Hajiya Aisha “Mai Tuwon Garwa” (a Caterer and Contractor) Hajiya Aisha popularly known as (Mai Tuwon Garwa) was born in 1921, into the family of Malam Isah and Binta. Her father Malam Isah was from Batsari town, initially visiting Katsina metropolis for trading in grains such as maize, corn and millet. Later he moved to Katsina, behind the Post Office, adjacent to Unguwar Alkali and married Malama Binta from Unguwar Madawaki. The marriage was blessed with four children, Hajiya Mai Tuwon Garwa was the second child of Malam Isah. She was enrolled into “Makarantar Allo” at the age of three, together with her siblings, where they acquired Islamic knowledge. Malam Yusuf Bebeji proposed marriage to Aisha while she was fourteen. Yusuf was the son of the late Sarki Abubakar and great-grandson of Ummarun Dallaji.

The marriage spanned for more than thirty years though without a child. Malam Bebeji died in 1969 and he left behind two wives and children after the sharino inheritance. Aisha being an elderly barren woman had to fend for herself. She there for a used her share of the inheritance to buy a house at Kofar Kaura In the Katsina metronolis When she relocated to the house, she used the remaining of her  inheritance as capital to start a catering business. 

Hajiya Aisha was referred to as “Mai Tuwon Garwa” because she cooked in aluminium pots, by the time she started the catering business, women in Katsina used baked clay potsto cook food. When the aluminium pot was introduce, Hajiya Aisha was told that the aluminium pots were far better and cooked faster than the baked clay pots. She therefore went to Kano and purchased large aluminum pots. In fact, by the 1970s she was the first female commercial caterer in the Katsina metropolis to start cooking in

aluminium pots. This was why her customers referred to her as “Mai Tuwon Garwa’”, because of the aluminium pots she used in cooking. Within a short time, Mai Tuwon Garwa became popular in the Katsina metropolis. The location of her residence was suitable for the catering business, her house at Kofar Kaura was directly opposite the central motor park. 

This is because Kofar Kaura Road was centrally located. After all, it had many shops, offices as well as banks. In addition to the advantage of location, her food was generally described as delicious. 

Mai Tuwon Garwa therefore, became fully engaged in the pursuit of her catering business. She usually cooked ‘Tuwo’ twice a day, morning and evening. She had many customers in the Katsina metropolis who came for breakfast, lunch and dinner. She employed many workers both male and female. The male employees were responsible for purchasing law food materials and taking them for grinding while the female workers were responsible for cooking the food, washing plates, sweeping and serving the food to customers. 

She made varieties of Tuwo; which included Tuwon. Shinkafa, Tuwon Masara, and Tuwon Dawa with varieties of soups; Miyar Kubewa (okro soup), Miyar Taushe (vegetable soup), Miyar Kuka (Baobab soup), Miyar Egusi soup etc. To satisty customer’s choice Mai Tuwon Garwa’s house entrance (Zaure) served as her restaurant, Some Customers buy and eat there, while oothers bought and took their homes. Maituwon Garwa became a prominent commercial caterer in the Katsina metropolis because of her wealth, energy, commitment and time dedicated to the enterprise. 

She was an example of what Sohildkrout (1981:91) describes, “female owner managers are divorced or widowed older women who do not expect to remarry”. This statement supports the position of Gilbert

(1982:71) who argues that:

Indeed, a disproportionate number of successful women entrepreneurs were barren. Other women began to expand and consolidate their business only in their late forties when most or all their children had grown up and perhaps contributed to a joint house income. Apart from the catering business, she was also a general contractor. By1983 she ventured into the construction business, and Katsina Local Government awarded her a contract to construct bridges and culverts. She was said to have executed several contracts such as bridges and culverts at Kofar Kaura, Sabuwar Kasuwa and Dandagoro. She performed Hajj (pilgrimage) several times and she sponsored her relatives and workers to Mecca.

She used her wealth to build mosques, and wells and help the needy. She built three mosques in the Katsina metropolis, located at Kofar Marusa, Shararrar Fives and Dandagoro. In each of the mosques, she built a house for the chief Imam and a well was constructed to provide adequate water for worshippers. In her late age, Hajiya Aisha (Mai Tuwon Garwa) decided to relocate to Mecca (Saudi

Arabia) for the rest of her life. She therefore retired and even sold her house to Rahusa who in the long run turned it into his Corporate Office (Rahusa Ventures). Mai Tuwon Garwa relocated to Saudi Arabia (Mecca) in 1989 where she met some Nigerians who pretended to be estate agents and would help her purchase a house in Mecca.

Untortunately, they were fraudsters. They collected large sums of money from her, and took her to a house that was purportedly bought for her; unknown to her, it was rented for ouiy one year. After one year she was given a quit notice. She ended up being deported to Nigeria. She returned to Katsina at Dandagoro, where she died two years later in 1993.

This article was culled from a book titled: Katsina In Transition, Exploring The History of Royalty, Culture, Trade, and Security.

Edited by M.D. Suleiman, Samaila Suleiman, Ibrahim Sani Kankara, Waisu Iliyasu.