For three days, drums, dance, and masquerades turned Idu-Koro, the host community of Idu Industrial Area in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) into a living archive of Koro heritage. Chief Mohammed Bawa Makama, village head of Idu-Koro and host community of the Idu Industrial Area in the FCT, marked 23 years on the throne. From Friday’s anniversary and Democracy Day prayers, through Saturday’s traditional rites, to Sunday’s Idu-Koro Day cultural showcase, the community celebrated its past and took stock of the present. At 23 years, the chief’s message was clear: culture must be preserved, grassroots communities must be recognized, and government must approve land for a boarding school and protect ancestral heritage amid rapid industrialization, reports Ekuson Nw’Ogbunka, our Managing Editor.
Chief Mohammed Bawa Makama of Idu-Koro completed 23 years on the throne on Friday, June 12, 2026, having been installed in 2003. The anniversary coincided with Democracy Day, which the community observed with prayers for peace and national progress.
Saturday, June 13, was dedicated to traditional prayers. On Sunday, June 14, the community held Idu-Koro Day, an annual cultural festival aimed at promoting age-long customs, music, and dance to younger generations.
“We are showing our children that yes, we have culture, tradition, and custom,” the chief said. “Other tribes display theirs, so today we are displaying ours. We must do this every year so they know where we started.”
He described Idu-Koro as “the coral horn” and the ancestral home of the Koro people. The chief explained that migration and intermarriage led many to adopt Gwandara as a lingua franca, but original Koro language and identity remain intact.
“Just as a Hausa man will tell you he is Hausa, an Igbo man will say he is Igbo, and a Yoruba man will say he is Yoruba, we also have our own language and history,” he said. English and Gwandara, he noted, are tools for quick communication, not replacements for identity.
Sunday’s festival featured masquerades, dances, and music. The chief pointed to the uniformity and skill of Idu-Koro masquerades, saying they stand out even when compared to neighboring communities.
He recalled that in the 1970s, Idu-Koro masquerades performed so impressively in Suleja that they were invited to escort former Head of State Yakubu Gowon to Argungu and later to Sokoto before returning home.
“Our masquerade performed very well,” he recalled. “Even though we met other villages with similar traditions, we became number one. That reputation has remained till today.”
For Makama, culture is more than performance. “Culture is the way of life of a people. Any tribe without culture does not know where it comes from. Culture is like a certificate of a tribe.”
He said elders in Idu-Koro are deliberate about passing knowledge to children and youths. “We don’t want to cancel this culture because culture, custom, and tradition are the foundation on which we stand today. It is something we can be proud of.”
Reflecting on 23 years on the throne, the chief listed achievements. His first major project came just three months after his installation: establishing a police outpost in Idu-Koro to address security and poverty-related crimes.
“That police outpost has served the community for 21 years and is now a station building,” he said. “We are praying that government upgrades it to a full police station because the structure is already solid and befitting.”
His second achievement was upgrading the primary health care facility. When NGOs asked villages for their needs, others requested medicine while he requested a better building.
“I stood and said we need a better building, not just medicine,” he recalled. Government approved, and the community now has an improved primary health center that serves Idu-Koro and nearby areas.
The third was securing a senior secondary school. During President Buhari’s administration, he lobbied FCT education officials, arguing that students finishing junior secondary had to trek long distances through Tasha.
“By the time they reached Tasha, their shoes and socks would be dirty,” he said. He argued that many surrounding communities would benefit from a school sited in Idu-Koro. Within five days, approval came for a senior secondary school.
Now, the chief is pursuing a bigger project: a boarding secondary school. An embassy has requested that he identify land with a certificate of occupancy to prevent future demolition.
“If that school is mounted here, it will be free education,” he explained. “Children will have breakfast, dinner, uniforms, shoes, books, and teachers paid for. My request to the Minister is to approve the land so they can come and build.”
Makama also raised the issue of land taken from Idu-Koro for farms and industrial development. He praised a former Minister who understood community concerns and pleaded for fair compensation and recognition of traditional institutions.
“He himself came from a community,” the chief said. “He looked at our volume and tradition and promoted third class and second class chiefs to first class. I plead that when it is time to create more chiefdoms, Idu-Koro should be considered and named an independent village.”
He traced Idu-Koro’s migration history for the youth: from a rock settlement, to Gainawa, back to a rock in Kupai, and finally to the present location. “We have about four places our people migrated and settled. We must show our children so they know our history.”
On community relations, Makama said Idu-Koro enjoys strong ties between indigenes and non-indigenes. “Only marriage remains. Christians marry Muslims, Muslims marry Christians. Apart from that, we have good relationship.” His final appeal was simple: recognize grassroots communities, approve the school land, and honor the people who host Nigeria’s industries.
