Sokoto’s religious moderation is a rich lesson for a troubled world
Nigeria and particularly our state, Sokoto, will this week play host US Secretary of State Mr. John Kerry, who will pay a two day working visit to our state. Our August visitor’s contributions to his country’s diplomatic engagements have received praise from many quarters. His commitment and that of President Barrack Obama to international cooperation and preservation of democracy have bolstered standards and fostered friendships across the globe. We are honoured that Secretary Kerry will not only visit Sokoto but will speak to our young people on the dangers posed by intolerance and violent extremism.
Nigeria’s relationship with the United States is a glorious one steeped in history and shared values. As President Muhammadu Buhari said during his last trip to Washington, Nigeria values the special relationship it has with the US and will work closely with it to develop governance initiatives that ensure that Nigeria’s wealth benefits all its people. The election that brought the present administration to power has reinforced Nigerians’ confidence in the democratic system. Since coming to power in May 2015, concerted efforts have been put in place by the present administration to improve the competence and forthrightness of Nigerian institutions. More than at any moment in our recent history, we are setting credible ground rules for public officials and recovering stolen funds. At the same time, coordinated efforts are being made to improve healthcare delivery, build critical infrastructure and enhance national integration.
Secretary Kerry will be visiting Sokoto at a time of renewed interest in the ideals and tenets of the pre-colonial Sokoto Caliphate. Violent extremism bedevils the world and its perpetrators claim to be representing Islam, a religion universally adored for promoting virtues including sacredness of life, freedom of worship, protection of minorities, treatment of others with justice and kindness, among others. In more than 200 years since the establishment of the Caliphate, our people have become known for their religious tolerance, moderation and promotion of understanding among various faiths and ethnic groups especially in Nigeria.
The Caliphate’s founders made conscious efforts during their lifetimes to instil justice, peace, good neighbourliness and rule of law among its citizens. From its early years and until it evolved into a system of emirates, a central function of the Caliphate leadership was to try to mediate conflict and pre-empt conflict before it undermines the state. Huge success was achieved in that direction. In addition, the Caliphate’s founder, Sheikh Usman Dan Fodio, his son Muhammadu Bello, his brother Abdullahi of Gwandu, his daughter Nana Asma’u and their key lieutenants promoted scholarship above all else. Each one of them wrote books of poetry and texts on religion, politics and history.
The story of Nana Asma’u in particular will provide deep insight into the position of women in Sokoto Caliphate society over two centuries ago. This great scholar joined her father, brother and uncle in devoting much time to chronicle history, wrote poetry and wrote widely on Islamic studies. According to Wikipedia, she was well educated in the classics of the Arab and Classical world and was fluent in four languages, namely Arabic, Fula, Hausa and Tamacheq Tuareg. Nana Asma’u was widely regarded as a leading scholar in West Africa’s most influential Muslim state, which enabled her to correspond widely with other scholars. She witnessed many of the Jihad wars and wrote about her experiences in Wakar Gewaye, i.e. The Journey. The Sokoto Caliphate began as a cultural and religious revolutionary movement so the writings of its leaders held a special place by which later generations could measure their society’s progress. Nana Asma’u was a counsellor to her brother Caliph Muhammad Bello, and is recorded to have debated with scholars of foreign princes and also wrote instructions to governors.
Nana Asma’u left behind over 60 surviving works, written over a period of 40 years, all in Arabic script. They include poetry in Arabic, Fula and Hausa but also historical narratives, elegies, laments and admonitions. Her poems of guidance became tools for teaching the founding principles of the Caliphate. Asma’u also collaborated closely with Sultan Bello in many writings. Her works expanded upon Danfodio’s strong emphasis on women leaders and women’s rights within the Sunnah and Islamic law. Some of her surviving works are related to Islamic education. For much of her adult life she was responsible for women’s religious education. From around 1830, she created a cadre of women teachers (jajis) who travelled throughout the Caliphate educating women in their homes. These jajis used Nana Asma’u’s and other Sufi scholars’ writings, usually through recited mnemonics and poetry, to train a corps of learned women called the ’Yan-taru, i.e. those who congregate together. To each jaji she bestowed a malfa (a hat and traditional symbol of office of the pagan Bori priestesses in Gobir), tied with a red turban. The jajis became symbols of the new order and of Islamic learning even outside women’s community. This educational project was initially meant to integrate newly conquered captives into the Muslim community but it expanded to include training teachers who travelled across the sprawling Caliphate.
Nana Asma’u’s contemporary legacy rests not just on her literary works and role in defining the values of the Sokoto state. Today in Northern Nigeria, Islamic women’s organisations, schools and meeting halls are commonly named for her. She re-entered the debate on the role of women in Islam in the 20th century as her legacy has been carried by Islamic scholars and immigrants to Europe and its academic debates. I have highlighted her role here in order to dismiss the notion that women are denied basic rights in this part of the world. That is far from the truth. We are the first to admit that more needs to be done to reverse negative statistics of women’s participation in socio-economic activities. Nana Asma’u’s story shows that with dedication and commitment, our women can reach the pinnacle of their chosen paths. Few months ago, Justice Aishatu Dahiru retired from the Bench after serving meritoriously for twenty years as the Chief Judge of Sokoto State. Three weeks ago, Amina Yahaya, a 400 level student of English Language, became the first President of the Usmanu Danfodio University, Sokoto’s Students Union Government. Women who previously attained such feats in the North in the last fifty years can be counted on finger tips.
As bequeathed to us by our founding fathers, Sokoto is strongly committed to increasing mutual understanding, maintaining good relations with others and working to keep our community and our nation safe. We believe the world can learn a lot from us in areas such as communal harmony, religious understanding and tolerance towards all faiths. To ensure continued peace in our state, our government has aggregated the needs of our citizens and zeroed down on critical sectors like education, healthcare delivery, agriculture, infrastructure, job creation through development of small and medium scale enterprises, women and youth empowerment, development of solid mineral sector as well as implementing community development initiatives at the grassroots level. We have declared a state of emergency in the education sector and matched our words with action by allocating to it the lion’s share in our 2016 budget. The 28 percent we allocated is more than UNESCO’s recommended the percentage.
Through personal and community interactions, we have fostered relationships of trust not just with our citizens but with peoples of other faiths. This level of trust contributes to human resource development and strengthens the foundation for nation-building. We, the political and religious leadership under the leadership of Sultan Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, have committed ourselves to contributing to the socio-economic development of our state and to strengthen friendship and mutual understanding between all Nigerians irrespective of tongue or faith.
Tambuwal is the Governor of Sokoto State.
