The Unending Mystery Of Zuma Rock

By Igho Oyoyo When travelling through the Abuja-Kaduna express way, at the northern part of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) stood the Zuma Rock, a monolithic rock rising extravagantly to an height of about 700m, with a human face that is always bold and resolute by coming dusk, one that looks straight ahead, starring at the setting sun and it is never distracted. It is believed by people the live within the environment close to where the rock is located, that since centuries past, the gaze of the rock has remained unchanged, a gaze that seems threatened to swallow its admirers, one that looks any one in the eyes, if any one looks it in the eye, with a slightly opened mouth, that also seems as proudly declaring its royal location. The Rock which is standing imposingly high and dwarfing every other object both natural and man-made is great and fear inspiring. The inhabitants of Madalla Zuba, Dakwa and Gauraka villages who live near the 700m high Rock have different opinions of the rock. Some, especially non-indigenes and Christians, hold the opinion that the Rock is responsible for the frequent accidents on the Abuja – Kaduna Road and the consequent loss of several lives. However, because of the tourism environment created by the rock, an investor bought the idea of building a Five Star hotel in the neighbourhood, very close to the Rock. But, unknown to him, the assumed great and powerful deity of the Rock, according to residents of the neighbourhood, was angry about the location of the hotel and made it desolate. An indigene of Gauraka community, Isah Alhassan, who spoke with FCT Watch about the abandoned site, explained that he knew that the Hotel project would not last long when it started, “I have lived here for several years of my life and I knew that Zuma can never allow that. For men to come and build Chalets where they will be committing adultery in the face of the powerful deity of Zuma Rock? It is impossible. Although, Alhassan denied been part of the worshipers of Zuma Rock, he said he had seen when the deity raged in the past through explosive sounds that send frightening goose pimples on skins of those living around it or killing of those that try to desecrate it, citing an example when the deity killed several white folks in the past who tried to blow up the Rock with dynamites. “When the hotel, a six storey magnificent structure, was nearing competition, the Zuma deity issued several herbal warnings to the builders but they ignored it and continued. After the painting of the house, the deity launched a vicious attack on the people, killing some and sending others on the run and abandoning their equipment and materials,” he said. He further confirmed having seen nude people offering sacrifices to the Rock and each time such sacrifices were offered, fire and smoke billowed from the peak of the rock at night. “I have never seen a thing like this before. The mystery surrounding this rock is yet to be deciphered.” The Zuma rock which has always been seen to have some strange mysteries surrounding it, some of them rooted in tribal beliefs and superstition and it is also seen to be older than the history of Zuba community, recently created fear and panic amongst the residents within the Suleja and Abuja-Kaduna road communities, when some parts of the rock exploded severally with frightening sounds. Many residents within and outside the FCT who identified the Zuma Rock as the den for ritualists and occult, explained the strong spiritual belief holds about the rock, was the reason it became alarming to residents when thunderous explosive sounds were heard around it at night, some months ago and the latest was few weeks back. Speaking on the possible cause of the explosion, the Village Head of Chachi, in Tafa local government area of Niger State, Malam Musa Abubakar, who is also the traditional custodian of Zuma Rock and its surroundings, explained that he could not remember the last time he witnessed such explosions. Abubakar explained that the first two explosions two months back generated goose pimples on the skins of the people, as a result of the frighteningly sound, which resulted to a massive, widespread dust cloud, spread across the sky above and around the rock. “The Rock is always angry at impurities of any form, and these days every spiritually impure person, girls and boys gallivanting in its vicinity, provoke it. I was in my farm when it occurred. People returning from the area near the affected part of the rock later informed me that a portion of Zuma Rock had fallen off. I actually thought it was a bomb, until I went and saw things for myself. “In the past, sacrifices of a black cow or black he-goat were made to the rock yearly to appease it, especially when our ancestors were praying for rain. It is probably angry, because it feels cheated of the cultural practices usually undertaken to mark its significance to the communities surrounding it. In the past, whenever sacrifices were offered to the rock, it showed its acceptance of the sacrifices by beaming a light from the spot on it which looks like an eye. “Tradition dictates that no-one approach the rock wearing a cap, out of respect. Anyone who does that, will get lost never to be found again. The rock has every cause to be angry, because it is sanctity has been violated by the government, selling land traditionally belonging to it. The rock been under the custody of the government is not helping matters at all,” he said. Some of the frightened residents who were yet to get over the panic from the explosion, gave various accounts of the situation, describing it as frightening and unbelievable, that despite they have been hearing frightening tales about the rock, they have never experienced the kind of fear from the rock, like the one they experienced lately from the explosions. A resident of Madalla close to the Zuma Rock, Suleiman Dabo said the rumbling which followed the previous explosive sounds sent unimaginable panics into the spines of everybody, as everybody started running to take shelter in their houses, while those who were not close to their houses were transfixed in one position. “Both animals, birds and people around the area fled for shelter. We have never experienced anything like the last two explosions of about three months ago from the Zuma Rock. We have had meetings and nobody could explain the caused the explosions. All I can say is that the whole thing is mysterious,” he said. Another resident of Chachi village, Abubakar Shagari, explained that when the slab-like portion fell off the rock, they were at the junction close to the Zuma Rock, that they heard a very loud explosion, followed by a rumble, which made them to think that something big had exploded in nearby Zuba. Shagari explained that they saw huge dust cloud, much like smoke around the rock after it exploded, that people within the area ran for their lives, because they never experienced anything like that in the entire community before. “It terrified the villagers around the rock and many fled for their lives, taking shelter in any place they found themselves at that moment. I personally thought it was a Boko Haram bomb attack and I started saying my prayers. I give God thanks because it was from the rock and not Boko Haram,” he said.