The trouble with the Fulanis

ANNOUNCE THIS ARTICLE TO YOUR FRIENDS!

Friday, March 10, 2000 to French to Spanish to German to Italian to Portuguese  Rudolf Okonkwo  rudolfokonkwo@naijanet.com

Five hundred years ago, the events that were taking place on the vast piece of land currently referred to as northern Nigeria were more fascinating than what is going on now. The Trans-Saharan trade routes had earlier on established a communication avenue with the Mediterranean. And from it, Islam had come into West Africa after the 9th century. Various Hausa states like Ghana, Gao and Kanem, which sprung up outside the present day Northern Nigeria but indirectly impacted the history of today’s Northern Nigeria had declined. And out of a small state of Gao, the Songhai Empire emerged. By the last decade of the 15th century, Songhai in the East had over ran all of Mali and established itself as one of the two major places where much of Northern Nigeria paid homage. The other one was Borno in the West. As Songhai and Kanem-Borno Empires prospered, small Hausa states such as Kano, Katsina and Gobir, founded by the children of Bayinjida (who became sarki of Daura after subduing a snake and marrying the queen of Daura) remained in the periphery. They fought against the Jukun and Nupe in the Middle Belt in a quest for slaves, treasures amongst other things. Islam was gradually introduced into Kano and Kastina by clerics from Mali. In the 13th century, the Fulanis entered Hausaland from the Senegal River valley first as nomadic cattle rarer. One group of Muslim Fulanis settled in the cities and transformed themselves into an educated elite who served as Islamic teachers, judges and government advisers to Hausa Kings. GOLDEN NUGGET Clientage and competition were the two significant factors in Fulani political system. A Fulani man was expected to compete amongst his fellow men for the right to rule. He proved this by showing his capacity to attract large fellowship. The client who accepted to follow the powerful Fulani politician would offer gifts and political support in return for protection. But that was how it was in the beginning, before the Fulanis overthrew the Hausa Kings and began to see themselves as those born to rule. When Songhai Empire collapsed abruptly in 1591 as a result of Moroccan attack from the Sahara, Borno Empire dominated the region for the next 200 years. But before Songhai fell, it had subdued Kebbi and their kanta (King). It had introduced the trade in Kola nuts from the forests of modern Ghana. And of course, Islamic culture had developed. The rise of Borno effectively relocated the focus of the Hausas to Birni Gazargamu on the Komadugu Yobe River. The Hausa states of Gobir, Kastina, Zamfara, Kano, Kebbi and Zaria fought amongst themselves for much of the 17th and 18th centuries. Eventually, Zamfara fell to Gobir and ceased to exist as a state. (It was to re-emerge 200 years after and once again doing things to change the history of Northern Nigeria.) Severe drought, one of which lasted for seven years and constant military attack from Tuareg warriors of Agades finally brought about the decline of Borno Empire. Just when the Hausa states were about to breath free, many Fulanis in an attempt to escape droughts moved into Hausa land. The Fulanis, known in those days for their lack of loyalty to political authorities increased tension in the Hausa States. At the tail end of the 18th century, Muslim scholars (Mallams) who had become fed up with the instability of the Hausa States began to think about a revolution. They formed the Qadiriyah brotherhood and initiated the plan to overthrow existing authorities. And leading this group of radical Mallams was Usman dan Fodio. In 1804, in Gobir, the Jihad began. Incidentally, 20 years before, Jubril, a Tuareg, called for a Jihad. And Abd as Salam whose actions truly started the Jihad was Hausa. But majority of the Mallams who supported Usman dan Fodio were Fulanis. And in 1808, when Hausa States were overthrown, all the prominent leaders of the emerging new order were Fulanis. Various Hausa Dynasties fled as a result. The Zaria Dynasty ran to Abuja, the Kebbi rulers ran to Argungu, the Katsina Dynasty ran to Maradi in present day Niger. The Fulanis also brought down the Borno Empire and destroyed Birni Gazargamu but another cleric, Al Kanemi, forced the Fulanis to retreat. Usman dan Fodio established his capital at Sokoto and the new state became known as the Sokoto Caliphate. Headed by the Sultan (Commander of the faithful) the caliphate was a loose confederation of emirates. When Usman dan Fodio died in 1817, his son, Muhammed Bello succeeded him. Three decades after, the caliphate had stretched its control from Sokoto to Ilorin and down into cities in modern day Cameroon. Ilorin, which used to be the headquarters of Oyo cavalry, composed of Muslim slaves revolted in 1817 following a failed coup and pledged an allegiance to the caliphate. Oyo warlords were to spend the 1820s fighting amongst themselves and resisting the caliphate. The Fulanis who inherited power following the success of Usman dan Fodio’s jihad intermarried with the ruling Hausa families and moved into the household. Though assimilated into Hausa culture and language, and generally referred to as Hausa-Fulani, the rulers of what later became Northern Nigeria were very proud of their heritage. On the surface, they allowed what looked like the continuous hausanization of Northern Nigeria but as directed by the Fulanis. Clientage and competition were the two significant factors in Fulani political system. A Fulani man was expected to compete amongst his fellow men for the right to rule. He proved this by showing his capacity to attract large fellowship. The client who accepted to follow the powerful Fulani politician would offer gifts and political support in return for protection. But that was how it was in the beginning, before the Fulanis overthrew the Hausa Kings and began to see themselves as those born to rule. The trouble with the Fulanis is that they have stayed too long on other people’s throne (Hausa people’s throne) that they totally forgot how they got there in the first place. The Fulanis have forgotten that they penetrated the Hausa society by serving as clerks, teachers, judges, advisers etc. When the Nigerian experiment began, Fulanis who had become kings of Hausaland assumed they would naturally become Kings of Nigeria. They forgot that Nigeria was a new society and for them to penetrate Nigeria, they had to serve as teachers, clerks, judges and advisers. For a while, their thinking pattern worked for them, until the Second Coming of Obasanjo which coincided with the opening of the eyes of Nigerians by Babangida and Abacha. If the Fulanis had spent some time to serve Nigeria, the mere fact that they did not produce the president this time around would not have left them feeling like fish brought out of Sokoto River. About 200 years ago, when Usman dan Fodio and his group were about to overthrow Hausa land and their Kings, they studied the Hausa society and struck when the Hausa States were in disarray. But their weapon of choice was Islam, which they had sold to the Hausa people. The current attempt by Fulanis to strike back after losing power was a miscalculation. The yet unconquered Nigerian society (Middlebelt and Southern Nigeria) may be in disarray but Fulanis choice of Sharia as the weapon of choice was a tactical mistake. It is similar to Saddam Hussein’s firing of scud missiles at Israel during the Gulf war with the hope of breaking the resolve of the Allied Forces. It failed and so would Sharia. In fact, rather than destroy, the Sharia is uniting the rest of Nigeria. By Fulanis choice of weapon, they have lost the Middlebelt forever. Not even the Wakus of Middlebelt would be enthusiastic about continuing to line up in front of Alhaji’s house for some handouts. What is left to be seen is whether the Hausas, most of whom currently pretend to be Fulanis, will see the clue and learn that they have been taken for a ride for much too long by the Fulanis. The decision of the Fulanis to partake in the Hausa language while reserving their own Pulaar and Fulfulde languages for just their 'sons of the soil' totally deceived the Hausas. To even note that the jihad that brought down the Hausa States were triggered of by Abd as Salam, an Hausa man and envisioned by Jubril, a Tuareg, was shocking. Those who used to be their own Kings have become other people’s servants. A recent meeting in Kaduna of Northern Emirs and leaders at Arewa House showcased the likes of Sultan of Sokoto, Emir of Ilorin, Emir of Kano, Emir of Zazzau, Emir of Katsina, Emir of Gwandu, etc. People like Babangida, sitting in their midst looked odd. A Gbagyi man like him, whose forefathers were chased down to the Niger State area by the Fulanis, should have been ashamed of himself. But now, thanks to the help of ‘Babangida and his boys’; his people are now contented with washing the feet of the Fulanis. Not even Abacha, a Kanuri man who never pretended to be Fulani could fall that low. Babangida's ancestors must be turning in their graves. The Jihad of Usman dan Fodio that transformed much of West Africa has been compared to the French revolution that changed Western Europe. Just like the French revolution did come to an end, the Jihad is also winding down. This latest re-enactment in the 21st century was a desperate move of an empire that is in an irreversible decline. Just as the French are hanging to former French colonies to keep the feeling of an empire alive, the caliphate’s Sharia scheme is an attempt to flex their shrinking muscles in the North. As the Middlebelt and the rest of the South take their stand, it is left for the Hausas to decide if they wish to remain slaves in their ancestral land or fight to regain their dignity. Unlike Christians missionaries who walked into the South with the Bible and the guns, the Fulanis jihadists walked into Hausaland with cattle and the Koran. The Christians made their converts and left with colonialism. But the Fulanis made their converts and overthrew the people that welcomed them. Christian converts still retained a significant sense of whom they were, but Fulani converts totally lost the sense of whom they were. After the battle for the heart and soul of the Middlebelt, the Hausas in Sokoto, Kano, Katsina, Borno, etc would have to wake up and rediscover who they really were before the first Fulani walked into Hausaland behind a herd of cattle. One major mistake the Fulanis made was not to have followed the teachings of their own Usman dan Fodio. Writing in his book, THE PURIFICATION OF THE HEART FROM KIBR (Pride), Usman dan Fodio warned of the danger in being proud and arrogant. He wrote that self-exaltation does not make anyone arrogant as long as one sees that another person is greater than him or his equal. What makes one arrogant, dan Fodio wrote is when, “he exerts his own value in relationship to someone else, he despises the one below him and put himself above others’ company and confidence.” To this kind of people, dan Fodio warned; “You own neither your heart nor yourself. You desire something while your destruction may be in it, and you detest something while your life may be in it. You find some foods delicious when they destroy and kill you, and you find remedies repugnant when they help you and save you. You are not safe for a moment, day and night. Your sight, knowledge, and power may be stripped away: your limbs may become semi-paralyzed, your intellect may be stolen away, your ruh may be snatched away, and all you love in this world may be taken from you.” There is no gentle way of describing the trouble with the Fulanis. There is no hope of being reasonable either because the Fulanis are like Gibreel, a character in Salman Rushdie’s novel, THE SATANIC VERSES, whose girlfriend Allie observed and concluded that, “The worst thing about him … was his genius for thinking himself slighted, belittled, under attack. It became almost impossible to mention anything to him, no matter how reasonable, on matter how gently put.” For those Fulanis who still believe that it is not yet over until the Koran kisses the Atlantic Oceana at both ends, I say dream on. The tactical move for you all would be to withdraw and regroup now that you can. Maybe 200 years from now, when an Alhaji is in the White House or when Tehran becomes the center of the world, then, you can complete the unfinished business of Usman dan Fodio. In the meantime, simply get out there and get on with your life. It is over-the jihad years. The world has moved on. Get on with the program, buddies.