Pre-colonial history of Northern Nigeria

Last updated July 01, 2020

The pre-colonial history of Northern Nigeria encompasses the history of Northern Nigeria before the advent of European explorers and the subsequent pacification of Northern Nigeria by the British Empire. In pre-historical times, the area known as Northern Nigeria was home to the Kwatarkwashi/Nok culture. Elements of human civilisation have also been discovered around the Niger River near Kainji Dam.

Kabara Period

Around the 7th century the Kabara Nation under the control of the Kabara's emerged in Northern Nigeria.^[1] Around the 9th century an upheaval of unexplained origins saw a transference of power from these matriarchal monarchs and a new set of nations emerged in their place.

The Fourteen Kingdoms

In the 9th century a set kingdoms emerged in Northern Nigeria to replace the Kabara Nation, these Kingdoms share a similar ethno-historical dynamic cemented in their belief in a common origin. The lore of the Fourteen Kingdoms unify the diverse heritage of Northern Nigeria into a cohesive system. Seven of these Kingdoms developed from the Kabara legacy of the Hausa people. In the 9th century as vibrant trading centers competing with Kanem-Bornu and Mali slowly developed in the Central Sudan, a set Kingdoms merged dominating the great savannah plains of Hausaland, their primary exports were leather, gold, cloth, salt, kola nuts, animal hides, and henna.^[1] The Seven Hausa states included:

Daura ?–1806
Kano 998–1807
Katsina c. 1400–1805
Zazzau (Zaria) c. 1200–1808
Gobir ?–1808
Rano
Biram c. 1100–1805 (also known as Hadejia)

The growth and conquest of the Hausa Bakwai resulted in the founding of additional states with rulers tracing their lineage to a concubine of the Hausa founding father, Bayajidda. Thus they are called the 'Banza Bakwai meaning Bastard Seven. The Banza Bakwai adopted many of the customs and institutions of the Hausa Bakwai but were considered unsanctioned or copy-cat kingdoms by non-Hausa people. These states include:

Zamfara
Kebbi
Yauri (also called Yawuri)
Gwari (also called Gwariland)
Kwararafa (a Jukun state)
Nupe (of the Nupe people)
lLorin (a Yoruba state)

Sudanic States

The Sudanic States emerged from the wake of the upheaval that transformed the system of governance in the central Sudan to patriarchal system. With influence of Islamic Mali Empire, the Hausa Kingdoms were replaced beginning with the Kingdom of Kano by a set of sultanates in the 11th century. The rise of the Sultanates led to series of wars that periodically saw the emergence of organised Empires in Northern Nigeria, by the 17th century, however, these empire had debilitated their economies and have largely stagnated. The parallel rise Fula influence resulted in a wave of ethnic Jihads that saw the rise of the Sokoto Caliphate encompassing much of Northern Nigeria and Northern Cameroon.

Sokoto Caliphate

The Sokoto Caliphate emerged from a series of religious campaigns led by the Fula people. By 1809 it had encompassed much of Northern Nigeria and Northern Cameroon.

Related Research Articles

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Hausa–Fulani are an ethnic group of the Sudan, a vast region south of the Sahara, encompassing the Sahel, they are located primarily in the Northern region of Nigeria. Hausa-Fulani are people of mixed Hausa and Fulani origin, most of whom speak a variant of Hausa as their native language, although about 6 to 12 million speak Fula language. Many Hausa-Fulanis identify primarily as Hausa and secondarily as Fulani.

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Kebbi is a state in north-western Nigeria with its capital at Birnin Kebbi. The state was created out of a part of Sokoto State in 1991. Kebbi State is bordered by Sokoto State, Niger State, Zamfara State, Dosso Region in the Republic of Niger and the nation of Benin. It has a total area of 36,800 km².

Northern Nigeria was an autonomous division within Nigeria, distinctly different from the southern part of the country, with independent customs, foreign relations and security structures. In 1962 it acquired the territory of the British Northern Cameroons, which voted to become a province within Northern Nigeria.

The Hausa Kingdom, also known as Hausa Kingdoms or Hausaland, was a collection of states started by the Hausa people, situated between the Niger River and Lake Chad. Hausaland lay between the Western Sudanic kingdoms of Ancient Ghana and Mali and the Eastern Sudanic kingdoms of Kanem-Bornu. Hausaland took shape as a political and cultural region during the first millennium CE as a result of the westward expansion of Hausa peoples. They arrived to Hausaland when the terrain was converting from woodlands to savannah. They started cultivating grains, which led to a denser peasant population. They had a common language, laws, and customs. The Hausa were known for fishing, hunting, agriculture, salt-mining, and blacksmithing. By the 14th century Kano had become the most powerful city-state. Kano had become the base for the trans-Saharan trade in salt, cloth, leather, and grain. The Hausa oral history is reflected in the Bayajidda legend, which describes the adventures of the Baghdadi hero Bayajidda culmulating in the killing of the snake in the well of Daura and the marriage with the local queen Magajiya Daurama. According to the legend, the hero had a child with the queen, Bawo, and another child with the queen's maid-servant, Karbagari. Though the Hausa states shared the same lineage, language and culture, the states were characterized by fierce rivalries with each other with each state seeking supremacy over the others. They constantly waged war on each other and would often work with invaders to the detriment of their sister states, hindering their collective strength.

Zazzau Traditional state in Kaduna State, Nigeria

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The Fulajihads were a series of jihadist wars that occurred across West Africa during the 18th and 19th centuries led largely by the Muslim Fula people. The jihads and the jihad states came to an end with European colonization.

African empires Umbrella term for some pre-colonial African kingdoms

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The Ilorin Emirate is a traditional state based in the city of Ilorin in Kwara State, Nigeria. It is a prominent city largely populated by the Yoruba speaking people group of West Africa. It is considered by some to be one of the Banza Bakwai, or copy-cats of the Hausa Kingdoms.

The Kebbi Emirate, also known as the Argungu Emirate is a traditional state based on the town of Argungu in Kebbi State, Nigeria. It is the successor to the ancient Hausa kingdom of Kebbi. The Emirate is one of four in Kebbi State, the others being the Gwandu Emirate, Yauri Emirate and Zuru Emirate.

The Sultanate of Kano was a Hausa kingdom in the north of what is now Nigeria that dates back to 1349, when the contemporary King of Kano, Ali Yaji (1349-1385), dissolved the cult of Tsumbubra, accepted Islam and proclaimed Kano a Sultanate. Before 1000 AD, Kano had been ruled as an Animist Hausa Kingdom. The Sultanate lasted until the Fulani jihad in 1805 and the assassination of the Last Sultan of Kano in 1807. The Sultanate was then replaced by the Kano Emirate, subject to the Sokoto Caliphate. The capital is now the modern city of Kano in Kano State.

The Jobawa are a sub clan of the Fulani ethnic group, Primarily found in the old Eastern Kano they were the First Fulani Clan to make contact with the Hausa People.

Islamic extremism is adherence to a fundamentalist interpretation of Islam, potentially including the promotion of violence to achieve political goals. In contemporary times, Islamic extremism in Northern Nigeria is typified by the Boko Haram insurgency and the proselytizing campaigns of salafist groups like the Izala Society.

The history of Northern Nigeria covers the history of the region form pre-historic times to the modern period of Northern Nigerian state.

References

1 2 Palmer, H. R (1908). Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. 1908.Missing or empty |title= (help)

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[KChronicle-1] 1 2 Palmer, H. R (1908). Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. 1908.Missing or empty |title= (help)