A Caliphate with Multiple Legacies

By Anza Philips, Abuja Bureau
Monday, June 28, 2004

Mohammadu Maccido, Sultan of Sokoto leads an eminent gathering of personalities which includes four African leaders to mark 200 years of Sokoto Caliphate

Activities marking the week-long celebration of the bicentenary anniversary, of the Sokoto Caliphate (1804-2004) which started in Abuja on Monday, June 14, with a three-day international conference, were rounded off with a grand civic reception, at the Shehu Kangiwa square in Sokoto on Sunday June 20. The Caliphate was founded by Usman Dan Fodio(1754-1817).

This celebration witnessed symposia, traditional colourful horse ridding and visits to historical sites. Four African heads of state graced the grand civic reception. President Olusegun Obasanjo, who is the Grand Knight of the Caliphate, was the special guest of honour.

The four visiting African leaders were conferred with the titles of the Knights of the Sokoto Caliphate by Muhammadu Maccido, Sultan of Sokoto. The leaders are, John Kuffour, Mohammadu Tanja, Idris Derby and Abdoulaye Wade, the presidents of Ghana, Niger, Chad and Senegal, respectively.

Obasanjo in a speech during the reception urged Nigerians to look at those values, dreams, challenges and hopes that unite rather than divide them. He told Nigerians to look closer at the past and at the legacies of the nation's heroes past to see how much Nigerians were living up to the ideas those heroes established.

He said Nigerians should have the courage to proclaim at all times the glory of God and noted that the two religions in the country today share much in common.

He said Nigerians must harp on those commonalities as against their differences.

According to him, Nigerians who ignore the value and virtues of sharing, peace, love, non-violence, honesty, dignity, self respect and care for the aged and weak could not claim to be true and ardent followers of either of the two religions, Christianity or Islam.

Maccido in his speech told the visiting presidents to take back to their countries the pleasant memories of the event and their stay in Sokoto as well as continue to sustain African unity. Usman Dan Fodio exists in historical records as a scion of the Toronkawa Islamic Dynasty in 1754 under the Gobir Empire. According to historical accounts, Dan Fodio's growing influence became a threat to Gobir rulers for which King Nafata in 1797 and King Yunfa, a year later issued a proclamation banning him from preaching.

But undeterred, he was in 1803 banished from Degel. In 1804 he made hijra, to Gudu. Gudu is 50km North-West from Degel. While there, he was unanimously elected by his followers as Amir al-Muminin, meaning commander of the faithful.

Persuaded and attacked by the Gobir ruler, Dan Fodio launched his Jihad, holy war in 1804.

By 1808, his army had captured important places like Zamfara, Katsina, Kano, Daura, Bauchi, N'Gazargamu, Borno, etc. The caliphate stretched over a long territory. To ease its administration, Dan Fodio in 1812 appointed his son, Mohammadu Bello, to head the headquarters of the reform movement in Sokoto while his brother Abdullahi took charge in the western region with headquarters at Gwandu. Both authorities were however responsible to Dan Fodio as the commander of the faithful. He died in 1817.

A commentator told Newswatch that the philosophy of the Jihad was given its finest expression in the Manifesto of the Jihad. One of his most famous sayings was that, "a nation can endure with unbelief, but cannot endure with injustice."

This, the commentator said, explains the thrust of his Jihad and important legacy as regards statecraft.

Visits to historical sites in Sokoto and Kebbi on Saturday, June 12, 2004 preceded the grand Dubar. Mustapha Haruna Jokolo, Emir of Gwandu led the delegation at the first segment of the visits which saw them visiting the tomb of Mohammadu Bello, son and successor of Dan Fodio in Wurno. Wurno was the first administrative headquarters of the Caliphate.

The delegation also visited Sifa where Shehu spent eight years in the cause of the Jihad, after which they went to Gwandu to visit the tomb of Sheik Abdullahi Fodio.

Ado Bayero, Emir of Kano, led the second phase of the visit taking the delegation from Gongono to Faru tree where Abullahi Fodio led other Caliphate leaders to pay allegiance to Shehu Dan Fodio as leader of the faithful after defeating Gobir.

Mohammadu Kabir Usman, Emir of Katsina led the last segment of the visit to Degel and Tafkin Kwato, where the forces of Gobir Kingdom led by King Yunfa were defeated.

Obasanjo had during the International Conference of scholars under the theme 'Sokoto Caliphate and its legacies, 1804-2004,' on June 15, attributed to ignorance the nation of those who denigrate the Caliphate. He said since the country was conquered by the colonialists at the turn of the 20th century, some revisionists out of ignorance and politics has tried to denigrate the caliphate.

The President who was represented by Atiku Abubakar, vice-president said denigration occurred when the Caliphate was portrayed as a tribal affair of the Fulani and Hausa. Following this, he said the ideology and institutions of the Caliphate were seen as feudal and retrogressive and its value in conflict with and irrelevant to modern society. Several papers were presented and discussed on different themes ranging from poetry, Sharia, scholarship and impact of the Jihad on Nupe land, Zazzau, Adamawa, economy, histography and many other topics. The conference drew scholars from within and outside Nigeria.

In one of the papers, Mahmud Mandani from Uganda said the Sokoto Caliphate had two contradictory legacies; of liberators and collaborators of colonialism depending on the time and leaders. The liberators were those men and women that fought colonialism with even their lives while the collaborators were those like alkalis and emirs who supported and colluded with colonialism.

Speaking on the importance and significance of the celebration, Ibrahim Gidado, Sokoto State Commissioner for Information, told journalists that the event was significant because it was aimed at paying tribute to the dedication, foresight and intellectual skills of the Caliphate's founding fathers in state craft and nation building.

He said the event was also an opportunity to re-examine the position of the Muslim Ummah and to work on the various books left behind by leaders of the Caliphate.