Day bride, others perished on wedding day

Passengers in the boat patronised by inhabitants of Bagwai
and Badau. Inset: Hafsatu Rabiu, Bilkisu’s motherKola Oyelere writes on how a wedding-day boat mishap claimed the lives of a bride and her well-wishers on River Bagwai in Kano State recently.

For the family of Bilkisu Rabiu in Bagwai Local Government Area of Kano State, marriage is an institution to be respected. Therefore, the day they decided to send their beloved daughter to her husband was a special day in their lives and such a day should be well celebrated.

After the Islamic marriage rites which pronounced Ado Nafiu and Bilkisu husband and wife, it was time to move the bride to her new home at Badau and the easiest and cheapest means of transportation was by water; traveling in a boat. According to Malam Abdulhamid Dan kifi, a boat driver on Bagwai River, boat transportation is one of the popular means of transportation within the whole communities of Bagwai and Badau because it cost only N20 per passenger. Conversely, going by road, he said, the journey would take one through Bichi Local Government Area and this mode cost N120 per passenger. Transportation from Bagwai to Badau by road is about 14 kilometres, by river, it is just six kilometres. Apart from the long distance by road, it is more economical to travel by river.

As is the tradition, young Bilkisu, who was 18 years old, was prepared to meet her husband, Nafiu, at Badau village located about six kilometres across River Bagwai. Bilkisu had, for long, been yearning to be married and have a family as is the dream of every girl.

After the normal Hausa festivities and other necessary requirements for sending Bilikisu out of her father’s house had been concluded, her family contracted a boat driver in the evening to move her and her friends to the bridegroom’s place across the river. The service of the fishermen who was to row the boat which would convey Bilkisu and her friends in three batches to the husband’s place was to cost N1,000.

The boat conveyed well-wishers to Badau village twice, while Nafiu waited to receive his bride at a colourful ceremony. When the boat returned to Bagwai to convey the bride, she boarded it with her entourage of women with their children. She bade her parents farewell and thanked them for making her day unique. Unknown to her and others, she had bidden her last on earth as the journey, which progressed till around 9.00 p.m. on the river, led to their untimely death. The boat, which was said to have carried no fewer than 30 people, capsized.

The painful story was conveyed to the bridegroom that the boat carrying his wife had capsized. Within a short time, it had spread like wild fire. Search and rescue immediately commenced that very night, but all efforts made by divers to save the passengers’ untimely death met a stone wall; everywhere was in darkness. Before day-break, the ugly incident had claimed no fewer than 27 lives, mostly of women and their children.

Young Bilikisu and her loyal friends were sent to untimely death. The entire Bagwai and its environs were thrown into deep mourning, agony and confusion. While some blamed the devil for separating the bride from her bridegroom, other sympathisers said only the Almighty Allah who controls everything can provide an answer to the tragedy.

Mother of late Bilkisu, Hajiya Hafsatu Rabiu, said the family had accepted what happened as an act of Allah. She said only Allah knew the best and that nobody could query Him on that.

“One day, all of us must answer the call of Allah. We don’t have any option when death comes to ask for our lives,” she said, recalling what her daughter said before the fateful voyage.

“Although when my daughter was about leaving, she stated that she never wanted to leave, but one thing that was certain was that no amount of years she spent with her parents, she ought to leave one day for her husband’s house.”

Amid sobs, late Bilkisu’s father, Malam Rabiu Zakari, said “it’s unfortunate and sorrowful because our daughter lost her life in the process to actualise our religious teaching of going out for marriage; it is directed by Islam.

“I will never forget that fateful day because at that time, already our family members preached to her that marriage was part of Islamic practice and that she ought to obey all the rules and regulations of marriage and respect her groom. Unknown to us, Bilkisu will not remain alive to savour marital bliss.”

But in a curious twist, the chief fisherman of the locality, Sarkin Ruwa, Malam Umaru Bagwai, disclosed that the river claimed lives of about five people every year. He said during the 2005 population census, it claimed over seven lives, including that of a youth corps member from Lagos.

Some boat experts who spoke on the accident said it was caused by overloading. Others, however, disagreed, saying what Allah had destined would surely come to pass.
But Malam Isyaku Mai Kanwa of Badau village blamed government for the accident. He said “the government is to blame as it knows the condition of people living along Badau to Bagwai town and nothing was done to assist them in terms of procurement of a modern boat for their transportation.”

One of the survivors of the Bilkisu tragedy, Yahaya Rabiu, who swam to safety when the unfortunate incidence occurred, said “the boat operator, Abdullahi Sani, tried all he could to control the boat when it hit a tree in the river, but the situation was beyond his control. “When I discovered that all hope was lost to save the boat from capsizing, I jumped into the river because I am an expert in swimming. When I hit the water, I overheard people in the boat shouting ‘inna lillahi wa inna ilahir rajiun,’ meaning from God we came and to him we shall return.”

Chairman of Bagwai Local Government Area, Alhaji Abdulwahab Idris, engaged some divers who discovered some corpses which were later buried according to Muslim rites.
Immediately the incident occurred, the state governor, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, paid condolence visit to families of victims and promised to alleviate the myriad of problems the masses of the area faced in terms of transportation. The state government also provided the people financial assistance, while the local government also assisted the affected families.

Malam Shekarau urged the families to accept what happened as an act of Allah.

Although Bilkisu and her friends have gone, those they left behind will not forget the tragedy in a hurry. It is only hoped that the authorities concerned would see reason and provide the people with the appropriate means of transportation to avoid reoccurrence.