Northern Region, Nigeria
Within Nigeria, distinctly different from the
southern part of the country, with independent customs, foreign relations and
security structures. In 1962 it acquired the territory of the British Northern Cameroons,
which voted to become a province within Northern Nigeria.
History
The Nok culture, an
ancient culture dominated most of what is now Northern
Nigeria in pre historic times, its legacy in the form of
terracotta statues and megaliths have been discovered in Sokoto, Kano, Birinin
Kudu, Nok and Zaria. The Kwatarkwashi culture, a variant of the Nok culture
centred mostly around Zamfara in Sokoto Province is thought by some to be the
same or an offshoot of the Nok.
The Fourteen Kingdoms.
The Fourteen Kingdoms unified the diverse lore
and heritage of Northern Nigeria into a cohesive ethno-historical system. Seven
of these Kingdoms developed from the Kabara legacy of the Hausa people. In the
9th century as vibrant trading centers competing with Kanem-Bornu and Mali slowly
developed in the Central Sudan, a set Kingdoms merged dominating the great savannah plains of Hausaland, their primary
exports were leather, gold, cloth, salt, kola nuts, animal hides, and henna.[1]
The Seven Hausa states included:
·
Daura, ?
- 1806
·
Kano,
998 - 1807
·
Katsina, c. 1400 - 1805
·
Zazzau (Zaria), c. 1200 - 1808
·
Gobir, ?
- 1808
·
Rano
·
Biram, c. 1100 - 1805
The growth and conquest of the Hausa Bakwai resulted in the founding
of additional states with rulers tracing their lineage to a concubine of the
Hausa founding father, Bayajidda. Thus they are
called the Banza Bakwai, meaning Bastard Seven. The Banza Bakwai adopted many
of the customs and institutions of the Hausa Bakwai but were considered
unsanctioned or copy-cat kingdoms by non-Hausa people. These states include:
·
Zamfara
·
Kebbi
·
Yauri (also called Yawuri)
·
Gwari (also
called Gwariland)
·
Kwararafa (a Jukun state)
·
Nupe (of the Nupe people)
·
Ilorin (a conglomeration of Yoruba,
Hausa, Nupe, Fulani, Kanuri, Barba and Malian tribes)
Hausa States.
Between 500 CE and 700 CE Hausa people, who are thought to have slowly
moved from Nubia and mixing in with the local
Northern and Middle Belt population, established a number of strong states in
what is now Northern Nigeria and Eastern Niger. With the decline of the Nok and
Sokoto, who had previously controlled Central and Northern Nigeria between 800
BCE and 200 CE, the Hausa were able to emerge as the new power in the region.
They are closely linked with the Kanuri people of Kanem-Bornu (Lake Chad), the Birom, Gwari, Nupe and Jukun.
The Hausa aristocracy, under influence from the Mali Empire adopted Islam in the 11th
century CE. By the 12th century CE the Hausa were becoming one of Africa's
major powers. The architecture of the Hausa is perhaps one of the least known
but most beautiful of the medieval age. Many of their early mosques and palaces
are bright and colourful and often include intricate engraving or elaborate
symbols designed into the facade. By 1500 CE the Hausa utilized a modified
Arabic script known as Ajami to
record their own language; the Hausa compiled several written histories, the
most popular being the Kano Chronicle.
Fulani Empire and Bornu
Empire.
Usuman dan Fodio led
a jihad against the Hausa States and finally united them into the Sokoto Caliphate. The Sokoto Caliphate was under the overall
authority of the Commander of the
Faithful. Under Dan Fodio, the Empire was bicephalous and divided
into two territories each controlled by an appointed vizier. Each of the territories was further divided
into autonomous Emirates under mainly
hereditary local Emirs. The Bornu Empire was initially absorbed into
the Sokoto Caliphate of
Usman dan Fodio, but broke away after a few years later.
Colonisation.
Initially the British involvement in Northern Nigeria was
predominantly trade-related, and revolved around the expansion of the Royal Niger Company,
whose interior territories spread north from about where the Niger River and
Benue River joined at Lokoja. The Royal Niger
Company's territory did not represent a direct threat to much the Sokoto
Caliphate or the numerous states of Northern Nigeria. This changed, when
Fredrick Lugard and Taubman Goldie laid down an ambitious plan to pacify the
Niger interior and unite it with the rest of the British Empire.
History of the
Protectorate of Northern Nigeria.
The protectorate of Northern Nigeria was
proclaimed at Ida by Fredrick Lugard on January 1, 1897. The basis of the
colony was the 1885 Treaty of Berlin which
broadly granted Northern Nigeria to Britain, on the basis of their
protectorates in Southern Nigeria. Hostilities with the powerful Sokoto Caliphate soon followed. the
Emirates of Kotogora and Ilorin were the first to be conquered by the British.
In February 1903, the great fort of Kano, seat of the Kano Emirate was captured, Sokoto and
much of the rest of its Caliphate soon catapulted.
On March 13, 1903, the Grand Shura of Caliphate finally conceded
to Lugards demands and proclaimed Queen Victoria, Queen and sovereign of the
Caliphate and all its lands.
The Governor, Frederick Lugard, with limited resources,
ruled with the consent of local rulers through a policy of indirect rule which he developed into a
sophisticated political theory. The geographical area included in the Northern
protectorate included the Okun-Yoruba land of Kabba, Ogidi, Ijumu, Gbede,
Yagba, as well as, Ebira land, Igala land fashioned collectively under Kabba
Province. The Ifelodun, Offa, Omuaran, Ifelodun and Irepodun areas also Yorubas
were fashioned into Ilorin province. Lugard left the protectorate after some
years, serving in Hong Kong, but was
eventually returned to work in Nigeria where he decided on the merger of the
Northern Nigeria Protectorate with Southern
Nigeria in 1914.
Agitation for independence from the radically different Southern
Protectorate however led to a formidable split on the 1940s. The Richards
constitution proclaimed in 1945 gave overwhelming autonomy to the North
including eventually in the areas of foreign relations and customs policy.
Independence.
Northern Nigeria gained self-government on 15 March 1957 with
Sir Ahmadu Bello as
its first premier. the Northern Peoples Congress under Bello dominated
parliament while the Northern
Elements Progressive Union became the main opposition party.
Government and politics.
The government of Northern Nigeria was
modelled after the Westminster system. A premier acts as head of government and
presides over the day-to-day affairs of government, while a governor acts
as head of state and commander-in-chief of the constabulary.
The lower house of parliament called the
House of Assembly is composed of elected representatives from the various
provinces of the country. The Upper House of parliament, called the House of
Chefs, is similar to the British House of Lords. It is composed of unelected
emirs of the various Native Authority Councils of the nation's provinces.
Governor
The governor is head of the state of
Northern Nigeria. The office was first established on January 1, 1897.
The governor presides over all ceremonial
functions and appoints the members of the nation's upper legislative house, the
Northern Nigerian House of Chiefs.
President
of the House of Chiefs
·
Alhaji Haruna, CMG, Emir of Gwandu
Speakers
of the House of Assembly
·
Richard Dohew, 1954 - ?
·
Alhajia' Umarure Gwandupe
Geography
The highest point in Northern Nigeria
is Chappal Waddi at
2,419 m (7,936 ft). The main rivers are the Niger and the Benue River
which converge at Kabba province from where it travels southwards ultimately
emptying into the Atlantic Ocean.
The expansive valleys of the Niger and
Benue River valleys dominate the southern areas of the region. To the southeast
of the Benue river, hills and mountains which forms the Mambilla Plateau create
the highest plateau in Northern Nigeria. This plateau extends to the border
with Cameroon, this montane land forms part of the Bamenda Highlands in
Cameroon.
The great savannah belt of the Great Plains
of Hausaland dominates much of the rest of the province. this region
experiences rainfall between 20 and 60 inches (508 and 1,524 mm) per year.
The savannah zone's three categories are Guinean forest-savanna mosaic, Sudan
savannah, and Sahel savannah. Guinean forest-savanna mosaic is plains of tall
grass which are interrupted by trees. Sudan savannah is similar but with
shorter grasses and shorter trees. Sahel savannah consists of patches of grass
and sand, found in the northeast. In the Sahel region, rain is less than 20
inches (508 mm) per year and the Sahara Desert is encroaching. In the dry
north-east corner of the country lies Lake Chad, which Northern Nigeria shares
with Niger, Chad and Cameroon.
The South Western part of the region
included Ogidi, Iyamoye, Iyara that have deep forests inter spacing the guinea
savannah areas (and borders the forested areas of southern protectorate and as
such shared similar rain patterns and given to the cultivation of cash crops
such as coffee and cocoa).
Northern Nigeria is divided into 19
provinces:
·
Bauchi
·
Benue
·
Borno
·
Kano
·
Katsina
·
Plateau
·
Taraba
·
Niger
·
Adamawa
·
Kaduna
·
Sokoto
·
Gombe
·
Jigawa
·
Kebbi
·
Kabba
·
Nassarawa
·
Yobe
·
Zamfara
·
Ilorin
Kano, the largest of the provinces in terms
of population and economy is in the North-Central part of the country. The Kano
Native Authority an offshoot of the fula Kano Emirate inherited the ancient trade
industries that fuelled the trans saharan trade with North Africa. The Province
of Zaria is home to the City of Kaduna, an autonomous capital city that serves
as the nation's capital and home to its national institutions.
Economy
Groundnut and cotton industries in the
province of Kano provide the main source of revenue for Northern Nigeria. Tin
mining in the Province of Plateau, Steel mining in the Province of Benue and
other metal industries in the Province of Sokoto build up the diverse mining
industry of the Country.
Cement industries in Sokoto and Bauchi and
leather processing industries in Kano constitute the main manufacturing sector.
Demographics.
Northern Nigeria though an ethnically and
religiously diverse state, is an overwhelmingly majority Muslim region. The
Hausa, Fulani, and Gbagyi people dominate much of the North Western and central
parts of the Country. While the Hausa and Fula are chiefly Muslims, they also
have a Christian history, an Ancient Hausa King of Gobir known
as 'Mai Sakandami' - the Cross bearer was a Christian long before the coming of
European evangelists and a minority Christian Hausas and Fulbe thrive in the
North Western Provinces. A small part of the Hausa population also adheres to
the ancient religion of Hausa Animism.
The Biroms and Ngas of the Plateau and the
Tiv and Jukun of the Benue are chiefly Christian, they were converted to
Christianity after the colonisation of the country by the British. The Nupe,
Kebawa and Yoruba peoples (Kabba, Ogidi, Iyara, Ilorin, Offa, Omuaran and
others) occupy the south western parts of the region, these people are also
mainly Muslims with Emirate type Native systems that predate the country's
existence in the case of Ilorin and traditional king systems for the other
Yoruba towns.
