A Sayawa sociocultural group, Concerned Zaar Patriots (CZP), has denied claims that Tafawa Balewa town is part of the Sokoto Caliphate.
CZP’s reaction came a few days after Prof. Salisu Shehu allegedly asserted that the decision of the Bauchi State government to create Sayawa Chiefdom and cite its headquarters in Tafawa Balewa local government, delisted the area from being part of the Sokoto Caliphate and handed it over to non-Muslims.
CZP, in a statement signed by Ishaya Dangana and made available to LEADERSHIP in Bauchi yesterday, described Prof. Shehu’s outburst as “reckless, historically false, religiously inflammatory and socially dangerous,” accusing him of weaponising religion over a purely administrative process.
“Coming from a man who claims academic distinction, this reckless distortion of history cannot go unanswered,” the group said.
The group recalled his long history of statements against the Sayawa people. While reiterating that Tafawa Balewa is constitutionally part of Nigeria and not any “empire,” CZP stressed that traditional leadership arises from law and community consent, not conquest or religious supremacy.
“Traditional institutions are about identity, justice and inclusion—not sectarian dominance,” the statement read.
The group also faulted the professor’s claim that Tafawa Balewa was founded by the Fulani, insisting that Zaar (Sayawa) and other indigenous groups occupied the land centuries before the 19th-century jihad.
The group commended Governor Bala Mohammed for recognising Sayawa Chiefdom, calling it an act of historical justice and constitutional equity, not hostility.
They also called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to investigate Prof. Shehu, who now serves as the Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), alleging that his inflammatory rhetoric could incite unrest.
“No people should live under perpetual subjugation,” they declared. “The creation of inclusive chiefdoms and emirates is an act of healing, not division. Let there be peace and progress.”
