​​​MADANATION

There are various schools of emphatic thoughts regarding the origin of Mada people of central Nigeria. One of them is the claim that Mada people migrated from Medina, and travelled through republic of Niger and settled at Madawa town of Niger republic. From there parts of them migrated and settle at Madawa town Zamfara State of Nigeria, while others proceeded further to Kano State of Nigeria, and settle at what is today the Madawa town in Warawa Local Government Area of the State. Because of desertification, drought and religious persecution in the 14th century, precisely between 1314 and 1385, part of Zamfara Mada migrated southward, and settled at Antau in Keffi town of Nasarawa State of Nigeria. From there some of them migrated farther through Ninkoro district of the present Kokona Local Government Area of Nasarawa State. And finally settled at their present abode in what today Akwanga Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, while others moved to the then Jema’a federation (the present Jema’a and Sanga Local government Area of Kaduna State). This claim suggests that Mada nations of this part of Nigeria (Nasarawa and Kaduna States) was discovered very long time before the 15th century.

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Another claim is that Mada people belonged to the Kwararafa Kingdoms. According to this claim, the Kwararafa kingdoms together with the Kanuri kingdoms of Bornu migrated from Yemen, but broke into a separate party at the time they reach Bornu in about the 8th century. (Onwubiko 1967:33, 77). According to this claim, while the Kanuri kingdoms remained in Bornu, the Kwararafa kingdoms descended farther south and settled around the Gongola Benue Basin. Hear became the founding base of the Kwararafa kingdom. This claim is also backed up by the presence of a tribe called Mada in Western Cameroon that bordered Northeastern Nigeria (http://en. wikipedia org.wiki.mada). And also, the customary prescribed jock that exists between Mada and Jukun. However, there could be no any relationship between the Mada of Niger and Cameroon Republic, Zamfara and Kano States of Nigeria with the indigenous central Nigeria Mada in terms of language, culture and traditions, may be, due to long time separation or environmental factors as the case may be.