Sanda Kura

Sanda Kura of Borno
Sanda Kura of Borno
	Umar Sanda Kura, Shehu of Dikwa, wears around his neck the ring collar of a European uniform. Likely taken in 1900 after the defeat of Rabih az-Zubayr
Shehu of Bornu
Reign	14 January 1900 – October 1900 (deposed)
Predecessor	Sanda Wuduroma of Borno
Successor	Abubakar Garbai of Borno
Reign	1922–1937
Predecessor	Abubakar Garbai of Borno
Successor	Umar Ibn Muhammad of Borno
Born	Umar Sanda ibn Ibrahim Kura; 1842
Died	1937 (aged 94–95); Borno
Dynasty	Kanemi
Father	Ibrahim Kura of Borno
Religion	Muslim

Last updated July 18, 2024

Shehu Umar Sanda ibn Ibrahim Kura al-Kanemi was the Shehu of Borno from 1922 to 1937. He was the son of Shehu Ibrahim Kura of Borno and brother of Shehu Abubakar Garbai.^[1]^[2]

Life

In the year 1893, the al-Kanemi dynasty were evicted from Bornu and left out of rulership by the Sudanese explorer Rabih az-Zubayr. The dynasty ruled over Bornu for almost a century from 1810. After the death of Shehu Kiari by Rabih in 1894, members of the dynasty fled all over the region. Some fled to the Kano emirate, others to Damagaram and a few went into hiding inside metropolitan Borno itself. Umar Sanda Kura lead the group in Damagaram which was the largest and most important. As early of February 1898, the Royal Niger Company reported finding Umar Sanda with 670 of his followers along the border of Damagaram and Kano asking for their help against Rabih. The British, who were trying to cooperate with Rabih instead, ignored his request. His brother, Abubakar Garbai, later joined him sometime around late 1898.^[3]

Battle of Kousséri

Umar Sanda formally asked the French to recognise him as the ruler of Bornu and help him against Rabih when he met the Foureau–Lamy Mission in Begra. The French accepted his request as they thought it was a good bargain after witnessing the deep respect and love the Bornu people had for Sanda Kura. According to Foureau, all the local dignitaries in the city of Begra came to welcome the French expedition, bringing foodstuff and expressing hope that the French would be successful in ending Rabih's reign. Sanda Kura was formally recognised as the Shehu of Bornu on 14 January 1900 in front of a huge jubilant crowd.^[3]^[4]

By April of 1900, the French had gathered their troops in Kanem ready to march to Dikwa to face Rabih but Officer Émile Gentil quickly realised that Dikwa was in "German Borno" rather than "French Borno" which meant marching to Dikwa would mean violating international convention. To get a legal reason for the invasion, Gentil got Gwarang, the Sultan of Bagirmi, to write a letter to Shehu Sanda Kura asking for assistance against Rabih's aggression in Bagirmi. The Shehu was then instructed to reply back acknowledging his distress as legitimate. He then authorised Gwarang to join his forces and his allies in Bornu so they could all launch an attack on Rabih in Dikwa. With this "legal" reason, the French alongside the Shehu's and Gwarang's forces launched an attack on Rabih and killed him on 22 April 1900 in Kusseri.^[5]

Shehu Sanda Kura installed himself in Dikwa. The French demanded the fee of 30,000 Maria Theresa dollars from the Shehu as payment for their "services". Shehu Kura, either out of gratitude or fear, sent agents all over Bornu to gather the sum requested. The French went further to ask the Shehu to drive away the Shuwa Arabs living west of Lake Chad into Kanem. It is speculated that the Shehu was bitter against the Shuwa, many of whom had defected to Rabih in 1893 and even after his death preferred to support his son Fadl-Allah as ruler of Bornu rather than Umar Sanda Kura. But despite this bitterness, the Shehu recognised the importance of the Shuwa to Bornu as they owned vasts amount of wealth and cattle. Hence the Shehu refused to drive away the Shuwa. The French, in response, withdrew their "recognition" of Umar Sanda as Shehu and recognised his more "pliable" brother Abubakar Garbai. Umar Sanda was then exiled to the Congo in October 1900 by the French.^[5]^[6]

Sanda Kura later returned to Borno and was made ajia (district head) of Yerwa in 1915.^[7] In 1922, he again became Shehu of Borno. Following his passing in 1937, he was succeeded by the then Shehu of Dikwa, Umar Sanda Kiarimi.^[8]

Related Research Articles

The Kanem–Bornu Empire existed in areas which are now part of Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon, Libya and Chad. It was known to the Arabian geographers as the Kanem Empire from the 8th century AD onward and lasted as the independent kingdom of Bornu until 1900.

The Kanuri people are an African ethnic group living largely in the lands of the former Kanem and Bornu Empires in Niger, Nigeria, Chad, and Cameroon, as well as a diaspora community residing in Sudan. Those generally termed Kanuri include several subgroups and dialect groups, some of whom identify as distinct from the Kanuri. Most trace their origins to ruling lineages of the medieval Kanem–Bornu Empire, and its client states or provinces. In contrast to the neighboring Toubou or Zaghawa pastoralists, Kanuri groups have traditionally been sedentary, engaging in farming, fishing the Chad Basin, trade, and salt processing.

Borno State is a state in the North-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria.It is bordered by Yobe to the west for about 421 km, Gombe to the southwest for 93 km, and Adamawa to the south while its eastern border forms part of the national border with Cameroon for about 426 km. Its northern border forms part of the national border with Niger for about 223 km, mostly across the Komadougou-Yobe River, and its northeastern border forms all of the national border with Chad for 85 km ,.It is the only Nigerian state to border up to three countries. It takes its name from the historic emirate of Borno, with the emirate's old capital of Maiduguri serving as the capital city of Borno State. The state was formed in 1976 when the former North-Eastern State was broken up. It originally included the area that is now Yobe State, which became a distinct state in 1991.

Rabih az-Zubayr ibn Fadl Allah or Rabih Fadlallah, usually known as Rabah in French, was a Sudanese warlord and slave trader who established a powerful empire east of Lake Chad, in today's Chad.

Umar I ibn Muhammad al-Amin or Umar of Borno was Shehu (Sheik) of the Kanem–Bornu Empire and son of Muhammad al-Amin al-Kanemi.

Shehu Muhammad al-Amîn ibn Muhammad al-Kanemi (1776–1837) was an Islamic scholar, teacher, religious and political leader who advised and eventually supplanted the Sayfawa dynasty of the Kanem–Bornu Empire. In 1846, al-Kanemi's son Umar I ibn Muhammad al-Amin became the sole ruler of Borno, an event which marked the end of the Sayfawa dynasty's eight hundred year rule. The current Shehu of Bornu, a traditional ruler whose seat remains in modern Borno State, Nigeria, is descended from al-Kanemi.

The Borno Emirate or Sultanate, sometimes known as the Bornu Emirate, is a traditional Nigerian state that was formed at the start of the 20th century. It is headed by the descendants of the rulers of the Bornu Empire, founded before 1000. The rulers have the title Shehu of Borno. The traditional emirate of Borno maintains a ceremonial rule of the Kanuri people, based in Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria, but acknowledged by the 4 million Kanuri in neighbouring countries.

Dikwa is a town and a local government area in Borno State, Nigeria.

Abu Bakr bin Ibrahim al-Kanemi CBE, was the Shehu of Bornu from 1902 to 1922.

The Dikwa Emirate is one of the successor states to the old Bornu Empire, a traditional state within Borno State, Nigeria. It was established in 1901 at the start of the colonial period after the Bornu empire had been partitioned between the British, French and Germans.

Bukar or Bukar Kura bin Umar al-Kanemi was Shehu of Borno from 1881 to c. 1884.

Ibrahim or Ibrahim bin Umar al-Kanemi was Shehu of Borno from c. 1884 to c. 1885.

Ashimi or Hashim bin Umar al-Kanemi (1840s-1893) was Shehu of Borno from ca.1885 to 1893.

Kyari or Khair bin Bukhar al-Kanemi (?-1894) was Shehu of Borno in 1893–1894.

Sir Umar Ibn Muhammad (1872–1967), also known as Sanda Kyarimi, was Shehu of Dikwa between 1922 and 1937 and Shehu of Borno from 1937 to 1967.

Shehu Mustafa Ibn Umar El-Kanemi was the Shehu of Borno from 1974 to 2009.

Abubakar Ibn Umar Garba Al Amin El-Kanemi Shehu Of Borno is the Shehu, or traditional ruler, of the Borno Emirate in northeast Nigeria.

Sanda Wuduroma, or Abu Sanda bin Buqar al-Kanemi, (?-1894) was Shehu of Borno in 1894.

Abd ar-Rahman Gaourang II was Mbang of Bagirmi from 1885 to 1918. He came to power at a time when the sultanate was in terminal decline, subject to both Wadai and Bornu. The Sudanese warlord Rabih az-Zubayr made him his vassal in 1893. Gaourang signed a treaty that made his sultanate a French protectorate in 1897. After the final defeat of Rabih in 1900 he ruled as a subordinate of the French in Chad until his death in 1918.

Muhammadu Mai Maina (1874–1964) was the first chief of Askira. He worked as an interpreter for the Northern Nigeria colonial government from 1895 to 1913, when he was appointed Chief of the Margi District in Bornu. In 1917, he resigned from this position and worked as a trader in Potiskum. Later, he founded the town of Askira and was appointed its chief in 1921, a position he held for over forty years. In 1958, he published Labarin Maimaina Na Jega, Sarkin Askira, a memoir about his early career as an interpreter. In 1961, he became a member of the Northern Region House of Chiefs.

References

↑ Hiribarren, Vincent (2017). A History of Borno: Trans-Saharan African Empire to Failing Nigerian State. London: Hurst & Company. pp. 63, 144. ISBN 9781849044745.
↑ Herbert Richmond Palmer, The Bornu Sahara and Sudan (London: John Murray, 1936), p. 269.
1 2 Tukur, Mahmud (2016). British Colonisation of Northern Nigeria, 1897-1914: A Reinterpretation of Colonial Sources. Amalion Publishing. pp. 32–33. ISBN 978-2-35926-047-2.
↑ Foureau, M. F. (1901). "From Algeria to the French Congo". The Geographical Journal. 17 (2): 135–150. doi:10.2307/1775536. ISSN 0016-7398. JSTOR 1775536.
1 2 Tukur, Mahmud Modibbo (2016-08-15). British Colonisation of Northern Nigeria, 1897-1914: A Reinterpretation of Colonial Sources. Amalion Publishing. pp. 33–34. ISBN 978-2-35926-048-9.
↑ Lavers, John E. (1994). "The Awlad Rabih 22 April 1900 - 23 August 1901". Paideuma. 40: 215–242. ISSN 0078-7809. JSTOR 40341684.
↑ Seidensticker, Wilhelm (2006). "Occupational Structure of Yerwa in the 1920s". In: Berichte des Sonderforschungsbereichs 268, 2.1993, S. 197-221.
↑ Stanhope White (1967-01-01). Dan Bana;: The memoirs of a Nigerian official. Internet Archive. J. H. Heineman. p. 28.

Dynasty

Regnal titles
Sanda Kura House of Kanemi
Preceded by Abubakar Garbai of Borno	10th Shehu of Borno 1922–1937	Succeeded by Umar Ibn Muhammad of Borno

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[Vincent-1] Hiribarren, Vincent (2017). A History of Borno: Trans-Saharan African Empire to Failing Nigerian State. London: Hurst & Company. pp. 63, 144. ISBN 9781849044745.

[Palmer-2] Herbert Richmond Palmer, The Bornu Sahara and Sudan (London: John Murray, 1936), p. 269.

[:0-3] 1 2 Tukur, Mahmud (2016). British Colonisation of Northern Nigeria, 1897-1914: A Reinterpretation of Colonial Sources. Amalion Publishing. pp. 32–33. ISBN 978-2-35926-047-2.

[4] Foureau, M. F. (1901). "From Algeria to the French Congo". The Geographical Journal. 17 (2): 135–150. doi:10.2307/1775536. ISSN 0016-7398. JSTOR 1775536.

[:1-5] 1 2 Tukur, Mahmud Modibbo (2016-08-15). British Colonisation of Northern Nigeria, 1897-1914: A Reinterpretation of Colonial Sources. Amalion Publishing. pp. 33–34. ISBN 978-2-35926-048-9.

[6] Lavers, John E. (1994). "The Awlad Rabih 22 April 1900 - 23 August 1901". Paideuma. 40: 215–242. ISSN 0078-7809. JSTOR 40341684.

[7] Seidensticker, Wilhelm (2006). "Occupational Structure of Yerwa in the 1920s". In: Berichte des Sonderforschungsbereichs 268, 2.1993, S. 197-221.

[8] Stanhope White (1967-01-01). Dan Bana;: The memoirs of a Nigerian official. Internet Archive. J. H. Heineman. p. 28.

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