* 'Eating Dog Meat Is In Our Blood', Confesses Billiri Community
By Danjuma Williams (Gombe State Correspondent)
Billiri town in Billiri Local Government Area of Gombe State experienced a beehive of activities during this yuletide season when for three days running, it's people celebrated Shag-bai, Dog meat eating carnival.
At the close of the three day event, Tuesday evening, December 28, 2021, the carnival procession brought joyous celebration to Billiri town in an event that is said to have been most cherished by Tangale forefathers.
The mammoth crowd, mostly youths, who marched excitedly from the popular Kalmai Dog meat market into the town, were accompanied by loud music including Tangale's traditional dancers who thrilled excited onlookers.
Convener and chairman of Shag-bai carnival, Mr. Jesse Malum said, the essence of the carnival was to project the identity of the Tangale people as a people who eat and do so many other things with dog.
According to him, "the essence of this carnival is to project our identity. Many people think to eat dog is a dirty thing and our people faced some social stigma. We are trying to tell them that eating dog meat is a positive way of life. There is nothing negative about it, we're not ashamed of eating it".
He recalled that not long ago, "a DPO came to this place and there was an ugly event where people believed he was trying to stop somebody from selling dog meat at a particular spot.
Jesse Malum, who is a lecturer at Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ndufu Alike, Ebonyi State said, "I think such things should not happen because this is Tangale land and the constitution of Nigeria has made security agencies and Government to protect and promote people's culture", he stressed.
He stated also that, "Shag-bai is not just about celebrating dog meat but dog as a whole. So if you talk about dog meat, our forefathers didn't have goats before now, what they had were dogs.
"If they were celebrating anything, they kill dogs. In fact, in our marriages till today, there is what is called 'bayauli'. That is, money paid to buy firewood to cook bai (dog).
Talking about dog meat market, Jesse said, "that is a loud statement of a Tangale man's culture", adding that "if we have a visitor our forefathers used to welcome them with dog meat".
He said there exist a gap between the present generation with their culture which the carnival is trying to interface and mingle both. Jesse cautioned the youths against being Eurocentric but said, " they must come back to their African culture ".
Speaking on the massive turnout for the carnival, he said, "despite the challenges we faced in organizing this carnival, there has been massive support and turnout and it goes to say that eating dog meat is in our blood.
"If you separate a Tangale man from eating dog meat, it means you don't even know the Tangale man. If a Tangale man's new religion forbids eating dog meat, we don't force him, he should face his religion.
"But he shouldn't tell us that Tangale man doesn't eat dog. Even the person that doesn't eat dog meat, his parents had ate dog meat so much that dog meat blood is running inside his blood", he emphasized.
Also speaking, an elderly man by name Isaac Usman added that the outing was to tell the world that "this is Tangale land and we are synonymous with eating dog meat, it is our culture". NNL.
