Royal tussle After the demise of Chief Biya Kaka in August 1944, there was a delay in the appointment of a successor due to the tussle over who should become the next monarch. There were two candidates vying for the position: an
animist and a
Christian in the person of Gwamna Awan who got strong backing from the
Sudan Interior Mission (SIM) who pressured the British colonial authorities to select their candidate to succeed Kaka. At the end, Awan was appointed the acting Chief, and subsequently installed formally as the first Christian monarch in the whole of the
southern part of Zaria Province and 5th Chief of Kagoro by G. D. Pitcairn, the British colonial Resident of Zaria Province on 11 April 1945.
Challenges Awan's ascendancy was to the SIM missionaries a major breakthrough to spread
Christianity across the region. Already, they had made Gworok town their headquarters in the
southern part of Zaria province. However, his ascendancy was seen as a threat to the
Zaria Emirate aristocrats who envisaged a danger to their interest in the
Atyap area and the neighborhood due to the continuous enlightenment through education;
Christian missionary activities by the
SIM and its members; and more threatening, the tendency of the new western-educated Christian chief aiding the
Atyap against them. In May 1946, there was a revolt by the Atyap in the
Zangon Katab district, north of the independent Chiefdom of Gworog, who wanted their separation from the
Zaria Emirate and the creation of an Atyap Chiefdom and Awan was blamed by the Emir of Zaria, as reported by the British colonial Resident, G. D. Pitcairn, for escalating the crisis. In the report, Pitcairn wrote: On a subsequent visit to Gworog (Kagoro) by Pitcairn where he met with Awan to confirm the Emir's allegations, he ended up warning Awan to avoid such acts. ==Death==