Revealed On 15 Feb 2026
1000’s of fishermen converged on the milky waters of the Matan Fadan river, a UNESCO heritage website, winding by verdant panorama in northwestern Nigeria’s Argungu.
President Bola Tinubu joined 1000’s of spectators on Saturday, cheering opponents vying to catch the most important 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 palms. The Kebbi State waterway teemed with woven nets and canoes as fishermen waded by.
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 often called Sarkin Ruwa, the water chief.
The fishing contest marked the head of the annual worldwide fishing pageant, which showcased cultural shows, together with conventional wrestling and musical performances.
“I thank God that I received one thing to take house to my household to eat. I’m very comfortable that I got here,” Aliyu Muhammadu, a 63-year-old fisherman who participated within the competitors, instructed The Related Press information company.
The pageant originated in 1934, marking peace between the in depth Sokoto Caliphate – an unlimited Nineteenth-century Islamic empire spanning from Nigeria into components 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, significantly within the north, the place 1000’s 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 frightened of coming. Lots of people don’t attend the occasion like earlier than due to insecurity,” mentioned Hussein Mukwashe, the Sarkin Ruwa of Argungu.
