The Sokoto Caliphate, which holds sway to most of the Muslim faithful of Present day Northern Nigeria, came into existence over two centuries ago as a result of Holy War ( Jihad) declared by the Fulani scholar Usman Dan Fodio and his followers on the indigenous Hausa tribes.
At the beginning of the 19th century , the seven- states of Hausa kingdom in the Northern Nigeria, which was founded several centuries earlier had become fairly cosmopolitan; Berber tribes from North Africa, Fula( Fulani) herdmen and other tribes dwelt among the native Hausa( or Habe) population.
The Northern cosmopolitan expansion had taken centuries to crystallize; beginning from the12th-14th centuries, when the kingdoms expanded their frontiers, developed trade relationships with neighbouring states and countries as well as began to exploit the Trans- Saharan route for commerce. It was through this expansion that the cultural influence of the Berber, Fula and Arab tribes and more significantly the practice of Islam, permeated vast areas of Hausa land. While the native Hausas converted to Islam in their numbers over the years, many of them retained aspects of their pagan religions and soon enough, this perceived adulteration became a source of conflict and prejudice between the Fula who practiced ” pure Islam” and the Hausas who had ‘ adulterated it with their idol worship.
When Usman Dan Fodio, a renowned Fula scholar and tutor to King Yunfa of Gobir, incurred the wrath of the king who promptly ordered his arrest and execution along with the rest of the Fulani population, the fragile peace that subsisted between the Fula and their hosts fractured. The Fulani tribes, United under the leadership of Usman Dan Fodio, declared jihad on the King of Gobir and subsequently, all the Hausa Kingdoms. In a short while, Dan Fodio’s Jihad had swept across Northern Nigeria. While many of the Hausa rulers joined forces and dealt with the Jihadist forces, a number of setbacks, it was only a matter of time and commitment to the cause, before several states including Kano, Zaria and Kastina were conquered and brought under the sovereignty of the new empire. Northeast, successfully warded- off the Fulani onslaught.
Dan Fodio established himself at Sokoto as the political and spiritual head
( Sarkin Muslim) of the entire region. His leadership was relatively unchallenged until his death in 1817. His son and successor, Mohammed Bello, took on the title Sultan which is still in use to this day.
Long after the execution of Usman Dan Fodio’s Jihad and the subsequent formation of the Sokoto Caliphate, the non- Muslim ( pagan) populations of Hausaland remained victims of frequent slave raids for which the region became infamous through the 19th century. Slave trade wreaked untold devastation on the economy and population of the region in spite of its perceived profitability in the short- time. It took the intervention of the British late in the 19th century to curb the trade and bring about its abolishment early in the 20th century.
In 1903, the Sokoto Empire relinquished its authority to the British Crown and became part of the colonial Northern Nigeria Province under the sovereignty of Great Britain
The development of Mariga Local Government Areas remains my priority
Executive Chairman, Mariga Local Government Area