Daudu Wakili has been a fisherman since childhood. He believes he is not an ordinary fisherman, at least according to the tradition in his native Kebbi State.
Participating in the famous annual Argungu Fishing Festival is the ultimate goal of many fishermen in Northern Nigeria. Mr Wakili has done that more than 20 times. The 56-year-old Argungu-born fisherman told PREMIUM TIMES in October that he has also trained many participants.
Participation in the festival gave him goosebumps. But Mr Wakili believes things are changing due to ‘end of time’
“Things were better 10 years ago,” he said. “The number of fish is reducing, several fish species are migrating and the water level keeps going down. Even with the rainy season, the water you saw in Matan Fada river is still too low for a festival to be held there.”
Weather experts like Sa’idu Wali, a senior lecturer in the Geography department at Federal University Birnin Kebbi, see what Mr Wakili calls an “end of time” situation as climate change shocks.
“Over the years, the festival had to be postponed due to factors including drought and issues relating to planning, funding, etc. The ravages of incessant droughts due to climate change led to reduced Matan Fada river flow,” Mr Wali told PREMIUM TIMES.
He said the change affects fish production in terms of number and sizes and fish migration.
Festival’s History
The four-day Argungu Fishing Festival began in 1934 to mark the end of hostilities between the Sokoto Caliphate and Kebbi Kingdom.
When the then Sultan of Sokoto, Hassan Dan Muazu, visited the kingdom, the Sarkin Kebbi, Muhammadu Sama, welcomed him with a fishing contest among fishers in the kingdom. It was held every year after that until 2010 when it was suspended for 10 years.
The river where the festival is held is now known as Matan Fada. The river is fed by the Rima River in Sokoto with its sources from Sokoto and Goronyo dams.
Climate change shocks
Kebbi State, which is in the far northwestern part of Nigeria, is vulnerable to climate change issues, especially desertification, drought, flood, unpredictable rain patterns and extreme weather. The state is among 11 states regarded as the “desertification frontline” that led to the Great Green Wall project.
Kebbi also witnessed flooding for many years; the worst in 2012 and 2020 affected some parts of the state.
Cases of extreme weather and drought also make it difficult to hold the festival, especially because the Matan Fada river dried up following record-low rainfall in the state and northern Nigeria.
In 2006, the organisers of the competition said the festival would not be held fully due to the low water level in the river.
“We were heartbroken (due to the cancellation of the fishing aspect of the festival),” Bashar Abdullahi, a fisherman said. “But it was true the water in the river would not be sufficient for the festival to be held.”
Before the 2020 festival, the Kebbi State government and the Argungu Emirate Council expressed fears that the Matan Fada River was drying up which could make the festival unexciting.
“Fishes that were usually caught during the annual fishing festival in Argungu were either gone or had died because of the drying of the river. We need to employ appropriate strategies to restore the river and its fish species…..” the Emir of Argungu, Samaila Mera, said during a visit by then-state governor, Atiku Bagudu.
Shrinking and drying
Matan Fada, located in what has now become the “fishing village”, is the pride of the ancient Argungu town. From the outer part of the town to the innermost, everyone including children walking around knows the importance of the river.
Mr Wakili said the “mysteries” around the river are vanishing with time as it is normal to see the surface of the river unlike when he was growing up.
He said the river is shrinking and pointed at some canoes at the river bank where he said water from the river used to cover.
When PREMIUM TIMES visited Argungu, fishermen who participated in the festival, bemoaned the “drying nature” of the river, which four of the seven people spoken to by this reporter linked to the expected “end of time” situation.
At the river site, this reporter thought the volume of water was okay for a fishing festival but the Sarkin Ruwa (river custodian), Hussaini Makwashe, explained differently. Mr Makwashe said no reasonable festival could be held there.
“The water is reducing but that’s not the only problem,” Mr Makwashe, who took over the job from his father, said. “We believe that it is the sign of the end of times because the river is also shrinking in size. And it is no longer deep. Nowadays, people go through the river to cross over to the other side; something that was impossible some years back.”
This reporter discovered that the water level was just above waist length. Mr Makwashe said grasses are taking over the surface of the river, which is believed to be due to silting and water scarcity.
Mustapha Saidu, the director of fisheries at the Kebbi State Ministry of Animal Health, Husbandry and Fisheries, in a study, said high wind movement can lead to erosion and silting of rivers which could also lead to shrinking of the river.
Extreme weather, irregular rainfall lead to fish migration
Along with the fast warming of oceans globally, freshwater bodies are now affected by extreme weather conditions such as those prevalent in northern Nigeria.
“Climatic factors affect the biotic and abiotic elements that influence the numbers and distribution of fish species. Among the abiotic factors are water temperature, salinity, nutrients, sea level, current conditions, and amount of sea ice—all of which are likely to be affected by climate change,” the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said.
Fish production is affected by the extreme heat which is occasioned by, among others, irregular rainfall patterns.
“When the surface waters become hot, the fish move below the thermocline for cool waters and make it difficult for the fishers to catch, especially those fishers using the active gears like cast nets and drift nets,” Mr Saidu said in the report.
States in northern Nigeria experience harsher weather compared to states in the southern part. Weather forecasts by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMET) indicated that while the rainy season begins as early as March in the south, harsh weather is still being experienced in the north especially because the rainy season begins around July.
The coastal states also experienced ‘normal to above normal rainfall’ while northern states experienced ‘below normal to near normal’ annual rainfall amounts. Generally, severe dry spells that normally last between 15 to 21 days are normally witnessed in the extreme northern states compared to mild to moderate dry spells of 8-16 days in the south.
In 2022, while states in the south were experiencing rainfall, the northern states experienced a three-day ‘extreme heat‘. Kebbi was among the states that experienced high thermal discomfort.
The rainfall pattern in the Argungu area of Kebbi State and northern Nigeria in general has been fluctuating over the years. For instance, from 2020, available NiMET data shows extreme northern Nigerian states have been witnessing the “least rainfall amount within the range of 400 to 800 mm.” The southern part has a predicted amount of 3000mm and above.
Apart from the fact that communities in northern states like Kebbi experience lower rainfall than their southern counterparts, official data also shows that the number of days that Argungu experiences rainfall has been declining in recent years.
In 2020, NiMET predicted that Argungu Local Government would have a total of 657 millimetres of rain within 137 days from 7 June to 16 October. In 2021, Argungu had a total of 656 millimetres of rain within 119 days from 21 June to 18 October. For the year 2022, NiMET’s prediction revealed that Argungu had 656 millimetres of rainfall within 94 days from 21 June to 4 October.
In 2023, the rainfall amount was reduced by over 51 millimetres. The rainy season in Argungu Local Government this year was between 1 July and 28 September with expected annual rainfall being 605 mm. The season lasted for 89 days.
In Kebbi State, Argungu was among the areas with the shortest rainy season and rainfall metres.
Fishes are migrating
The fishermen said that with the Matan Fada drying up, the number of fish keeps reducing and several species have migrated from the river. They also said the number and sizes of fish in other lakes and rivers in the area have also reduced.
Asked if he had noticed the disappearance of some fish species in the river, Mr Makwashe, the Sarkin Ruwa, said several species have all gone extinct in recent years.
“Naturally, fish like it when there is enough water. But when the weather is hot and the water in the river is too low that we can even see the floor of the river, some of the fishes will naturally leave the place especially because the smaller fishes will find it hard to survive the weather. In recent years due to the excessive heat, we have seen changes in the context of some species,” the 55-year-old Mr Makwashe said.
He said species known locally as Gwando, Kwaliya and Dalibanban, which were common in the river some 15 or more years ago, have all migrated.
Mr Wakili corroborated Mr Makwashe’s take on the loss of some species. He said many species have migrated from the river and other rivers in the area due to extreme heat.
“Current increase in temperatures and reduced precipitation will directly impact fisheries in Argungu. Extreme temperature limits and associated tolerance ranges within and among fish species change with the rainy season of the fish population. The range in tolerable temperatures is narrowest for fishes inhabiting high temperatures during the dry season and relatively narrow for species nurtured in ponds” Mr Wali, the university lecturer, said.
More fishermen notice changes
The fishermen unanimously said they have been witnessing changes not only in the Matan Fada River but in other rivers in the Argungu area.
They said changes like floods and lack of rainfall or even extreme weather are affecting the festival.
Sani Argungu, a fisherman and fish seller, has been in the business for over 30 years.
“The difference is clear even to those who are not in the fishing business,” Mr Argungu told PREMIUM TIMES. “We have been experiencing low rainfall here for some years now. When there is delayed rainfall, the rivers will be drying up and the fish will either die or migrate.”
He showed this reporter some fish being dried in his stall. He lamented that the quantity was “too small” for his business “status” but that is all “we could get in three days working in different rivers.”
“Climate change has really affected our activities. The number of fish is reducing in our rivers due to a lack of adequate rainfall compared to some years ago. Without adequate water, fishes in the river die or migrate because fish survive only where there is water,” another fisherman, Kasimu Maidawa, said.
Yakubu Buda, another serial contestant in the festival, also lamented the shrinking volume of water. “We don’t know when the rain will come or stop which has now made the river smaller in size and shallow. You can cross the river now without using a canoe, which is very unusual.”
Way out
Mr Wali said the impact of climate change on fishing activities around the Matan Fada River can be minimised through adaptability and resilience.
“There is a need for fishers to adjust how they work to adapt to a changing climate while protecting critical habitats, monitoring stocks and even closing off fishing periods to protect young and breeding species. They must also participate in protecting coastal communities against extreme weather, preventing floods and erosion and improving water quality… They can increase forest coverage by planting nurseries and replanting trees,” he said.
He also called for a better assessment of the behavioural responses of fish, humans and institutions to mitigate the impact of climate change on the Argungu Fishing Festival.
This reporting was completed with the support of the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID)
Read the full article here
