Kwararafa Kingdom: Late Aku-Uka’s burial, Atobe’s survival and the emergence of a new king

By Matthew Eloyi

The late Aku-Uka of Wukari, the traditional monarch of the ancient Jukun empire, one of the oldest in Nigeria’s territorial space, was recently laid to rest. Many were able to witness it occur in real time or view real-time videos of it courtesy of social media and the democratization of audiovisual and photographic technology. Thousands of men, women, boys, and children clad in hand-woven Jukun tie-dyed loincloths marching, singing, and ululating adoringly to send their beloved king to the other side is a sight to behold.

When the Aku embarks on his journey to join his ancestors, a specific family in the Jukun land is tasked with the responsibility of the horseman to the Aku. Members of that family are prepared from childhood to do such duty ruthlessly when the necessity arises.

The Aku’s transition must be followed by the ritual suicide of the Aku’s horseman and his wears, according to Jukun tradition, because the horseman’s spirit (which is the ATOBE) is necessary for the Aku’s spirit to ascend to the afterlife.

The trek to the burial ground takes three days, and the ATOBE will be left alone with the horse and the Aku-Uka’s body at one point. He must give it to the gods, who control the Aku-Uka’s crest. He might not return alive– if he does, he will become a legend, dreaded, and regarded as a ghost. The horse, a helpless calf, must accompany the body of the deceased. That is the tradition.

Fortunately, however, the 35-year-old Sallah Atobe who took the corpse of the late Aku-Uka of Wukari, Dr. Shekarau Angyu Masa-Ibi, to Nando forest, came back alive and a new Aku-Uka has been crowned.

Manu Ishaku Ada Ali is the new Aku-Uka of Wukari in the Kwararafa Kingdom of Wukari Local Government Area of Taraba State. His installation came barely three months after the demise of the former Aku-Uka.

The new Aku comes from the Bama Ruling House and is the son of the 23rd Aku-Uka, Ada Ali Agbumanu, who reigned from 1974 to 1976. His coronation, which took place in Wukari council on Friday, January 28, 2022, drew members of the Jukun race from far and wide, as well as dignitaries from all around the land.

The new monarch, the 25th Aku-Uka of Kwararafa Kingdom, was installed by Manu Irimiya.D. Agbu, the Kunvyi of Wukari, who said the monarch was chosen by the four kingmakers guided by the Supreme Oracle.

The newly crowned monarch, overjoyed by the event, implored his subjects to throw their weight behind him in order for him to succeed in presiding over the kingdom’s affairs.

He asked others who vied for the throne with him to work together to make the kingdom a better place, promising to take everyone along.

The new Aku was born on March 24, 1946, and possesses a Higher National Diploma (HND) in Forestry from Plateau State’s top Federal College of Forestry, Jos.

He began his civil service career in 1965 and retired as Chief Forestry Superintendent in 2000, following 35 years of dedicated service.

Photo Credit: Lodiya M. Andrew