HADEJIA!

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, who as Chiroma, was the heir
apparent, and much more popular than
Ahmadu, but was perceived by his father as
too troublesome and dangerous to be
allowed on the throne.
6. Buhari bib Sambo, 1848 – 50 &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.

HADEJIA RULER'S (1)

A Chronicle of Emirs of Hadejia, 1805 -
1906:
1. Umaru Bin Abdure, 1788 - 1808
Umaru bin Abdure was the first Sarkin
Fulanin Hadejia. He was appointed by Sarkin
Hadejia Abubakar, the last Habe ruler of
Kasar Hadejia. Umar was credited with
planning and leading the Jihad in Hadejia-
Auyo territories. He actually cleared the
ground and laid the foundation for Hadejia
Emirate. He did that by the authority of the
leader of the jihad movement in Hausa land,
Shehu Usman Danfodio, who sent him a flag
via his brother Muhammadu Sambo. Umaru,
who theoretically could be regarded as the
first flag bearer in Hadejia, died at Rinde in 1808.

2. Mamman Kankiya,1808-1808
Sarki Umaru was succeeded by his eldest son Mamman Kankiya. Sarkin Hadejia
Mamman Kankiya did not live long, but died a few months after and in the same year he was appointed.

3. Malam Sambo Digimsa, 1808-1845 With the death of Umar bin Abdure and his short-lived successor, Mamman Kankiya in 1808, the mantle of Hadejia's leadership fell on the shoulders of Malam Muhammadu
Sambo Digimsa, the person who three years
earlier led the bay'a delegation to the Shehu. The Shehu therefore approved his appointment. With Sambo's assumption of office, the emirate of Hadejia formally came into being. He was the real founder of the emirate, from who sprang all the successive Emirs to this day. It was Sambo who made Hadejia the capital of the emirate when he moved there from Rinde together with his patriots and members of his family. On entering the town from one gate in 1810, Abubakar, the Hausa Chief, and some of his followers moved out of the town from the opposite gate, later settling just outside the eastern gate at a place called Fantai.


Emir Sambo thereby made Hadejia his capital. He enlarged the town and constructed the Hadejia City wall (Maigari). Also, Sambo was with the building of Friday mosque in Hadejia and the appointment of an imam from among the learned Ulama in the town.

Sambo made some key appointments of masu saraute such as Chiroma, Galadima, and Madaki among others. There is no doubt that Sambo was responsible for the final collapse of the Hausa sarautu system in Hadejia and the establishment of the Fulani emirate government.

4. Garko bin Sambo, 1845 – 1847 In 1845, Sambo abdicated the emirate of Hadejia due to ill-health and old age after a long reign of thirty seven years, and retired to Mairakumi. With the approval of Caliph Aliyu Babba (1842-59), Sambo appointed his eldest son Mahammadu Garko in 1845 to succeed him as the new Emir of Hadejia.
Emir Garko’s reign was as short as it was uneventful. He died two years later in 1847.