The Hausa ethnic group remains the largest of all ethnic groups in Africa and equally the second largest in the Afroasiatic languages.
The culture of the Hausa people is homogenous, though they are a diverse set of people. They have their base in the savanna and Sahel region of African towards the southern part of the Niger republic.
The Hausa tribe makes up about 70 million people and they can be found in several African countries, including Gambia, Senegal, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Sudan, Ghana, Togo, Chad, Ivory Coast, and Congo.
This is to say that they are scattered across West African and several other places. You can find them along the Hajj route of ancient times too. You can find a huge number of Hausas around Agadez.
Over the years, many Hausas have moved beyond their negative lands to other cities across Nigeria like Port Harcourt, Lagos, and so on. They can also be found in other coastal cities, like Cotonou, Banjul, Abidjan, and Accra. They are even found in Libya.
The Hausas are known to settle down in small villages, towns, and cities during the pre-colonial time. Their works include raising livestock and growing crops. Also, they are involved in all manners of trading. Their trading activities are both local and international.
The culture of the Hausa people is based on equestrian culture and this can be found mainly among the Hausa aristocrats. The horse is seen as a symbol of nobility in Hausaland, which is Daura city being the Hausa cultural center. In fact, Daura is older than many other cities in Hausaland.
The pre-colonial political administration of the Hausa/Fulani people
Before the entity called Nigeria was created, the Hausa/Fulani people had their own system of government. Virtually all the parts that make up what is called Nigeria today have their specific system of government before the British came around to scatter them all.
The system of government in each of these entities may differ, but they are still somewhat the same. The difference is premised on the difference in languages and ways of life of individual constituents.
Some political systems in pre-colonial Nigeria were chiefly or decentralized, while some other ones were chiefless; good examples of the former are the pre-colonial political systems of the Hausa and Yoruba people, while a good example of the latter is that of the Igbo people. The Igbo political system during the pre-colonial era was acephalous.
The jihad war of 1804 to 1810 brought about a change in the system of things in Hausaland. Before Usman Dan Fodio’s jihad war, there were several Hausa regions, but the regions were reorganized into two calipashes, which were the western caliphate and the eastern caliphate.
The western caliphate had its headquarters in Gwandu with cities like Kontagora, Argungun, and Ilorin under it. The eastern caliphate, on the other hand, has Sokoto as its headquarters with cities like Katsina, Zaria, Kano, Gombe, and Yola under its control. The two caliphates were headed by different individuals, while Usman Dan Fodio remained the Sarkin Muslim (head) of both.
Upon its creation, the eastern caliphate was headed by Bello, Dan Fodio’s son, and the western caliphate was headed by Abdullah, Dan Fodio’s brother. Usman Dan Fodio did not play any particular political role in the conquest of the Hausa kingdom.
Rather, he remained more of a spiritual leader and counselor, whom the other leaders could approach for advice. The title of the leaders in both Gwandu and Sokoto is the Emir.
The Emir was assisted in administration by the following officials:
- The Waziri: Prime Minister or Administrative Officer
- Daladima: He oversees the affairs of the capital city
- Madawaki: he is in charge of the army
- Dogari: He heads the police
- Maaji: He is in charge of finance and heads the treasury
- Sarkin Ruwa: He is in charge of fishing and the river
- Sarkin Fada: He sees to the affairs of the palace
- Sarkin Pawa: He oversees the affairs of butchers
All the officials mentioned above got their appointment from the emir. The emir also consults them before making decisions that affect the caliphate. The system of government observed in the Hausa/Fulani region before colonization has a great similarity to what was obtained in Yorubaland.
Power was never centralized on the Yoruba king, but that is the case in the Hausa/Fulani region. The emir might consult the officials highlighted above, but sole decisions of running the caliphate lied solely on him. The emir can decide to depose any of the officials when he deems fit without consulting anyone, which is never the case in Yorubaland.
Each of the emirates is categorized into districts and the districts are under the leadership of a Hakimi, who gets his appointment from the Emir. The Hakimi is saddled with the responsibility of overseeing affairs in his district and report to the emir.
He is to collect taxes, like Zakat, Jizyah (land tax), and jangali (cattle tax). He is also expected to maintain peace and order in the district. Each village has a head that assists the Hakimi in carrying out his duties.
The judicial system
The judicial system in Hausa/Fulani land is operated under Sharia law. The law administers series of aspects, like debt, murder, theft, divorce, marriage, and so on.
The Sharia courts are headed by Alkali judges and the hearings take place in Alkali courts. There are usually several alkali courts in each emirate; the number of alkali courts is usually high in big emirates.
Any issue that the Sharia court cannot administer will be transferred to the Emir, which further shows the emir as the head of all in the pre-colonial Hausa/Fulani political system.
While the emir may be the head and final decision maker, his judgments and decisions must always be in line with what the Quran says, because the Quran was the basis of administration and lives of the people in the Hausa/Fulani region. While the emir may be the sole lawmaker, he could not legalize the drinking of alcohol, for example.
The emir had to always refer to the Quran before he makes any decision whatsoever.
