The sultan of Sokoto is the hereditary leader of the Sokoto Caliphate, a Sunni Muslim community in West Africa. The position may also be referred to as the 'Sokoto Caliph' or the "Commander of the Faithful" ( Amir-ul-Momineen in Arabic or Lamido Julbe in Fulani). The current holder of this title, since 2006, is Sa'adu Abubakar. [1] The sultan of Sokoto is the leader of the Qadiriyya Sufi order, historically the most important Muslim position in Nigeria and senior to the Emir of Kano, the leader of the Tijaniyya Sufi order. [2] The post has become increasingly ceremonial since British rule defeated the caliphate and replaced it with the Sokoto Sultanate Council in 1903, but the sultan – considered a spiritual leader in the Muslim community in Nigeria – can still carry much weight with Fulani and Hausa people from northern Nigeria.
Usman dan Fodio, the founder of the dynasty of Sokoto State and of the Fulani Empire (consisting of the Fulbe Jihad states of which Sokoto was suzerain), never used the high style of Sultan but was simply titled Amir al-Mu´minin . The first to assume the title of Sultan was Fodio's son Muhammed Bello, who ruled from 1817 to 1837. Since the creation of the title, there have been nineteen Sultans of Sokoto, all men from the Torodbe scholar caste who are descended from Usman dan Fodio. Siddiq Abubakar III was the longest serving Sultan, holding the position for 50 years from 1938 to 1988. The shortest reign was that of Muhammadu Attahiru I, who held the position for five months in 1902–03. The 17th sultan, Ibrahim Dasuki, was forcefully deposed in 1996 by the Sani Abacha military government of Nigeria. [3]
Prior to the beginning of the Fulani Jihad of 1804, the ethnic category Fulani was not important for the Torodbe and their literature reveals the ambivalence they had defining Torodbe-Fulani relationships. They adopted the language of the Fulani and much ethos while maintaining a separate, non-ethnic identity. [4] The Torodbe clan at first recruited members from all levels of Sūdānī society, particularly the poorer people. [5]
Sultan of Sokoto | |
---|---|
Incumbent | |
Abubakar IV since 2 November 2006 | |
Details | |
Style |
|
First monarch | Muhammed Bello 1817–1837 |
Formation | 1807 |
Residence | Wuro Bello |
Appointer | Sokoto Sultanate Council with approval from the Sokoto State Government |
As mentioned above, the sultans were also styled Amir al-Mu´minin and Sarkin Musulmi ("King of the Muslims"), basically the autochthonous form of the former, which is the Arabic style of caliphs and other independent sovereign Muslim rulers that claim legitimacy from a community of Muslims); Mai, occurring in various sultans' surnames, is another autochthonous title. [6] The table below shows the historical list of the sultan of Sokoto, beginning from 1817.
No. | Image | Name | Birth and death | Reign started | Reign ended | Lineage | House |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Muhammed Bello (محمد بلُّو) | 1781 Unknown – 1837 Wurno (aged 58) | 21 April 1817 | 25 October 1837 | Son of Usman dan Fodio | House of Bello | |
2 | Abubakar I Atiku (أبو بكر عتيكو) | 1782 Unknown – 1842 Sokoto (aged 60) | 26 October 1837 | 23 November 1842 | Son of Usman dan Fodio | House of Atiku | |
3 | Ali Babba bin Bello (علي ببَّا بن بلُّو) | 1808 Sala – 1859 Sokoto (aged 51) | 30 November 1842 | 21 October 1859 | Son of Muhammed Bello | House of Bello | |
4 | Ahmadu Atiku (أحمد عتيكو) | c. 1807 Unknown – 1866 Sokoto (aged ~59) | 24 October 1859 | 2 November 1866 | Son of Abu Bakr Atiku | House of Atiku | |
5 | Aliyu Karami | 1808 Sala – 1867 (aged 59) | 6 November 1866 | 18 October 1867 | Son of Muhammed Bello | House of Bello | |
6 | Ahmadu Rufai | 1814 – 1867 (aged 53) | 21 October 1867 | 12 March 1873 | Son of Usman dan Fodio | House of Rufai | |
7 | Abubakar II Atiku na Raba | 1812 – 1877 (aged 65) | 16 March 1873 | 28 March 1877 | Son of Muhammed Bello | House of Bello | |
8 | Mu'azu | 1816 – 1881 (aged 65) | 6 April 1877 | 26 September 1881 | Son of Muhammed Bello | House of Bello | |
9 | Umaru bin Ali | c. 1824 Sokoto – 1891 Kaura Namoda (aged ~67) | 3 October 1881 | 25 March 1891 | Son of Ali Babba bin Bello | House of Bello | |
10 | Abd al-Rahman bin Atiku | c. 1828 Unknown – 1902 Unknown (aged ~74) | 25 March 1891 | 10 October 1902 | Son of Abu Bakr I Atiku | House of Atiku | |
11 | Muhammadu Attahiru I | Unknown – 1903 | 13 October 1902 | 15 March 1903 | Son of Ahmadu Atiku | House of Atiku | |
12 | Muhammadu Attahiru II | 21 March 1903 | 1915 | Son of Ali Babba bin Bello | House of Bello | ||
13 | Muhammadu dan Ahmadu | 1915 | 1924 | Son of Ahmadu Atiku | House of Atiku | ||
14 | Muhammadu dan Muhammadu | 1924 | 1931 | Son of Muhammadu dan Ahmadu | House of Atiku | ||
15 | Hasan dan Mu'azu Ahmadu | 1931 | 1938 | Son of Mu'azu | House of Bello | ||
16 | Siddiq Abubakar III | 15 March 1903 Dange – 1 November 1988 Sokoto (aged 85) | 1938 | 1988 | Grandson of Mu'azu | House of Bello | |
17 | Ibrahim Dasuki | 23 December 1923 Dogondaji - 14 November 2016 Abuja (aged 93) | 6 November 1988 | 20 April 1996 (deposed) | Great-great-grandson of Usman dan Fodio [7] | House of Buhari | |
18 | Muhammadu Maccido | 20 April 1926 Dange Shuni – 29 October 2006 (near Abuja) (aged 80) | 20 April 1996 | 29 October 2006 | Son of Siddiq Abubakar III | House of Bello | |
19 | Sa'adu Abubakar | 24 August 1956 Sokoto – | 2 November 2006 | Current | Son of Siddiq Abubakar III | House of Bello | |
Mallam Muhammadu Fodio | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1 Usman dan Fodio 1804–1815 | Abdullahi dan Fodio Emir of Gwandu | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2 Muhammed Bello 1817–1837 | 3 Abubakar I Atiku 1837–1842 | 6 Ahmadu Rufai 1867–1873 | Muhammed Buhari Emir of Tambawel | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
4 Ali Babba bin Bello 1842–1859 | 7 Aliu Karami 1866–1867 | 8 Abubakar II Atiku na Raba 1873–1877 | 9 Mu'azu Ahmadu 1877–1881 | Umaru Nagwamatse Emir of Kontagora | 5 Ahmadu Atiku 1859–1866 | 11 Abder Rahman Atiku 1891–1902 | Abdullahi Barau Sarkin Yamma | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
10 Umaru bin Ali 1881–1891 | 13 Muhammadu Attahiru II 1903–1915 | 16 Hasan dan Mu'azu Ahmadu 1931–1938 | Usman Shehu | 12 Muhammadu Attahiru I 1902–1903 | 14 Muhammadu Maiturare 1915–1924 | Haliru Ibn Barau Sarkin Yamma | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
17 Siddiq Abubakar III 1938–1988 | 15 Muhammadu Tambari 1924–1931 | 18 Ibrahim Dasuki 1988–1996 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
19 Muhammadu Maccido 1996–2006 | 20 Sa'adu Abubakar 2006– | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shehu Usman dan Fodio. was a Fulani scholar, Islamic religious teacher, poet, revolutionary and a philosopher who founded the Sokoto Caliphate and ruled as its first caliph.
Hausa–Fulani are people of mixed Hausa and Fulani origin. They are primarily found in the Northern region of Nigeria, most of whom speak a variant of Hausa or Fula or both as their first language. The term Hausa-Fulani is also used mostly as a joint term to refer to both the monoethnic Hausa and Fulani ethnic populations in Northern Nigeria.
The Jihad of Usman dan Fodio was a religio-military conflict in present-day Nigeria and Cameroon. The war began when Usman dan Fodio, a prominent Islamic scholar and teacher, was exiled from Gobir by King Yunfa, one of his former students.
The Sokoto Caliphate, also known as the Sultanate of Sokoto, was a Sunni Muslim caliphate in West Africa. It was founded by Usman dan Fodio in 1804 during the Fulani jihads after defeating the Hausa Kingdoms in the Fulani War. The boundaries of the caliphate are part of present-day Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Nigeria. By 1837, the Sokoto state had a population of around 10-20 million people, becoming the most populous empire in West Africa. It was dissolved when the British, French, and Germans conquered the area in 1903 and annexed it into the newly established Northern Nigeria Protectorate, Senegambia and Niger and Kamerun respectively.
Muhammadu Bello was the first Caliph of Sokoto and reigned from 1817 until 1837. He was also an active writer of history, poetry, and Islamic studies. He was the son and primary aide to Usman dan Fodio, the founder of the Sokoto Caliphate and the first caliph. During his reign, he encouraged the spread of Islam throughout the region, increasing education for both men and women, and the establishment of Islamic courts. He died on October 25, 1837, and was succeeded by his brother Abu Bakr Atiku and then his son, Aliyu Babba.
Sir Siddiq Abubakar III, GCON, KBE was a Nigerian Muslim leader. He was the 17th Sultan of Sokoto between 17 June 1938 and 1 November 1988, making him the longest-reigning Sultan.
Gidado dan Laima (1817–1842) also known as Waziri Gidado was the first known Grand Vizier of the Sokoto Caliphate, he was vizier of Sokoto during the sultanship of Muhammed Bello. He was the founder of the popular line of viziers known as the Gidado line; some of his descendants include Waziri Junaid and Abd al-Qadir (Sokoto), and in extension, Gidado Idris who was once Nigeria’s Secretary to the Government.
Ibrahim Muhammadu Maccido Abubakar III, often shortened to Muhammadu Maccido, was the 19th Sultan of Sokoto in Nigeria. He was the son and primary aide to Siddiq Abubakar III (1903–1988) who had been the Sultan of Sokoto for 50 years.
Muhammadu Sa'ad Abubakar is the 20th Sultan of Sokoto. As Sultan of Sokoto, he is considered the spiritual leader of Nigeria's Muslims.
Abdullahi ɗan Fodio, was a prominent Islamic scholar, jurist, poet and theologian, and the first Amir of Gwandu and first Grand Vizier of Sokoto. His brother, Usman dan Fodio (1754–1817) was the founder of the Sokoto Caliphate. Usman, being more of a scholar than politician, delegated the practical regency of the western part of his empire to Abdullahi and the eastern part to his son Muhammed Bello, who later became the Sultan of Sokoto after his father.
Dr. Waziri Junaidu was a Nigerian historian, writer and one of the foremost scholars on Fulani history and the Sokoto Caliphate. He held the title of the Waziri of Sokoto.
The Fulajihads sometimes called the Fulani revolution were a series of jihads that occurred across West Africa during the 18th and 19th centuries, led largely by the Muslim Fulani people. The jihads and the jihad states came to an end with European colonization.
Nana Asmaʾu was a Fula princess, poet, teacher, and a daughter of the founder of the Sokoto Caliphate, Usman dan Fodio. She remains a revered figure in northern Nigeria. She is held up by some as an example of education and independence of women possible under Islam, and by others as a precursor to modern feminism in Africa.
For the Arab Hutaymi tribe, see Sulluba
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Muhammadu Yunusa, popularly known as Dabon Dambazau, was a member of the Fulani Islamic revivalists group who waged Islamic revival war (Jihad) on the Kingdom of Kano between 1804 and 1807. He was the first Fulani holder of the noble title of Sarkin Bai of Kano. Prior to his ascension he was the clan leader of the Dambazawa Dayeɓe Fulani Clan, an accomplished Islamic scholar and a business magnate. He was the fifth son of Malam Umaru a Fulani Business man in Borno empire during the reign of Mai Ali IV ibn Haj Hamdun (1755-1793).
Muhammad Bukhari bin Uthman was an Islamic scholar and a noted poet who was the first Emir of Tambawel. Bukhari was an important military commander who participated and led several military campaigns during the jihad of Usman dan Fodio.