Hxmzy

Umaru Bahaushe (c. 1847 to 1856) – The Etsu Nupe That Never Was By 1833, the death of Mallam Dendo at Raba marked the official appointment of Usman Zaki, the second-oldest son of Dendo, as the first Fulani Etsu (Emir of Nupe) in 1833, as Dendo founded the Fulbe dynasty at Raba. No sooner had Usman Zaki emerged as the first Fulbe Etsu at Raba than the problem of consolidation arose within the Dendo family. Intra-dynastic rivalries emerged among Dendo’s sons over the rights and legitimacy of leadership in the newly established dynasty. Mohammad Saba, popularly known as Masaba, the youngest son of Dendo, strongly opposed Usman Zaki’s appointment, leading to a civil war among members of Dendo’s family. The precarious political situation in Nupe attracted the attention of Gwandu under whose sovereignty Nupe was. The Intervention of Gwandu upheld the right of Usman Zaki to rule. Masaba was to return to Lade. However, this and other interventions of Gwandu were far from finding solutions to the political crisis in Nupeland. The implications of these turbulent situations were multi-dimensional. First, the unity and political stability in the newly established Fulbe dynasty were far from being achieved among the Dendo sons. Secondly, members of the old Nupe dynasty had continued to launch campaigns against the new Fulbe dynasty with the hope of regaining their lost political independence. For instance, Majiya’s son and successor is reported to have declared, “I wish to tear Nupeland from the Fulbe clutches and restore it to the children of Edegi.” Thirdly, the uprisings from other Nupe sub-groups also created a consolidation problem. The situation provided an opportunity for certain ambitious people to take advantage of the situation and take over the leadership position. One such personality was Mayaki (War Commander) Umaru Bahaushe. Umaru Bahaushe is believed to have come to Raba as a fugitive after serving under the Borno army, which set out unsuccessfully to overrun some of the eastern emirates of the Sokoto Caliphate. Umaru Bahaushe joined the army of the first Fulbe Etsu, Usman Zaki, in Raba under the command of Mayaki Andi Boshi. He is said to have learnt a lot of military tactics from his master, Andi Boshi. After the death of the latter, Umaru became the Mayaki (war commander), under whom the two surviving sons of his master, Muhammad Shafiyi and Muhammad Balko, served. He led several successful expeditions under Usman Zaki and Masaba respectively. Gradually, Mayaki Umaru became very powerful and popular due to his bravery, courage, and tactics on the warfronts. He, no doubt, attracted more and more followers to his side, which appeared to have made him self-dependent, such that he is reported to have started defying orders and directives from the new Etsu, Masaba—his master. For instance, the former’s directive to fight Mu’azu Isa and Maza, the descendants of Tsoede (the previous Nupe dynasty), who were causing a serious threat to Masaba at Yeti, was disobeyed. Another instance of Mayaki Umaru’s disobedience to Masaba was the former’s request to send a beautiful captive woman to him, as he directed, before Mayaki’s return to the base from the warfront. Masaba did not take this lightly. Not unexpectedly, a strained relationship developed between Masaba and Umaru Bahaushe. The former is said to have enjoyed the support of the Nupes and the Fulani alike, as they flocked to him in droves for protection against Masaba’s "high-handedness". Following this development, a civil war broke out between Masaba and Usman. The latter led his troops from his campaign camp to Lade—Masaba’s capital. In the ensuing battle, Masaba was defeated. Many of his supporters are reported to have left him, joining forces with Umaru’s. The defeat forced Masaba to flee to Ilorin to seek refuge with his co-Jihadists there. The political atmosphere in Nupe became highly charged and confused. A leadership vacuum was created as Dendo’s sons now became scattered—Masaba at Ilorin, Usman Zaki at Gwandu, and Umaru Majigi at Birnin Kebbi. Mayaki Umaru seemed to show his unwillingness, at least initially, to assume the leadership position in Nupe. He appointed Yusuf Tsado Dzuru, one of the grandsons of Dendo. This appointment was resented by the Nupes—Tsoede descendants, who appeared to have been waiting for an opportunity to stage their comeback to power in Nupeland. This led to a series of campaigns by Mayaki Umaru against the Nupe Etsuzhi, including those who initially joined forces with him to defeat Masaba at Lade. The Mayaki eventually became victorious over the Nupe Etsuzhi at the Yeti encounter, in which one of the Etsuzhi, Maza, was killed, while Mu’azu Isa, the other Etsu, managed to escape. The situation now became ripe and appropriate for an ambitious Mayaki Umaru Bahaushe to proclaim himself the “undisputed leader.” This development did not go down well, not only with the descendants of Tsoede, particularly Etsu Mu’azu Isa, but also with the sons of Dendo who were then in exile. News of Mayaki Umaru’s proclamation as Etsu (Emir) and apparent recognition by Emir Halilu of Gwandu went far and wide. The years between 1845 and 1857 witnessed the alignment of forces against Umaru to challenge his candidature. For instance, Umaru Majigi, Dendo’s grandson, was dismayed at Mayaki’s assumption of power as the Emir. In a desperate move, Majigi arrived from Birnin Kebbi/Gwandu, where he had been in exile with Usman Zaki, to declare war on the “usurper.” Umaru Majigi settled on the eastern part of the Kaduna River, a stronghold of the Nupe Bini sub-group. At Bida, then a war camp, Majigi sought and received the support of Etsu Mu’azu Isa (c. 1849–1872) to challenge Umaru Bahaushe. In the first encounter, which took place at Ezhigi and Sakpe, Mayaki inflicted heavy defeats on the allied forces of Umaru Majigi. After this, Majigi adopted a strategy of whipping up kinship sentiment against Bahaushe. The former told people that the latter was not of Fulbe stock, since he was not a descendant of Mallam Dendo, and therefore was not eligible to become Emir. Messages to this effect were sent to other Fulbe, both living within Nupeland and those in exile outside the kingdom. He called on them to return to Nupe for the purpose of eliminating the “foreigner” and “usurper” and restoring the “true” Fulani aristocratic dynasty in Nupe. Umaru Majigi is reported to have pleaded to his fellow Fulbe: “Come now, victory will soon be ours. There is no king of Nupe……. we will sink our differences. The Emirship of Nupe is a matter which concerns every Fulbe (Fulani). Therefore thy brother Usman Zaki must now be made Emir. The victory will be won very soon. Come therefore.” Following the above summons, Usman Zaki returned from Gwandu, where he had been in exile, to join Umaru Majigi, who had earlier returned to Nupe. Zaki was accompanied by a large number of soldiers led by the Waziri of Gwandu, Dan Adama, representing the Emir of Gwandu. The army was to secure the re-establishment of the Fulbe hegemony under the descendants of Mallam Dendo at Raba. The allied Fulbe forces engaged Mayaki Umaru Bahaushe, pursuing him until they got to a small Bini settlement called Bida, a walled city-state serving as a war camp. In a series of encounters, lasting for several years, the rebel was eventually defeated in 1857. He was either killed on the battlefront or drowned while trying to cross the Gbako River near Badeggi, along the Agaie–Lapai road. His body is reported to have been recovered by the pursuing party, and his head was decapitated and exhibited for public viewing on the walls of Bida or Raba, as some sources say. Wherever the exhibition took place, the fact remains that the Mayaki was killed. With this defeat, the descendants of Dendo, in alliance with the Nupe Bini settlements and the shadow Nupe Etsu, Mu’azu Isa, around Bida, had destroyed their most dangerous enemy in Nupe—Mayaki Umaru Bahaushe, “The Etsu Nupe That Never Was.”