Regular visitors of the ancient city of Zaria would be familiar with the huge silk-cotton trees that adorn the Tudun Wada-Babban Dodo expressway of the city, but may not be aware of their generosity over many, many years.
A popular adage in Hausa links silk-cotton trees with generosity. ‘Audugar Rimi Fasu Kowa Ya Samu’, translates to mean ‘silk-cotton tree, burst for all to get’. Therefore, people who are generous, are often described as the pod of silk-cotton tree. Also known as Ceiba, the trees are very popular in Zaria. However, the trees, according to a version of history, originate from Asia and Europe, and found their way to Zaria and other parts of the North during the slave trade.
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Although there are divergent narratives on the origin of the trees, a researcher, Mohammed Al-Amin of the Nigerian Defence Academy, in an article published by British Journal of Environmental Sciences, said the products made from the silk-cotton trees were exchanged for slaves in Zaria during the days of slave trade. Interested in the products, like mattresses and horse saddles, the indigenes got the seeds and planted them, marking the beginning of an era.
As indigenes further realised the economic value of the silk-cotton trees in the areas of medicine, animal feeds, household items, among others, a wide area was reserved to host a plantation of Ceiba trees.
Alhaji Muhammad Jibo, 86, is one of Zaria’s elder statesmen, and he told Daily Trust that he grew up seeing the silk-cotton trees firmly standing along the Tudun Wada-Babban Dodo expressway. “Then a primary school pupil in 1938, I can recall passing those trees on our way to school,” he said.
According to Al-Amin, the then Emir of Zazzau, Malam Aliyu Dan Sidi, in 1912 proclaimed the whole area where the silk-cotton trees had ‘colonised’ as a green reserve. Restrictions were imposed, especially for settlements, while tree felling, bush burning and other environmental vices were prohibited. However, hunting and crop farming were allowed in the area reserved for the silk-cotton trees.
The Ceiba reserve, according to findings, was initially 117 acres. Therefore, communities lying between Tudun Wada and Kofan Gayan Low Cost Housing Estate were all carved out from this green reserve.
Another version of the history of the Zaria silk-cotton trees is the one given by an expert in the history of the ancient city, Malam Usman Dalhatu. He said his findings have revealed that Ceiba trees can live for between 1,000 and 3,000 years. “There are many areas in Zaria that are named after the silk-cotton trees. Rimin Kwakwa, Rimin Kambari, Rimin Danza, and others, old settlements that date back to pre-Usman Dan Fodio’s Jihad. These settlements get their names because of the prominence of silk-cotton trees in the areas.
“There was a time a German came to Nigeria on research. He took the samples of the trees and went back to Germany. When he came back to Nigeria, he told me that after his investigation, he found that Zaria was naturally blessed with those trees. That is, they are indigenous trees of Zaria and other cities of the North. He was the one that told me that silk-cotton trees can survive up to 3,000 years.”
Dalhat also said development led to the felling of the important trees. “My worries, however, are the fact that we are not replacing them. It is important we preserve the ones we have now, and if necessity calls for their felling, they should be relaced.”
Despite many of them being felled over the years, the few that still stand are still serving many purposes. Some residents use the tress as shade, for the conduct of their businesses. For example, the ones at the ancient gate of Kofar Doka have since become the shelter of local barbers, local manicurists, and many other artisans. The trees along the Tudun Wada-Agoro road provide shelter for suya spots. Also, carvers of mortars and pestles also use the trees for shade. Local mattress-makers are also benefitting from the trees, using the tree’s soft cotton as raw material.
Aside adorning the streets and making the environment look hauntingly beautiful, Zaria’s silk-cotton trees mean different things to different people; they are, therefore, in tandem with the wisdom behind the popular Hausa adage mentioned earlier.
