Muhammad At-Tahiru (The Pure) was the last independent Sultan of Sokoto. Much is not known about his life but what is known is linked with his brief reign as Sultan of Sokoto (October 1902-July 1903) and his death, following the British conquest of Sokoto.

Attahiru was the son of Sultan[b] Ahmad Zarruq[/b] (1806-1866; r.1859-1866), son of Sultan Abubakar Atiku (1783-1842; r. 1837-1842), the fifth son of Shehu Usman dan Fodio (1754-1817; r.1804-1817). He was likely born in the 1840s in Chimmola or at Gwadabawa, ribats where Atikawa tended to reside. At-Tahiru was living in Chimmola when the death of his uncle, the Sultan Abdurrahman ‘Danyen Kasko’ (1827-1902; r.1891-1902) propelled him to the Caliphate. These were most trying times since Lord Lugard, the head of the Royal Niger Company was already attacking emirates such as Bida, Kontagora and challenging the authority of the Sarkin Musulmi.

At-Tahiru’s sole focus during his brief rule was to confront the British challenge. The Sarkin Musulmi could not be subservient to the British; war had to happen even if there was a technological divide between the two parties. Lord Lugard’s ultimatum of February 1903 was simply disregarded by the Caliph who was preoccupied with repairing the crumbling walls of Sokoto and mustering all forces to defend the city.

15 March 1903: Battle beneath the walls of Sokoto

Excerpts from H.A.S. Johnston's The Fulani Empire of Sokoto (1967). Interestingly, Johnston interviewed survivors of the battle

The Sultan was able to call up his troops from all the districts of western Sokoto, but there was no time to bring men in from Zamfara, or further afield. Nor had any help arrived from Gwandu or Katsina. For the last decisive battle, therefore, the Empire was able to deploy only a fraction of what had once been its total strength.
‘By daybreak on the following day, Sunday, 15 March 1903, the Sokoto army was drawn up in three divisions on the common south of the city.
In the center was the Sultan himself.He took up his position at the foot of a fan-palm and his flag was set up beside him and took up his position. The right wing which covered Kofar Atiku, was commanded by the Sultan’s brother Marafa Maiturare, the left by his cousin Sarkin Rabah Ibrahim (c.1850-1915), the father of Sardaunan Ahmadu Bello.

The British force marched out of camp at six o'clock in the morning and about an hour later reached the ridge from which Morland had made his reconnaissance on the previous evening. Being separated from the Sokoto army by only a shallow valley, the infantry now formed a square and the Mounted Infantry took up positions on the flanks. When all was ready they advanced cautiously across the valley. As soon as they had crossed it the four machine-guns were set up in positions where, at a range of six to eight hundred yards, they covered the serried ranks in which the Sultan's army was drawn up.

As for the Fulani, just as they were preparing to deliver their cavalry charge across the open ground of the common, they found themselves being raked by a merciless fire from the machine-guns. At the same time 75-mm. shells from the guns also started dropping among them. Some who tried to charge the British position found that their horses would not face the racket but swerved away to left and right. Others, who remained in the line of battle waiting for orders which were drowned in the din of battle, saw great swathes being cut through their ranks. The truth was that warfare of two different ages of history had come into collision and there was never any question of which of them would prevail.
As soon as he realized that there was no hope of coming to grips with the British, the Marafa Maiturare galloped over from his position on the right to urge the Sultan to abandon the battle.
— Beware, he said, lest the fire be extinguished while you hold it.
By this, he meant that if the Sultan persisted in a hopeless struggle he might be guilty of destroying the whole heritage and posterity of the Fulani. But the Sultan was made of sterner stuff than his brother.
— Do you think, he demanded angrily, that this is my first battle?
The Marafa, who had already had two horses hit under him, was now wounded in the shoulder, and the Majasirdi, one of the household slaves, was killed. At this, the Waziri Muhammadu Buhari (1842-1910) intervened and told the Sultan that from then on the blood of all those who fell in the battle would be on his head
Sa'i Umaru, the hereditary standard-bearer and the grandson of Ibrahim Mai-Tuta, who had been one of Shehu's standard-bearers, courageously upheld the flag as a rallying point for the Fulani forces. They became the target of the machine-gunners, however, and were mown down to the last man.
At this, the Fulani forces began to melt away and the Sultan, at last, allowed his horse to be led from the field. It was the end not only of a battle but virtually of an epoch. There remained only the last act in which the unhappy Attahiru had to play out the tragic part that fate had assigned to him’

To be continued

k

And so....?

Cool

Part II: From defeat to hope.
When Lord Lugard’s troops entered Sokoto on the evening of 15 March 1903, the city was empty. Indeed, all the inhabitants had left and congregated further north; while the Sultan and his councillors were devising on the next steps following their defeat. Sultan Attahiru wanted a mass emigration (hijra) rather than submitting to the British rule. Besides, Sokoto has fought without its full forces and there was always the possibility of returning and hopefully, defeating the British.
Whether that was feasible was questioned and many of the titleholders such as the Waziri Muhamadu Buhari and the Marafa Muhammad Mai-Turare wanted to initiate negotiations with the British.
While the Sultan Attahiru and his loyalists dashed northeast and were soon to be followed by the defeated emir of Kano Aliyu Mai-Sango (1858-1926; r.1894-1903) and resistants from the other emirates, the Waziri Buhari initiated talks with Lord Lugard. The British welcomed the overtures since they did not have yet all the necessary resources to initiate a long campaign against Sokoto. The majority, when they found that the conquerors were behaving magnanimously, went back and made their peace. Among them were the Waziri Buhari, the Marafa Maiturare, and most of the Fulani aristocracy. Followers of the Waziri’s stand argued that the Sultan Attahiru absolved his Councillors and closest followers from their allegiance and left to each of them the decision whether to accompany him into exile or return and seek the indulgence of the British. On 21 March 1903, less than a week after the defeat, another [b]Muhammad At-Tahiru ([/b]r.1903-1915) was nominated, Sultan.

With several hundred horse and foot and about two thousand camp followers, the Sarkin Musulmi roamed Zamfara where demonstrations of loyalty were shown to him. While the surrender of the Waziri meant initially for the British that Attahiru was a spent force, the rallying to his side of many young men from Zamfara, Katsina, Kano and the other eastern emirates greatly alarmed the British forces. And while his ranks were being filled by volunteers, emirs and chiefs who were nominatively submissive to the British were helping him. Indeed, when the Caliph arrived at Kwatarkushi on March 31, Abubakar dan Ibrahim, the Emir of Katsina sent him messages warning him of the nearness of Lugard and his forces and he sent him large amounts of provision for his people. This support was reciprocated in many other places.

Lugard's policy had been to harass the multitudes gathering round the Caliph. Major Crozier was at the head of a column which was set up to kill or capture the fugitive Sultan. This column attacked the then-thin column at Bebeji on 22 March 1903 but they were repulsed, with Crozier being wounded during the affair. The Sultan’s loyalists suffered heavy losses in the engagement nonetheless. Between 22 March and 6 May 1903, six engagements occurred between British columns and Sultan At-Tahiru’s party with the British failing to capture or kill the man who was still seen as the legitimate Sarkin Musulmi.
Around May 7 Attahiru and his people reached Misau where they met with the Emir Ahmed ibn Muhammad (1868- ?; r.1900-1903) who was also bent on resisting the British.

Along with the Emir of Misau was In the same place was Sarkin Tijani Bashir ibn Umar (1847-1906 ; r.1898-1906). This augmented the forces of Attahiru so much that it caused the Col. Sword to write; "Attahiru's following is immense; his people are said to take from sunrise to mid-day passing. The Sarkin Muslumi has now many thousands of people with him. The whole population from Kano to the Gongola have joined with him."

Soon after, in Burmi (Gombe State), Sarkin Musulmi Attahiru’s forces repulsed an attack by Colonel Sword. The first battle of Burmi occurred on 13 May 1903 and ended with the retreat of the British forces. Although Major Sword was defeated, there was little hope of victory for the followers of the Sultan given the technological advantage that their enemies had.
Burmi, especially the hill of Bima, in Gombe state had very strong millenarist connotations. For twenty years, it was the headquarters of the Mahdist Mallam Jibril Gaina, whose many followers welcomed the defeated Sultan. There, they meant to fight their last stand against the British and die, if that was the only way to preserve their honour and dignity.

2nd Battle of Burmi : 27 July 1903.

Since the beginning of June, a British force was watching Burmi, while supplies and troops were being brought for the last assault.
Along with Sultan Attahiru and his six sons, was the E[b]tsu Nupe Abubakar, the dispossessed Emir of Misau Ahmadu, , the Sarkin Tijani Bashir, the infamous Magaji of Keffi Dan Yamusa, Muhammad Bello, brother of the Emir of Kontagora, and hundreds of loyalists who would not bend the knee to the British forces. The Emir of Misau Ahmadu and Bello of Kontagora were the most radical among this jolly company and kept on motivating them about the necessity of battle.[/b]
On the 27 July at 11 a.m. the British began their offensive against Burmi. Several times the British tried to enter the town but were driven off with arrow fire from the defenders. Their morale was unbroken in spite of the total use of the Maxim guns and canons by the British. Even the women played their part, bringing food and water to the warriors.
By 1 p.m. the British had managed to get in the town and burn homes and buildings. However, they were soon driven out of Burmi. During this sally, one of the British officers, Major Marsh, was killed. But an hour later another British party entered the town, while another charged the walls. The defense of Burmi was so strong that Col. Sword was forced to send for more reinforcements.
With the town walls breached, the defenders retreated around the Sultan near the mosque of Burmi.
At 5:30 p.m. the British faced the last desperate struggle near the mosque of Burmi. It lasted for about an hour, after which the mosque stood in ruins. More than 600 defenders lay dead, testifying to the unyielding and courageous nature of their resistance.
Among them lay the body of the twelfth Caliph of Sokoto Muhammad Attahiru ibn Ahmed Zaruku ibn Abu Bakr Atiku ibn Shehu Uthman Dan Muhammad Fuduye’. According to one tradition quoted by Johnston ‘when the fighting began Attahiru went to the mosque. He remained there praying until he heard that the gates had been breached and then he emerged and went down to the walls. He was on foot, unarmed, and his intention was not to fight but to go out to meet his fate. Death came to him with merciful swiftness, for when he was within a stone's throw of the southern wall he was shot through the head’. Among his six sons, two died by his side, two others were wounded and were taken prisoner by the British forces. Muhammad Bello ‘Mai Wurno’ (1878-1940) and another of his brother survived Burmi and made their emigration east.
One of the British officers William Wallace said about the bravery of Attahiru and his men:
"Our recent experiences show that the poorer people and the numerous chiefs collected at Burmi knew how to die when facing the enemy. .our success was due to the great stopping power of our bullets, mark IV, which was one of the principal factors leading to our success. Without this ammunition, our success would have been doubtful.".

The Magajin Keffi Dan Yamusa also died during the battle. The Etsu Nupe Abubakar and Sarkin Tijani Bashir were wounded and subsequently imprisoned by the British forces. They were both interned at Lokoja where they were to die subsequently.

The Emir of Misau Ahmadu along with Muhammad Bello of Kontagora tried to gather the remnants of the resistants at Jama’are before deciding on what to do. Along with the son of the Sultan, Muhammad Bello (1878-1940), they migrated east with some of them settling in Sudan while others decided to continue on to Mecca or Medina.

Attahiru is the only Sultan of Sokoto to die in battle. His death marks the end of the independent Sultanate and the beginning of another period of history in Northern Nigeria.

Great history..

Animal farm
Those with the bigger jaws eat those with teeths. Pulo bullies the hausa, and in turn, gets bullied by the british. General sympathies for the black race though.

I thought the Etsu Nupe Abubakar was captured in Bida during a battle with the British and exiled to Lokoja?

Nice history.