The Palace of the Sultan of Sokoto

Any statement on the Palace of the Sultan must go back to as far back as the emergence of Sheikh Usman Dan Fodio as a Mujaddid in 1774 as a preacher and leader of the jama.a around Degel and its environs. By 1788, the Shehu has made considerable progress in establishing himself as a moral beacon and endeared himself to a large section of the Hausa community preaching against the tyranny and imposition of unjust taxes on the people by the leaders. By 1794 Shehu at the age of 40, had become the quintessential voice, teacher, preacher, leader and scholar in all of West Africa.

This recognition and the prolific rise of the jama’a led to confrontation with tyranny of the Hausa rulers and the quest for the establishment of a new social order.

This led to the hijra in 1804 from Degel to Gudu and the skirmishes and confrontations that were to follow at Tabkin Kwato and other battle fields.

Fast track to the battle of Alkalawa in the fifth year of the Hijra led by Muhammadu Bello as the Commander which led to the final crushing of the Hausa rulers and the beginning of a new epoch. Abdullahi, Shehu’s brother was to lead the Western part of the kingdom at Gwandu and Muhammadu Bello in charge of the Eastern part at Sokoto. The Sheikh remained as the Amirul Muminin but did not take part in administrative duties. He devoted his time to teaching, writing, guiding and counseling the Umma.

In 1815 he moved to Sokoto and died in 1817 at the age of 63.

The Palace in Sokoto became the Headquarters of the Sokoto Caliphate and is now the residence of the Sultan. A magnificent piece of history and architecture worth visiting.