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When you approach the town of Giwa from the southeast, the first building you will see is a magnificent house with a modern red roof, surrounded by a towering wrought-iron gate commonly called “Mahdi-ka-ture.” Inside, there is an estate containing fifteen modern flats.

If you raise your head, you will see shiny golden letters reading: ABUBAKAR BAMALLI GIWA ESTATE. The houses are spacious and neatly painted a soft eggshell yellow, pleasing to the eye. Only one house is different from the other fourteen—the very first house.

The first house is the largest and the only one with an upper floor. Its owner is an elderly woman, about seventy-five years old, named Hajiya Hadiza Giwa, known to her children and grandchildren as Hajjah.

You might be surprised to learn that despite the size of the house, she lives there alone as the mistress of the home. All fifteen of her children were born to her—one after the other—with no co-wife or rival in the household.

According to the people of Giwa, this was due to the love her late husband, Abubakar Bamalli Giwa, had for her, as well as her good character and kind relations with everyone.

Because of this, after A.B. Giwa’s passing, his children did not experience much hardship. Hajjah became their pillar of support—but that did not mean she spoiled them. No. There was discipline in her home for every child or grandchild.

No one would get away with disrespecting her. No one could tell her “No” when she said “Yes.” No one could make an important decision about themselves or their family without her permission.

She is a woman of sound judgment and sharp intelligence. She knows the intention behind every move her children or grandchildren make. She is straightforward and never changes her words.

Even with all the affection she shows her grandchildren, she never allows the younger ones to disrespect their elders. Her grandchildren love her more than their own parents. Many of them have left their parents’ homes to live in what they call Babban Gida—Hajjah’s house—because they say they feel happier there.

She feeds them all sorts of delicious meals, tells them wise stories and folktales about life, hugs them regardless of their age, consoles them, and listens to their problems when their parents upset them. However, if you do wrong, she will have Baban Giwa punish you, though she herself does not beat her grandchildren—at most, she will pinch or flick them.

Since A.B.’s passing, Hajiya Hadiza has stood firm in raising his descendants and preserving marital ties within the bloodline. To this day, she follows her late husband’s wish that marriages should remain within the family. Whether they like it or not, she insists—and later, they usually thank her for it.

This has led to the spread and expansion of A.B. Giwa’s descendants in and around Giwa. Wherever they go, they are easily recognized by their facial features and the distinct “Mallanci” mark on each child’s cheek, given by the family barber during naming ceremonies.

Even though they live in their secluded estate, work and business take them out into Kaduna or Zaria.

In A.B. Giwa’s house, apart from the grandchildren, there are also his late husband’s relatives—children of her sisters Kaltume and Kubra—both widows. Since they are older, they manage household chores and cooking, despite the house having plenty of servants.

The boys’ quarters are reserved for male grandchildren who have chosen to move in with her despite having homes with their parents. Most of the granddaughters have been married off within Giwa or Zaria to relatives.

A.B. Giwa was a wealthy man many decades ago. A native of Giwa by ancestry, he was a farmer specializing in crops such as maize, millet, groundnuts, guinea corn, wheat, rice, potatoes, yams, and vegetables. He farmed large quantities every year and transported them in bulk to markets in various towns.

He owned more than ten large farmlands in Giwa, inherited from his family, and numerous rental houses in Giwa, Kaduna, and even Zaria.