User talk:ESAU VICTOR

Pre-colonial Administration in Nigeria- the Hausa-Fulani Empire
INTRODUCTION The Hausa-Fulani Empire had its origin from the Holy war (Jihad) of 1804 which Uthman Dan Fodio, a Fulani Muslim launched against the Hausa rulers of the period with a view of making Islam devotedly practised as the only religion in the land. Prior to this period, the Fulani people were under the domination of the Hausa. The dethronement of the then Hausa leadership made room for the establishment of an empire under the leadership of Uthman Dan Fodio. Based on two main groups, the new empire became the Hausa-Fulani Empire, though the leadership became dominated by the Fulani. The newly established empire was divided into eastern end western sections, namely the Sokoto and Gwandu emirates respectively. Each emirate was headed by an emir who was both spiritual and political leader. Furthermore, the Sokoto and Gwandu caliphates were sub divided into emirates for easy administration. Each emirate was headed by an Emir who was appointed from two or three ruling families with the approval of the Emir of Sokoto or Gwandu, depending on the emirate the selection was made. These lesser Emirs were responsible to the Emirs of Sokoto and Gwandu respectively. However, in each emirate, the Emir was assisted by some officials who were assigned to certain duties. These officials included, the ‘Waziri’ who was the administrative officer or prime minister; the ‘Galadima’ who was in charge of the capitals; the ‘Madawaki’ who was the commander of the army; the ‘Dogari’ who was the head of the police; the ‘Maaji’, the treasurer; the ‘Sarkin Ruwa’, the river fishing official; the ‘Sarkin Fada’ who was responsible for the administration of the palace; and the ‘Sarkin Pawa’, the head of all butchers. All these officials, who were appointed by the Emir, were consulted in running the affairs of the emirate. This can be said to be a similarity to the Yoruba political administration. But unlike a Yoruba king, power was centralised in the hands of the Emir who had absolute control over these officials and could depose any of them at his will. Each emirate was further divided into districts which was headed by an official known as Hakimi. The Hakimi was appointed by the Emir to oversee the affairs of each district which included maintaining peace and order and collection of taxes like Jangali (cattle tax), Jizyah (land tax) and Zakat. The Hakimi was however assisted in carrying out these functions by the village heads whom he appointed himself. The judicial administration of Hausaland was based on Sharia law which covered a wide range of issues like marriage, divorce, theft, murder, debt and so on. These laws were interpreted by the Alkali judges in the Alkali courts. Each emirate could have more than one Alkali court depending on its size. However, issues not covered by the Sharia law were transferred to the Emir court where the Emir could preside over such issues. The Emir must be careful in making his laws or judgments as they must not go against the will of Islam religion which was the main practise of the people in Hausaland, for example, the Emir could not legalise the drinking of alcohol in the emirate. Therefore, the legislative powers of the land can be said to be solely wielded by the Emir in accordance to the religion of Islam. The Hausa pre-colonial political system was a highly centralised one with the Emir possessing almost all the powers. This was one of the main reasons why the Indirect Rule System was very successful in the Northern part of Nigeria (Hausa/Fulani empire). References: * C. C. Dibie; Essential Government for Senior Secondary Schools; 3rd edition; Lagos; Tonad Publishers; 2008 * A Textbook Of West African History; E. Ola Abiola- May 1974 ESAU VICTOR (talk) 20:56, 28 February 2017 (UTC)