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Kano City Wall Under Threat:Who Will Save Our Heritage

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<p><&excl;-- BEGIN THEIA POST SLIDER --><&sol;p>&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 3&period;0&period;2 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad4" id&equals;"quads-ad4" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p><div class&equals;"c3DQzff9" style&equals;"clear&colon;both&semi;float&colon;left&semi;width&colon;100&percnt;&semi;margin&colon;0 0 20px 0&semi;"><script async src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;pagead2&period;googlesyndication&period;com&sol;pagead&sol;js&sol;adsbygoogle&period;js"><&sol;script> &NewLine;<&excl;-- TV --> &NewLine;<ins class&equals;"adsbygoogle" &NewLine; style&equals;"display&colon;block" &NewLine; data-ad-client&equals;"ca-pub-4403533287178375" &NewLine; data-ad-slot&equals;"4399361195" &NewLine; data-ad-format&equals;"auto" &NewLine; data-full-width-responsive&equals;"true"><&sol;ins> &NewLine;<script> &NewLine; &lpar;adsbygoogle &equals; window&period;adsbygoogle &vert;&vert; &lbrack;&rsqb;&rpar;&period;push&lpar;&lbrace;&rcub;&rpar;&semi; &NewLine;<&sol;script><&sol;div>&NewLine;<p>Kabiru Haruna Isa<&sol;p><div class&equals;"pjBexwJ7" style&equals;"clear&colon;both&semi;float&colon;left&semi;width&colon;100&percnt;&semi;margin&colon;0 0 20px 0&semi;"><script async src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;pagead2&period;googlesyndication&period;com&sol;pagead&sol;js&sol;adsbygoogle&period;js"><&sol;script> &NewLine;<&excl;-- TV --> &NewLine;<ins class&equals;"adsbygoogle" &NewLine; style&equals;"display&colon;block" &NewLine; data-ad-client&equals;"ca-pub-4403533287178375" &NewLine; data-ad-slot&equals;"4399361195" &NewLine; data-ad-format&equals;"auto" &NewLine; data-full-width-responsive&equals;"true"><&sol;ins> &NewLine;<script> &NewLine; &lpar;adsbygoogle &equals; window&period;adsbygoogle &vert;&vert; &lbrack;&rsqb;&rpar;&period;push&lpar;&lbrace;&rcub;&rpar;&semi; &NewLine;<&sol;script><&sol;div>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Heritage is our collective treasure&comma; given to us and ours to bequeath to our children”&period; Margaret MacMillan<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>History is made by both great and ordinary people in the society&period; The ordinary people can transform and propel themselves into the position of greatness by doing ordinary thing in a great way&period; The cultural heritage in form of monuments&comma; relics&comma; artefacts and paintings were mostly constructed and produced by the labour of ordinary people often based on the directive&sol;guidance of leaders of the society&period; Each society has a number of structures that it identifies and reveres as its heritage which are bequeathed from one generation to another&period; These monuments and structures connect current generations with their ancestors&period; They help reenact the past and instill the sense of pride&comma; glory and dignity&period; Heritage and monuments have power to make impact on the economies and revenue generations of many<br &sol;>&NewLine;countries&period; Therefore&comma; heritage can be seen as an economic unit or firm that provides certain<br &sol;>&NewLine;services to visitors in return for payment&period; Substantial amount of money is spent when<br &sol;>&NewLine;visiting monuments both in terms of entry fees to museums&comma; shops and restaurants’ bills&comma; as well as other logistics &&num;8211&semi; hotel&sol;guest house&period; The visitors have strong effects on local economies&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;nigeriantracker&period;com&sol;2022&sol;10&sol;09&sol;shareholders-associations-knock-kogi-govt-say-action-on-dangote-cement-dangerous-for-investment&sol;">Shareholders associations knock Kogi Govt&comma; say action on Dangote Cement&comma; dangerous for investment<&sol;a><br &sol;>&NewLine;The importance of heritage makes advanced countries and civilizations to jealously preserve and conserve them for the younger generations to appreciate and learn from them&period; Canada&comma; as one of the most civilized and developed countries in the world&comma; established a Department of Canadian Heritage in 1993 ostensibly to promote and support national identity and values&comma; cultural development and heritage&period; This should serve as a lesson to less technologically advanced societies in Africa and other parts of the globe&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 3&period;0&period;2 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad1" id&equals;"quads-ad1" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<div class&equals;"zHU76xA7" style&equals;"clear&colon;both&semi;float&colon;left&semi;width&colon;100&percnt;&semi;margin&colon;0 0 20px 0&semi;"><script async src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;pagead2&period;googlesyndication&period;com&sol;pagead&sol;js&sol;adsbygoogle&period;js"><&sol;script> &NewLine;<ins class&equals;"adsbygoogle" &NewLine; style&equals;"display&colon;block&semi; text-align&colon;center&semi;" &NewLine; data-ad-layout&equals;"in-article" &NewLine; data-ad-format&equals;"fluid" &NewLine; data-ad-client&equals;"ca-pub-4403533287178375" &NewLine; data-ad-slot&equals;"6550225277"><&sol;ins> &NewLine;<script> &NewLine; &lpar;adsbygoogle &equals; window&period;adsbygoogle &vert;&vert; &lbrack;&rsqb;&rpar;&period;push&lpar;&lbrace;&rcub;&rpar;&semi; &NewLine;<&sol;script><&sol;div>&NewLine;<p>Kano is an ancient city&comma; whose tangible and intangible history attracts attention of researchers and scholars both within and without Africa to investigate and reconstruct its fascinating past&period; One of the material and tangible histories of Kano is the ganuwa &lpar;the city-wall&rpar;&comma; which encircled&comma; fortified&comma; enclosed&comma; beautified and decorated ancient human settlements including the historic Gidan Rumfa &lpar;Emir’s Palace&rpar;&period; According to many historical sources&comma; the construction of the city-wall started in the 12th century during the reign of Sarki Gijimasu &lpar;c&period; 1095 -1134&rpar; and continued in the subsequent centuries up to the completion level&period; The wall served as a defensive mechanism and fortification to the city and its growing population&comma; burgeoning economy and culture&period; It has more than a dozen gates and is about 24 kilometres long&comma; 40 feet wide and at the base&comma; and 30 to 50 feet high&period; The wall had been in existence for over 800 years and the successive leaders&comma; both traditional and political&comma; helped in its preservation and conservation because&comma; to use Macmillan words&comma; it is our collective treasure given to us and ours to bequeath to the generations yet unborn&period; But alas&comma; the wall is now facing extinction in the 21st century due to illegal encroachment&comma; mind-boggling plundering and atrocious destruction&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 3&period;0&period;2 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad3" id&equals;"quads-ad3" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>As a student of history and patriotic son of Kano&comma; I have a responsibility to remind my fellow citizens&comma; especially those who are accomplices&comma; as the constructors of the wall made good history&comma; which makes us to celebrate them&comma; they are conversely making another history of destroying and expropriating our collective heritage&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The city wall symbolizes our identity&comma; cultural artefact&comma; civilization and material history&comma; which earns our society’s respect&period; The wall&comma; coupled with other historic sites&comma; attract tourists from different continents who patronize local economy and entrepreneurs in our various markets such as Kurmi&comma; Kwari&comma; Sabon Gari and the likes&period; The existence of the wall gives protection to polluted&comma; yet environmentally functional&comma; ponds&comma; which recharge city’s table water and aquifers and contribute in averting water scarcity&period; In recent years&comma; Kano city has been experiencing unprecedented floods occasioned mostly by the destruction of the wall and conversion of ponds into settlements&period; In addition&comma; the destruction and conversion of the wall into commercial plots deprive the city of its open space&comma; which serves as a place for recreation and sports to ever exploding youth population&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>At this juncture&comma; I will conclude with a submission that our traditional rulers&comma; whose ancestors built the wall&comma; Kano elders&comma; environmentalists&sol;environmental activists&comma; UNESCO&comma; National Commission for Museums and Monuments and intellectuals have significant role to play in saving the monument from the &OpenCurlyQuote;spectacular demolition’ and imminent extinction&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Finally&comma; I exhort the authority concerned to immediately stop the ongoing destruction of the wall in order to preserve our history and identity and&comma; more importantly&comma; to protect our settlements from seasonal flood&period; I will close with the words of wisdom of Wendell Phillips&comma; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;the heritage of the past is the seed that brings forth the harvest of the future”&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Kabiru writes from the Department of History&comma; Bayero University Kano<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><&excl;-- END THEIA POST SLIDER -->&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 3&period;0&period;2 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad4" id&equals;"quads-ad4" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<script async src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;pagead2&period;googlesyndication&period;com&sol;pagead&sol;js&sol;adsbygoogle&period;js"><&sol;script> &NewLine;<ins class&equals;"adsbygoogle" &NewLine; style&equals;"display&colon;block" &NewLine; data-ad-format&equals;"autorelaxed" &NewLine; data-ad-client&equals;"ca-pub-4403533287178375" &NewLine; data-ad-slot&equals;"1004305389"><&sol;ins> &NewLine;<script> &NewLine; &lpar;adsbygoogle &equals; window&period;adsbygoogle &vert;&vert; &lbrack;&rsqb;&rpar;&period;push&lpar;&lbrace;&rcub;&rpar;&semi; &NewLine;<&sol;script>&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 3&period;0&period;2 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad5" id&equals;"quads-ad5" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;

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