The story of how Igbo man discover a town in North called Kwankwaso:
The true story about how an Igbo man founded the town where a former governor of Kano state is from
This is the true story of Mr. Felix Okonkwo also known as Okwonkwo Kano, an Igbo trader who founded a town in Kano in the early part of the 20th century.
Like every other descent of the great Igbo race, Mr. Okonkwo being industrious and originally from Nnewi part of Igboland, came to the North Western part of Nigeria, Kano in a bid to carry out his trade.
Mr. Okwonkwo was a trader who traded the one thing Kano was famously known for in those days, groundnut.
Mr. Okwonkwo being an intelligent businessman started a groundnut trading business in the year 1920 on the rail tracks that led to Kano, close to the farm where he was able to buy groundnuts from farmers, process them with his thresher and transport them by rail to Lagos.
Mr. Okwonkwo called his now florishing groundnut business as indicated on a big sign board the name, “Okwonkwo and Sons.”
In trying to pronounce the name of his business by the native Hausa speaking people of Kano, they mispronounced it as “kwankwosons” and eventually, they finally settled for “Kwankwaso.”
If you’re familiar with the typical intonation of an average Hausa man and how he pronounces alien words, it would be easier to understand why Okwokwo was pronounced as Kwankwo.
As time went by, due to the high patronage Mr. Felix’s business enjoyed from the people of neighbouring villages due to its closeness, the site for his business became lively and this caused people to move in large numbers to this newly created town.
Stalls/shops, markets and houses(usually huts) were being built and that is how the town, Kwankwaso came to be.
The town is currently in Madobi local government area of Kano state.
In the year 1957, Mr. Felix was inducted and became a member of the Northern Nigeria’s house of chiefs.
The former governor of Kano state who is from this town is no other person than the former minister of defence himself, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.
If you are familiar with the north and it’s culture, you’d understand how that adding the name of the town you are from to your birth name is a very popular practice in the North.
Other popular people from Kano who have added the name of the town they are originally from as suffix to their birth name includes but not limited to Hon. Kabiru Ibrahim Gaya and Nasiru Isah Fagge.
About The Author
WOW!!! Okonkwo Kano or Papa Okonkwo was my uncle. That my late father became who he was, was due to Papa Okonkwo’s intervention. I so remember when he died too as it was an extremely sad day for all of us.
Papa Okonkwo aka Okonkwo Kano, continue to rest in peace!!
Pamela N, Mojekwu