How Germany, Britain and France once shared, ruled Borno – Shehu of Dikwa

There have been calls for constitutional roles for traditional rulers in Nigeria. What do you make of the calls?   There is every reason for constitutional roles for emirs and chiefs and they must be recognized by the constitution. Right now, there is nothing like that. But whenever there are crises in the country and […]

There have been calls for constitutional roles for traditional rulers in Nigeria. What do you make of the calls?

 

There is every reason for constitutional roles for emirs and chiefs and they must be recognized by the constitution. Right now, there is nothing like that. But whenever there are crises in the country and there is the need for the mobilization of manpower and resources to resolve it, governments go to the traditional rulers. So, it is the view of the traditional rulers that it is only fair to give them specific roles.

 

You talk about how traditional rulers are used by government to tackle crises. What in your view, mostly causes communal crises, especially in the north?

 

Situations differ in various communities. For example, here in Borno State, communal clashes are caused by friction between farmers and grazers. During the rainy season, the farmers go to their farms to invest. But before you know what, herdsmen bring in their animals that eat some of the crops.  Crises start that way and sometimes, it becomes violent, leading to loss of lives. This happens generally in most parts of the North.

  The Jos crisis which has been described as religious also has political connotations. We have to go back to the basics and study how Jos itself was founded. The founders established it not as a place for a group but as a cosmopolitan city. It belongs to everybody. If there is this recognition, there will be peace. But if for whatever reason people associate themselves specifically with Jos as being their own and others as newcomers, settlers or non-indigenes, these crises will always come. Any ad-hoc committee appointed now cannot really solve the problem if the basic problems are not addressed.

 

You advocate constitutional roles for traditional rulers. What can such roles be that will not involve them in partisan politics?

 

There is a clear demarcation between traditional institutions and politics. I cannot see how a traditional ruler who wants to remain relevant in his domain will take sides in politics, because when you do that, you are giving room for acrimony. Any group which feels that they are being alienated will have no respect for you. In some way, you cannot avoid involvement in  politics, but taking sides in political alignments should be out of our agenda. We are not politicians. We are for everybody. When I came here, everybody accepted me whether they belong to the PDP or ANPP or any other party. You might have attended the installation. Everybody was here. So, I cannot see how I will adopt any particular party. I am for everybody and it is how all traditional rulers should be.

But you must also respect the government of the day. When people see that you are respecting the government, they say you are a politician. This is wrong! No sensible traditional ruler would turn his back on a government. But traditional leaders get  so involved in politics that they think government is not part of their agenda. For every traditional ruler, the most important thing is first of all, even during the days of our grand fathers, to respect the existing government, whatever political party it belongs to. But the connotation that you (a traditional ruler) belong to a party is wrong.

Traditional leaders like the district heads and Bulamas are often accused of using their throne to withdraw land from settlers or political opponents. What is the situation in your domain?

 

In the first place, these traditional rulers have no competence to give out lands. Land is given through government regulations. You have to apply and people will come and give you the land and you pay some fees. The days of one district head earmarking one corner in the town and selling it to someone are over. Land is issued according to drawn out rules. This is what is obtainable now. In Dikwa, the government has earmarked several plots of land to be given to people. They are clearly marked for development. If you go to the new palace, you can see a huge land reserved for people who want to develop them. Government itself is committed to erecting hundreds of houses to accommodate people. Amenities are already being provided by government. So, in a place like Dikwa now, it is not easy for any traditional ruler to spring up one morning and sell land.

How do you relate with your subjects?

 

I interact with them in the friendliest way possible. They are my people and they know I care for them. They are happy that an emirate has been created for them. I will discuss the history of Dikwa. Dikwa has not been an island to itself. It has been a prominent and very important entity in El-Kanemi history. This is not the first time a Shehu would be appointed here. All the Shehus in Borno were first appointed here as far back as 1900. So, I am happy with them and living here or in Maiduguri doesn’t make any difference to me. The important thing is that you are living with a people who appreciate your contributions to their success.

 

You are said to have contested and lost the throne of Dikwa some 20 years ago when nobody knew that the Emirate would be split into Dikwa and Bama emirates. How did you take your loss at the time?

 

There is nothing like contest here in the El-Kanemi dynasty. We do not contest for the Dikwa throne. It is systematic. It is done through a very prominent and long standing traditional institution – the kingmakers. Once a shehu or emir dies, the group of established kingmakers sit down and deliberate among themselves about who should take the throne. Once they decide, that is all. No prince in our tradition raises his head to say I am interested.  It is just that at the time that the Shehu died, people believed that I would be the one to be appointed. It was their wish. It is not that I contested for the throne. 

  It is not possible for me now to go out and visit friends or places of interest; or watch football. You stay in the palace and receive guests and attend government and traditional functions. What I miss most are my many friends. I made friends a lot throughout the country. Now, even my friends cannot come to me freely and I cannot be with them.

What do you cherish most about your present status?

 

I treasure the maintenance of this traditional institution the most. I cherish the way people still maintain this tradition of chieftaincy and the El-Kanemi tradition because unless you are part of it, you can never know – the regalia, the celebrations and the daily activities. They are all part of the tradition. If you are moving, your courtiers are with you, singing and praising. If you are going to the Friday mosque, you are going with a group of people. You have to entertain them after the Friday mosque, with hundreds of people coming here to eat. The age-long tradition remains and it makes me very happy.

 

What makes the throne of Dikwa tick?

 

The Dikwa throne has been the bedrock of Borno tradition itself. When El-Kanemi, the founder of the dynasty came from Fezzan, which is in Turkey, in 1775, he was not a native of Nigeria. When he came, he settled in Gamboru Ngala. I wish you went there because his house is still there and is still being maintained. He first went to Mecca and Jeddah and Egypt where he studied Islamic concepts. From there, he became a Qur’anic teacher. When he settled in Ngala, he was being visited by people who wished to acquire more knowledge from him.

  At that time, Borno itself did not have either a Shehu or any other ruler. It was being ruled by the Mais of the Saifawa Dynasty. The Saifawa Dynasty, during the 1700s was fighting the Fulani jihadists led by Usman Dan Fodio. But the funny thing was that Dan Fodio was fighting people to convert them into Islam. But Borno at that time had become a Muslim state 1,000 years before the conquest of Dan Fodio. But they still went and harassed the Saifawa Mais with the pretext that they were going to convert them into Islam. So they were really perturbed. They could not understand how a Muslim brother would come and fight another Muslim brother who was 1,000 years ahead of him. But they were advised that there was one scholar in Ngala whose assistance they could ask.  They invited him. They asked him to pray for them over the crisis with the Fulanis.

So, he prayed and God accepted his prayer. Eventually, the Fulanis were not able to capture any part of Borno, except for Gumel, Hadejia and Misau. They were initially part of Borno but they were captured by the Fulanis. Except for this, all other parts of Borno were not captured.

Gradually, people noticed that he, El-Kanemi, was more greatly endowed than even the Saifawa Mais. They had greater confidence in him because he was a very influential scholar. So, the Mais eventually handed over the throne to him. After the transfer of power from Saifawa to El-Kanemi, El-Kanemi himself became the first Shehu of Borno in 1880. He ruled for some years and died at Kukawa, which he made capital in 1883. That was how Kukawa became the capital of the whole of Borno.

When he died, he left two children – Umar and Darman. Umar became the 2nd Shehu of Borno and the title of Shehu continued. There was a short interference by a palace coup. Darman took over from his brother, for one year, and Umar captured back the throne and ruled for 40 years before he died. Umar left behind three children – Abubakar, Ibrahim and Hashimi. So, the present day El-Kanemi, from wherever they are, whether Borno, Dikwa Bama or Damaturu, are the people with the El-Kanemi blood. The Shehu of Borno is a member of the El-Kanemi family; I am a member of the El-Kanemi family; the Emir of Bama is a member of the El-Kanemi family; the Emir of Damaturu is a member of the El-Kanemi family. All our roots belong to these three – you either belong to Abubakar, Ibrahim or Hashimi. The present Shehu of Borno belongs to the Ibrahim family because his grandfather was born by Ibrahim. I belong to the Abubakar family because my grandfather was the son of Abubakar; and the Emir of Damaturu belongs to the Hashimi family because his great great great grandfather was the son of Hashimi.

  When Umar died, his first son, Abubakar took over from him. Ibrahim, the brother of Abubakar (my great great great grand father), who is the great grand father of the Shehu of Borno took over. After Ibrahim, Hashimi took over in 1893. It was at the time of Hashimi in 1893 that Rabih came. Rabih came as an intruder and captured Kukawa, destroyed everything, sent away all the El-Kanemi princes and the Shehus, and installed himself as the sole authority of Borno. Having destroyed Kukawa, he had no other place to stay. He came down to Dikwa. That is why I said it is a historic place.

  In 1893, Rabih stayed here for seven years. So, the entire system in Borno had broken down. It was only Rabih who was the sole authority then. One of the princes, Shehu Sanda Kura (the French controlled this area at that time), asked the French to please dislodge Rabih because he was an intruder. He came and overthrew them and took away the El-Kanemi throne and forced himself into leadership for seven years. Then the French came and captured Rabi; in fact, they killed him in Kusri in 1900, in the Cameroun . But it was from here that they started the fighting.

So, the first Shehu of Borno in Dikwa was installed in 1900 after Rabih. Rabih had been killed, Kukawa had been destroyed and there was no Shehu anywhere. Shehu Sanda Kura had made the French to kill and destroy Rabih. They said the next thing to do was to reestablish the El-Kanemi dynasty, because Shehu Sanda Kura was the grandson of Ibrahim. They installed him in Dikwa. He was the first Shehu of Borno in Dikwa in 1900. Earlier, all the Shehus I counted before, El-Kanemi himself, Umar, Ibrahim, Darman, all ruled in Kukawa.

I have to tell you one important story. I told you that Rabih came during the rule of Hashimi. The courtiers told Hashimi to brace up and face Rabih so that they could re-establish their throne but Shehu Hashimi refused. They installed another Shehu in 1893. The Shehu they installed was Kyari, who was the son of Abubakar. Kyari was able to confront Rabih and captured Rabih who later came and took over again from him and slaughtered him. Kyari was my grandfather.  Rabih continued and was the sole ruler for seven years.

Shehu Sanda Kura was appointed in 1900. The French had the deal with him that once they dislodge Rabih, he was going to pay them some money. When they asked for the money and he couldn’t give them, they took him away through Kusri to Cameroon. There was a vacuum here in Dikwa as there was no Shehu. So, they appointed his brother, Abubakar Garbai, that is, the grandfather of the present Shehu of Borno in 1901. In 1902, there was this scramble for Africa by the French, the Germans and the British. The British came to Dikwa and said to Shehu Garbai, ‘Why are you staying in German territory? Why don’t you come to the English territory in Borno as it is larger? He said fine! I will prefer the larger area. That was how he became the Shehu of Borno and that was how we got two Shehus.

  The Germans here said, fine! If Shehu Garbai had left for the English Borno, why don’t we also install our Shehu here? Then they installed Shehu Sanda Mandara, who was also the son of Abubakar, here in Dikwa in 1902. When Shehu Garbai became the Shehu of Borno, he didn’t have a capital because Kukawa was destroyed and Maiduguri did not exist, so they made his capital in Monguno. He moved from Dikwa to Monguno. Thereafter, they re-built Kukawa and he moved to Kukawa. Later in 1907, he moved to Maiduguri. He is the one who built the palace in Maiduguri.

Meanwhile, his brother who was taken away by the French, came back to join him. When he died in 1922, his brother (Shehu Sanda Kura) took over from him in Maiduguri . Shehu Sanda Mandara in Dikwa died in 1917 and Shehu Sanda Kyarimi, the father of the late Shehu Mustapha, was appointed here in Dikwa as the Shehu of Dikwa. So, the breaking point was actually in 1902, when we had two Shehus – one an English Shehu in Maiduguri and the other a German Shehu in Dikwa, because at the time, Dikwa was a German territory. The Germans, the British and the French, all shared the territory. The French took away most of the Cameroun, leaving part of it to Germany. So, Shehu Sanda Kyarimi was appointed here in 1917 and Abubakar Garbai, I told you, the other Shehu, took over from his brother; and that his brother died in 1937.