Bwari
Bwari is a town in Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria. The original inhabitants of Bwari are the Gbagyi speaking people. The paramount ruler is the ESU who is otherwise known as Sa-bwaya. However, with the establishment of FCT in Abuja so many changes occurred in Bwari, one of such changes is the imposition of an Emir in Bwari. History has it that the Gbagyi people do not operate an emirate system of government. Thus, questions have been asked as to why there is an emir in Bwari. Research has however revealed that the emir who is koro by tribe is from Niger State. <Theophilus Tanko Chigudu>.
On Christmas Day of 2017, there was communal clash between the Hausa and Gbagyi communities that engulfed the Bwari district of Abuja over Chieftaincy dispute, in which two people were confirmed death with properties including the Bwari Main Market burnt.[1]
Bwari is also the capital of Bwari Area Council of FCT. Politically, Bwari Area Council has at the helm of affairs an elected chairman with ten elected councilors representing ten wards. Bwari plays host to some public establishments such as:
- Bwari General Hospital.
- Nigerian Law School, Bwari.
- Joint Admission & Matriculation Board (JAMB)HQs.
- JAMB UTME Computer-Based Testing Centre.
- Dorben Polytechnic, Bwari (now moved to permanent site in Garam, Niger State).
- Veritas [Catholic] University.
History
Its history dates as far back as the seventeenth century when a Zaria-based hunter came to the area in the company of his family to hunt. Legend has it that at the time there existed a place known as Bwayape, (Bwari Hill) which means ‘pound here’. He had given his wife some millet. She asked him where she could pound it and he said, ‘pound here’; thus the origin of the name. Bwaya later metamorphosed into the name Bwari. The four children of the hunter went swimming and were given the task of retrieving a precious object from the depth of the river. It turned out that it was the last of the four who succeeded at the task. But because of his place in the family he could not ascend the throne and his elder brother Tayebebe was crowned instead followed by Dadadogunyi. That object is still a symbol in the turbanning process of the Bwari people. [2]