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http://www.jstor.org Journal of Religion in Africa XVII, 3 (1987)

THE RISINGS IN 1980-85: A REVOLT OF THE DISINHERITED*

BY

ELIZABETH ISICHEI (Victoria University, Wellington, New Zealand)

Maitatsine was the nickname of a Camerounian religious teacher who died a violent death in , Nigeria, in 1980. His teachings were deeply heterodox-he claimed to be a Prophet. In December 1980, his followers in Kano revolted; the city was convulsed by what was virtually civil war, and 4177 died, among them Maitatsine himself. In October, 1982 a new rising broke out at Bulumkutu, 15 kilometres from , far to the east. 3,350 were killed. Fighting also broke out in Rigasa village, near , which spread into the city. In March, 1984 there was an outbreak of violence in Yola, the capital of Gongola State, which left between 500 and 1,000 dead. In April, 1985, there was yet an- other rising in Gombe, in State, when over a hundred were killed. His followers are usually called "Maitatsine"; the move- ment is also known as Kalo Kato. This paper studies these risings, and the social forces which pro- duced them. It also outlines other recent manifestations of militant , in northern Nigeria, which have sometimes led to conflict.

The Leader

In 1980, Muhammadu Marwa was a slightly built man in his late fifties. He came from Marwa, in Cameroun. His nickname Maitatsine developed because he would say, in halting Hausa " Wanda batayarda ba Allah ta Tchine", "May Allah curse the one who disagrees with his version"--thus, Mai Tachine, later rendered more accurately as Maitatsine.2 He had had a long history as a dissident preacher in Kano, and had been imprisoned and deported in 1962, but later returned. His followers had been involved in a clash at the mosque in Kano's Sabongari in 1972, and there had been an increasing number of clashes and arrests in 1979 and 1980.3 The MaitatsineRisings in Nigeria 1980-85 195

He lived in an area of Kano called Yan Awaki. Many of his followers lived with him-two thousand according to one estimate. He supported them from donations from prosperous sympathisers and by the alms they solicited, which, according to one of his wives, brought in 200 Naira a day.4 His enclave increasingly seemed an imperium in imperio. Local residents complained, and there were some clashes. Later, the government of , (then ruled by the People's Redemption Party, under Governor ) and the Nigerian Security Organisation were blamed for not taking action sooner. Presumably Rimi hoped, by being conciliatory, to avoid violence-on one occasion he actually invited Maitatsine's envoys to lunch, much to the disapproval of the Aniagolu commis- sion!5 There seems, too, to have been a breakdown of communica- tion between the various organs of government-both the Kano State Governor and the Secretary to the state government first learned of the existence of a State Security Commission during the Aniagolu commission's sittings.6 A police report of October 1980 stated, "Religious fanatics numbering about 2,000 occupied Yan Awaki Quarters in Kano City...when any member is arrested and charged to Court, they will not attend...They constitute their area into a private republic not accessible to other people."

His Teachings Maitatsine's most glaring departure from orthodoxy was his claim to be a prophet. He was obviously a charismatic personality, deeply convinced of his calling. After the Kano riots of 1980, one of his leading lieutenants, who incidentally wore a remarkable panoply of home-made armour, had a Hausa inscription round his neck which mirrors this well.

If I were cut into pieces and I die, I will come back again. There is no worth- less person like Muhammadu Allah (sc. the Prophet Muhammad). ...If I die, animosity ends, madness ends, paganism and unbelieving end...since the creation of man there was no infidel like Prophet Annabi Isa (sc. Jesus)8

The learned and influential Abubakar Gummi, who was Grand Khadi of the Northern Region in the First Republic, des- cribed Maitatsine as one of "a trail of one-track minded Malams versed only in the recitation of the Quran by heart, and not fully comprehending what it contained."9 Maitatsine's recorded 196 Elizabeth Isichei

teachings include "that any Muslim who reads any book beside the Koran is a pagan."10 He also condemned "any Muslim who in- cludes "Allah akbar" in his prayer, reads the Tahita, or says "Atahiyat Rak Ataine" after prayer."'' There were reports that after his death, copies of the Quran in his house had the name of the Prophet replaced by his own.'2 In 1982, in Borno, "They preached that Maitatsine was their true prophet...They then called on all their followers to desist from men- tioning the name of Prophet Mohammed whom they referred to as an Arab." 3 The other basic strand in his teaching was his complete rejection of affluence, western materialism and western technology. Ever since the British conquest of northern Nigeria, in the opening years of this century, northern Muslim theologians had been faced with the dilemma-should they resist the British, flee from them, or ac- cept their regime as the will of God? Each of these three courses of action was adopted by many individuals-those who accepted office in the new dispensation, the princes and peasants who died at Bur- mi, or the large band who settled permanently in what is now the Republic of Sudan.14 Throughout the colonial era, there was always an intransigent minority who rejected every manifestation of the western world. The poet, writing in c. 1930, who warned his readers of the spiritual dangers of hurricane lamps, walking sticks, flashlights and pyjamas, was rather an extreme example: Towel and washing blue and powder, whoever uses them Certainly on the last Day the Fire is his dwelling.15 Maitatsine was in this tradition, "preaching that anyone wearing a watch, or riding a bicycle, or driving a car, or sending his child to the normal State schools was an infidel." 16 It was said that some of his followers would walk great distances rather than travel by bus or car.17 His followers called non sect members infidels (Kafirai), and "were told not to believe generally in earthly possessions of luxuries" and to regard rich Muslims "with extreme abhorrence and contempt."18 As 1980 progressed, Maitatsine seems to have been increasingly convinced of the inevitability of a violent confrontation. The in- creasing number of incidents between his followers and the police gave him a sense of encirclement and threat. He seems, too, to have been emotionally affected by the death of his beloved eldest son, Ti- The MaitatsineRisings in Nigeria1980-85 197 jani.19 To the Aniagolu commission, he was a monster of iniquity, his sole redeeming feature being that he paid his taxes punc- tiliously.20

Events: Kano 1980

On 18 December, 1980, four police units were sent to Shahauci playground, an open space near Maitatsine's headquarters, to ar- rest some of his preachers. The police were ambushed and routed by men attacking suddenly from all directions, "using hatchets, bows and arrows, swords, clubs, dane-guns, daggers and other similar dangerous weapons."21 The next day, the "fanatics"-as they are always called in the Nigerian press-moved into other parts of Kano. The New Nigerian called it all "a major war." Houses, traders' stalls, an abbatoir, cinemas and vehicles were burnt and the rising was only put down by the joint action of the army and air force. When it was all over, 4,177 had died, according to official figures.22 Even at this point in time, the movement was not confined to Kano. There had been an earlier clash at , on 2 Sept., 1980 when about three hundred sect members fought the police and overpowered them, but then, inexplicably, left for Kano.23 Six bus loads of reinforcements came to Maitatsine's aid from , armed with bows and arrows; they had asked the drivers to take them to Yan Awaki to help him, but were deflected before they arrived.24 Maitatsine was wounded in the leg, and died as a result of his in- jury. His body buried by his followers, was exhumed and cremated by the authorities, in the vain hope of preventing a continuation of his cult. His supporters were variously numbered between three and ten thousand.25 A significant proportion of them came from other West African countries; thus of 449 imprisoned in Kano Cen- tral Prison, 135 came from Niger Republic.26 After the rising, many "fanatics" scattered to other states, tak- ing their message with them. Hundreds were in prison, where they posed a problem, partly because of their sheer numbers partly because of uncertainty about the most appropriate charge. In the end they were released-the last batch of 923 were pardoned on 1 October, 1982, in what was later much blamed as misguided clemency.27 223 of these were foreigners, who were deported.28 198 Elizabeth Isichei

Bulumkutu and Rigasa, 1982 On 26 October, 1982, another rising broke out, this time, at Bulumkutu, a hamlet 15 kilometres from Maiduguri. It followed the same pattern-a police search and arrests, followed by an attack by "fanatics" armed with "guns, cutlasses, daggers and clubs."29 Four days of fierce fighting followed, in which 3,350 were killed. Many of the dead could not be identified, as their eyes, ears, tongues and noses had been removed, "according to the traditions of the Maitatsine sect." 30 On 29 October, there was a new outbreak of violence, at another state capital, hundreds of miles away, in Kaduna. An Assistant Commission of Police-who lost his life-went to Rigasa village, near Kaduna, to investigate reports that "fanatics", fleeing from Maiduguri, had regrouped there. The disturbance spread into the city. "...there was a stampede in Kaduna metropolis."31 Most of those who died were sect members, who were killed by the civilian population. There had been some vigilante activity during the Kano riots-men with staves, mounting roadblocks.32 Now it reached disquieting proportions, "Fears were being expressed that people who were innocent might have become victims of either the fanatics or the vigilantes in near equal measures."33 Some "fanatics" fled to Kagoro; others were caught boarding a train to .34 On 30 October, 1982 there was yet another outbreak-in Kano. This was unconnected with Maitatsine. Muslims, thought to be students, attempted to destroy a church in Fegge, which, they felt, was being built too close to a mosque. The police, forewarned, prevented them; the students went on a rampage damaging other churches, hotels, and cars.35 This was profoundly alarming-for the first time, Muslims were attacking Christians. Three were killed, and others injured. These three almost simultaneous out- breaks had a deeply unsettling effect on public opinion. When a fight broke out between two people in a market, a panic developed. "Economic life was virtually at a standstill in Jos and Bauchi because of similar rumours." 36

Yola, 1984

The next Maitatsine rising was in the ward of Yola, the capital of Gongola State; it broke out on 27 February, 1984. Many TheMaitatsine Risings in Nigeria1980-85 199 sect members had fled from Maiduguri to Yola after the 1982 rising was suppressed. They had been left in peace there, because they seemed law abiding, but after an intelligence report suggested that they were becoming a danger, police were sent to arrest them. Fierce fighting broke out, which was only ended by the combined intervention of the army and air force, which included the bombing of the rebel enclave.37 Estimates of the dead ranged from 700 to 1000. The "fanatics" fought in three well organised groups-a defence group, led by Alhaji Musa Makanaki (as his name suggest, a motor mechanic from Gombe), an assault group led by Bagobiri, a barber from Yawuri, Sokoto state, and an ambush group led by Danbarno, a cobbler from Borno.38 Yola central market was destroyed-a great blow to the 2,000 traders who had earned their living there-and half the 60,000 inhabitants of Jimeta were left homeless. There was one other incident that year, which remains obscure: bows and arrows were allegedly seized from 6,000 suspected "fanatics" in .39 Such a large concentration, so far to the south, seems improbable. It suggests a question-how can a Maitatsine follower be identified?-to which we shall return.

Gombe, 1985

On 29 April, 1985, there was a further rising, this time in Gombe, the home of Musa Makanaki (who had escaped from Yola). A number of sect members had been living together in a partly built house in Pantami ward. Others had been harboured by a local businessman.40 Following complaints by neighbours, police went to arrest them. Fighting broke out, and sect members moved into central Gombe. They seemed to be fighting with considerable discipline and knowledge of weaponry; one newspaper claimed that an ex-Biafran soldier who was arrested joined them as a mercenary.41 101 were killed, half of them sect members.42 Hun- dreds were imprisoned, but the familiar problem resurfaced- "Nobody seemed to know what to do with them."43 Ominously, their leader, Yusufu Adamu, and many followers escaped.44 Again, the fear of violence hung like a dark shadow over other cities. A lunatic beheaded a child in Yola, and panic ensued, because he was assumed to be a follower of Maitatsine. In Jos, rumours spread, stating the exact locations where sect members were thought to be gathering. Members of the public read in the 200 Elizabeth Isichei local newspaper, "fear of fanatics in Jos unfounded" 45-and were not reassured. A mobile policeman told a journalist, in Gombe:

We saw one old woman carrying water towards a one-storey building...Somebody asked her if she did not know that there was trouble in the area. She replied that those who do not know matches should not teach people about fire. And she continued moving.46

A problem which puzzled the police and confronts the analyst is-how does one identify a sect member? Many sources mention distinguishing physical signs, such as indelible stains on the ab- domen.47 One source described tattoos on the backs of sect members-dots and an X inside a circle at Kano, an X inside a cir- cle at Bulumkutu, and an X only atJimeta.48 But at Gombe, "The Deputy Commissioner said the talk about marks was all hocus pocus. Some of them had marks, and some of them have close shaven heads. Others look just like any ordinary citizen."49 This informant claimed that sect members wore two sets of clothes-to help them escape-but generally speaking, identification posed a problem, whether for police or vigilantes, and any vagrant from Chad was likely to be suspected in a situation of crisis. It is equally difficult to know whether preachers who denounce materialism and the western world in isolated incidents were sect members, or had evolved a similar message independently. Two preachers who were beaten to death in Kano in 1980 were probably members, given the place and time. They condemned those who owned motor vehicles, those who worked for a living, and those who went to the mosque with money in their pockets.50 But what of the preacher in a Sokoto village who narrowly escaped mob violence, in 1978-he "remarked that all Muslims who sent their children to schools and worked to earn salaries were infidels."51 In every rising, the sect members fought with the courage of those to whom death is the gateway to paradise. The Kano rebels recited an verse, given them by their leaders:-

Allah will defend you against them; Destroy them with the wish of Allah; Don't you see how the Lord dealt with the people of the Elephant; Didn't Almighty put their intention to destruction and stray? And the birds were sent on them which threw on them stones from fire; And were left like burnt stalks.52 TheMaitatsine Risings in Nigeria1980-85 201

Explanations The Revolt of the Disinherited Most of Maitatsine's followers were poor. He seems to have followed a deliberate policy of recruiting young men, homeless and jobless, who had just arrived from the countryside, sending his representatives to railway stations and motor parks."53 The people of Bulumkutu told a journalist that his followers were drawn from "the horde of petty traders and idle foreigners."54 In Gombe, "Most of their members were ordinary members of the community. They were professional manicures (sic), cap makers or tea sellers."55 We have seen how the three leaders in Yola were a motor mechanic, a barber and a cobbler. "To earn their living, they shine shoes, knit caps and trade in petty wares. They also cut nails, sharpen knives, shave hair, hawk carrots."56 There is no doubt that the movement appealed to the disinherited; Maitatsine recruited them deliberately, and they were attracted by his attacks on affluence and western materialism. In a sense, it is comparable with the repeated outbreaks of violence among Yoruba cocoa farmers in the 1960s57 but whereas this was rooted in rudimentary class consciousness-a sense of the relative and absolute deprivation of peasant farmers as a class,-the appeal of Maitatsine was rooted in eternity. Like the armed robbers who now terrorise most towns and roads in Nigeria, the sect members made war on a society from the rewards of which they were ex- cluded. In a recent book, Chinua Achebe pointed out, as others have done, that the gap between the maximum and minimum wage in Nigeria is among the highest in the world. He goes on to add-"the peasant scratching out a living in the deteriorating rural environ- ment, the petty trader with all his wares on his head, the beggar under the fly-over...Twenty of these would be glad any day to be able to share one minimum wage packet." 58 The problem goes beyond the distribution of wealth within socie- ty. The Maitatsine movement has flourished in the 'eighties, amid the package of economic ills,-high prices, scarcity, retrenchment and unemployment,-which Nigerians call "austerity." This is in part the legacy of the profligate politics of the Second Republic, and the indebtedness thus engendered, in part the consequence of world recession and in part the consequence of the rapacity of the lender 202 ElizabethIsichei

nations, manifested in high charges for debt servicing. To all this, in the northern states where the movement flourished, are added local disasters-desert encroachment, drought, and a rinderpest pandemic. The Aniagola commisssion realised the social roots of the movement, adding, with touching naivete, "This regrettable social situation in our society ought to be remedied im- 59 mediately." The migrants from countries like Chad and Niger form a special category of the poor. Their dominance in the movement has been so apparent that it led to a hardening of attitudes to settlers from ECOWAS countries. In 1983 and 1985, illegal immigrants from West African countries were expelled from Nigeria. It was partly because of the country's economic ills, but Maitatsine's movement also played a role. Thus, after the Kaduna and Bulumkutu risings, the then Transport Minister, Dikko, said it had become necessary to take a fresh look at the free move- ment of ECOWAS citizens.60 The Aniagolu Commission recom- mended, and the government accepted, the deportation of illegal foreign immigrants.61 In 1984, after the Yola outbreak, 1,000 il- legal aliens were collected in Kano, for deportation.62

Militant Islam

The Islamic factor has many dimensions. The Maitatsine move- ment was greatly aided by the almajiri system, whereby parents en- trust their sons to an Islamic teacher, who often takes them far from their homes. Some of the "fanatics" imprisoned after the Kano riots were aged between ten and fourteen.63 Some of Maitatsine's followers, including a number from outside Nigeria, had originally come to Kano because it is an important centre of Islamic learning, to further their studies. Maitatsine just happened to be the teacher they chose. A Hausa from Niger Republic "insisted that he had entered into Nigeria for the sole purpose of studying the Quran. 64 Maitatsine's was only one of a number of very different militant Muslim movements in northern Nigeria. As we noted, in the case of attack on Kano churches, in 1982, there have been numerous other violent incidents. In May 1979, members of the Moslem Students Society at University attacked the Kegites, a branch of the Palm Wine Drinkards-a celebrated social club, the activities of TheMaitatsine Risings in Nigeria1980-85 203

which are sufficiently indicated in its title. With support from sur- rounding villagers, the students burnt the Senior Staff Club, and the Vice Chancellor's office and residence, before taking refuge in the campus mosque.65 The 1982 attack on Kano churches, which was led by students, but from which the M.S.S. disassociated itself, was comparable. The Aniagolu Commission claimed:

The M.S.S. branches in the North have no belief in the Nigerian Constitu- tion, do not recognise the existence of the Federal Government, and abhor the sale and consumption of alcohol in the campuses where they exist. M.S. extremists also have a firm belief in the ultimate attainment of an Islamic state in the country; through an Iranian-type revolution.66

The Army Chief of Staff, in a speech to the media, days before the Gombe rising, warned about "some Iranian and Lebanese Mullahs who have tried to introduce fundamentalist and revolu- tionary doctrines to corrupt Nigerian Islamic culture", adding that some Lebanese in this category had recently been deported.67 A lit- tle later, a journalist picked up a pamphlet from the Iranian Ministry of Islamic Guidance on the streets of Jos.68 But such ideologies are the preserve of a tiny minority. Yan Izala is another northern Islamic movement which has often been involved in violent incidents-with the result that when the Kano riots broke out it was widely but erroneously believed that they were its work.69 In fact, they are quite unconnected. The founder of Yan Izala is Mallam Ismaila Idris, a Fulani from , born in 1937.70 From 1969 to 1974, he worked for Jama'at Nasir Islam, a powerful educational organisation with its headquarters in Kaduna. From 1974 to 1978 he was an Imam in the army. His views led to trouble in both contexts, and finally to his discharge. In 1978, he founded his new organisation, with its headquarters in Jos. Yan Izala is generally accepted as orthodox. Idris's teaching cen- tres around his hostility to the Tariqa brotherhoods, which are so important in Nigerian Islam.7' He sees the cult of sufi saints, the encrustation of legend round their biographies, the veneration of their tombs, as an encroachment on the worship which belongs to God alone. "All that the Tariqah Brotherhoods teach is associating sombody else with Allah in worship."72 He has other doctrines of lesser importance; thus, he condemns the festivities usual at nam- ing ceremonies. Most of his followers are poor, and have obvious 204 Elizabeth Isichei

reasons to welcome his austerity. But he does not make war on society, and is esteemed by many Muslim luminaries. The Yan Izala have been involved in many minor clashes, in country towns in Plateau State, in , and elsewhere. Some lives have been lost, and some individuals injured. There are also cases of attacks on the brotherhoods by apparently independent preachers-one was almost mobbed in , in Niger State, in 1978, for calling brotherhood members pagans, destined for Hell.73 Idris's views arouse passionate resentment among devout Qadiriyya and Tijaniyya, who are deeply attached to their shayks, and the long tradition they inherit. Clashes usually take place be- tween Yan Izala and tariqa members, or the Jundullahi, a militant body formed in 1980 to oppose Yan Izala. Abubakar Gummi, whose sympathy with Yan Izala reflects its essential orthodoxy, said ofJundullahi that its "raison d'etre was conflict" and its "ultimate aim was to raise so much dust that government would be forced to clamp down on preachers and preaching." 74 Another organisation, also formed in 1978, was Fityanul Islam, which, in Gummi's disapproving summary, was "formed with the sole aim of protecting the divine sanctity of self-proclaimed saints...the so-called saints were renegades who misinterpreted the teachings of Prophet Mohammed." 75 In present day Nigerian Islam and Christianity, new organisa- tions proliferate, most of them peaceful. To some extent, they reflect the sheer vitality of these world religions in Nigeria, the fer- vour and conviction with which belief is held. Some aspects may be the product of rapid social change, and social polarisation and dislocation. Among well educated Muslims, especially university students, there is an awareness of Islamic movements abroad, especially in and the Near East. This kind of awareness is most articulate in the Moslem Students Society. This religious world, so intensely experienced, produces some bizarre manifestations. In 1984, a letter, written in bad Arabic, was circulating in Kano. It purported to be from the Prophet Muhammed, and had travelled via Wadai and Kukawa to Kano "and from Kano to the whole world." The Prophet said there will be "disaster of the wind, poverty, death of sheep, and ill health of women and men." Prayers were specified to prevent this calamity, and a protective diagram provided, to be either displayed or consumed. 76 The MaitatsineRisings in Nigeria1980-85 205

The Conspiracy Theory

Since immigrants from elsewhere in and especially the Sahel, were undoubtedly very active in the Maitatsine move- ment, it was tempting to see it all as a foreign conspiracy. Contem- porary newspaper accounts of the Kano riots ascribed them to a variety of alien influences-among them the Israel-based al Masifu sect, which had attempted to capture the Ka'aba during the 1979 . The People's Redemption Party ruled Kano State in 1980, and lost much credibility because of the riots-PRP dignitaries claimed that they were the result of a sinister alliance between Awolowo's Unity Party of Nigeria and the Israeli secret service! Others suspected the intervention of Pakistan, Iran, or Ghadaffi's Libya. The Aniagolu Commission found no evidence for any of these theories and rejected them.77 There were other versions of the conspiracy theory. A radical col- umnist explained Maitatsine, most improbably, as a Machiavellian device of the ruling class. "We honestly believe that the riots are a calculated attempt to deliberately remove attention from the dismal facts of life haunting various homes in Nigeria." 78 Nigeria's rulers had their own version of the conspiracy theory. The Gover- nor of Niger State called Maitatsine "a front for a Mafia which is operated, manipulated, directed and financed by unpatriotic Nigerians in connivance with foreign elements to destabilise the country."79 He "dismissed the claim by some people that retrench- ment and lack of employment opportunities had made this group to destroy lives and properties." Similarly, a standard response to any new rising is to blame the Nigerian Security Organisation. To blame the risings on faceless conspirators or on the shortcom- ings of professional security experts is understandable. It is un- palatable to explain them in terms of social deprivation, especially since this deprivation, universally recognised, and poignantly mir- rored by Nigeria's fine cartoonists, is without obvious remedy. To most Nigerians, the recurrence of these risings is, in the words of an editorial in The Standard, "shocking, rocking and unbelievable." Maitatsine has become a bogeyman, and his followers, called "vampires" or "satanic" in the press, haunt the nightmares of little children. One returns to the words of the Aniagolu Commission: 206 Elizabeth Isichei

Because of the very wide gap between the rich and the poor in our socie- ty...they were more than prepared to rise against the society at the slightest opportunity. After all, they did not have much to lose...This regrettable social situation in our society ought to be remedied immediately else it will continue to provide the required recruitment potential for disenchanted men like Marwa to rebel against the society.80

* This paper was originally presented at the New Zealand Religious Studies Association Conference, in Dunedin, August, 1985. It was written in Nigeria, in July, 1985. After I had completed and presented it, I saw the paper by Allan Christelow, "The Yan Tatsine Disturbances in Kano-a search for Perspective", The Muslim World(April, 1985) pp. 69-84. This concentrates on the first rising, and was written before the Yola and Gombe conflicts. While recognising the social aspects of the movement, he places it in the context of West African Mahdist traditions. 1. New Nigerian, 24 Dec., 1980. 2. A. N. Aniagolu (Chairman), "Report of Tribunal of Inquiry on Kano Disturbances (1981) (henceforward A.T.), para. 157. (Mai means master, as in Mai gida, master of the house). On April 20, 1984, a Judicial Committee was set up under the Chairmanship of Justice Muhammadu Lawal Uwai, but its pro- ceedings have not been published-neither have those of the commission of in- quiry appointed on 14th March, 1983, chaired by Muhammadu Jimeta (Times International(Nigeria) 13th May, 1985, New Nigeria. 14th March, 1983). The Judicial Commission of inquiry into the Gombe riots was chaired by Justice Alex Okoye. 3. A.T., paras 142-7, is the "new town" built in northern cities for southerners, in colonial times. 4. Ibid., para. 298, quoting Zainab, his favourite wife. Cf. para 290 for pros- perous followers-"the material concern of the elites who sought spiritual assiatance from him helped Marwa to flourish..." 5. Ibid., para 114. 6. Ibid., para 69. 7. Ibid., para 171. 8. Ibid., para 51. The person was Saidu Rabilu. 9. In an interview in The New Nigerian,7th Nov., 1982. 10. A.T., para 41. 11. Ibid. 12. "Religious riots at Gombe", WestAfrica, 6th May, 1985, p. 876. 13. Official statement by the Federal Government, in The New Nigerian,29th Oct., 1982. 14. R. A. Adeleye, "The Dilemma of the Wazir; The Place of the Risalatal Wazir ila ahl al-ilm wa'l taddabur in the history of the conquest of the ," Journal of the Historical Society of Nigeria, 1968. 15. Quoted in Mervyn Hiskett, The Sword of Truth, the Life and Times of the Shehu Usman dan Fodio, (London, 1973) pp. 164-5. 16. A.T. para 141. 17. Duro Iroiah, reporting on the Gombe riots in The Guardian(Nigeria) 5th May, 1985. TheMaitatsine Risings in Nigeria1980-85 207

18. A.T. para 284. 19. Ibid., para 275. 20. Ibid., para 189. 21. Ibid., para 44. 22. New Nigerian,23 December, 1980. 23. A.T. paras 42, 55 and 227. The present writer was in Jos at the time. 24. New Nigerian,24 December, 1980. 25. A.T. paras 42, 55 and 227. 26. Ibid., para 13. 27. New Nigerian, 11 November, 1982: SundayNew Nigerian, 7th Nov., 1982. 28. Ibid., 11 November, 1982. 29. New Nigerian,28 October, 1982. 30. E. J. Okoli, "More religious rioting in Nigeria," WestAfrica, 8 November, 1982, p. 2873; there are many other references to the mutilation of the dead. 31. New Nigerian,30 October, 1982. 32. Ibid., 24 December, 1980. 33. Ibid., 31 October, 1982. 34. Ibid., 1 November, 1982. 35. Ibid., 3 November, 1982. The Moslem Students Society, originally blamed, denied involvement. (New Nigerian, 13 November, 1982.) 36. Ibid., 6 November, 1982. 37. Ibid., 3 and 4 March, 1984. 38. Ibid., 29 February, 1984. 39. SundayPunch, 19 May, 1985. 40. Ibid., also an article by Duro Iroiah, "just back from Gombe" in The Guar- dian, 15 May, 1985. This is another example of a prosperous supporter. 41. Daily Star, 29 May, 1985. 42. The Standard,11 May, 1985. 43. The Daily Star, 24 May, 1985. 44. The Guardian,16 May, 1985. 45. The Standard,6 May, 1985. One of their gathering points was thought to be behind the University of Jos primary school, in the area called Angwan . On Friday night, still more specific rumours circulated ("It's started in Laran- to")-but proved to be baseless. Shots were heard near Angwan Rogo at dawn on Thursday; I do not know if this was an army exercise, some miles away, as many claimed, or if, as some believed, it was an unpublicised raid on "fanatics"-an example of the difficulty of knowing what is going on, literally, at one's door-step (I was woken by the sounds). 46. New Nigerian,23 December, 1980. 47. The Guardian,5 May, 1985. 48. TimesInternational (Nigeria), 13 May, 1985. The difficulty with this is that it implies that entirely different men were in each rising, which seems unlikely. 49. The Guardian,5 May, 1985. 50. A.T. para. 280, section xix. 51. Ibid., para 280, section v. 52. Ibid., para 198. The Quranic echoes are apparent. 53. Ibid., para 288. 54. Emmanuel Yawe in New Nigerian,7 November, 1982. 55. Duro Iroiah in The Guardian,5 May, 1985. 56. TimesInternational (Nigeria). 13 May, 1985. 57. C. Beer, The Politicsof PeasantGroups in WesternNigeria ( 1976). 58. Chinua Achebe, The Troublewith Nigeria(, 1983), pp. 22-24. 59. A.T. para 291. 208 ElizabethIsichei

60. New Nigeria, 7 November, 1982. 61. "Views of the Government of the Federation on the Report of the Kano Disturbances Tribunal Inquiry" (1981), para. 32. 62. New Nigeria, 17 March, 1984. 63. A.T. para 286. 64. Ibid., para 255. 65. A NSO report in Ibid., para. 334 which gives more detail than the press ac- counts. 66. Ibid. 67. Major-General Tunde Idiagbon's speech was given in extenso in Sunday Standard,28 April, 1985. 68. The Standard,6 May, 1985. 69. Cf. E. K. Okoli "After the Kano Rioting", WestAfrica, 12 January, 1981, p. 53. 70. My account of Yan Izala is based on Muhammad Sani Umar, "Islamic Revivalism Today: the case of Jam'atu Izalat al-Bidah wa ijmac al Sunnah" (Special Project, B.A. in Islamic Studies, University of Jos 1983). 71. The main ones are the Qadiriyya and Tijanniya. For a detailed study of them in the Kano context, of J. N. Paden, Religionand PoliticalCulture in Kano (Berkeley, 1973). 72. I. Idris, A GaneBambancin Gaskzya da Karya,(Jos, 1978), quoted in Umar, p. 47. 73. A.T. para, 280, section xii. 74. New Nigerian, 7 November, 1982. 75. Ibid. 76. New Nigerian, 3rd March, 1984. The English text was obtained via an Hausa translation made by the Chief Imam of Murtala Muhammad Mosque, Kano. The diagram was a rectangle with nine square subdivisions, each bearing an inscription. A writer, in the same paper, 11 March, 1984, compared the Arabic with that of a primary school child. 77. A.T. paras. 190-218. "Foreign Elements in Kano Riots," WestAfrica, 5 Januari, 1981, p. 4; Okoli, loc. cit. (n. 69 above). 78. The Standard,28 May, 1985; similar theories were put forward in The Standardduring the earlier risings. This kind of article shows that there is more freedom of debate in present day (1985) Nigeria than is sometimes suggested. 79. Lt.Col., David Mark in TheStandard, 20 May, 1985. Cf. the comments of the Governor of Bauchi State, Brigadier Mohammed Sani Sami, reported in the same paper, 6 May, 1985-"There must be reactionary forces in highly placed positions behind the Maitatsine phenomenon." 80. A.T. paras. 290-1.