—Argungu Fishing Festival:
The Argungu Fishing Festival is an annual four-day festival in the town of Argungu in the north-western Nigerian state of Kebbi. It began in the year 1934, as a mark of the end of the centuries old hostility between the Sokoto Caliphate and the Kebbi Kingdom. The festival is held on the Sokoto River in February or March. Thousands of fishermen equipped only with nets compete to catch the largest fish.
In 2005, the winning fish weighed 75 kg, and needed four men to hoist it onto the scales. In 2006 the festival banned fishing due to safety concerns relating to the low water levels.
The importance of the festival to the economy has led the government to conserve fish stock by prohibiting use of gill nets and cast nets. The Zauro polder project, an irrigation scheme in the Rima River flood plain to the south of Argungu, has been criticised because the reservoir threatens to flood the traditional site of the festival.
On the final day of the festival, a competition is held in which thousands of men and women line up along the river and at the sound of a gunshot, all of them jump into the river and have an hour to catch the largest fish. The winner can take home as much as 7,500 US dollars. Competitors are only allowed to use traditional fishing tools and many prefer to catch fish entirely by hand (a practice also popular elsewhere and known as “noodling” in the United States) to demonstrate their prowess.
Argungu’s fishing festival celebrates life. It is a precursor to modern day fishery management programmes and a way of conserving natural resources and preserving traditional ways of living. It is valuable to the life of the community because it draws on historic local knowledge.
Last year, the Kebbi State Government stated its desire to revive the Argungu International Fishing and Cultural Festival to boost tourism and generate revenue.
The information was contained in statement signed by the Director of Information, Alhaji Garba Hamisu, in Kebbi.
The statement stated that the festival would hold in the first quarter of 2014, adding that the Deputy Governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Aliyu, would chair the Main Organising Committee.
Aside fishing with hand-held nets on the river, other attractions include dance and music, sporting competitions and exhibits of arts and crafts. The others include traditional symphonies, wild duck catching, diving, canoe race, motor rally, durbar and Kabanchi traditional display. People from various parts of the world come to enjoy this festival.
While we wait to see if the Kebbi State Government will be true to its word, it is also hoped that measures will be put in place to ensure sustainability and thereby become a steady source of revenue.
The festival was last held in 2010.
