The Jihad of Usman dan Fodio (Hausa: Jihadin Usman dan Fodio; ) was a religio-military conflict in present-day Nigeria and Cameroon. The war began when Usman dan Fodio, a prominent Islamic scholar and teacher, was exiled from Gobir by King Yunfa, one of his former students.
Lead up to war
Usman dan Fodio, born in 1754, joined a growing number of traveling Islamic scholars through the Hausa kingdoms in the 1770s and became quite popular in the 1790s.
In the late 18th-century, the Galadima of Bornu, Dunama, administered a large district in western Bornu, which contained numerous Fulani groups and encompassed portions of what later became the emirates of Hadejia, Katagum, Jamaare, and Misau. Three figures led the jihad in this area: Bi Abdur, Lerlima, and Ibrahim Zaki. Bi Abdur lived near Hadejia and, around 1800, persuaded the Sarkin Hadejia (ruler of Hadejia) to appoint him as the leader of the local Fulani. He had considerable animosity towards the Galadima, who was responsible for his father's death. Lerlima, Bi Abdur's maternal cousin, was married to the Galadima's daughter and served in his administration, possibly as a tax collector. Ibrahim Zaki was a widely travelled mallam (Islamic teacher) and was familiar with the teachings of Shehu Usman.
To the south of the empire, a similar situation existed. The jihad was primarily led by Fulani groups centered at Deya (today in Gujba, Yobe State). During the late 18th-century, the local ruler of Deya, Muhammad Lafia, "because of his recalcitrant ways" was deposed by the Mai of Bornu, Ahmad. He was replaced with his younger brother, Muhammad Saurima, who the Mai hoped would be more cooperative. The local Fulani leadership, including two learned men, al-Bukhari and Goni Mukhtar, was displeased with Lafia's deposition as he had maintained friendly relations with the Fulani. Although outnumbered, dan Fodio's troops were able to prevent Yunfa from advancing on Gunu and thus convince larger numbers of people to join his forces. They then captured the Sultanate of Kano whose king (Muhammad Alwali II) was forced to flee to Zazzau, then the village of Burum-Burum where he was soon killed in battle. In 1808, the jihadists assaulted Gobir, killing Yunfa in the battle of Alkalawa, Furthermore, Abdullahi dan Fodio also took over the Kebbi Emirate the same year.
With the capture of Gobir, the jihadists saw that they were part of a wider regional struggle. They continued with battles against several Hausa kingdoms, and the Sokoto Caliphate expanded over the next two years. The last major expansion of the jihadists was the toppling of the Sayfawa dynasty in 1846. Dan Fodio ruled from Sokoto as the religious leader of the Fulani jihad states from that point until 1815, when he retired from administrative duties.
The Sokoto Caliphate has continued to the present. Since the British conquest of the Caliphate in 1903, and later Nigerian independence under a constitutional government in 1960, the Caliphate's political authority has diminished. But the position still has considerable spiritual authority.
See also
- Fula jihads
- History of Nigeria