HADEJIA RULER'S (2)

5. Abdulkadir bin Sambo, 1847 – 1848 As soon as Emir Garko died in 1847, Sambo sought for another permission from Sokoto to appoint Chiroma Abdulkadir (Kade) as the Emir of Hadejia. Approval was given and Abdulkadir was installed to succeed Garko. One year after his accession to the throne Emir Abdulkdir died in 1848. His reign, like that of his predecessor, was short but, unlike it, was tumultuous, with desperate fighting between Hadejia, Machina and Damagaram.

It is said that Sambo then return to the throne after the death of Abdulkadir in order to ensure the appointment of Ahmadu as the new Emir of Hadejia, as opposed to Chiroma Garba Buhari.

6. Buhari bin Sambo, 1848 – 50 and 1851 – 1863 Abubakar Buhari bin Muhammad Sambo Digimsa was the 4th Emir of Hadejia in the post jihad years. His reign was the most turbulent and indeed best remembered in the history of Hadejia. Sambo died in 1848and Buhari, at the death bed of his father, schemed to get all the instruments of power transferred to him rather than to Ahamadu whom Sambo favoured to become the Emir after his death. Although Buharisucceeded to the Emirship of Hadejia by default, his accession was subsequently approved by Sokoto. No sooner had Buhari assumed the Emirship of Hadejia than he had his cousin, Nalara Sarkin Auyo, killed - a cruel act which gave authorities in Sokoto the grounds they had been looking for to remove Buhari from the throne.

Consequently in 1850, having failed to remove Buhari via diplomatic means, the Caliph ordered the Wazirin Sokoto, backed by forces from Katagum, to install Buhari's brother, Ahamadu, as the new Emir of Hadejia Emirate, by force if necessary. Ahamadu was thus installed in 1850, and Buhari retired to Machina area only to bounce back a year later. In 1851, after mobilizing considerable forces and resources, Buhari returned to Hadejia to confront his brother. Ahamadu's forces, even with the backing of a contingent from Katagum, were routed by Buhari outside Hadejia, and Ahamadu was killed in the battlefield without much difficulty. Buhari thus resumed the Emirship of Hadejia against the will of the authorities in Sokoto. This act marked the beginning of the Buhari revolt. For fifteen years Buhari remained a rebel, and pulled Hadejia Emirate out of the Caliphate, defying all attempts to get the Emirate back into the Caliphate fold. One of the most notable acts of defiance of Buhari against the Sokoto authorities was the encounter at Kaffur village.

In 1853, the Caliphate organized the most elaborate expedition against Buhari in order to once and for all put a stop to his increasingly rebellious behaviour. All the major emirates of the Caliphate were drafted into this endeavour which had by then assumed an air of desperation. Apart from Sokoto itself, there were contingents from Zaria, Kano, Katagum, Bauchi, as well as Gombe, Misau and Jama'are. The force, which was one of the largest ever to be assembled to quell an internal rebellion within the Caliphate, rendezvoused in Kano from where it moved on Hadejia, camping at Kaffur village about ten kilometers south of Hadejia town. However, Buhari did not stay around to be besieged in his palace, but instead intercepted the contingent and launched a surprise attack against it.

The allied forces of the Caliphate were comprehensively defeated in a battle that was something of a "walkover" for Buhari and a serious embarrassment and set back to the Caliphate. In fact, a 19th century Kano historian referred to the battle of Kaffur as the origin of Hadejia's greatness, "as from then onwards Hadejia was renowned in war" (Ja'afar in Palmer's papers).That encounter further underlined Buhari's independence, with Hadejia remaining outside the control of the Caliphate and becoming an expansionist military power in the eastern part of the Caliphate till 1863 when Buhari died in a campaign against Bedde land (for details see (Wakili, 1989/94).

Some of the areas which suffered from Buhari's incessant raids included Miga, Kwanda, Sankara, Ringim and Gabasawa in Kano emirate, as well as several villages in Katagum, Misau, Jama'are, and Gumel territories.

7. Ahamadu bin Sambo, 1850-1851 Ahamadu was the seventh emir of Hadejia in the Fulani dynasty. As indicated above he was installed by Sokoto after Buhari was forced to withdraw from the emirate. His reign was very short and unsettled as the looming threat of Buhari never allowed him to have the required tranquility to contribute to the development of the emirate. In 1851 Buhari fought his way back to the Hadejia throne.