The origins of the rulers of Zazzau are the same as those of the Habe rulers of Biram, Daura, Kano, Katsina, Gobir and Rano. They all sprang from the same man, Bayajidda son of Abdullahi. Despite the chronological documentary that traced the root from the patriarch of the Hausa dynasty as depicted, at least in Zazzau, yet some modern historical ‘researchers’ postulate some strange theory that the Bayajidda history in the Hausa land is a myth rather than reality.

The descendants of Bayajidda exist up to today. In Zazzau they only changed location to Abuja, now Suleja. From Gunguma, the lineage of the original Zazzau Kings is presently on its 68th. Obviously, one of the living witnesses of Bayajidda descendants is the present Emir of Zazzau Suleja, Malam Muhammadu Awwal Ibrahim.

Just like his father, the late Sulemanu Barau of blessed memory who was the first Emir in the entire Northern Nigeria to ascend the throne with Western education, Malam Awwal Ibrahim is the first who achieved the status of a governor in the modern-era Nigeria, before he became Emir.

As ordained by the Almighty, he is the highest-ranking political figure of the second republic in the North that is still alive today. May the Almighty allow him to live longer, and allow us to continue benefiting from his wisdom.

It was also a fact of history that the eldest daughter of Bakwa Turunku was the famous Queen Amina who led armies in battle against many towns. And every town she took, she fortified with strong walls.

According to the Chronicle of Abuja, Sarkin Musulmi Bello wrote in his book, InFakul Maisuri, “Strange things have happened in the history of the seven Hausa states, and the strangest of these is the extent of the possessions which God gave to Aminatu, daughter of the ruler of Zazzau.

She waged wars in the Hausa lands and took them all, so that the men of Katsina and the men of Kano brought her tribute. She made wars in Bauchi and against the other towns of the south and of the west, so that her possessions stretched down to the shores of the sea”.

When Abu Ja was still reigning, Mamman Sani, the fifth Usmaniyya Sarkin Zazzau, who reigned in 1846, came to Abuja town, with the intention of fighting. Abu Ja went out at night to the war camp of the Fulani and met with his counterpart Mamman Sani, they talked together in honour and confidence.

Mamman Sani later withdrew. Because he discovered that rather than fighting a Jihad, he would be waging war against his fellow brothers and religious adherents. If the 12th Emir Muhammadu Yero followed the footstep of Mamman Sani the unfortunate incidence of the last war with Abuja would not have occurred 47 years later. May the Almighty forgive them all.

It was the advent of the colonial rule that ended the age-long hostility between the two Zazzau Kingdoms, Abuja and Zaria. But before then there were three successive rulers of Abuja, starting with Abubakar Jatau, Abubakar Kwaka to Ibrahim Iyalai.

In August 1902, Captain Moloney, with Lieutenant-Colonel Beddoes with a company of soldiers waged war on Abuja. Rather than surrender to the colonial forces, the King, Ibrahim Iyalai lost his life fighting, and Mamman Gani, the 4th Sarkin Zazzau Abuja was installed by the British. Subsequently, 15 years later, Mamman Gani fell apart with the Colonialists and was deposed in 1917.

The end of the era of acrimonious relationship between the Hausa and Fulani was subsequently replaced by that of peaceful coexistence by the rekindling of the old and ancient Zage-Zagi brotherhood. That was evident because when Mamman Gani was deposed, he chose to be exiled to Zaria and was warmly accepted by the Emir Alu Dansidi. Despite being exiled and subsequently died in Zaria, one of his sons, Sulemanu Barau, who was Suleja, became Sarkin Zazzau Abuja in 1944. And presently, one of Mamman Gani’s grandsons is a traditional title holder in the Zazzau Zaria Emirate. 

In this era of peaceful coexistence and harmonious relationships, misinformation and derogatory statements must be avoided. As we prayed, the famous Zaria-based Islamic scholar deserves a peaceful rest wherever he is now. Unfortunately, his video with the unfounded information on the history of Abuja and Suleja as he preached to his students is still circulating courtesy of the destructive social media.

The BBC decided to document the history of the Zazzau Kingdom when the Late Emir, Shehu Idris celebrated his 45 years on the throne. They discovered that the lineage of the Zaria Zazzau Kings started from the beginning of the era of the Fulani reign. They were referred to Suleja when they requested the history before the advent of the Usman Dan Fodio Jihad. They complied and subsequently put everything together to complete their documentary on the history, titled ‘Tarihin Zazzau’. Concluded.