| 43. Sarki Muhammad Rumfa of Kano (ruled 1463-1499 AD) Most celebrated ruler in the northern Nigeria region |
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One famous scholar, Sheikh Muhammad Al-Maghili, taught Koranic studies in Katsina and law at Kano. He wrote a treatise on government for Rumfa called On The Obligations of Princes. One excerpt from this great work reads as follows: "The sojourn of a prince in the city breeds all manner of trouble and harm. The bird of prey abides in open and wild places. Vigorous is the cock as he struts round his domains. The eagle can only win his realm by firm resolve, and the cock's voice is strong as he masters the hens. Ride, then, the horses of resolution upon the saddles of prudence. Cherish the land from the spoiling drought, from the raging wind, the dust-laden storm, the raucous thunder, the gleaming lightning, the shattering fireball and the beating rain. Kingdoms are held by the sword, not by delays. Can fear be thrust back except by causing fear? Allow only the nearest of your friends to bring you food and drink and bed and clothes. Do not part with your coat of mail and weapons and let no one approach you save men of trust and virtue. Never sleep in a place of peril. Have near to guard you at all times a band of faithful and gallant men, sentries, bowmen, horse and foot. Times of alarm are not like times of safety. Conceal your secrets from other people until you are master of your undertaking." In this work, Rumfa was advised to install an Ombudsman to receive complaints against the government. Rumfa put the advice into practice and Al-Maghili left for the Songhai city of Gao in 1502. The only significant failure of his career was an inconclusive eleven year war conducted against Katsina. The Kano Chronicle says of him: "He can have no equal in might, from the time of the founding of Kano, until it shall end". |
Muhammad Rumfa became ruler of the Hausa city-state of Kano in 1463. He greatly extended the walls of the city and built an imposing new palace, the Gidan Rumfa, with courtly attendants adopting fashions from the nearby empire of Borno. They wore extravagant sandals of ostrich feathers and sported fans from the same bird. His principal officers built palaces of their own. Reforming the government, he appointed a nine-member council of advisors and promoted slaves to important positions. Slaves managed the treasury, staffed the palace, attended to the harem, and policed the city. He enforced Islamic law. Humiliating the Abagayawa, a non-Islamic people, he compelled leading citizens to become Muslims and built a Friday Mosque on the sacred Shamuz site. Women were kept in purdah. Additionally, Eid al-Fir, the great Islamic festival after Ramadan, was celebrated for the first time. He offered active support to scholars.
