The quest of Usman Dan Fodio traveled very far into the western Africa as far as Benin Republic, Togo, Mali and Burkina Faso. In the present day Nigeria, many states in the North West, North central and North East were conquered and placed under the bondage that Islam brought.
That is why till today, many Northerners do not like the Fulani tribe. They are seen as deceitful and dangerous because they killed their culture and gave them Islam. Northern christian especially holds this notion. If you have met a Northern christian, you won't need faith to believe this.
Usman was very victorious because he had a lot of supernatural powers that backed him up. The agenda was not his. He received it from his encounters with the supernatural world. He was a man who had visitations in his dreams.
The war was very fierce in some places and he had to retreat. An example is Bornu. El-Kanemi, the king of Bornu would not surrender his town to Dan Fodio. It was a very fierce battle. El-Kanemi was killed in the process, but Bornu could not come under the complete reign of Islam.
The same happened in some parts of Kaduna. It took deceit, several years later before the Fulani could have an Emir in Kafanchan. The stunning part of the war came from Plateau-Benue. These ones would not let go of their towns to the invaders led by the Fulani. They fought valiantly and won. That is why till today, Plateau state is not an Hausa speaking state and does not have an Emir.
DanFodio died in 1817, but the Jihad war never stopped. They had a foresight to take over everywhere. They never knew that a day would come when these conquered states would come together to form a country. The Jos defeat forced the battle to retreat from encroaching the South, though, they never gave up.
An opportunity presented itself to them when Afonja rebelled against the Old Oyo kingdom and he needed allies to stay alive in a place he founded- Ilorin (a place where iron is bended). The descendants of DanFodio took the opportunity they have always wanted and before long, they took over the town and did exactly what they did to the Hausa towns in Ilorin. That's why you find an Emir in Ilorin. Politically, Kwara state is regarded as a Northern state, but history of the state proves otherwise.
They didn't stop in Ilorin as they moved forward to taking other places. Can you believe that the Jihad actually got to Ibadan? Yes, it did! Their next move was Ibadan, but unfortunately, Ibadan had too many warriors who withstood them to the bones! The warriors may have thought that they won that battle on their own strength, but it was the LORD who withheld the hands of the enemy so that the destiny of the nation that would be born about 100 years later would be preserved. Nothing was left of the Fulani invaders. Ibadan stood securely. God was at work in the past of Nigeria. Hallelujah!
It would interest you that the same war that DanFodio and his descendants fought is still being fought today by the Fulani elites. The agenda never changed. That is why we see killings in Bornu, Plateau and Benue. The take over that was resisted in the days of DanFodio is what they are trying to eventually gain victory for. Jos, for example belongs to the Birom tribe. Till today, they will always fight the invasion of the Hausa and every war in that land has been caused by this.
Nigeria is a nation with a prophetic destiny. But before the nation was formed, the devil had taken over majority of the land in thick darkness which brought bondage to her. That was why Isaiah described the nation as terrible from it's beginning in Isaiah chapter 18. DanFodio's campaign was for peace, equality and safety. He appeared as an angel of light, but the spirit that backed him up was the Antichrist as the aim of the war was to make sure that the gospel doesn't enter Nigeria.
The battles individuals face are not all personal. Many are as a result of the reality of the territory he lives. The spirit behind the Jihad that held in Nigeria about 200 years ago sought to take over the land, but God has another agenda for this land. Our realities must align with the finished works of Jesus. The devil has always had a way to sabotage the works of God, but he has always found himself playing a role in the eventual fulfillment of God's purpose.
Usman Dan Fodio had an experience that I believe led to his eventual death and also the cause of the actions of the Fulani elites in Nigeria presently. I will share that in the next edition of the series.
Comments
Well-done MOG.