subject: Usman Dan Fodio's Jihad:A Cross Between A Religious and Political Movement [print this page] Usman Dan Fodio's Jihad:A Cross Between A Religious and Political Movement
Ayoola, Akinkunmi Olamide
mide_ayoola2002@yahoo.com
When Usman Dan Fodio declared the Jihad in 1804, he was not much impressed by the lure of political power as by genuine desire to see Islam firmly established in Hausaland. His purely religious motives could be seen in the classical pattern in which he prosecuted the Jihad and in the fifteenth clause of the manifests which read thus "And to make war upon the king who is an Apostate who has not abandoned the religion of Islam as far as the profession is concerned but mingles the observances of Islam with the observances of heathendom, like the kings of Hausaland for the most part is obligatory by assent and that to take the government from him is also obligatory by assent".
But the question arises as to why in this manifesto, Fodio hinted at taking over the government from the Hausa kings in the events of their defeats. Does it then mean that according to his critics, Fodio wanted political control under the guise of a religious revolt? But it must be remembered that Islam is more than a religion. It is also a way of life. And since it was the aim of the revolt to usher in an era of just rule based on the Sharia, it was therefore imperative that a pagan ruler should be replaced by a just and for that matter a Muslim ruler, who would rule according to the wishes of God. Acquisition of political powers therefore not an end and that end is the complete Islamization of the conquered territories.
The racial and ethic factor was strongly evident in the Jihad as we know was Fulani inspired, Fulani led and Fulani directed. This made some argued that the Jihad was for political ambition rather than motives. This political undertone made Fodio's Jihad quite different from that of Saudi Arabia, Cyrenaica, Egyptian Sudan and Western Sudan of the 18th Century, for the earlier mentioned Jihads had no such undertone. Their only objective was "a return to the pure and primitive faith of Islam purged of heresies and accretions". When in May 1804, Yunfa, the chief of Gobir made a bid to seize Usman Dan Fodio, not only the Fulani who rallied round him saw as a religious leader, instead many considered a victim of Hausa jealousy and the attack on a calculated insult to their race. Many of the Fulanis therefore rallied round Dan Fodio out of tribal loyalties and not because they were Muslims, intended to reform their religion. Indeed among the Fulani supporters of the Fodio, were, were hardy pagans and herdsmen who should normally be careless of any religion reform. This made it to avoid the conclusion that the idea of Fulani supremacy was involved in the movement. In the words of Thomas Hogkins "In this respect, the revolution was an oppression if not of Fulani nationalism at least of the sense of common purpose which a group with lies is education, culture and ideology as well as language and kingship is liable to generable".
The consciousness of racial identity is also evident in the caution which Usman Dan Fodio exercised in appointment of his flag bearers and Emirs. It is worth to note that of all the fourteen flag bearers, only Yaqub of Bauchi was not a Fulani. (See Appendix)
The Emir of Sokoto became the religious as well as the political head of the Fulani Empire, and he was a direct descendant of Usman Dan Fodio. So that when is recalled that during the Jihad, the existing Hausa dynasties were obliterated only for the enthronement of Fulani Hegemony, one wonders if political dominance became stronger when one remembers the shabby treatment meted out for Abdul Salami, an early disciple of Dan Fodio in the distribution of political patronage.
On the other hand it can be seen that the Jihad transcended ethnic groupings. When Usman was preaching, he did not do so only for the purpose of a religious reform but also for the reforms in political and economic spheres. The oppressed Hausas "Talakawas" joined him against the Hausa kings. They wanted a change of administration because they were economically distressed and dissatisfied. Conversely, some town Fulani who were usually wealthy and politically influential under the Hausa kings at the outset teamed up with the Hausa dynasties against Fodio so that they might maintain their financial status.
The Jihad was a religious movement. According to Smith (1969), "The movement represented much more than an attempt of a few under-privileged and determined men to seize political power for their own benefit. In origin, it was also an important movement involving the minds of the leaders, a conception of the ideal society and a philosophy of revolution". This is understandable when it is recalled that Fodio, his brother and his son Bello who were leaders of the Jihad were primarily Muslim scholars. Fodio denounced both the animistic religion of the Hausas and the decadent state of Hausa learning. Learning for both men and women was fostered in no small measure.
But the question arises whether it was only to educate the masses that inspired the great attention paid to see education during the Jihad. It is clear that Fodio wanted to see in society of his dream a mass of people able to read and understand the Sharia' and the Sunna'. It is also clear that they were consciously training Emirs, Gadis and Mallams is their political rule. In the revival of learning therefore one can see the hands the religious zeal and political ambition.
El Kanemi of Bornu for his part argued that the school was political biased because the attack on Bornu and Zamfara where Islam was not mixed with paganism was to him unnecessary. He accused the Fulanis of seizing political power in the guise of a religious revolt. But in defence, Sultan Bello argued that when the rulers of Katsina, Kano and Dawa appealed to the Mai of Bornu for aid against Shehu (Dan Fodio), the Mai sent troops, but prior to this, there had been no conflict between the Jihad leaders and Bornu. Zamfara too was one of the formerly friendly environments Shehu fought against because the Emir was Hausa and he was considered a Habe rule. The sack of Zamfara is strong evidence that the Fulani Jihad had increasingly less religious in character. During the initial stage, Zamfara gave Usman Dan Fodio active support. The support enabled him to defeat Yunfa on the shores, taking Kwatto on the 21st June, 1804. After Fodio subsequent repulse at Isuntawa, he was allowed to find shelter in the neighbourhood of Zamfara. It is therefore not too much to say that the sack of Zamfara was a conscious attempt to bring as Hausa state under Fulani hegemony. Slave raiding at the early stages may have been aimed to be undertaken solely or supplying forced labour for farms of aristocracy.
It is perhaps the entirely new political complexion which the Jihad gave the areas it conquered that might have given rise to accusation of political ambition as the motive force behind the movement. What is more, the abuses Fodio complained about were not eliminated under the new rulers. The Fulani Emirs became as and even more corrupt than the Hausa rulers from whom they took the government. The rich continued to be rich while the poor remained poor and oppressed.
By 1830, the whole of Northern Nigeria with the exception of Bornu, parts of Kebbi, Gobir and the hilly areas of the middle Belt was under the sway of the Fulanis. The Fulanis by a combination of military force and political infiltration pushed into Nupe, Adamawa and Ilorin areas which had been under the Islamic influence. This is a clear case of political aggrandizement. Over these areas the conquering flag bearers ruled almost independently of the Sultan of Sokoto. And when one remembers that up till today, the rulers of various Emirates in Northern Nigeria are the descendants of the Fulani flag-bearers and conclusion that Usman Dan Fodio was consciously acquiring political power under the guise of religion.
However, we must remember that there is a different between aims and achievements. It was true that the primary aim of the Jihad was religious but towards the latter part of the Jihad, those who joined, fought as mercenaries and thus the Jihad became materialistic in outlook. Slave raiding became frequent and there was corruption in many Emirates. The Jihad could therefore be described as "a curious blend of religious fanaticism, political opportunism and economic discontent".
Bibliography:
Ajayi, J.F.Ade. (1962), Milestones in Nigeria History; Ibadan.
Bovil, E.W. (1958), The Golden Trade of Moors; London.
Crowder M., (1980), The Story of Nigeria; Faber and Faber, London.
Hargreaves, J.D. (1963), Prelude to the Partition of West Africa; London.
Hodgkin, Thomas (1960), "Othman Dan Fodio Nigeria 1960- a Special
Independence Issue of Nigeria Magazine".
Smith, H.F.C. (1961), "A Neglected Theme in West Africa History: the Islamic Revolutions of the Nineteenth Century". in the Journal of Historical Society of Nigeria, II. Vol. 2
