Re: “A HISTORY OF BIU”

Re: “A HISTORY OF BIU”

By Balami Lazarus.

The writing of one Dr. Bukar Usman “A History of Biu” (2015) is laughable written material.

In that work, Usman deliberately refused to recognize and acknowledged properly the Buras in the history of Biu knowing fully well that the Buras were the aborigines and natives of the Bura Plateau, today known and called Biu Plateau.

In his attempt to trace the origin of those that metamorphosized into Pabir he dwelled on the war of conquest between the Buras and the band of Prince Abdullahi from the Kanem empire who later became Yamtrawala who founded the Biu royal dynasty and were called Pabir by the Buras.

The term Babur/ Bura was a forceful fusion of two different groups of people, a political phrase coined to have a numeral strength that is what the Pabir; a small tiny group clung on to the Buras being a very large ethnic tribe for popularity just like Hausa – Fulani.

But truly, they are not the same. The pockets of Pabir people are found mainly in Biu and other few acclaimed villages that are within the radius of Biu.

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The Pabir people have no clan names and they will not and shall not and if he/ she does that person is not a true Pabir man but just claiming to be one.

While the Buras from the history of their origin has their standing identity which is their clan names such as Zoaka, Mshelbwala, Shallangwa, Mshelia, Durkwa, Wakawa, Balami, Mshelizah, Bwala, Dibal among others.

Biu as a concrete noun is popular within the body- polity of Nigeria due to the widespread of the Buras in the Nigeria estate.

Therefore, the Pabir are so small and if they disengaged themselves from the Buras you will look for them only with a powerful microscope for identification. Balami, a Publisher/ Columnist.