The Bloody Legacy of Usman Dan Fodio (part 1) - By FFK
Read his piece below...
On 19th September 2016 after the latest bombing
in New York, Mr. Donald J. Trump, the Republican presidential candidate,
said
"In the 20th century the United States of
America defeated fascism, nazism and communism. Today the United States of
America must destroy (radical) Islamism".
Mr. Trump is absolutely
right! Yet it is not just in America that the scourge of jihadi violence and
Islamist terror must be destroyed. It must be uprooted, defeated and destroyed
throughout the entire world, including Nigeria.
Sadly in this respect
things appear to be getting worse. Reports coming in suggest that no less than
eight Christian worshippers were murdered in cold blood whilst their Church was
burnt to the ground in Borno state just yesterday.
One wonders when this
sad and sorry tale will end. One wonders when this recurrent and utterly
beastly bloodfest and this outrageous orgy of violence will stop?
If it is not Fulani
herdsmen and miitants slaughtering southerners in their homes and farms it is
Boko Haram butchering Christians in their Churches in the north. Sadly our
President does not give a damn and he is behaving true to type.
Like the Roman Emperor
Nero, as his nation burns, as his people suffer, starve and feel the pain of
economic recession and as members of the Christian community in his country are
being slaughtered he has, yet again, opted to play the fiddle and jet out of
the country.
This time he has
travelled to New York and, worse still, he has gone with a record 108-member
delegation despite the fact that we are facing the most terrible recession in
the history of our nation.
Yet this contribution is
not about the idiosyncrises of Buhari or the barbarity of Boko Haram but rather
about their historical predecessors and forefathers and the unholy agenda that
they collectively seek to purse and enforce. The history is clear. Let us go
back to the beginning.
Sheik Usman Dan Fodio, a
violent and relentless jihadist, the man who led his people from Futa Jalon in
modern-day Guinea to Sokoto in northern Nigeria in 1804 and the father of the
Fulani Caliphate, once said:
"Conscience is an
open wound, only truth can heal it".
I find it hard to
imagine how a genocidal maniac and islamist terrorist who killed, maimed,
pillaged and burned his way to infamy in the most barbaric way and who enslaved
millions in the north and took their self-respect, identity and dignity away
from them can speak of "conscience" and "truth"?
The bitter truth is that
he had neither of the two.
I have always found it
curious that the Guardian Newspaper used his words as their motto.
Perhaps they didn't know
who he really was and what he really stood for. They say that there is no
compulsion in religion yet this is a man who literally soaked northern Nigeria
in blood and who took the lives of millions of innocent and defenceless men,
women and children amongst the Hausa tribe in Gobir and other northern tribes
in his quest to impose and establish Islam.
In a well-researched
essay titled, 'The National Grazing Reserve Council Bill: A Fulfillment Of
Usman Dan Fodio's Dream', Mr. Lazarus Obinna wrote the following.
"Usman dan Fodio,
an Islamic scholar and an urbanized Fulani had been actively educating and
preaching in the city of Gobir with the approval and support of the Hausa
leadership of the city.
However, when Yunfa, a
former student of Dan Fodio's, became the Sultan of Gobir he restricted Dan
Fodio's activities, forcing him into exile in Gudu.
A large number of
peoples left Gobir to join Dan Fodio and as a response on February 21, 1804,
Yunfa declared war on Dan Fodio.
Despite some early
losses at the Battle of Tsuntua and elsewhere, the forces of Dan Fodio began
taking over some of the key cities starting in 1805.
The war lasted from 1804
until 1808 and the forces of Dan Fodio were able to capture the states of
Katsina and Daura, and the important Kingdom of Kano (in 1807) and Gobir in
1808.
The Caliphate was
founded in February 1804 at Gudu when Dan-Fodio was proclaimed 'Amir Al-Mu'minin'
('Defender of the Faithful'). Usman Dan Fodio then declared a number of flag
bearers amongst those following him, creating an early political structure of
the empire.
In 1809, Muhammed Bello,
the son of Dan Fodio, founded the city of Sokoto, which became the capital of
the Sokoto Caliphate.
The jihads had created
"a new slaving frontier on the basis of rejuvenated Islam." By 1900
the Sokoto caliphate had "at least 1 million and perhaps as many as 2.5
million slaves", second only to the American South (which had four million
in 1860) in size among all modern slave societies.
From 1808 until the
mid-1830s, the Sokoto Caliphate expanded, gradually annexing the plains to the
west and key parts of Yorubaland.
It became one of the
largest states in Africa, stretching from modern-day Burkina Faso to Cameroon
and including most of Northern Nigeria and Niger Republic.
At its height, the
Sokoto Caliphate included over 30 different emirates under its political
structure.
The political structure
of the Caliphate was organized with the Sultan of Sokoto ruling from the city
of Sokoto (and for a brief period under Muhammad Bello from Wurno). The leader
of each emirate was appointed by the Sultan as the flag bearer for that city
but was given wide independence and autonomy.
Much of the growth of
the Caliphate occurred through the establishment of an extensive system of
ribats as part of the consolidation policy of Muhammed Bello, the second
Sultan. Ribats were established founding a number of new cities with walled
fortresses, schools, markets, and other buildings.
These proved crucial in
expanding the Caliphate by developing new cities, settling the pastoral Fulani
people, and supporting the growth of plantations which were crucial to the
economy.
By 1837, the Sokoto
Caliphate had a population around 10 million people.
Now, going through the
National Grazing Reserve Council Bill something caught my attention." The
bill in question shall create a council to be chaired by a chairman to be
appointed by the President, the council shall have powers to take land anywhere
in the country and pay compensation"
Now the land shall be
given to herdsmen who shall use the land for grazing purposes.
Another thing that
stroked me is if the owner of the land is not comfortable with the decisions of
the Council, the person can go to court but after he or she must have notified
the Attorney General of the federation and gotten his consent or approval, that
is to say if the Attorney general refuse to give his consent, you have lost
your land forever to herdsmen.
Again, The National
grazing reserve Council would have the powers to take your land and pay you
compensation and don't forget you can only get compensation if you have
documents proving ownership.
Now in the beginning of
this article,you could see how Usman Dan Fodio and his descendant captured the
areas known as the north and some parts of Yorubaland.
This is a plan to
over-run the south in fulfillment of the promise made by Usman Dan Fodio and
don't forget, The Fulani, were,and are, a nomadic people who have been
influential throughout the history of North West Africa for over a thousand
years. They were also responsible for introducing and spreading Islam over much
of Western Africa. Don't also forget that Usman Dan Fodio was a fundamentalist
Muslim who used religious fervor to ignite his devotees to undertake a series
of holy war. Following the success of his Islamic jihadists, non-Muslim Fulani
joined the ranks with their fellow tribesmen to form an extensive and powerful
empire, an African Islamic caliphate.
In this 21st century,
Ranches are established and used to rear cattle, farmers buy land to create
ranches. There is nowhere in the world where the land of ordinary citizens are
compulsorily taken and given to others.
I highlighted the
history of Usman Dan Fodio,the Fulani herdsmen and their activities for you to
know the risk in allowing the Grazing Bill scale through and what the
initiators intend to achieve. The earlier we stand against this bill and the
initiators,the better for us. Say NO to the Grazing Reserve Bill!"
Mr. Obinna's analysis
cannot be faulted. He has hit the nail on the head. The passage of the Grazing
Reserve Bill would be a fatal error on the part of southern and Middle Belt
legislators and the final step in establishing Usman Dan Fodio's dream and
legacy in southern Nigeria.
The Bible says
"knowledge is power". It follows that ignorance is a terrible
affliction: it is a terminal ailment which leads to certain death.
In an essay that I wrote
on 25th July 2016 titled 'Nigeria's Third Mahdi and the Last Of The Amalekite
Kings', I described Dan Fodio as the "first Mahdi of Nigeria".
He was the greatest evil
that ever afflicted our shores closely followed by an Englishman by the name of
Lord Frederick Lugard who recommended and decreed the amalglamation of the
northern and southern protectorates of Nigeria in 1914.
Between those two monsters
many lives, destinies, families, nations and futures were destroyed and many
stars were eclipsed. May the Lord repay them according to their works. (TO BE
CONTINUED).
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