The Pabir of Biu (Viu): People Lost in Ethnic and Cultural Mist

By: Joseph SHALANGWA

I have been an ardent follower and reader of works published by NEWSng for quite some time, where some works on Bura-Pabir were published, but one interesting piece that came to the fore was “The Lingering Bura-Pabir Question (1&2),” published in 2024, which is somehow related to this article.

Therefore, this work is not to mock or disregard the Pabir as people who are ghastly lost in the mist of ethnic and cultural identity. The work is a historical enlightenment to the people of Nigeria who have routed the Bura and the Pabir as the same people, but historically no, and never are they the same. For political reasons, yes. Just like the Hausa-Fulani coinage.

I want readers to know from this day forward that there is no tribe or ethnic group independently called Babur. We have the Pabir, who are unable to stand as a tribe with distinct culture and traditions.

I am not a historian by any standard, but history and its source materials are of interest to me. I had listened to historical conversations and stories pertaining to my people—the Bura—ever since I was a boy. This has given me some knowledge and understanding of my people’s history, culture, traditions, and civilizations.

As certified technologists, one of our ways of diagnosing troubleshooting is to unscrew and screw in an attempt to mechanically solve the ailment. This is what I am briefly going to do in this work.

I have read so many works on the history of Biu people.

However, some of the writings did not dwell much on the original inhabitants of the Biu Plateau, the Bura, but rather hid in historical conspiracy theory portraying the Pabir as the true inhabitants of the Biu territory. It is not true but misleading and questionable because they left out the Aborigines, the Bura people, who are a tribe and an ethnic nation with history and cultural identity.

At this juncture, questions that will readily come to mind are: Who are the Pabir people? What are their clan names? There has been an identity crisis about the Pabir, who are today known as Babur, lost totally in ethnic and cultural fog.

My findings did not give me any historical validity that the Pabir are the original inhabitants of Biu (Viu) territory; rather, it said that a band of seventy (70) men from the Kanem empire came some hundreds of years ago. “The Bura people are the native inhabitants of the Biu Plateau with unique culture and traditions, clear clan names rooted in their history and civilizations…Musical instruments, dances, foods…” Long before the leader of the 70 men, Yamtra Wala, came onto the scene, he was called and addressed wrongly as YAMTA OLA in the Bura dialect.

Clan names like Bwayama, Dlakwa, Wudiri, Mibwala, Mhya, and Garnva, among many others, are of Bura people. This further drew the ancestral and cultural identity between the Bura and Pabir people. Funny enough, theirs are Mshelganga, Gurdum, Mazalapuwa, Kiribara, Mshelgwagwa, etc. While in the history of the Bura, there are no such clan names. In fact, these names are derived from the Bura local dialect, signifying some of their works and duties in the king’s palace. You may wish to agree with me that Pabir are a group of people who have nosedived and lost their cultural identity.

It baffles me when I see a Pabir man calling himself or herself Babur. Thus, it has further deepened their loss, which has created a historical inferiority complex in them.

This work should serve as a call to all the Babur (Pabir) to come to reality, to break the complexities of their origin, and to accept who they are historically, and to take responsibility as Pabir people, not Babur.

I am also calling on all Bura sons and daughters to continue to stand firm and proudly call and be addressed as Bura worldwide.

Joseph Shalangwa
Writes from Kaduna.

The Pabir of Biu (Viu): People Lost in Ethnic and Cultural Mist

VP’s Wife Consoles Maiduguri Bomb Blast Victims

Calls for united front against insurgency.

By: Our Reporter

Wife of the Vice President Federal Republic of Nigeria Mrs Nana Shettima has stressed the need for all hands to be on desk to put an end to the more than a decade insurgency in the north east .

She made the appeal while speaking to journalists in Maiduguri shortly after she visited victims of gmboru market Mosque bomb blast in the Borno State capital.

In an emotional interview, Mrs Nana Shettima, wife of the Vice‑President, speaking on behalf of First Lady Oluremi Tinubu,described barbaric suicide bomb attack that struck the Gamboru market mosque after Maghrib prayer on Wednesday as unfortunate.

She prayed for the dead, called for unity, and vowed the support of the First Lady’s office for affected families.

Mrs Nana Shettima said she was in Maiduguri to offer condolences and relief to victims and families.

She visited the homes of the bereaved in Mashamari, Ummarari Millionaire’s Quarters and Gamboru Ward, where she prayed for the deceased, asked Allah to grant them eternal rest, and sought strength for families bearing these irreparable losses.

To cushion immediate hardship, Mrs Shettima presented financial support to affected families seven widows each received ₦1,000,000 (total ₦7,000,000).

She also visited the Maiduguri State Specialist Hospital and the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH), where she was shown around by Dr. Baba Shehu, Medical Director of the State Specialist Hospital, and received by Professor B. Kagu, Chairman of the Medical Advisory Council at UMTH, and Dr. Bunu Bukar.

After going round the patients beds at both hospitals Mrs Nana Shettima gave ₦500,000 to each of the 14 patients still on admission, offered words of consolation, and prayed for their speedy recovery.

The wife of the vice president reiterated her appeal for communal calm and solidarity in the face of tragedy.

The visit signals the First Lady’s office’s commitment to immediate humanitarian relief and moral support for affected families.

The visit underlines the first lady’s office commitment to spiritual consolation with practical assistance, targeting both households that lost breadwinners and those receiving medical care.
Mrs Nana Shettima confirmed she was in Maiduguri expressly on behalf of the first lady of the nation to sympathise with the victims.

Those who accompanied her includes the wife of the Borno State Governor Dr Falmata Babagana Umara Zullum,wife of the Deputy Governor Hajiya Maimuna Umar Kadafur, and the Borno State Apc women leader Hajiya Fati Alkali Kakinna among other top female government officials.

VP’s Wife Consoles Maiduguri Bomb Blast Victims

Police detain inspector, girlfriend over missing rifle in Taraba

By: Zagazola Makama

The Police in Taraba have detained an inspector and his girlfriend following the reported loss of an assault rifle along the Wukari–Jootar Federal Highway.

According to the source, the missing firearm belonged to Insp. Joshua Charles, aged 45, attached to the Safer Highway Patrol team.

The sources told Zagazola Makama that on Dec. 25, at about 3:00 p.m., the inspector reportedly left his duty post to Wukari town, leaving behind three other officers Insp. Haruna Galadima, Insp. Isah Waziri and Insp. Umar Mohammed who remained on duty.

“At about 8:30 p.m., the inspector’s girlfriend, one Ruth Alphancis of Sabon Gari area in Jalingo, who has been cohabiting with him since August 2025, returned from Jootar village in Benue and claimed to have seen an unidentified person breaking out of the house,” the source said.

He added that on the inspector’s return from Wukari town, allegedly in a drunken state, he discovered that his Type 06 assault rifle, loaded with 25 rounds of live ammunition, which he said he left inside the room, was missing.

The breach number of the rifle could not be immediately ascertained, the source said.

Following the report, the sources said operatives visited the scene, while efforts were intensified to recover the missing firearm and apprehend those responsible.

“The inspector and his girlfriend are currently in detention to aid investigation, while collaborative efforts involving local residents and hunters are ongoing to recover the rifle,” the source added.
End