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The sultan of Sokoto is the hereditary leader of the Sokoto Caliphate, a Sunni Muslim community in West Africa. The position may also be referred to as the 'Sokoto Caliph' or the "Commander of the Faithful" (Amir-ul-Momineen in Arabic or Lamido Julbe in Fulani). The current holder of this title, since 2006, is Sa'adu Abubakar. The sultan of Sokoto is the leader of the Qadiriyya Sufi order, historically the most important Muslim position in Nigeria and senior to the Emir of Kano, the leader of the Tijaniyya Sufi order. The post has become increasingly ceremonial since British rule defeated the caliphate and replaced it with the Sokoto Sultanate Council in 1903, but the sultan – considered a spiritual leader in the Muslim community in Nigeria – can still carry much weight with Fulani and Hausa people from northern Nigeria.
Usman dan Fodio, the founder of the dynasty of Sokoto State and of the Fulani Empire (consisting of the Fulbe Jihad states of which Sokoto was suzerain), never used the high style of Sultan but was simply titled Amir al-Mu´minin . The first to assume the title of Sultan was Fodio's son Muhammed Bello, who ruled from 1817 to 1837. Since the creation of the title, there have been nineteen Sultans of Sokoto, all men from the Torodbe scholar caste who are descended from Usman dan Fodio. Siddiq Abubakar III was the longest serving Sultan, holding the position for 50 years from 1938 to 1988. The shortest reign was that of Muhammadu Attahiru I, who held the position for five months in 1902–03. The 17th sultan, Ibrahim Dasuki, was forcefully deposed in 1996 by the Sani Abacha military government of Nigeria.
Prior to the beginning of the Fulani Jihad of 1804, the ethnic category Fulani was not important for the Torodbe and their literature reveals the ambivalence they had defining Torodbe-Fulani relationships. They adopted the language of the Fulani and much ethos while maintaining a separate, non-ethnic identity. The Torodbe clan at first recruited members from all levels of Sūdānī society, particularly the poorer people.
List of sultans
| Sultan of Sokoto | |
|---|---|
 Flag of the Sokoto Caliphate | |
| Incumbent | |
 | |
| Abubakar IV since 2 November 2006 | |
| Details | |
| Style |
|
| First monarch | Muhammed Bello 1817–1837 |
| Formation | 1807 |
| Residence | Wuro Bello |
| Appointer | Sokoto Sultanate Council with approval from the Sokoto State Government |
As mentioned above, the sultans were also styled Amir al-Mu´minin and Sarkin Musulmi ("King of the Muslims"), basically the autochthonous form of the former, which is the Arabic style of caliphs and other independent sovereign Muslim rulers that claim legitimacy from a community of Muslims); Mai, occurring in various sultans' surnames, is another autochthonous title. The table below shows the historical list of the sultan of Sokoto, beginning from 1817.
| No. | Image | Name | Birth and death | Reign started | Reign ended | Lineage | House |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 
|
Muhammed Bello (محمد بلُّو) |
1781 Unknown – 1837 Wurno (aged 58) |
21 April 1817 | 25 October 1837 | Son of Usman dan Fodio |
House of Bello |
| 2 | Abubakar I Atiku (أبو بكر عتيكو) |
1782 Unknown – 1842 Sokoto (aged 60) |
26 October 1837 | 23 November 1842 | Son of Usman dan Fodio |
House of Atiku | |
| 3 | Ali Babba bin Bello (علي ببَّا بن بلُّو) |
1808 Sala – 1859 Sokoto (aged 51) |
30 November 1842 | 21 October 1859 |
Son of Muhammed Bello |
House of Bello | |
| 4 | Ahmadu Atiku (أحمد عتيكو) |
c. 1807 Unknown – 1866 Sokoto (aged ~59) |
24 October 1859 | 2 November 1866 | Son of Abu Bakr Atiku |
House of Atiku | |
| 5 | Aliyu Karami | 1808
Sala – 1867 (aged 59) |
6 November 1866 | 18 October 1867 | Son of Muhammed Bello |
House of Bello | |
| 6 | Ahmadu Rufai | 1814
– 1867 (aged 53) |
21 October 1867 | 12 March 1873 | Son of Usman dan Fodio |
House of Rufai | |
| 7 | Abubakar II Atiku na Raba | 1812
– 1877 (aged 65) |
16 March 1873 | 28 March 1877 | Son of Muhammed Bello |
House of Bello | |
| 8 | Mu'azu | 1816
– 1881 (aged 65) |
6 April 1877 | 26 September 1881 | Son of Muhammed Bello |
House of Bello | |
| 9 | Umaru bin Ali | c. 1824 Sokoto – 1891 Kaura Namoda (aged ~67) |
3 October 1881 | 25 March 1891 | Son of Ali Babba bin Bello |
House of Bello | |
| 10 | Abd al-Rahman bin Atiku | c. 1828 Unknown – 1902 Unknown (aged ~74) |
25 March 1891 | 10 October 1902 | Son of Abu Bakr I Atiku |
House of Atiku | |
| 11 | Muhammadu Attahiru I | Unknown
– 1903 |
13 October 1902 | 15 March 1903 | Son of Ahmadu Atiku |
House of Atiku | |
| 12 | Muhammadu Attahiru II | 21 March 1903 | 1915 | Son of Ali Babba bin Bello |
House of Bello | ||
| 13 | Muhammadu dan Ahmadu | 1915 | 1924 | Son of Ahmadu Atiku |
House of Atiku | ||
| 14 | Muhammadu dan Muhammadu | 1924 | 1931 | Son of Muhammadu dan Ahmadu |
House of Atiku | ||
| 15 | 
|
Hasan dan Mu'azu Ahmadu | 1931 | 1938 | Son of Mu'azu |
House of Bello | |
| 16 | 
|
Siddiq Abubakar III | 15 March 1903 Dange – 1 November 1988 Sokoto (aged 85) |
1938 | 1988 | Grandson of Mu'azu |
House of Bello |
| 17 | Ibrahim Dasuki | 23 December 1923 Dogondaji - 14 November 2016 Abuja (aged 93) |
6 November 1988 | 20 April 1996 (deposed) | Great-great-grandson of Usman dan Fodio |
House of Buhari | |
| 18 | Muhammadu Maccido | 20 April 1926 Dange Shuni – 29 October 2006 (near Abuja) (aged 80) |
20 April 1996 | 29 October 2006 | Son of Siddiq Abubakar III |
House of Bello | |
| 19 |
|
Sa'adu Abubakar | 24 August 1956 Sokoto – |
2 November 2006 | Current | Son of Siddiq Abubakar III |
House of Bello |
Genealogical tree of the sultans of Sokoto
| Mallam Muhammadu Fodio | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 Usman dan Fodio 1804–1815 | Abdullahi dan Fodio Emir of Gwandu | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 Muhammed Bello 1817–1837 | 3 Abubakar I Atiku 1837–1842 | 6 Ahmadu Rufai 1867–1873 | Muhammed Buhari Emir of Tambawel | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 Ali Babba bin Bello 1842–1859 | 7 Aliu Karami 1866–1867 | 8 Abubakar II Atiku na Raba 1873–1877 | 9 Mu'azu Ahmadu 1877–1881 | Umaru Nagwamatse Emir of Kontagora | 5 Ahmadu Atiku 1859–1866 | 11 Abder Rahman Atiku 1891–1902 | Abdullahi Barau Sarkin Yamma | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10 Umaru bin Ali 1881–1891 | 13 Muhammadu Attahiru II 1903–1915 | 16 Hasan dan Mu'azu Ahmadu 1931–1938 | Usman Shehu | 12 Muhammadu Attahiru I 1902–1903 | 14 Muhammadu Maiturare 1915–1924 | Haliru Ibn Barau Sarkin Yamma | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 17 Siddiq Abubakar III 1938–1988 | 15 Muhammadu Tambari 1924–1931 | 18 Ibrahim Dasuki 1988–1996 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 19 Muhammadu Maccido 1996–2006 | 20 Sa'adu Abubakar 2006– | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Gallery
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US Secretary John Kerry Visits With Sultan Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar Prior To Delivering a Speech in Sokoto
Gate to the Palace of the Sultan
Mosque of Sultan Muhammad Bello
References
- "The new Sultan of Sokoto Saad Abubakar sits on his throne during his coronation ceremony in Sokoto, Northern Nigeria". The Dream Daily. Retrieved 2024-07-08.
- All Africa: "Nigeria: Updated - Kano Blasts Claim Over 60" by Ismail Mudashir, November 28, 2014
- Ajayi, Jacob F. Ade (1989). Africa in the Nineteenth Century Until the 1880s. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-03917-9. Retrieved 2013-02-13.
- Ibrahim, Muhammad (1987). The Hausa-Fulani Arabs: A Case Study of the Genealogy of Usman Danfodio. Kadawa Press.
- Willis, John Ralph (April 1978). "The Torodbe Clerisy: A Social View". The Journal of African History. 19 (2). Cambridge University Press: 195–212. doi:10.1017/s0021853700027596. JSTOR 181598. S2CID 162817107. Retrieved 2013-02-13.
- Sultan of Sokoto: Sarkin Musulumi or Sarkin Fulani?, By Majeed Dahiru 7 December 2017
- "Profile : The Sultan of Sokoto Bridges Two Worlds in Nigeria : Alhaji Ibrahim Dasuki, the country's most important Islamic leader, has proven to be adept at surviving factional temporal politics". Los Angeles Times. 1991-05-14. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
Sources and references
- Falola, Toyin, (2009) Historical Dictionary of Nigeria Scarecrow Press: Lanham, Maryland
- Burdon, J. A. (1907) "Sokoto History: Tables of Dates and Genealogy" Journal of the Royal African Society Volume 6, #24.