under the accredited curriculum of the National Board for Arabic and Islamic Studies (NBAIS) and is tailored to blend modern and Islamic education for learners in the south senatorial zone.

“This college, after completion, will provide a holistic and modern Islamic education,” the governor said at the foundation-laying ceremony on Wednesday. “It will integrate digital knowledge, numeracy, literacy and vocational skills, in line with our campaign promises to empower young people and fight poverty.”

Zulum stated that the HIMC model is intended to produce students equipped with both formal and authentic Islamic knowledge, bridging the gap between religious study and employability.

A second mega school project was unveiled in Marama town, aimed at expanding access to quality learning facilities across all 27 LGAs in the state. Zulum disclosed that a two-storey school building with 36 classrooms and modern educational amenities will be constructed in the area.

He further announced plans to bolster the teaching workforce, revealing that more teachers will be recruited to complement the existing 4,000 currently in the public school system.

“Due to the shortage of qualified teachers, we must recruit competent ones who are indigenes of Marama community to teach in this mega secondary school,” he said, assuring residents that his administration remains committed to delivering on promises and transforming the education sector.

The governor was accompanied by the Commissioner of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, Lawan Abba Wakilbe, who jointly performed the foundation-laying.

Beyond the education sector, Zulum also visited the National Orthopaedic Hospital in Azare, a facility rehabilitated and donated by the Borno State Government to accelerate its take-off and improve healthcare service delivery in the southern senatorial district.

Other newly commissioned projects in Hawul included a shopping complex and several market stalls designed to stimulate commerce and grow the council’s internally generated revenue.

From Empire to Identity: How the Kanem-Borno Cultural Summit Rekindles a Thousand-Year African Legacy

By Tada jutha, Maiduguri

Long before modern borders carved Africa into nation-states and colonial maps fractured shared histories and kinship, the Kanema-Borno Empire stood as one of the most enduring civilisations the continent had ever known. Rising from the sands around Lake Chad in the 9th century, Kanem-Borno was not merely a kingdom; it was a living network of culture, trade, scholarship, and identity that stretched across what are today Nigeria, Chad, Niger, Cameroon, Libya, and beyond.

The Sayfawa dynasty ruled the empire for more than a thousand years. Islamic scholarship strengthened it, and trade routes across the Sahara Desert connected Central Africa to North Africa and the Mediterranean world. Its rulers built institutions, fostered learning, and cultivated a shared Kanuri identity that transcended geography. Even as empires elsewhere rose and fell, Kanem-Borno adapted, migrated, and survived.

Yet history, though powerful, is not immune to disruption. Colonial partitions, post-independence political upheavals, economic marginalisation, climate change around Lake Chad, and, more recently, violent extremism have fractured communities that once spoke the same language, shared the same customs, and traced their lineage to the same ancestral roots. The Kanuri people, once bound by empire, found themselves separated by borders, policies, and insecurity.

It is against this backdrop of history, loss, and resilience that the Kanem-Borno Cultural Summit (KBCS) emerges not as a mere celebration but as a deliberate act of remembrance and reconstruction.

A Modern Gathering Rooted in Ancient Memory

On a Thursday in Maiduguri, the heartland of the old empire, history returned—not in the form of conquest or coronation, but through dialogue, dance, and shared identity. Thousands of Kanuri kinsmen and women from ten African countries converged at the Mohammed Indimi International Conference Centre to celebrate this year’s Kanem-Borno Cultural Summit.

Hosting the gathering, Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, described the summit as a strategic effort to revive cultural heritage and deploy it as a tool for peacebuilding and sustainable development across Africa.

“This summit”, Zulum said, “represents a deliberate effort to rebuild transnational kinship networks based on a shared identity, to create a supportive global community that can tackle the myriads of challenges collaboratively.”

The statement carried weight. Borno State, once the epicentre of the Kanem-Borno Empire, has in recent decades become synonymous with insurgencies, displacements, and humanitarian crises. Yet here it was—repositioning itself not just as a survivor of conflict, but as a convener of continental unity.

A Continental Reunion of the Scattered People

The summit attracted 161 traditional rulers, top government officials, scholars, and cultural custodians, alongside thousands of Kanuri participants from Ghana, Sudan, Gabon, Niger, Central African Republic, Senegal, Libya, Chad, Cameroon, and Benin.

For many attendees, the gathering was deeply emotional. Families separated for generations by borders met under one roof. Elders spoke in Kanuri dialects shaped by geography but united by origin. Youths, some born in exile or diaspora, encountered their heritage not through textbooks, but through living culture.

Governor Zulum urged participants to go beyond celebration and invest in shared development.

“You are to invest in a shared future,” he told the gathering, “to ensure that the illustrious legacy of the Kanem-Borno remains an inspiration for future generations among the member countries.”

Culture as a Tool for Healing and Development

The summit’s program reflected this vision. Beyond speeches, it featured traditional dances, cultural displays, and ceremonial performances, with colourful contingents dressed in costumes representing different regions of the old empire. Each dance told a story—of harvest, migration, royalty, and resistance. Each drumbeat echoed centuries of memory.

But culture, as Zulum emphasised, is not only about the past.

Speaking in the Kanuri language, the governor challenged participants to focus on educational exchange, entrepreneurial collaboration, and socio-economic initiatives capable of uplifting Kanuri communities across borders.

This approach reframes culture not as nostalgia but as capital—social capital that can foster trust, economic networks, and collective problem-solving in a region still grappling with insecurity and underdevelopment.

Reclaiming the Narrative of the Kanem-Borno Empire

In reflecting on the significance of the summit, Zulum reminded the audience of the empire’s historical stature.

“The Kanem-Borno Empire was one of the greatest and longest-lasting empires in African history,” he said. “It flourished for over 1,000 years, approximately from the 9th to the 19th century, in the region of Lake Chad.”

This reminder was more than academic. In a global narrative that often marginalises African civilisations, reclaiming the Kanem-Borno story is an act of intellectual and cultural resistance. It asserts that African societies were organised, scholarly, and globally connected long before colonialism.

Investing in Unity Through Education

Perhaps the most tangible outcome of the summit was Governor Zulum’s announcement of scholarships for 150 students from countries that once formed the Kanem-Borno Empire. The gesture symbolised a belief that education remains the strongest bridge between past glory and future possibility.

In a region where conflict has disrupted schooling for millions, the scholarship initiative serves both symbolic and practical purposes—fostering unity while empowering a new generation of leaders, scholars, and entrepreneurs who understand their shared heritage.

Regional and Traditional Endorsement

The summit also enjoyed high-level regional endorsement. The President of Chad, Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno, represented by the Governor of Lac Province, Major General Saleh Haggar Tidjani, proposed that the summit be institutionalised and rotated among member countries every ten years.

Such a proposal elevates the KBCS from an event to a movement—one capable of shaping diplomatic, cultural, and developmental cooperation across borders.

Other dignitaries in attendance underscored the summit’s national and international relevance. They included Yobe State Governor Mai Mala Buni; former Vice President Ambassador Babagana Kingibe; the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III; Senators Mohammed Tahir Monguno and Mohammed Ali Ndume; and Kaka Shehu Lawan.

Also present were members of the House of Representatives, speakers of the Borno and Yobe State Houses of Assembly, emirs and chiefs from across Nigeria, commissioners, lawmakers, and senior government officials.

Their presence reinforced the idea that culture, when properly harnessed, can complement governance and diplomacy.

Beyond Ceremony: A Blueprint for Post-Conflict Identity

What sets the Kanem-Borno Cultural Summit apart is its timing. Coming after years of insurgency that fractured trust and displaced communities, the summit represents a post-conflict identity project—a conscious attempt to heal wounds through shared memory.

In rebuilding Borno, Governor Zulum’s administration has focused on infrastructure, resettlement, and security. The KBCS adds another layer: psychological and cultural reconstruction. It tells the Kanuri people that they are more than victims of conflict; they are heirs to an empire that once shaped Africa.

A Legacy Reawakened

As the summit drew to a close, the drums fell silent, but the message endured. The Kanem-Borno Empire may no longer exist as a political entity, but its spirit—rooted in unity, resilience, and cultural pride—remains alive.

In reviving this legacy, the Kanem-Borno Cultural Summit offers more than celebration. It offers a roadmap: one where history informs development, culture fosters peace, and identity transcends borders.

From empire to identity, from memory to movement, the story of Kanem-Borno is being retold—not as a relic of the past, but as a living force shaping Africa’s future.