The Reign of Sarkin Hadejia Muhammadu Buhari Dan Sambo (1848-1850, 1851-1863).

The Reign of Muhammadu Buhari Sambo (1848-1850, 1851-1863).

In the year 1848, Sultan Aliyu of Sokoto
sanctioned the selection and installation of
Muhammadu Buhari as the 4th Emir of Hadejia.
This approval by the Sultan though important
was not in fact essential: Buhari would have
installed himself even had the Sultan vetoed the
idea. As it were, Buhari was turbaned at Hadejia
by the Sultan’s envoy and second-in-command,
the Waziri of Sokoto. And thus began the reign of
the most controversial figure the Emirate, if not
the Caliphate, had ever produced. Taskar Suleiman Ginsau.

Buhari was and still remains a different thing to
different people. He is one of those figures about
whom it is impossible to be neutral: one either
detests them, or adores them. To his detractors,
Buhari was ruthless, a rebel and an infidel to
boot; while to his supporters he was a great
administrator, a superb general and a progressive leader who numbered among his closest advisers persons of servile origin. Taskar Suleiman Ginsau.

Succession:-

Whatever else may be said about the man, it has to be admitted that on the issue of succession, Buhari had a valid claim to the throne. Just what was the reason which made Sambo attempt to by-pass Buhari and oft for the junior brother, Ahmadu, as the Emir designate will never be known. But going by past precedents, the attempted change in the normal though unwritten rule of succession was quite unfair to the elder son.
When Sambo, Buhari’s father, came to the throne
in 1808, he appointed his eldest son, Garko, as
chiroman Hadejia and thus by tradition heir
apparent. In 1845 Sambo, already a septuagenarian, abdicated his throne and
appointed Garko Emir. He then offered the post
of Chiroma to his second son, Abdulkadir. A few
years later Garko died. So it was a
straightforward issue, and in keeping with
traditional rules, for Sambo, still very much alive,
to crown Abdulkadir Emir, and to appoint his
third son, Buhari, as Chiroma and thus the Emir-
in-waiting. Taskar Sginsau

As it happened the waiting was to be very brief
indeed, for Abdulkadir too died only after a few
months. Fate itself seemed to be making Buhari’s ascension to the Hadejia throne quite smooth and easy. But Sambo decided to go against fate, and now the troubles began.
Quite inexplicably, and against all established
rules of succession, Sambo decided that Ahmadu, Buhari’s junior brother, was to be the new Emir. To this effect he sent a message from his Camp David-styled retreat, at Mairakumi, summoning Ahmadu to come and receive some charms, which will ensure that he prevailed as
Emir over his rival, Buhari.
Unfortunately for the designs of the aged king-
maker, one of the Jakadiyas privy to the
summons was sympathetic to the cause of
Buhari and took no time in passing on the vital
intelligence to the necessary quarters. Always a
man of action, Buhari took the initiative.
Buhari now latched on to the privileged
information to hatch his own counter deceptive
plan. In the ensuing saga which unfolded, and in
subsequent years, he would show not the
slightest hesitation in employing deceit whenever
necessary, to achieve his goals. “The fact is,”
wrote Nicolo Machiavelli, “a man who wants to
act virtuously in every way comes to grief among
so many who are not virtuous.” Like a true
Machiavellian Prince, Buhari was on occasions
definitely not virtuous.
So when he learnt of Sambo’s plan the crown
Prince arrived just ahead of the hour set for
Ahmadu’s visit. Since Sambo was by then
virtually blind, all Buhari had to do was to add to
his other accomplishments the art, or rather act,
of voice mimicry. And this he did so successfully
as to convince Sambo that it was Ahmadu
speaking. Thus Buhari was able to secure the
important formula, which supposedly confirmed
him as the Emir of Hadejia.
Buhari’s Rule Having established his rule, Buhari
set about expanding his realm. It is true that his
approach to this was less than tactful, but then
expansionism was not a business for the
diplomatically inclined.
His first targets were the towns in the Hadejia-
Machina frontier which, with the aid of Sarkin
Misau, he subdued. Then he turned southwards
and invaded the wealthy region of Miga with the
armed support of Shehu Umar of Bornu. Miga,
incidentally, was the town where Buhari as a
child learnt the recital of the holy Qu’ran………….
At Miga a counter-expeditionary force said to
have included some 10,000 horses, was
marshalled against Buhari, but were all put to
flight by him. This emboldened him to carry out
his attacks deeper and deeper into the east Kano
Emirate until at one point, according to the
German traveller Heinrich Barth, he marched as
far as the Kano town walls.
Much closer home, Buhari stationed two of his
ranking officers, the Mabudi and Jarma of
Hadejia, at Kafin Hausa and Dakayyawa,
respectively. Their orders were to carry out
regular offensive raids along the Miga-Jahun
countryside. Such constant harassment of course
had the effect of seriously curtailing both farming
and grazing in the affected areas: it is a very
rare farmer indeed (or animal) that will stay put
while some characters are constantly throwing
nasty missiles all around. As a result, famine
ensued in the Miga-Jahun complex.
This resulting famine might not be altogether
fortuitous. It may well be that Buhari had
calculated that he could achieve his goal of
bringing Kano Emirate to the negotiating table
through a deliberate policy of starving her
subjects – the sort of policy which the late
Awolowo advocated against the Biafrans over a
century later. If that was indeed his plan, Buhari
succeeded admirably. For barely five years of
intimidation later, in about 1857, Buhari and
Sarkin Kano Abdullahi reached an agreement that
ceded to Hadejia a number of towns on their
common boundary.
Now Buhari began to incur the displeasure of
Sultan Aliyu Babba. To be sure, there had never
been any love lost between the duo: after all, the
Sultan would rather have had any of the other
two rivals of Buhari, namely Ahmadu and Nalara,
as the Emir of Hadejia. In fact, it was the
execution of Sarkin Auyo Nalara by Buhari on
charges of disloyalty to the crown, which finally
persuaded the Sultan to take a decisive step to
punish the erring Emir. In view of the eventual
dismal failure of the intended penalty, he should
not have bothered.
To be fair to the Sultan, before resorting to the
use of force he did try to peacefully mediate
between Buhari and Nalara, even to the extent of
summoning both to his presence at Sokoto. The
rivalry was inevitably because of Nalara’s
increasingly assertive claim to the crown. His
claim was by virtue of the fact that he was the
first son of Yusufu, the junior brother of Sambo.
But as any impartial observer will adjudicate,
Buhari had a far stronger claim. So the Sultan
made what he thought was a permanent
conciliation between the rivals, and was
infuriated to learn later that it was nothing of the sort. But by then, of course, it was rather too
late.
The man to whom fell the unenviable task of
bringing the supposedly recalcitrant Emir to
order was the very man who, ironically, had been
the major supporter of Buhari’s succession
within the Sultan’s inner circles – the Waziri of
Sokoto. However, the Waziri of Sokoto was not
the type of man to be worried by ironical twists.
Once he had his orders from “the commander of
the faithful” the Waziri would just as easily slay
a man as turban him. Just what exactly were the
precise orders the Waziri received as regards
Buhari is still a matter of speculation. But he
went about carrying them out with the
seriousness of a loyal and devoted general.
Waziri Abdulkadir first landed in kano and picked
up a force of Kanawa military. Under ordinary
circumstances a Sultan’s delegation would go
straight from Kano to Hadejia. But this was an
extraordinary mission, and so the Waziri headed
for Katagum instead. It was to this alleged
neutral ground that the Waziri now, rather
disingenuously, invited Buhari to join him for
“consultations”.
Any reader of present day thrillers can easily see
the net of intrigue about to be woven here. But
possibly because Buhari did not read thrillers, or
more likely because he felt confident enough to
handle any eventualities that might arise, he
accepted the invitation. As an insurance he
arrived outside the gates of Katagum with a
large column, which included all his central
government officials and many loyal sarakuna.
From there he sent word to Waziri within, that he was ready to negotiate.
But the Waziri insisted on meeting inside
Katagum, claiming that he had a message from
the Sultan. Buhari reluctantly agreed, and got
ready to enter through one of the city gates. Had
he succeeded in doing so, he probably would not
have emerged alive. As it happened, a timely
intervention by one of Buhari’s praise-singers,
Dan Fatima, probably saved his life. “Garba, in
ka shiga,” he exhorted, “ka gaida min Nalara da
Sarkin Dutse Bello.” This rather poignant warning
was enough to make Buhari turn back and, with
his army, head back for his capital.
At this point a section of Katagumawa came into
the act in a somewhat chaotic manner. Infuriated
by the fact that Buhari had refused to “confer”
with the Waziri, the mob followed Buhari as he
moved down the road, shouting “coward”,
“pagan” and other insulting names at him, and
even killing a few of the rearguard. Acts of
hooliganism, it would seem, are not the
monopoly of British soccer fans alone.
Buhari may have departed, but he left behind a
seething Waziri who was yet to accomplish his
mission. Almost immediately he rallied a mixed
army of Kano and Katagum troops and advanced
on Hadejia, forcing Buhari and his nearest
followers to flee northwards to Machina.
Subsequently, the Waziri installed Ahmadu as the
new Emir of Hadejia. Now mission completed, the
Waziri returned to Kano.
Even at this point Buhari did not despair of
peace with the Sultan, for he still sent peace
offers to the Waziri in Kano. However, all his
overtures were summarily rejected.
well-known chronicler and a contemporary of
Buhari, ventured that the Waziri was bribed by
Kano sarakuna to fight Buhari rather than accept
his peace overtures.
Meanwhile Buhari had moved out of Machina
towards Hadejia, with a much larger following.
He encamped near the capital and showed a
curious reluctance to enter it. He would, at will,
attack all surrounding areas but leave Hadejia
town itself alone.

The History of Hadejia Emirs 1805-1906

The History of Hadejia Emirs 1805-1906

1. Umaru Bin Abdure, 1788 - 1808

Umaru bin Abdure was the first Sarkin Fulanin
Haɗejia. He was appointed by Sarkin Haɗejia
Abubakar, the last Habe ruler of Kasar Haɗejia. Umar was credited with planning and leading the Jihad in Haɗejia-Auyo territories. He actually cleared the ground and laid the foundation for Haɗejia Emirate. He did that by the authority of the leader of the jihad movement in Hausa land, Shehu Usman Danfodio, who sent him a flag via his brother Muhammadu Sambo. Umaru, who theoretically could be regarded as the first flag bearer in Haɗejia, died at Rinde in 1808.

2. Mamman Kankiya, 1808-1808

Sarki Umaru was succeeded by his eldest son Mamman Kankiya. Sarkin Haɗejia Mamman Kankiya did not live long, but died a few months after and in the same year he was appointed.

3. Malam Sambo Digimsa, 1808-1845

With the death of Umar bin Abdure and his short-lived successor, Mamman Kankiya in 1808, the mantle of Haɗejia’s leadership fell on the shoulders of Malam Muhammadu Sambo Digimsa, the person who three years earlier led the bay’a delegation to the Shehu. The Shehu therefore approved his appointment. With Sambo’s assumption of office, the emirate of Haɗejia formally came into being. He was the real founder of the emirate, from whom sprang all the successive Emirs to this day. It was Sambo who made Haɗejia the capital of the emirate when he moved there from Rinde together with his patriots and members of his family. On entering the town from one gate in 1810, Abubakar, the Hausa Chief, and some of his followers moved out of the town from the opposite gate, later settling just outside the eastern gate at a place called Fantai. Emir Sambo thereby made Haɗejia his capital. He enlarged the town and constructed the Haɗejia city wall (Maigari, unp). Also, Sambo was credited with the building of a Friday mosque in Haɗejia and the appointment of an Imam from among the learned Ulama in the town. Sambo made some key appointments of masu sarauta such as Chiroma, Galadima, and Madaki among others. There is no doubt that Sambo was responsible for the final collapse of the Hausa sarauta system in Haɗejia and the establishment of the Fulani emirate government. (Taskar Suleiman Ginsau)

4. Garko bin Sambo, 1845-1847

In 1845, Sambo abdicated the emirship of Haɗejia due to ill-health and old age after a long reign of thirty seven years, and retired to Mairakumi. With the approval of Caliph Aliyu Babba (1842-59), Sambo appointed his eldest son Mahammadu Garko in 1845 to succeed him as the new Emir of Haɗejia. Emir Garko‘s reign was as short as it was uneventful. He died two years later in 1847.

5. Abdulkadir bin Sambo, 1847-1848

As soon as Emir Garko died in 1847, Sambo sought for another permission from Sokoto to appoint chiroma Abdulkadir (Kade) as the new Emir of Haɗejia. Approval was given and Abdulkadir was installed to succeed Garko. One year after his accession to the throne Emir Abdulkadir died in 1848. His reign, like that of his predecessor, was short but, unlike it, was tumultuous, with desperat fighting between Haɗejia, Machina and Damagaram.(Taskar Suleiman Ginsau). It is said that Sambo then returned to the throne after the death of Abdulkadir in order to ensure the appointment of Ahmadu as the new emir of Haɗejia, as opposed to Chiroma Garba Buhari, who, as Chiroma, was the heir apparent, and much more popular than Ahmadu, but was perceived by his father as too troublesome and dangerous to be allowed on the throne.

6. Buhari bin Sambo, 1848-50 &1851-1863

Abubakar Buhari bin Muhammad Sambo Digimsa was the 4 th Emir of Haɗejia in the post Jihad years. His reign was the most turbulent and indeed best remembered in the history of Haɗejia. Sambo died in 1848, and Buhari, at the death bed of his father, schemed to get all the instruments of power transferred to him rather than to Ahamadu whom Sambo favoured to become the Emir after his death.
Although Buhari succeeded to the Emirship of Haɗejia by default, his accession was subsequently approved by Sokoto. No sooner had Buhari assumed the Emirship of Haɗejia than he had his cousin, Nalara Sarkin Auyo, killed – a cruel act which gave authorities in Sokoto the grounds they had been looking for to remove Buhari from the throne. 
Consequently in 1850, having failed to remove Buhari via diplomatic means, the Caliph ordered the Wazirin Sokoto, backed by forces from Katagum, to install Buhari’s brother, Ahamadu, as the new Emir of Haɗejia Emirate, by force if necessary. 

Ahamadu was thus installed in 1850, and Buhari retired to Machina area only to bounce back a year later. In 1851, after mobilizing considerable forces and resources, Buhari returned to Haɗejia to confront his brother. Ahamadu’s forces, even with the backing of a contingent from Katagum, were routed by Buhari outside Haɗejia, and Ahamadu was killed in the battlefield without much difficulty. Buhari thus resumed the Emirship of Haɗejia against the will of the authorities in Sokoto. This act marked the beginning of the Buhari revolt. (Taskar Suleiman Ginsau). 

For fifteen Buhari remained a rebel, and pulled Haɗejia Emirate out of the Caliphate, defying all attempts to get the Emirate back into the Caliphate fold. One of the most notable acts of defiance of Buhari against the Sokoto authorities was the encounter at Kaffur village. In 1853, the Caliphate organized the most elaborate expedition against Buhari in order to once and for all put a stop to his increasingly rebellious behaviour. All the major emirates of the Caliphate were drafted into this endeavour which had by then assumed an air of desperation. 

Apart from Sokoto itself, there were contingents from Zaria, Kano, Katagum, Bauchi, as well as Gombe, Misau and Jama’are. The force, which was one of the largest ever to be assembled to quell an internal rebellion within the Caliphate, rendezvoused in Kano from where it moved on Haɗejia, camping at Kaffur village about ten 10k kilometers south of Haɗejia town. However, Buhari did not stay around to be besieged in his palace, but instead intercepted the contingent and launched a surprise attack against it. The allied forces of the Caliphate were comprehensively defeated in a battle that was something of a “walkover” for Buhari and a seriousembarrassment and set back to the Caliphate. In fact, a 19 th century Kano historian referred to the battle of Kaffur as the origin of Haɗejia’s greatness, “as from then onwards Haɗejia was renowned in war”. That encounter further underlined Buhari’s independence, with Haɗejia remaining outside the control of the Caliphate and becoming an expansionist military power in the eastern part of the Caliphate till 1863 when Buhari died in a campaign against Bedde land (for details see Ruwan Atafi Ginsau S.). Some of the areas which suffered from Buhari’s incessant raids included Miga, Kwanda, Sankara, Ringim and Gabasawa in Kano emirate, as well as several villages in Katagum, Misau, Jama’are, and Gumel territories. (Taskar Suleiman Ginsau)

7. Ahamadu bin Sambo, 1850-1851

Ahamadu was the seventh emir of Haɗejia in the Fulani dynasty. As indicated above he was installed by Sokoto after Buhari was forced to withdraw from the emirate. His reign was very short and unsettled as the looming threat of Buhari never allowed him to have the required tranquillity to contribute to the development of the emirate. In 1851 Buhari fought his way back to the Haɗejia throne, ending both the reign and life of Ahmadu in the process.

8. Umaru bin Buhari, 1863-1865

With the death of Buhari at the battle field, his son Umaru became the seventh Fulani ruler of Haɗejia at the tender age of 18. He assumed the emirship with the active support of Sarkin Arewa Tatagana and Sarkin Yakin Haɗejia Jaji, the two most powerful and trusted slave officials of Buhari. (Taskar Suleiman Ginsau). The Caliph in Sokoto approved his appointment in a desperate move to get Haɗejia back to the Caliphate fold. Umaru reigned for two years only. But those were eventful years indeed. Haru, his uncle, had his eye on the throne, and was secretly plotting against Emir Umaru. Tatagana and Jiji, Umaru’s most loyal and powerful supporters, were first eliminated as part of the grand plot to get Umaru deposed. Subsequently, when Umaru went out on one of his usual pleasure rides to the Haɗejia river side, he was deserted by a conspiratorial entourage and refused entry back into Haɗejia town. Umaru made good his escape to Kano emirate; he took refuge in chamo, Kano Emirate, where he lived for the rest of his life, and died in 1920. (Taskar Suleiman Ginsau)

9. Haru bin Sambo, 1865-1885

With the successful removal of Umaru from power, Haru ( Babba ) assumed the emirship of Haɗejia. Haru reigned for 20 years, during which he introduced many far reaching changes in the emirate. He enlarged the wall of Haɗejia town to its present size. He pursued a policy of Islamization of the emirate by opening schools and inviting the Ulama (Islamic Scholars) from other emirates. He was even said to have been in the habit of intercepting many scholars on their way to the holy land and persuading them to settle in Haɗejia, in a bid to spread Islamic education. He was also credited with the re-construction of a much bigger Friday mosque in Haɗejia town. In the socio-economic sphere, Emir Haru pursued a policy which attracted foreign traders into Haɗejia markets. He did that by levying lower import duties on certain imports. He waged jihad wars against non-Muslims areas of Kare-Kare and Bade country, leading to the conquest and subsequent incorporation of the border town of
Adiani to Haɗejia emirate. Also, it was during Haru’s reign that the incessant conflicts between Haɗejia and Gumel came to an end with a full blown war at the battle of Zaburam in 1872, in which Sarkin Gumel Abdu Jatau was killed. This success brought to an end the hitherto frequent Haɗejia-Gumel wars. Haru died in 1885.(Taskar Suleiman Ginsau)

10. Muhammadu bin Haru, 1885-1906

Haru was succeeded by his eldest son Muhammadu, who previously held the titles of Chiroma and Sarkin Marma. Muhammadu, popularly known as Maishahada was an Islamic scholar and a warrior king who spent most part of his reign fighting wars and battles. His militaristic policies were likened to that of Emir Buhari. He organized and personally led many battles, including six battles fought in Kare-Kare and Badde country; intervened in the Kano and Katagum civil wars; forcefully seized two neighbouring districts of Kano Emirate, namely Miga and Kwanda, and held them till the British conquest of Haɗejia, when they were returned to Kano. Finally, he confronted the British forces militarily in the defence of his Emirate. He was killed in the ensuing battle with theBritish in 1906. (Taskar Suleiman Ginsau)

HADEJIA TOWN WALLS AND GATES

HADEJIA TOWN WALLS AND GATES

"Hadejia was a large town with 5 town
gates and excellent walls about 30ft
(9.14m) high, and 30ft (9.14m) thick
" (Captain Philips 1909).

Hadejia Town walls had a long history
dating back to the pre-jihad period. The walls were built to provide security to the people, and to serve as fortification against external invasion.
Though mostly in ruins now, with a great proportion having completely disappeared, the walls were intact up to the time of the colonial invasion in 1906. Taskar Suleiman Ginsau.

The construction of the walls was done by direct labour using local building materials. Over the years, the walls have been taken subjected to several phases of development. Taskar Suleiman Ginsau

Expansions and reinforcements were made to accommodate a growing population or to enhance security against attack by powerful enemies.
The walls were invariably complimented by gates whose history could be linked to that of the walls. The gates provided the only entry points into the town. They were made extremely strong, thus making it very difficult for an enemy force to break into the town through them. Taskar Suleiman Ginsau

The gates were manned by gate- keepers or porters (sarakunan kofa) appointed by the Emir. These keepers used to close the gates everyday from dusk to dawn, thus controlling the movement of people in and out of the town during these periods. Visitors or strangers were not allowed in unless with the express permission of the Emir. It was reported that one Emir ordered the gates to be left open permanently, confident that no enemy force would dare attack the town. Taskar Suleiman Ginsau

The first town wall in Hadejia was believed to have been built during the pre-jihad period. Though the exact date of its construction cannot be determined due to lack of proper records, its perimeter is marked by certain well-known local pits: Mai kilabo in the west, Atafi in the south, and Dallah in the East. It was said to be one mile in circumference, and had four gates. The second wall was built by Sarki Sambo in the early years of the Jihad. It was wider than the previous wall, with its perimeter approximately put at 2 miles 170 yards. It had 5 gates. The present wall, which was the third, was also built during Sambo's reign. It was built at a time when Hadejia was at the centre of a bitter rivalry between Sokoto caliphate and Borno Empire. As such it was much stronger and wider than the previous walls. An extension to this wall was later made on the Eastern side during the reign of Sarki Haruna (1865 -1885) encompassing a large space to harbor fugitives from surrounding villages in times of war. The Habe settlement of Fantai, which hitherto was outside the wall, also became sheltered in the new extension. This brought the wall to its present size of 4miles 135yards, with 5 gates, namely:
1. Kofar Gabas (also known as Kofar
Gwani).
2. Kofar Arewa.
3. Kofar Yamma
4. Kofar Kyalesu (also Known as Kofar
Kogi).
5. Kofar Mandara (also known as
Kofar Talata).

Apart from the Kofar Mandara gate, which was destroyed by the British in their attempt to gain entry into Hadejia town in 1906, the other gates are still standing in their original positions. They have, however, undergone several modifications over the years, the latest being in1985 which saw the total re-construction of Kofar Arewa and Kofar Yamma. The Hadejia town gates now stand as historical monuments rather than as security outposts.