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The Fulani Empire of Sokoto

The Life and Works of Uthmān dan Fodio. The Muslim Reformer of West Africa

Othman dan Fodio. Fondateur de l'empire de Sokoto






John N. Paden
Ahmadu Bello, Sardauna of Sokoto
Values and Leadership in Nigeria

Hodder and Stoughton. London. 1986. 799 p.

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Acknowledgements

This project could not have been undertaken without the encouragement and assistance of many people in Nigeria. I am especially grateful to Mamman Daura (former Editor and Managing Director, New Nigerian), Dr. Mahmud Tukur (former Vice Chancellor, Bayero University, Kano), Professor Jibrin Aminu (Vice Chancellor, University of Maiduguri) , Liman Ciroma (Chairman, Northern History Committee), Professor Shehu Galadanci (former Vice Chancellor, University of Sokoto), and Umaru Shinkafi (Marafa of Sokoto).

Professor Yaya Ahyu, Director of the Institute of Administration, Ahmadu Bello University, has been helpful in every way and my affiliation with the Institute has been a pleasant one. I am also grateful to Dr. Sambo Junaidu for help on many aspects of Sokoto history, to Dr. Ibrahim Mukoshy for checking the Hausa poetry, to Dr. Ahmad Jalingo for assistance on aspects of the Aminu Kano legacy, and to Muktar Isa for general assistance.

A number of academic colleagues have read the draft manuscript and offered valuable comments, including Dr. Murray Last, Dr. Paul Izah and John Lavers. I am also grateful to Isa Kaita and John Smith for their comments. Needless to add, the analysis and perspectives in this book are the responsibility of the author. I would like to thank John Hare, of Hodder and Stoughton, and Abdullahi Khalil, of Hudahuda, for their long term interest in this project, and Lucille Mayer, of Northwestern University, for her organization of the typing and retyping of the manuscript under difficult time constraints. Mahammad Nasamaru has been helpful in locating photographs, and others have shared photographs from their personal collections.

In Nigeria, there have been many who have offered me their hospitality and their time. I am especially grateful to all those who agreed to participate in the interviews, which are cited in the body of this book. (One Nigerian Muslim colleague provided fascinating historical detail for eight hours straight during the period of fasting!)

Finally, I would like to thank my family, who have put up with my long absences with understanding and patience.

This book is dedicated to the unity of Nigeria, i.e. to “the sons and daughters of two sisters” (to use joking relationship terminology), in the belief that mutual understanding is a precondition to tolerance and cooperation both within and between nations. I am aware that many of the events described in this book may be seen as background to a painful civil war, yet I am continually impressed in Nigeria to find a sense of humor, determination and realism, which are important ingredients in shaping the future.