Usman dan Fodio and the jihad of 1804

Usman dan Fodio (1754–1817) was a Fulani Muslim scholar who taught and preached in the kingdom of Gobir. He criticized the Hausa rulers, whom he accused of heavy taxation, unjust treatment of Muslims and tolerance of un-Islamic customs, and he built a following of students, farmers and herders.

When relations with the king of Gobir broke down, he and his followers made a hijra (withdrawal) in 1804 to Gudu, and the movement turned into a war. Over the next few years, with his brother Abdullahi and his son Muhammad Bello as commanders and administrators, the jihadists overthrew the old dynasties of Hausaland one by one.

Salamone’s summary is that the Fulani accused the Hausa rulers (the “Habe”) of laxity in the practice of Islam. Historians add that the conflict also had economic and political causes, including taxes, the enslavement of free Muslims, and the grievances of herders and rural scholars against the court.

Dan Fodio is remembered by many northern Nigerians as a saintly reformer and writer of dozens of works. Others, including some Hausa today, stress the cost of the war to the old dynasties. Both memories are part of the story.