Promising comeback
•Authorities should ensure Argungu Fishing Festival continues sustainably Discontinuities have not helped the Argungu International Fishing and Cultural Festival. The 61st edition was held in Kebbi State, from February 11
•Authorities should ensure Argungu Fishing Festival continues sustainably
Discontinuities have not helped the Argungu International Fishing and Cultural Festival. The 61st edition was held in Kebbi State, from February 11 to 14, after a six-year break. The 60th edition in 2020 had followed a 10-year pause. Such disruptions are odd for what is intended to be an annual event.
Identified causes of the breaks in the festival include security concerns, environmental challenges, infrastructural decay, a global health crisis, and financial constraints.
The UNESCO-recognised traditional fishing competition dates back to 1934 and features cultural, agricultural, and sporting events. The major attraction involves thousands of men who jump into Matan Fada River and try to catch the biggest fish for a prize. The biggest fish caught in the history of the festival, in 2005, weighed 75 kg.
This year’s winner of the fishing competition, Abubakar Usman from Maiyama, caught a 59 kg Nile Perch. His life-changing reward included two brand new Toyota vehicles and N1 million. Over 50,000 fishermen participated, with thousands more spectators, some from foreign lands.
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President Bola Tinubu’s attendance underscored the festival’s importance and heightened its attraction. He said it “reflects the richness of our culture, the strength of our traditions and the opportunities that lie in increasing and harnessing our natural and human resources for national development.”
He also observed that it “can only thrive and become a tourism attraction where the security atmosphere is conducive,” noting that “significant progress has been made in combating insecurity across Kebbi and other parts of our nation.”
The festival’s comeback signals a hopeful return to normalcy. However, several structural shifts are necessary to achieve unbroken continuity.
The biggest threat to continuity is the fluctuating budget of the state government. The authorities must devise ways to ensure money is available; in addition to government funding, they can explore commercial partnerships with big brands.
Also, since the festival cannot happen without the Matan Fada River, it requires regular maintenance to ensure it remains deep enough for large fish to thrive.
Furthermore, the event must be de-politicised. In the past, the festival was often tied to the “will” of the sitting governor.
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Additionally, since security was the primary cause of the 10-year gap, a permanent security template is needed.
The “Sustainability Plan” must be based on a fundamental consideration: Changing the festival into a Private-Public Partnership (PPP), where the private sector takes the lead in operations, while the government stays in the background as a regulator. The private partner will fight harder to ensure the festival happens every single year, regardless of who is in office.
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From a tourism perspective, the Argungu Fishing Festival is no longer just a “local competition” — as of the February 2026 revival, it has been repositioned as a high-value International Heritage Brand. The festival is recognised by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. This puts Argungu on the global map for “Heritage Tourists”—a demographic that spends more and stays longer than typical travellers.
This international status demands that the authorities must prioritise its survival. Cancelling it doesn’t just look bad locally; it risks losing a prestigious global ranking. President Tinubu noted that “It promotes tourism, showcases our heritage and projects Nigeria in a positive light to the rest of the world.”
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In terms of direct economic impact, the state used the 2026 deadline to renovate the Argungu Fishing Village, upgrading hotels and pavilions. Local businesses saw their highest earnings in 16 years. This “local profit” creates a grassroots demand for the festival to never stop again—the people of Argungu now have a financial stake in its continuity.
Tourism development requires more than paying lip service to it. Vision, focus and organisation are essential, and a lack of these has been mainly responsible for the lack of development in the country’s tourism sector.
We welcome back the country’s popular fishing festival. Other tourist attractions that need to be revived should also be given the necessary attention.
