The Wodaabe of Western Borno and the Hadeijia Connection

The Wodaabe of Western Borno and the Hadeijia Connection

Ahmad Usman Kollere

As time recycles back by the will of the Almighty, 2006 is yet another notable year of recalling the British incursion in 1906 into the then Hadeijia emirate under the once mighty Sokoto Caliphate. The caliphate itself, Kano and all other eastern Fulbe emirates were three years earlier, in 1903 invaded by the British imperial powers. Hadeijia as a frontline state in Sokoto caliphate was the last emirate to be incorporated into British hegemony. The documentation of the invasion of Hadeijia under Amir Muhammad bi Haru in Nigerian history was just similar to the then Darfur under Sultan Ali Dinar in the overall history of Africa, because Darfur was also one of the last parts of Africa to succumb to European rule. As for Borno, there was no need for resisting European rule because it was under the brutal seizure of Rabeh; a slave raider from Sudan, somewhat colonialism came as a blessing because it reinstated back the time-honored El-Kanemi dynasty. However it is relevant to bring to light the activities that led to the establishment of the Hadeijia emirate. The Hadeijia emirate is part of an area that witnessed and experienced first the impact of the 1804 Jihad of Hausa land and the subsequent legacy of the 1808 "Fulbe rebellion" a phenomenon that is referred to by the Kanuri as the "Fulaata uprising" in Western Borno, and the colonization by the Europeans, which has a profound influence in the history of what is now known as the Hadeijia emirate and western Borno, which is now Yobe State.

The region known as western Borno is an area, which was illustrated and given different names by two great scholars at different times. Firstly, it is part of the "Great Forest" a name given more than a century ago by Heinrich Barth in which Stenning (1959:28) writes: the clay and sand plains of the "great forest" stretched uninterrupted from the shores of Lake-Chad to the eastern limits of Hausa-Land. Secondly, it is part of the name which was used just over a decade ago by Eldridge Mohammadou (1997:289) "Dilaara" where he writes: such description of the area would conveniently correspond to the Marte - Maiduguri - Benisheik - Damaturu - Gujba stretch, which was hardly colonized by the Kanuri at the earlier period of Fulbe presence. Stenning (1959:73) argues that the Wodaabe found the "great forest" sufficient for their needs.

For forty years the "great forest" was an ample, well-demarcated reservoir of immigrant pastoral Fulani, undisturbed by wider political, military, or ideological convulsions. Their social organization is endogamous in principle, forming co-operative units for certain pastoral tasks, and in general oriented towards the maintenance of the economic self-sufficiency of their nuclear or extended family.

In addition to this, Bala Usman & Nur Alkali (eds) (1983:222) in a book titled "Studies in the History of Pre-colonial Borno" also maintained that the Damaturu-Gujba region had been an important Fulaata settlement for centuries. Hitherto, in the dry season of 1804-5, the Fulbe in the western dependencies of Shira, Auyo, and Techena revolted indirectly against the Borno government. This was largely because, the area under the influence of the Galadima, with headquarters at Nguru was ill administered, and hence he manipulates extensive influence. Bi-Abdu, who is also known as Ardo Abdure and Ardo Lerlima, who is also the son in-law of the Galadima carried the revolt by rejecting the authority of the Galadima. Before long, the former died, afterwards and his sons Umaru and Sambo Digimsa, with the aid of Mallam Zaki from Shira continued his activities. The abovementioned statements can be found under different captions in Bala Usman & Nur Alkali (eds) (1983).

Sambo being a student of Shehu Usman Ibn Fodio also became his fifth original flag bearer; therefore he was determined to establish Dar-al-Islam in the area inline with his teacher's philosophy of rooting out ignorance and innovations in favor of Islam.

Consequently he conquered the districts of Machina and Auyo and established Hadeijia, which within no time became under his firm grip. Thus, Sambo and his three brothers namely Umaru, Baaba, and Sulei established the emirate of Hadeijia in 1809. This equally resulted in destroying and ransacking the ill-administered western marches of Borno, that is, the station of the Galadima, thereby discrediting the title, which created a five-year lull until 1814 when Nguru was rebuilt. Since then, Hadeijia had remained as a strong and important emirate under the Sokoto caliphate until the incursion of the colonialist. Immediately after the historic assault in 1906 and the subsequent take over of the emirate, the British installed Amir Haruna and at the same time incorporated it into Kano province for their administrative convenience. It was only in 1991, when the Babangida administration created Jigawa state, and then the emirate became part of the new state. The pioneering doctoral research thesis at the Cambridge University United Kingdom, by Derrick J.

Stenning conducted in the company of his wife between 1952 and 1953 THE SAVANNAH NOMADS which was later published by the Oxford University Press London in 1959 has given enough precedence to the Wodaabe of Western Borno. The work is pioneering because no researcher can escape mentioning it when discussing generally about the Wodaabe clans in the savannah region, predominantly the Be'eggirga of Kollere, the Dayi of Jajere, Horewalde of Ngelzarma, Mashio, Biriri, and the Daneji of Kafaje as a distinct group among the Fulfulde speaking populace in West Africa.

These groups were the main concern and scope of Mr.

Stenning's work. Throughout history, people move from one place to another, environment and the ecosystem changes but genealogy and descent group never changes. This is because with proper records and documentation lineage groups and roots can be traced and kept intact.

Alongside this backdrop, the Be'eggirga'en- the people or Be'eggirga- their name, from Kollere village in present day Fune local government, Yobe state shares a lot in its history with Hadeijia. This we occasionally hear from our family elders and griots during the time we were growing into adulthood. That is why at this historic occasion, its people are delighted to remember Hadeijia as the place of its pedigree. In this connection, Abubakar U. Kollere in an unpublished BA thesis titled "The Fulbe-Kare Kare Relations in Fune from 1900-1983" (1989) by the Department of History University of Maiduguri, maintained that much later, after the establishment of the emirate of Hadeijia, probably in the 1850s, the migration of the Be-eggirga group of Wodaabe started in full force. It was Suleiman the brother of Sambo who led them into the then "Great Forest" of western Borno. Sambo being the elder brother asked Suleiman to move into the great forest with their cattle in search of pasture and also to take care of the administration of the Be'eggirga clan. The core group or simply the ruling house of Be'eggirga clan is known as Suleiru, which was derived from the name Suleiman. While moving in, he was accompanied by a flight of one hundred horsemen. Stenning further stressed that the Be'eggirga peacefully moved east of Kumadugu Gana and subsequently settled. Suffice to say that series of movement were afterward carried out before finally settling in present day Kollere under the leadership of Usman Mai Barde. Again Stenning (1959:36) wrote that the Suleiru'en i.e. the rulling house of the Be'eggirga clan trace their kinship with the founders of Hadeijia.

While in Borno they pay their tributes and settle their conflicts at the Emir's court in Hadeijia. It was indicated for us that up to 1882, the Be'eggirga of Kollere maintained an affinity with Hadeijia. Later the Be'eggirga faithfulness to Hadeijia was hampered due to internal grudge and rivalry that escalated to a conspiracy involving their then leader Ngubdo and the then Amir of Hadeijia Muhammadu Buhari. As a result of that, some elders disclosed, Lamido Muhammadu Gaywama (184? -1913) their then clan leader completely broke away his affiliation with Hadeijia and proclaimed his allegiance to the then Shehu at Kukawa. Without doubt this was considered as the last contact with Hadeijia and also the first mutual contact between the Be'eggirga and the Borno rulers, which took place around 1884-5 because it was some few years before the emergence of Rabeh. Lamido Gaywama was officially granted land and a grazing territory for his heard and that of his group in present day Shenga village (old Kollere) to live in peace by the then Shehu at Kukawa. Following Rabeh's attack upon Borno forces which resulted in its short-term collapse and Fadrallah, Rabeh's son depredations which has also led to the destruction of the Be'eggirga territory, capturing many of them and moving away with large number of their livestock including horses. Oral sources indicates that Lamido Gaywama was in company of a slave called Manema said to have courageously taken the matter to Rabeh's court at Dikwa where he was probably given support by Mallam Hayatu bi Sa'idu and by sheer presentation and diplomacy he was reassured his stock and territory.

Perhaps, this is one of the reasons why Stenning referred to Lamido Gaywama as the Be'eggirga's "great man".

Following the victory of the French army under Gen.

Gentile, which wiped out Rabeh and his forces at Kusseri in April 1900 and Fadrallah too at Gujba in August 1901, the Borno government was brought back which also further sustained the European quest for control. Subsequently, the British moved the headquarters of Borno from Kukawa to Maiduguri in 1907. In 1913 the new Shehu Garbai of Borno and a colonial official arranged and met the leaders of Wodaabe in old Biriri village. Lamido Gaywama of Kollere had died earlier in the same year but was represented by his young son Lamido Bi-Akkor, while Lamido Manuwa represents the Horewalde and Lamido Gidado represented the Dayi, at the meeting it was affirmed to them by the colonial official among other things that they should recognize the authority of the Shehu and not their neighboring Fulbe emirates. With this done, the three cores of the Wodaabe became fully annexed into the colonial system in Borno. In order for the Borno government to fully organize, consolidate and restore its position, during the period, a tax collecting board was established for the Wodaabe and the clan leaders were promised supremacy in return for increase tax proceeds. This relationship has resulted in the assimilation of these three cores of Wodaabe rulers into the Borno emirate without a stint or limitation and without apprehension or even doubting their effectiveness as regards their areas of domain and jurisdiction. Thus, the Wodaabe villages, with the exception of Biriri, were all brought under Fune district that was usually headed by the Abbas-sons of the Shehus with its headquarters in Damagum. This condition peacefully and respectfully persisted between the Wodaabe leaders and the El-Kanemi rulers until the creation of Yobe state in 1991.

The present village head of Kollere, Zannah Ibrahim Mai Abba was installed by HRH Alh. Mustapha Umar El-Kanemi, the Shehu of Borno, at Maiduguri in 1987 after the death of Lamido Abba. He is a descendant of Ardo Abdure and the current leader of the Be'eggirga clan.

In conclusion, we must humbly and amicably state that this piece is only an attempt to restore the records straight and clear for pure history purposes and posterity. Thus, it is not in the objectives of this piece to pencil in any self-advertisement or any sensationalized sentimental conclusions on any group of people. We hereby acknowledge and salute our grand cousins in Hadeijia.

Ahmad Usman Kollere 19th May, 2006.