Entrance to the modern Sultan's palace in Sokoto

The sultan of Sokoto is the ruler of the Sokoto Caliphate, a Sunni Muslim community in West Africa. The position may also be referred to as the Sokoto Caliph or the "Commander of the Faithful" (Amir-ul-Momineen in Arabic or Lamido Julbe in Fulani). The current holder of this title, since 2006, is Sa'adu Abubakar. The sultan of Sokoto is the leader of the Qadiriyya Sufi order, historically the most important Muslim position in Nigeria and senior to the Emir of Kano, the leader of the Tijaniyya Sufi order.[1] The post has become increasingly ceremonial since British rule defeated the caliphate and replaced it with the Sokoto Sultanate Council in 1903, but the sultan – considered a spiritual leader in the Muslim community in Nigeria – can still carry much weight with Fulani and Hausa people from northern Nigeria.

Sokoto Caliphate in the 19th century

Usman dan Fodio, the founder of the dynasty of Sokoto State and of the Fulani Empire (consisting of the Fulbe Jihad states of which Sokoto was suzerain), never used the high style of Sultan but was simply titled Amir al-Mu´minin . The first to assume the title of Sultan was Fodio's son Muhammed Bello, who ruled from 1817 to 1837. Since the creation of the title, there have been nineteen Sultans of Sokoto, all men from the Torodbe scholar caste who are descended from Usman dan Fodio. Siddiq Abubakar III was the longest serving Sultan, holding the position for 50 years from 1938 to 1988. The shortest reign was that of Muhammadu Attahiru I, who held the position for five months in 1902–03. The 17th sultan, Ibrahim Dasuki, was forcefully deposed in 1996 by the Sani Abacha military government of Nigeria.[2]

Prior to the beginning of the Fulani Jihad of 1804, the ethnic category Fulani was not important for the Torodbe and their literature reveals the ambivalence they had defining Torodbe-Fulani relationships. They adopted the language of the Fulani and much ethos while maintaining a separate, non-ethnic identity.[3] The Torodbe clan at first recruited members from all levels of Sūdānī society, particularly the poorer people.[4]

List of sultans

As mentioned above, the sultans were also styled Amir al-Mu´minin and Sarkin Musulmi ("King of the Muslims", basically the autochthonous form of the former, which is the Arabic style of Caliphs and other independent sovereign Muslim rulers that claim legitimacy from a community of Muslims); Mai, occurring in various sultans' surnames, is another autochthonous title.[5]

No. Image Name Birth and death Reign started Reign ended Lineage House
1 Muhammed Bello
(محمد بلُّو)
1781
Unknown

1837
Wurno
(aged 58)
21 April 1817 25 October 1837 Son of
Usman dan Fodio
House of Bello
2 Abubakar I Atiku
(أبو بكر عتيكو)
1782
Unknown

1842
Sokoto
(aged 60)
26 October 1837 23 November 1842 Son of
Usman dan Fodio
House of Atiku
3 Ali Babba bin Bello
(علي ببَّا بن بلُّو)
1808
Sala

1859
Sokoto
(aged 51)
30 November 1842 21 October 1859
Son of
Muhammed Bello
House of Bello
4 Ahmadu Atiku
(أحمد عتيكو)
c. 1807
Unknown

1866
Sokoto
(aged ~59)
24 October 1859 2 November 1866 Son of
Abu Bakr Atiku
House of Atiku
5 Aliyu Karami 1808

Sala

1867

Wurno

(aged 59)

6 November 1866 18 October 1867 Son of
Muhammed Bello
House of Bello
6 Ahmadu Rufai 1814

1867

Wurno

(aged 53)

21 October 1867 12 March 1873 Son of
Usman dan Fodio
House of Rufai
7 Abubakar II Atiku na Raba 1812

– 1877 (aged 65)

16 March 1873 28 March 1877 Son of
Muhammed Bello
House of Bello
8 Mu'azu 1816

1881

(aged 65)

6 April 1877 26 September 1881 Son of
Muhammed Bello
House of Bello
9 Umaru bin Ali c. 1824
Sokoto

1891
Sokoto
(aged ~67)
3 October 1881 25 March 1891 Son of
Ali Babba bin Bello
House of Bello
10 Abderrahman dan Abi Bakar c. 1828
Unknown

1902
Unknown
(aged ~74)
25 March 1891 10 October 1902 Son of
Abu Bakr I Atiku
House of Atiku
11 Muhammadu Attahiru I 13 October 1902 15 March 1903 Son of
Ahmadu Atiku
House of Atiku
12 Muhammadu Attahiru II 21 March 1903 1915 Son of
Ali Babba bin Bello
House of Bello
13 Muhammadu dan Ahmadu 1915 1924 Son of
Ahmadu Atiku
House of Atiku
14 Muhammadu dan Muhammadu 1924 1931 Son of
Muhammadu dan Ahmadu
House of Atiku
15 Hasan dan Mu'azu Ahmadu 1931 1938 Son of
Mu'azu
House of Bello
16 Siddiq Abubakar III 15 March 1903
Dange

1 November 1988
Sokoto
(aged 85)
1938 1988 Grandson of
Mu'azu
House of Bello
17 Ibrahim Dasuki 23 December 1923
Dogondaji
-
14 November 2016
Abuja
(aged 93)
6 November 1988 20 April 1996 (deposed) Great-great-grandson of
Usman dan Fodio[6]
House of Buhari
18 Muhammadu Maccido 20 April 1926
Dange Shuni

29 October 2006
(near Abuja)
(aged 80)
20 April 1996 29 October 2006 Son of
Siddiq Abubakar III
House of Bello
19 Sa'adu Abubakar 24 August 1956
Sokoto
2 November 2006 Current Son of
Siddiq Abubakar III
House of Bello

Genealogical tree of the sultans of Sokoto

Mallam
Muhammadu
Fodio
1
Usman
dan Fodio

1804–1815
Abdullahi
dan Fodio

Emir of
Gwandu
2
Muhammed
Bello

1817–1837
3
Abubakar I
Atiku

1837–1842
6
Ahmadu
Rufai

1867–1873
Muhammed
Buhari
4
Ali Babba
bin Bello

1842–1859
7
Aliu
Karami

1866–1867
8
Abubakar II
Atiku na Raba

1873–1877
9
Mu'azu
Ahmadu

1877–1881
Umaru Nagwamatse
Emir of
Kontagora
5
Ahmadu
Atiku

1859–1866
11
Abder Rahman
Atiku

1891–1902
Abdullahi
Barau
10
Umaru
bin Ali

1881–1891
13
Muhammadu
Attahiru II

1903–1915
16
Hasan dan
Mu'azu Ahmadu

1931–1938
Usman
Shehu
12
Muhammadu
Attahiru I

1902–1903
14
Muhammadu
Maiturare

1915–1924
Haliru
Ibn Barau
17
Siddiq
Abubakar III

1938–1988
15
Muhammadu
Tambari

1924–1931
18
Ibrahim
Dasuki

1988–1996
19
Muhammadu
Maccido

1996–2006
20
Sa'adu
Abubakar

2006–
US Secretary John Kerry Visits With Sultan Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar Prior To Delivering a Speech in Sokoto
Gate to the Palace of the Sultan

References

  1. All Africa: "Nigeria: Updated - Kano Blasts Claim Over 60" by Ismail Mudashir, November 28, 2014
  2. Ajayi, Jacob F. Ade (1989). Africa in the Nineteenth Century Until the 1880s. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-03917-9. Retrieved 2013-02-13.
  3. Ibrahim, Muhammad (1987). The Hausa-Fulani Arabs: A Case Study of the Genealogy of Usman Danfodio. Kadawa Press.
  4. Willis, John Ralph (April 1978). "The Torodbe Clerisy: A Social View". The Journal of African History. Cambridge University Press. 19 (2): 195–212. doi:10.1017/s0021853700027596. JSTOR 181598. S2CID 162817107. Retrieved 2013-02-13.
  5. Sultan of Sokoto: Sarkin Musulumi or Sarkin Fulani?, By Majeed Dahiru 7 December 2017
  6. "Profile : The Sultan of Sokoto Bridges Two Worlds in Nigeria : Alhaji Ibrahim Dasuki, the country's most important Islamic leader, has proven to be adept at surviving factional temporal politics". Los Angeles Times. 1991-05-14. Retrieved 2020-04-04.

Sources and references

  • Falola, Toyin, (2009) Historical Dictionary of Nigeria Scarecrow Press: Lanham, Maryland
  • Burdon, J. A. (1907) "Sokoto History: Tables of Dates and Genealogy" Journal of the Royal African Society Volume 6, #24.

See also

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