Deposed colonial-era heroes’ graves left to fate

Alhaji Nasidi, who lives in a house near the graves in the Karaworo area of Lokoja says the graves could have been tourists attractions if they were given the attention they deserved, but the graves are not well taken care of and seem to be fighting a losing battle with weeds that is taking over […]

Alhaji Nasidi, who lives in a house near the graves in the Karaworo area of Lokoja says the graves could have been tourists attractions if they were given the attention they deserved, but the graves are not well taken care of and seem to be fighting a losing battle with weeds that is taking over them. What little care they now have is mostly the result of the efforts of the emirs’ grandchildren, if they happen to be around, or the efforts of neighbours who clean them to honour the memory of the death.

Of the four emirs, the grave of the emir of Kano, Malam Aliyu Abdullahi is the most unkempt. The emir of Bida, Malam Abubakar Etsu Nupe’s grave fares better because his grandchildren live in the compound housing his tomb and because the present emir of Bida, Alhaji Yahya Abubakar visits the tomb sometimes and shows concern for its maintenance. The graves of the emir of Gwandu, Malam Muhammadu Aliyu and the emir of Zazzau, Malam Ibrahim owe their partial clean looks to neigbours and visitors who sometimes travel to the graves to offer prayers for the peaceful repose of their souls.

Ibrahim Mohammed Yanda, the security man guarding the grave of the emir of Kano says the grave could have become a refuse dump but for his intervention. “Neigbours who are ignorant of the history of the emirs sometimes mistake the tomb housing the grave for an incinerator where they can dump their refuse,” he says. The condition at the grave of the Kano emir was so bad, he says, until 2005 when the Kano State government, during the administration of Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, decided to do something about it by constructing a fence in the area and a two-classroom block that will serve as an Islamic school. Even though completed, the school has remained abandoned because it has not employed teachers and students have not been enrolled. The whole area has now been taken over by weeds.

“As you can see, the place is covered with weeds because I have not cleared it,” says Yanda who complains that since 2005 when he was engaged by the Kano State government to guard the site he has not been paid a kobo as salary.

Yanda says people sometimes come to the grave to pray for the soul of the emir but when they see how unkempt the site is they get discouraged and turn back.

It is the realization of this fact that encourages the grandchildren of the emir of Bida to maintain his grave. His grandson, Abdullahi Ibrahim, says people still travel to visit the grave and offer prayers for the repose of his soul. This has encouraged them to maintain it well, he says.

“People come from Bida, Kaduna, Kano and other parts of the north to offer prayers; the emir of Bida also comes to visit sometimes,” says Ibrahim.

It would seem the emirs were not just unfortunate to have been banished from their domains by the British colonial powers but also to have been buried far away from home from relatives who will take care of their graves.

Similar graves spread across the north, especially of emirs revered as spiritual leaders, draws hundreds of patronage weekly from people who sometimes revere them as saints. The tomb of Shehu Usman Dan Fodio, the Islamic scholar who led the Sokoto Jihad that gave birth to the caliphate and emirates that empowered the emirs to rule over vast swathes of the north draws thousands of visitors who come not only to pray for the peaceful repose of his soul but, believing in his sainthood, offer prayers for their own wishes, even though the last act draws condemnation from Islamic scholars who discourage the act of seeking their intercession with God.

Before the British disrupted the reign of the caliphate and introduced indirect rule, the emirs were paramount rulers whose words are almost sacred, because their commands cannot be violated. When they die they are buried in specially reserved graveyards kept specifically for members of the royal household. The fate of the four deposed emirs banished to Lokoja couldn’t have been more ironic.

The system of indirect rule introduced by the British allows the emirs to rule if they accept British authority and cooperated with British officials in modernizing their system of rule. The emirs could also retain their caliphate titles if they agree to accept British District Officers as the final authorities in their domain. They were also required to accept that they could be deposed by British High Commissioners if necessary. In addition, they were to accept that the British could reduce the number of their title holders. Also under indirect rule, they were to be transformed as agents of the British authorities, responsible for tax collection and maintaining peace in their domains.

The emirs who resisted the conditions were deposed and banished.

The emirs who reigned during the period between 1903 to 1930, though they had traditional claims to the position, were mostly chosen by the British and not by the kingmakers as is the norm because the British feared a situation where an emir will rebel against them, with the British taking advantage of competition for the seat to introduce all manners of manipulations into the system. Only loyal princes were made emirs regardless of whether they got the support of the kingmakers or not. It was later in the early 1930’s that the right of the kingmakers to select emirs was restored by the British. But despite that the system has never been the same ever since, and has given rise to vicious competition for the seat, especially among members of the ruling family who sometimes resort to manipulations to secure the seat. Over the years, the traditional system of rule has lost influence to the present day where they lack constitutional role in the governance of the nation.

In a way, the banished emirs were rebelling against not just British rule but the corruption of the system by the British in their bid to reform it so as to better smoothen their rule and serve the interest of the Empire. The early rebellions by the emirs will later serve as a catalyst for rebellion by the populace against colonial rule.

Nasidi regrets the emirs are not remembered as heroes. “The place where they are buried is supposed to be regarded as a national monument,” he says. “But a lot of people around here don’t know them, they don’t know their history. This is a shame.”