A Day With the Hausa-Fulani of Sudan

What I saw was a different thing entirely.  I saw a vast land dotted with huts, mostly thatched. I asked Taha where was the Abuja Market? He pointed to a group of people gathered around a suya seller and said, “that is it.” I was disappointed. I told him that this couldn’t pass a common kasuwar kauye (a village market square) in Nigeria and he called it Abuja Market. Thereafter, I got to know why it was named so, among other things. That night, we bought some suya from that old Sudanese butcher whose fluency in Hausa Language  equated that of the legendary jakin Kano.

Khartoum’s Abuja Market

As a result of the cold weather and breeze, I took the suya meat but refused to take their fura da nono and went back to the hotel. Abuja Market is located in Engaz, a suburb of Khartoum. The densely populated area is not very far away from the African International University, Khartoum. The area is mainly populated by the Hausa, Fulani and Kanuri. Even though they have Nigerian descent, they are not Nigerian nationals, but Sudanese. And they take exception to whoever calls them Nigerians, which is tantamount to calling them immigrants. Most of them, their parents and grandparents, were born in the Sudan. So, they are Sudanese citizens by birth.

This reporter observed that their outlook is strictly Arabian: the usual Sudanese jallabiya (long flowing gown) and turban. Their language of communciation is  Arabic but they are blacks and Muslims. Almost all their elderly people speak fluent Hausa. “We are Hausa-Fulani of Sudan. We are Sudanese not Nigerians. Even though we are of Nigerian descent, we are not Nigerians now, we are Sudanese,” a 70-year-old Musa Ibrahim, popularly known as Musa Mai Gwaram, told this reporter during an interview. He told Sunday Trust that his family hailed from Gwaram, Jigawa State in Nigeria, but neither him nor any of his 20 children have ever visited Nigeria.

The market is made of thatched huts. There are no supermarkets or stores. Rather, it is dominated by scattered huts occupied by shoe shiners, tailors, vegetable sellers, butchers, grain sellers, petty traders (yan koli), tea sellers, among others. It was very typical of a village market in northern Nigeria. The market is at the centre of the Hausa-Fulani settlement in Khartoum, people come out to buy their daily needs. The market depicts poverty and squalor instead of opulence and prosperity as the name would suggest.

Origin

Historically speaking, socio-cultural and trade ties have been strong between Northern Nigeria and Northern Sudan, particularly around Kano and Borno before colonial times. For centuries, the Shuwa Arabs who are thought to have emigrated from Darfur, have inhabited the area around the Biu Plateau, Mandara mountains and plains and the Lake Chad basin. There also exists a well-established Sudanese diaspora in Kano. Also, the legendary Rabeh of the Kanem Borno Empire was a son of a Darfuri Arab.

These migratory trends appear to have been influenced by the fact that Kano, having been the central terminus and Borno, the eastern terminus of the Trans-Saharan trade routes. Indeed, there is a long established practice (which continues to this day) of sending children/wards of the nobility for training in Islamic law, philosophy and theology to the Sudan.  Currently, there are hundreds of Nigerian students studying at the African International University, Khartoum Nigeria, this reporter learned, has the second largest population of students in the university after Somalia, among African countries.

How Nigerians ended up becoming Sudanese nationals, Sunday Trust findings revealed, was legendary and historical. Traditionally, the Kano-Borno-Darfur-Red Sea route has been used by Hausa, Fulani and Kanuri Muslim faithfuls on pilgrimage to Mecca. Many of these faithfuls, attracted by the similarities in culture, religious practices, weather and an abundance of fertile land in the Nile Valley, settled down to farm  the land, Musa Ibrahim, a 70 year old Hausa Sudanese, told this reporter.  Currently, some Nigerians are still treading the Sudan route in their quest to reach the holy land for pilgrimage as this reporter met some of them on their way.

In the wake of the eclipse of the Sokoto Caliphate in March 1903 on account of British imperialist aggression, the Mai Wurno, nephew of the Sultan and protector of the caliphate’s northern frontiers fled with the Sokoto standard and thousands of his followers and troops to the southernmost emirate of  Adamawa, over 1000 kilometres away.

Being well acquainted with the exploits of the Mahdist forces in the Sudan and in the belief that the Mahdi was the great liberator whose coming was foretold in the Holy Book, the Mai Wurno and by some accounts, over 20,000 followers, began the Hijra (flight) to the Sudan where they ultimately settled down close to the Khartoum-Omdurman area in a settlement which to this day is known as Mai Wurno and whose inhabitants retain their Hausa-Fulani heritage.

Altogether, the Hausa, Fulani and Kanuri of the Sudan today number well over 10 million people, serving that country in the civil service, armed forces, business and most of all, providing the bulk of the farmers who till the land in that country’s food basket, the Gezira plains

like Sudan, LIKe Nigeria

Besides both being former British colonies, Sudan is geographically the largest country in Africa while Nigeria is Africa’s biggest country, demographically. While Nigeria is the most ethnically diverse nation on the continent with over 500 ethno linguistic groups, Sudan comes next on the heterogeneity chart with about 400 ethno linguistic groups. Above all, in no two countries do the three political matrices of region, religion and ethnicity so totally underpin national politics.

In much the same way as Northern Nigerians and Northern Sudanese are predominantly Muslims with socio-cultural and politico-economic inclinations towards the Arabian world, Southern Nigerians and Southern Sudanese are mainly Christians and animists with eyes fixed on the West.

Whereas the Nuba Mountains, Abyei and Southern Blue Nile areas of the Sudanese Middle Belt have been a source of political contention between the North and South of the Sudan, the Yoruba-speaking areas of Kwara and Kogi states of the Nigerian Middle Belt are equally a source of contention between the North and South of Nigeria.

To this day, North-South relations, Muslim-Christian coexistence, oil politics, political marginalisation and Sharia legal system remain the most topical issues in both countries. Amazingly, both countries possess exactly the same length of coastline about 853 kilometres and both produce the black gold from southern oilfields.

During colonial rule, the British administered the north and south of both countries as though they were distinct territories.

Discrimination

The Hausas are mainly Muslims and are concentrated in Darfur, Blue Nile, Sinar, Eastern Sudan (Kasala), Al- Gadharif, among others. They were believed to have fought in the Mahdi’s army against the British. Currently they are estimated at approximately 10 million in Sudan.

In 2009, riots broke out after a Sudanese newspaper, Al-Ayyam published an interview it had with President Omar Hassan Al-Bashir and quoted him to have said that the Hausas are non-Sudanese and are mere immigrants on Sudanese soil. The uprising took place in Kasala and Al-Gadharif. Few days later, President Al-Bashir denied saying any of those things quoted by the newspaper.

The president was quoted saying that since Hausa-Fulani are non Sudanese, they were therefore not qualified to vote in the 2009 general elections stipulated by the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) adopted in Kenya which would later gave the Southern Sudan it’s independence through a referendum.

This development sparked a vigorous protest in the Hausa – Fulani communities all over the Sudan especially in the city of Al-Gadharif in Eastern Sudan. During the protests the Hausa organized a peaceful march to hand a memorandum of protest to the headquarters of the Al-Gadharif state to express their disapproval of President Al-Bashir’s reported offensive statement.

The Sudanese government forces, backed by heavy weapons, were said to have attacked the unarmed civilians and chased them into their neighbourhoods using tear gas. The result was seen in the murder of four people who were killed in cold blood and hundreds wounded and among the seriously injured were children and women and local hospitals had difficultieis coping with casualties.

After the crisis that generated serious condemnation, President Al-Bashir, Sunday Trust gathered, had to come out in the media and deny ever making such inflammatory statement; a development that later calmed the nerves of the people even though without any compensation or attempt to get any political favour. The election later took place and Al-Bashir won again.

Politics

The community is worse off politically. It was gathered that despite their numbers in Sudan, the Hausa-Fulani hardly run for any political office. “We supported Al-Bashir’s NCP for what he did to us. But even at that, you can’t really run for any office under his party. Our people were prevented from running for elections under the NCP in Al-Ghadarif. Despite our population, we can’t gun for offices at the local level,” Ibrahim Idris, a 42-year-old Hausa-Fulani said.

This frustration is aided by the fact that the authorities in Sudan have succeeded in creating disunity among the Hausa, Fulani and Kanuri communities in the country. The situation even went to the extent of bloody clashes between the communities.   “There were bloody clashes between the Hausa and Fulani in 2004 in Omdurman Fulata in Damazen and many people were killed and property destroyed due to political difference,” he said.

Attempts by the community to register its own party didn’t yield much result either. “As a result of the frustration and the divide and rule tactics of the authorities, we decided to register our political party, the Hagiga Federation Party (HFP). We contested on its platform but without making any impact. The same authorities went underground and sabotaged our efforts,” Idris lamented.

But with the independence of Southern Sudan, “things may take a new shape. The Southern Sudan provided the manpower to the Sudan military and the police and they have now separated. Khartoum had no option than to soften down, make some concessions to us so as to replace their military manpower from us, the blacks. We endure more than the Arabs do,” a source who declined being named said.

He explained that “even residents and nationality permits will be easier now. They really want to fill the vacuum created by the southerners in the armed forces. And we are the only community with the ability to provide the appropriate manpower they need. We are blacks like the southerners. They can’t go to Darfur because of the rebellion. As a Hausa-Fulani, I assure that if you stay here for 30 days, you can get these papers as a Sudanese national.  The pendulum is now swinging towards us because of the separation.”

Armed forces

The armed force is one key area in which the Hausa-Fulani are playing a significant role, Sunday Trust gathered.  There are many of them serving in the Sudanese military, the police, immigration and prison services.  Again, many of them, particularly the educated ones also serve in the country’s judiciary as judges.

According to Ibrahim Baraka, the Hausa-Fulani community leader in Engaz, their community has produced prominent personalities who occupied sensitive positions in Khartoum. He mentioned Professor Ahmad Tijjani Saleh, a former ambassador and special adviser to President Al-Bashir on commerce as one of the Hausa-Fulani of the Sudan. Others include a military officer, Adam Saleh Musa, currently serving as a presidential guard; retired General Usman Yusuf, among others.

This reporter met the presidential guard in Engaz but couldn’t extract some comments from him over the affairs of his community because of the sensitivity of the matter.  But Usman Musa Adam, a corporal in the Sudanese police force spoke to this reporter.  Corporal Adam, 38, does not know where he hails from in Nigeria. Having lost his parents at a tender age, “life became unbearable. I had to find a solution. I dropped out of school. I joined the police to make ends met by fending for myself and family members.”

Adam spent about 14 years in the police force and is now married and has four kids. “It was a wise decision joining the police. I was able to get married and continue with my education. I am now an undergraduate student, studying Islamic Studies at the African International University, Khartoum. I have no regrets,” he said.

It was gathered that there are many of the Hausa-Fulani serving in the Sudanese police force and the military. But like Adam, most of them don’t even know where their grandparents hailed from in Nigeria. In the case of Adam, he barely speaks Hausa.

poverty

One of the recurring problems of the community is lack of economic empowerment. This was echoed by Ibrahim Idris, 42, whose grandparents hailed from Gumel, Jigawa state. He explained that they are treated as second class citizens by the Sudanese authorities. He said that though the place where they are settled now was given to them by the Al-Bashir administration, the government made no efforts to provide them with social amenities and other infrastructure.

The community has a single primary school, Ummul Mumineen built by Nigerian authorities.  This reporter also observed that there are no roads or public hospitals in the community.  Idris declared that the Hausa-Fulani community were given Engaz as a permanent abode by Al-Bashir in 1992, when they were relocated from Isheh-zango, where they lived since colonial times.

“Our problems ranged from the discriminatory trend of the Sudanese authorities. We have several youths here with certificates that include degrees and diplomas. But getting jobs for them is equal to squeezing water from stone. The Arabs don’t regard us as anything. We are discriminated against because of our colour. It is very pathetic,” Idris, a businessman complained.

He cited an instance where his brother, Al-Tash Idris, with a masters in veterinary medicine only ended up as a labourer in a diary factory. “Even at that level, the work was so frustrating that he had to leave,” he said. He alleged that there was a time he got an employment opportunity in Saudi Arabia but the Arabs blocked the chance, he said.

Sunday Trust learnt that these and other problems are brewing so much apprehension in the community. “Due to our lack of economic power and the near absence of government presence in our socio-economic and political life, our children drop out of school. You can see that we don’t have access roads, no schools; we are not covered by health insurance schemes like other Sudanese, no single public hospital in  Engaz with over 3000 housing units,” Idris said.

Social life

The first night this reporter went to Engaz, he savoured the night life of the Hausa-Fulani community. Like typical northern Nigeria, the community has a social club, called Aminci. All manner of activities are taking place in that club. The biggest attraction is the Sudanese singers. Actually, the music is Sudanese but the orchestra is Hausa-Fulani.

The leader of the orchestra, Malam Yusuf, told this reporter that he spent over three decades learning the science of the Sudanese music and he now has a specialist competence. “We converge here every evening to sing and enjoy ourselves. I have trained so many people in this profession. I am a professional singer. I have my instruments,” he said.

Apart from the singers, this reporter also met a viewing centre where the youths particularly were seen watching Hausa movies popularly known as Kannywood, Indian movies and football. There were also other groups that were grossly engaged in ludo, scrabble and chess.

Outside the premises, there were tea shops, cigarette vendors among others. It was evident that despite their problems, the Hausa-Fulani community in Engaz are happy. One thing that stood out despite their poor economic empowerment is the near absence of crime. “There are no reports of crimes and theft among other security-related problems here,” Musa Mai Gwaram, told this reporter.