Encarta dictionary defines a neighbor as somebody living nearby, next door or close to somebody else. Therefore, any attempt to study a people must be done in relation to other people who are contiguous, neighboring and close to each other. In Nigeria for instance, considering the Kanuri led Kanem-Borno Empire and the Fulbe led Sokoto Empire, the two groups are just naturally neighbors. Historically, the Kanuri as a people live side by side with the Fulbe and the Shuwa Arabs among others in the Kanem-Borno region.

According to Dauda Bello (1984) the earliest record of contact between the Fulbe and the Kanuri Empire was with Mai Biri (1288-1308), who was said to have received a delegation of Fulbe from Mali during his reign. This is considered as the earliest traceable report of contact of the Fulbe with the Kanuri. After that, historical records have indicated that at various times Fulbe groups including pastoralist and scholars have been coming in and out of the Kanuri area known as Borno, to stay as in the case of scholars in search of knowledge or to proceed to a more suitable area in search of pasture for their cattle as in the case of the pastoralist. Similarly, Bala Usman and Nur Alkali (1983:65) have observed that the Fulbe made their appearance in Borno in the 16th century when pastoralism along the shores of Lake Chad was very competitive among the various groups who settled there. Again, Obaro Ikime (ed) (1980) also argued that, the Fulbe were among the first group to arrive the shores of Lake Chad. Some of these Fulbe are those that later founded the Adamawa emirate. At present, in addition to the Fulbe in Yobe State, a sizeable number of Fulbe are found in Monguno, Kukawa, Gwoza, Uba, Askira, Biu Shani and other areas of Borno. These Fulbe are normally multi lingual and can speak different dialects of the Kanuri language depending on their locale.

The Wodaabe group of Fulbe Clans in Borno

The Wodaabe, (sing. Bodaado) is the general name of a group of Fulbe clans and their lineage groups that form the bulk of Fulbe in western Borno. The history of western Borno and the Wodaabe falls into the general pattern of the history of the Kanuri Empire. The history of the area clearly illustrates the continuity and changes in the history of Kanuri and its neighbors especially the Fulbe emirates of Sokoto Caliphate. The 1804 Fulbe jihad in Hausa land, the incursion of Rabeh and the following colonization by the European imperial powers have a leading influence on the history and people of the area. It is important to note that the pioneering doctoral research of D.J. Stenning in 1952-3 has provided a good account of the history of the Wodaabe of western Borno. According to Stenning (1959:73) the Wodaabe found the “great forest” of western Borno sufficient for their needs. For forty years, that is, between the 2nd and the 3rd quarter of the 19th century, the forest was an ample well-demarcated reservoir of immigrant pastoral Fulani, undisturbed by wider political, military, or ideological convulsions. Similarly, Bala Usman and Nur Alkali (eds) (1983:222) further stressed that the Damaturu-Gujba region had been an important Fulaata settlements for centuries. Perhaps that was the reason why the Wodaabe are referred to as “Fulaata Borno” by the Kanuri

Prominent leaders among the Wodaabe clans have long before the European colonization achieved political importance in Borno. The various leaders among the Wodaabe were recognized by the Shehu of Borno as true representatives of their respective clans and village heads. These are the Dayi found in Jajere, the Horewalde found in Ngelzarma, Mashio and Biriri, the Be-eggirga or Begirga found in Kolere and the Daneji found in Kafaje. These clans are all cattle rearers who were incorporated into Borno hegemony by late 19th and 20th centuries. This area hitherto known as western Borno is now referred to as the Yobe State of Nigeria. It was created out of Borno, when the Nigerian military administration under President Ibrahim Babangida created more states in August 1991.

As neighbors, the two groups have been living together in what can be described as peaceful coexistence. Regardless of their ethnic and historical differences, they have shared harmonious relations long time before the advent of European colonialism. But this is not to totally assume that there were no clashes or conflict of interests in the course of their long history. At the instance of the 1804 Jihad led by Shehu Usman Ibn Fodio, the Fulbe have attacked the western frontier and also the headquarters of Borno under the Galadima in Nguru and also under Mai Ahmed in Birni Ngazargamu. Heroes to the Fulbe and villains to the Kanuri, Ardo Bi Abdu, Ardo Lerlima, Sambo Digimsa and Gwani Mukhtar became well-known for these attacks. In fact, these two notable incidences were the reason why the El-Kanemi ruling house could take over power from the Saifuwa in the process of which the seat of the ruler of Borno was moved to Kukawa. El-Amin succeeded in sacking the Fulbe out of Birni Ngazargamu. This led to the death of Gwani Mukhtar of Damaturu in 1809. Nevertheless, the Islamic teaching of forgive and forget made it easy for them suspend all tensions and further sustained good relations. Their kinship tie of Ningi and joke sharing has been a very useful mechanism for tension management. As a result of that, it is difficult to tell that the two groups have clashed in the past.

Up till today, the Kanuri and the Fulbe in the former Kanem-Borno region understood without apprehension the important relations that flourished between themselves. This can be identified by the standard of their intellectual and leadership position among the diverse people in the region. Both groups have struggled in their contribution to build a sound and formidable society based on Islamic belief system. This further gave them the historical and long standing opportunity of having their fair share in the establishment, governance and political affairs of the people in northern Nigeria. Without these contributions it will be difficult if not impossible to understand the pre-colonial history and existence of not only the people of Nigeria but that of western Sudan as a whole.

In conclusion, we may infer that the Kanuri area of the past and present is a dependency of cultural groups that consist of the predominant Kanuri, the Fulbe and the Shuwa people among many other small tribes. Even though the Fulbe have survived up to present times but the prominence that they use to enjoy before and after colonialism has perished. Mainly because of the shift in revenue generation by government which became necessary by modern economic structure. Shift from the collection of cattle tax to other sources of revenue. Shift from rudimentary headship in the community to advanced headship. Therefore, the Fulbe, especially those in present Yobe are politically disoriented, scattered and forming parts of different emirates cutting across different local governments. Despite their rich history, the current political configuration has not secured them any common leadership. Again, some other factors have been negating their social organization. For instance, large segments of their population are still pursuing a semi-sedentary life. They are not fully settled so as to focus on urbanization. The Fulbe can only restore their position through resettlement and education of the nomadic segment among them. This has been identified by many scholars as a serious factor that negates the future progress of the Fulbe in modern-day. These are contemporary challenges which require an effective and systematic solution.



11th July, 2008
Maiduguri.

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