49. Shehu Uthman Dan Fodio of Sokoto (ruled 1804-1817 AD) Founder of the Sokoto Caliphate in northern Nigeria |
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Many ordinary Hausas joined the Fulani campaigns. They empathised with the Fulani attack on the luxury, injustice, and high taxation associated with the Hausa Sarkunas (i.e. kings – plural). Moreover, the government officials were not above confiscating livestock and other goods of ordinary people. Nor were they above capturing young women to serve in the harem. In 1812 the Shehu (meaning ‘teacher’), Uthman Dan Fodio triumphed over the Hausa kings. Ruling from Gobir, he changed the name of the city to Sokoto. The empire he built became the Sokoto Caliphate. Establishing a centralised government, he began a stability in the region that ultimately created an economic boom. Hausaland had seen nothing like it since the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Kano cotton, for example, clothed half of West Africa. Furthermore, the Shehu and his descendants were scholars of impressive intellects. Dr Davidson wrote that: “To Uthman, his brother Abdullah and his son Muhammad Bello are attributed some 258 books and essays on a variety of theoretical and practical subjects”. All of this information is extracted from the Book ‘When We Ruled’.
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50. Prophetess Kimpa Vita of Kongo (lived 1682-1706) Kongolese founder of Black Liberation Theology |
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All of this information is extracted from the Book ‘When We Ruled’.
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