BIRNIN JANTABO: THE HISTORY OF LAPAI EMIRATE By the middle of the eighteenth century, that is in the 1750s, KinNupe had became the centre of the Islamic revolution in the whole of the Central Sudan. And that was almost half a millennium before the birth of Shehu Usmanu Dan Fodiyo. As I discussed in many of my books, the Islamic revolution begun in KinNupe before it spread to all other parts of ancient Nigeria. The Etsu Nupes became the patron of the Jihadists and Islamic missionaries from all parts of Middle Africa, that is West, Central and East Africa, begun to troop into KinNupe for patronage by the Etsu Nupes. It is on this note that Mallam Babba, an Islamic scholar from Yantumaki in today’s Katsina State, left his village and came down to KinNupe. In KinNupe Mallam Babba joined the joint-Jihad efforts of Man Musa Kodogi and Mallam Dendo popularly known as Manko. In those days the Nupe empire had shattered into two rival kingdoms headed by Etsu Jimada at Raba and Etsu Majiya II at Zugurma. These two Muslim Etsu Nupes were then using the Mallams at their respective palaces to fight battles against one another. There were lots of conspiracies, betrayals and treacheries between the various factions of Mallams and royal dynasts in those days. The story of the enmity, betrayal and eventual murder of Shehu Abdurrahman Gbaji best illustrate the diabolic nature of the situation in those days. In the end Mallam Babba was tired of all these intrigues and dangers. He, therefore, departed from the Man Musa Kodogi-Mallam Dendo camp and went east and southwards to settle among the Dibos and Gbagyis in the general area known as Agaie today. Mallam Babba had his own following of disciples and their families and with this he formed an Islamic commune which gradually became identified simply as Agaie community. Mallam Babba’s Agaie Islamic community became the launch-pad for the vibrant proselytising of the pagan Ganagana and Gbagyi peoples in the surrounding villages. But it was not easy preaching Islam to these Ganagana and Gbagyi Nupe people who have been pagans since time immemorial. Mallam Babba contemplated the option of organising Jihad against the pagan Ganagana and Gbagyis to convert them to Islam through wars and battles but his experiences of Jihad battles at Rabba and Zugurma under Man Musa Kodogi and Mallam Dendo discouraged him. It was around that time that Mallam Babba heard of the death of Jaura, the Dikko or Head of the Fulanis, in a village called Maza not that far away from Agaie. Jaura was originally also from Yantumaki, the same village in Katsina from where Mallam Babba came. Jaura was the Dikko or Head of the Fulanis at Zaria. He had wandered southwards into KinNupe in search of greener pastures for his large herd of cattle. And he was sojourning in the village of Maza among the Ganaganas and Gbagyis when he suddenly died. Umaru, who was also the Yerima to his father Jaura, became the head of the family after the death of his father at Maza. Since Jaura was his kinsman from Yantumaki and since Maza was not far from Agaie, Mallam Babba decided to attend the funeral ceremonies of Jaura at Maza. While at Maza, Mallam Babba and Yerima Umaru became very close friends. Sometime after the funerals, and after Mallam Babba had gone back to Agaie, Yerima Umaru decided to pay Mallam Babba a courtesy visit. While Yerima Umaru was at Agaie Mallam Babba noticed the warlike qualities of Yerima Umaru. The two, accordingly, decided to organise Jihad battles and wars against the Ganagana and Gbagyi pagans in the surrounding areas. While Yerima Umaru was to be the war-general, Mallam Babba was to be the spiritual Islamic head of the Jihad enterprise. Because Mallam Babba already had his own Yerima, the name of Yerima Umaru gradually changed to Shaba Maza, Shaba being the Nupe translation of the Hausa word Yerima. And since the salutation for Shaba is Daudu, Yerima Umaru became known as Daudu Maza instead of Shaba Maza. The Jihad battles against the Ganagana and Gbagyi pagans started in earnest with General Daudu Maza conquering and converting all the neighbouring pagans into the Agaie fold of Islam. But, and with time, General Daudu Maza was faced with some challenges. Being a very ambitious man he begun to find it more and more difficult to continue serving under Mallam Babba. And this was more so as General Daudu Maza was becoming popular as an unparalleled war-general. In the end General Daudu Maza decided to depart from the Agaie Emirate and to go and form his own Emirate. So, when the Battle of Fogbe took place and after the conquest of Fogbe, General Daudu Maza did not head the army back to Agaie. Instead he decided to go his own way with those among the warriors who are ready to follow him. He sent the rest of the army and the booty back to Mallam Babba at Agaie. That was in 1810. General Daudu Maza then proceeded forward while continuing with his Jihadist battles of conquests. He conquered Kpada and Kpashimi one after the other in rapid succession. These were famous and powerful Ganagana or Dibo towns in those days. Afterwards General Daudu Maza moved out of the Ganagana area into Gbagyiland proper and eventually settled in a Gbagyi hamlet called Pai. In the end he transformed his war-camp at Pai into a permanent settlement which became known with its full name Lapai after the nearby River Lapai in those days. Lapai immediately grew into a famous and powerful town due to the extraordinary and remarkable personality of General Daudu Maza. The rapid growth of Lapai into a regional capital city was also aided by the continuing Jihad battles of conquests that the indefatigable General Daudu Maza continued to waged in all directions on the surrounding pagans. Daudu Maza conquered the important Gbagyi settlements of Duma, Shaku, Gawu, Bukwo and many other smaller Gbagyi settlements in remarkable succession. And he built Paiko into a Nupe outpost town in the midst of the Gbagyi people. Minna, Bosso and many nearby Gbagyi villages were converted into more or less Nupe settlements through the influence of Paiko the Nupe town. After an abortive attempt at conquering Abaji, however, General Daudu Maza retired back to Lapai and deputised he Jihad office to his subordinates. He was very old by then and he never personally went out on any Jihad battle thereafter. Instead Daudu Maza concentrated his attention on the building of Lapai into a befitting capital city. He embarked on the construction of a majestic and magnificent palace in the centre of Lapai town. He completed the palace in 1825 the year he officially and ceremoniously declared himself the first Emir of his newly-founded Lapai Emirate. General Daudu Maza the Great died in 1832. He was officially succeeded by his very young son, Muhammadu, but was in practised succeeded by his, Daudu Maza’s, brother Yunusa as the regent. Yunusa dan Jaura reigned for six years but after his death in 1835 the people of Lapai were against Jantabo the next brother in line of succession. The people chose Hassan Baji Yadede as the next Emir of Lapai. Jantabo became so angry he left Lapai and went on to build his own town the ruins of which are known, to this very day, as Birnin Jantabo. But Jantabo didn’t have to complete the building of his pet town for he was able to overthrow his brother Hassan Baji from power through court intrigues that were the order of the day in those days. Jantabo dan Jaura came back to Lapai and, to the surprise of the people of Lapai, reigned as one of the greatest and a most proficient Emir that have ever ruled over Lapai. He reigned for thirty-six solid years and in that period built and established Lapai into a great and marvellous power. He was extremely warlike and expanded the territorial expanse of Lapai in all directions. Lapai became a regional Emirate power to be reckoned with. Jantabo died in 1874. After the death of Jantabo he was succeeded by his son Atiku. But Atiku died a year later. Atiku was succeeded by Jantabo’s second son Abdullahi Bawa. However Abdullahi Bawa was not a capable ruler. Abdullahi Bawa died three years into his reign in 1893. Emir Abdullahi Bawa was succeeded by Emir Abdulkadir who was rejected by the people of Lapai. Abdulkadir had to abdicate in 1907. He was succeeded by Ibrahim. Emir Ibrahim dan Jantabo was a maximum ruler. He was also opposed to the White people who were then establishing the foundations of their colonial government in Northern Nigeria. The White people hated him and cut off parts of the Lapai Emirate in order to weaken the power of Emir Ibrahim. Emir Ibrahim died in 1923. Emir Ibrahim was succeeded by Emir Aliyu Gana. It was under his reign that the capital city of the Lapai Emirate was shifted from the original Lapai to Baddegi-Lapai (now known simply as Lapai). Emir Aliyu Gana died in 1937. Emir Alhaji Umaru succeeded Emir Aliyu Gana. Emir Alhaji Umaru died in 1954. He was succeeded by Emir Alhaji Muhammadu Kobo who was a great grandson of Daudu Maza. Alhaji Muhammadu Kobo died in 2002 and was succeeded by the currently reigning Emir Umaru Bago Tafida.
Posted on: Tue, 02 Jul 2013 19:27:49 +0000
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