Buhari and the Motto of the Nigerian Army: Where Michael O. Folorunso Went Wrong
By
Dr. Nowa Omoigui
Dear Michael:
In your most recent article posted on gamji [AD: A Party in Search of its Identity. By Michael O. Folorunso <https://www.gamji.com/NEWS2138.htm> ] you wrote:
"Buhari single handedly inscribed the motto of Shehu Dan Fodio into the battle flag and the insignia of the Nigerian Armed Forces"
Actually that is not correct. The adoption of the motto of the Sokoto Caliphate, as that of the Nigerian Army, was made by the British - before Nigerian Independence, and long before Major General M. Buhari (rtd) even joined the Army. The Nigerian Navy and AirForce have different mottos from the Army.
One of the reasons was that the fall of Sokoto in 1903 - and death of Sultan Attahiru - was (and in some circles, still is) inaccurately regarded by western historians as the last formal battle in the fall of what became "Nigeria". The highly symbolic Flag of the Caliphate was captured by the British, recaptured by gallant Sokoto Horsemen and recaptured again by the British. It was kept for many years as a British trophy in one of the officers' messes in Kaduna but returned in a formal ceremony just prior to Nigerian Independence. The myth was spun and sustained by British Tradition.
However, "Nigeria" did not really fall in 1903. The Tiv of the middle belt of "Northern Nigeria", for example, were not militarily or otherwise pacified for at least another ten (10) years. Many pockets of resistance remained in present day "Southern Nigeria" - including Ekumeku and many others. Abeokuta lost its independence in 1914.
Nevertheless, the symbolism of the events of 1903 became etched into official memory, as shaped by Dealtry Lugard, which is why the Northern Nigeria regiment and later the combined Nigeria regiment (when Lugard supervised the wedding of Northern and Southern Nigeria in 1914) adopted the Sokoto motto.
Many indigenous pre-colonial Nigerian armies and nationalities resisted British rule. They all presumably had their own mottos, but Sir Lugard was preoccupied with his personal legacy as embodied by the subjugation of the Sokoto Caliphate and stabilization of the Anglo-French colonial frontier in the north. It is not the making of modern day "Northern Nigeria" or "Northern leaders" or "Leaders of Northern origin" or "Hausa-Fulani oligarchy or cabal" - as various writers suggest, that the motto of the Nigerian Army is that of the pre-colonial Sokoto Caliphate. It is one of the many colonial scars in modern Nigeria - and there are many. I have even heard of a cynical interpretation that Lugard privately scoffed at the Sokoto motto "Victory is with God Alone" by saying that he gained victory over the Caliphate by combining God with the Maxim gun. And so to this day, while we are encouraged to wait for God to bring victory, predator nations worship God in the day and make new weapons at night.
The Army motto can certainly be discussed and debated and perhaps even open to change after due process (if deemed necessary), but we should keep the true historical context and cynical significance in mind. Nigeria is in many ways the way it is because of the legacy of British conquest. Major General M. Buhari (rtd) did not single handedly or otherwise inscribe the motto of Shehu Dan Fodio into the battle flag and the insignia of the Nigerian Armed Forces.
Regards
Nowa Omoigui