Printed On 15 Feb 2026
Hundreds of fishermen converged on the milky waters of the Matan Fadan river, a UNESCO heritage web site, winding by way of verdant panorama in northwestern Nigeria’s Argungu.
President Bola Tinubu joined hundreds of spectators on Saturday, cheering opponents vying to catch the biggest fish, regardless of safety issues deterring some attendance.
Contributors employed solely conventional strategies, together with hand-woven nets and calabash gourds, with some demonstrating their prowess utilizing naked fingers. The Kebbi State waterway teemed with woven nets and canoes as fishermen waded by way of.
This 12 months’s champion landed a 59kg (130-pound) croaker fish, successful a money prize. Different contributors promote their catch, stimulating the native financial system.
The river stays closed all year long, overseen by a titled authority generally known as Sarkin Ruwa, the water chief.
The fishing contest marked the top of the annual worldwide fishing pageant, which showcased cultural shows, together with conventional wrestling and musical performances.
“I thank God that I bought one thing to take house to my household to eat. I’m very completely happy that I got here,” Aliyu Muhammadu, a 63-year-old fisherman who participated within the competitors, informed The Related Press information company.
The pageant originated in 1934, marking peace between the in depth Sokoto Caliphate – an enormous Nineteenth-century Islamic empire spanning from Nigeria into elements of modern-day Burkina Faso – and the beforehand resistant Argungu emirate.
Thought of a logo of unity, the pageant ran constantly for many years till 2010, when infrastructure issues and rising northern Nigerian insecurity compelled its suspension. It briefly resumed in 2020 earlier than pausing once more till this 12 months.
Nigeria faces advanced safety challenges, notably within the north, the place hundreds of individuals have been killed in assaults through the years.
Whereas Tinubu characterised the pageant’s return as an indication of stability, for a lot of, it represents restored group pleasure.
“Our problem now’s that persons are terrified of coming. Lots of people don’t attend the occasion like earlier than due to insecurity,” mentioned Hussein Mukwashe, the Sarkin Ruwa of Argungu.
