http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=69274983#post69274983This article taken from skyscrapercity.
Sokoto Caliphate
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I believe it's finally time to expaniciate on my name sake.......
If there is ever a man (aside from Lugard) that should be noted for changing the history and dynamics of what is today called Nigeria then reverance (depending on your actual faith ) or reference should be given to Shehu Uthman Dan Fodio - the founder of the Sokoto Caliphate.
When all the preceding great West Africa Sahel kingdoms fell: Ghana, Mali and finally Songhai, the Sokoto Caliphate resurrected the spark of great West African kingdom/empire once again and could quite possibly without European or certainly the British interferance just might have successfully islamisized the whole of west Africa - maybe not the Igbos they're too stubborn
The remnants of this Empire is located in Nigeria and Niger with Sokoto state being the capital of this once great Caliphate. The sucessful jihad launched by Usman Dan Fodio caused the amalgamation of the Hausa and Fulani people. Thus today many Northern Nigerians of Hausa or Fulani extract refer to themselves as Hausa-Fulani be it:-
political - to gain an outright majority
historical - the conquering of the Hausa people - this is why the Hausas have always been an ally to the Fulanis
or indeed
religious - brothers in the same faith - and perhaps unitied against the ambitious 'wordly' Southerners
albeit there are many many Hausa-Fulanis who are of both heritage and thus the name fits.
Futhermore many of the Emirs and Imams of Nigeria today are said to be Hausa by lazy defination but in reality they are really Fulanis. The Emir of Kano is a Fulani; this is highly significant as it highlights the master in the relationship of the Hausa-Fulani considering that Kano is meant to be the historical seat and Homeland of all Hausa people.
Usman Dan Fodio was successful in his conquering for many reasons but the greatest being that the Hausa Kingdom did not actually have a single King. His motivation for his proposed jihad was said to be because Islam was not being taught properly - one of the reasons he even wanted to conquer the already Islamic Kanem-Bornu - and hence accumulating 'Shehu' (meaning teacher) as his title. He was able to excecute his plan well because of the numerous Kings within the Hausa Kingdom and started colonising each Hausa state one by one and usurping each King along the way. The nucleus of the Hausa Kingdom was situated in Kano - Kano is where the purest Hausa is spoken - hence sacking the Kano King highlighted his victory in his conquest. He untited the Hausa state under one leadership - the Sokoto Caliphate and one ruler - the Sultan of Sokoto.
The Fulanis advanced towards the South West of Nigeria converting some people there mainly the Yorubas into the islamic faith. As a result many Yorubas of Illorin and Kwara also have Fulani heritage. The Sokoto Caliphate was quite large and ever expanding from Southern Niger, Northern Togo, Northern Benin, Northern and some parts of South Western Nigeria encroaching parts of Northern Cameroon - it was very well organised.
One of the biggest show down in history could have occured between what is known today as South Eastern Nigeria and the Sokoto Caliphate. In other words the British came before we could witness a worthy match of the Fulanis vs the Igbos - probably two of the most proudest ethnocentric groups in Nigeria yet are opposites in every way. An Igbo is to islam what a Fulani is to Christianity. The only preview that we ever got to see of these two great ethnicities sparring with one another was in the pre-Biafra war; where the Igbos murdered the then Sokoto Sultan and grandson of Usman Dan Fodio (Ahmadu Bello) and thus paid dearly with it with their lives.
Fodio's entry into Nigeria and his reasons and great feat is how the Sultan of Sokoto became to be the spiritual leader of all muslims in Nigeria and Niger. Nigeria and Niger in many ways could thus be considered as spiritual brothers or at least Northern Nigeria and Southern Niger are perhaps like twins.
It is for this reason that many Southern Nigerians assume that if the Fulanis stopped migrating before they got to Nigeria or indeed kept on moving on, Nigeria may have been different in a more positive way.
