Hello folks,

I am from Senegal, and am also a big fan of everything Nigeria and have been learning a lot, lurking in these threads and reading the posts. I hope that I will learn much much more. I have read Samuel Johnson's A History of Yoruba (but was told that it was too biased towards the Oyo and Christian perspective), Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart (that Okonkwo guy is just too intense) and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Half of a Yellow Sun about the Biafra war (heartbreaking with resilient female characters, cf. Kainene and Olanna). But also Northern Nigeria's history.

I have been reading Sultan Bello's Infaq al-Maysur, some poems by Shehu Usman dan Fodio, and hope to grab someday Waziri Junaidu's History of Sokoto (in English). I look forward to reading Wole Soyinka [not a big fan of plays, to be honest] and Ken Saro Wiwa's Soza Boy. If you have lecture suggestions, please share them with me.

So about my question. I have long thought that Muhammad Bello (1781-1837) was the eldest son of Shehu Usman (1754-1817) because he was the one that succeeded him as Sultan (or took the title of Sultan by inheriting of his barakah) until I read that he was his fourth son, born of his third wife. So, I was able to piece out some of his elder brothers but do not know the order.

There was one Muhammad Sa'ad [Bello mentions that a Saad, who used to be a flagbearer of Shehu's jama'at died at the battle of Tabkin Kwatto in 1804]
and a Muhammad Sambo [who apparently was alive during Bello's rule, and was thus skipped]

I don't know who's Bello's other elder brother. Another son of the Shehu, Muhammad Buhari, was a candidate for Bello's succession in 1837 but I was under the impression that he was Sultan Bello's younger brother, as was Abubakar Atiku.

So this might be useless to you folks, but I would be grateful if anybody could enlighten me in this issue. It is not a matter of national interest, but I would just like to know.

Thanks,

Maybe Radoillo or fulaman198 can help.

My brother thanks for educating me.

I only know of four sons in this order of seniority : Muhammadu Bello, Abubakar Atiku, Muhammadu Buhari and Ahmadu Rufa'i.

There were certainly others, but I don't know anything about any surviving son older than Muhammadu Bello.

MorrowCaligari:
Maybe Radoillo or fulaman198 can help.

I hope so. Had a nice chat with Fulaman198 yesterday

Cholls:
My brother thanks for educating me.

Be my guest. Knowledge is power

Radoillo:
I only know of four sons in this order of seniority : Muhammadu Bello, Abubakar Atiku, Muhammadu Buhari and Ahmadu Rufa'i.
There were certainly others, but I don't know anything about any surviving son older than Muhammadu Bello.

So Muhammadu Buhari was indeed younger than Bello and Atiku. Thanks.
I too, knew only of these four sons until some years ago when I read a fatwa about a succession crisis in an emirate in Mali, where the case of Muhammed Bello and Muhammad Sambo was mentioned. The mufti said in that opinion that Sambo was elder but was skipped in favour of Bello.

And recently, I discovered that Bello was Shehu's fourth son. Sa'ad and Sambo being the eldest.
About the fourth son, it could be that he died early in his childhood, before writing anything or doing any notable deed. Nana Asma'u's twin brother Hasan, died at the age of 24 in 1817, yet we know that he was a notable poet.

GorkoSusaay:




So Muhammadu Buhari was indeed younger than Bello and Atiku. Thanks.
I too, knew only of these four sons until some years ago when I read a fatwa about a succession crisis in an emirate in Mali, where the case of Muhammed Bello and Muhammad Sambo was mentioned. The mufti said in that opinion that Sambo was elder but was skipped in favour of Bello.

And recently, I discovered that Bello was Shehu's fourth son. Sa'ad and Sambo being the eldest.
About the fourth son, it could be that he died early in his childhood, before writing anything or doing any notable deed. Nana Asma'u's twin brother Hasan, died at the age of 24 in 1817, yet we know that he was a notable poet.

Wow! You must have access to some really good books and documents! You should hook me up. Give me some titles to go check out. I didn't even know Nana had a twin brother!

There were a Sa'ad and a Muhammadu Sambo who died early in the jihad. I wonder if they are the same people who were supposed to be sons of Usman Dan Fodio. Although the materials that I have seen that mention these two men (Sa'ad and Sambo) did not say they were sons of, or in any way related to, Usman Dan Fodio.

Radoillo:


Wow! You must have access to some really good books and documents! You should hook me up. Give me some titles to go check out. I didn't even know Nana had a twin brother!

There were a Sa'ad and a Muhammadu Sambo who died early in the jihad. I wonder if they are the same people who were supposed to be sons of Usman Dan Fodio. Although the materials that I have seen that mention these two men (Sa'ad and Sambo) did not say they were sons of, or in any way related to, Usman Dan Fodio.

I'm trying to read more about Sokoto and northern Nigeria. I was surprised to discover about these other siblings (to Bello, Atiku, Asma'u and Ahmadu Rufa'i) in my lectures, but they were all very scholarly as Shehu, Waziri Abdullahi and Bello were.

I began with Johnston's The Fulani Empire of Sokoto (http://www.webpulaaku.net/defte/hasJohnston/toc.html) and from there hopped to other ones such as Jean Boyd's The Caliph's Sister: Nana Asma'u 1793-1865 (https://books.google.ca/books?id=AVbbAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA6&lpg=PA6&dq=Hasan+twin+Nana+Asma%27u&source=bl&ots=XAj8QH99li&sig=Y4DvwE2lB_tKwdYG2fjmD0aOcGI&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjIqOWMv8_JAhXH44MKHbtSDa4Q6AEIJTAC#v=onepage&q=Hasan%20twin%20Nana%20Asma'u&f=false) and other primary sources written by Sakkwatanci (Sultan Bello's Infaq al-Maysur among others).

In the link to Jean Boyd's book, Nana Asma'u and Hasan were described as the 22nd and 23rd children. And apparently, many of the Shehu's children by his first wife (who was also the mother of Sa'ad, Hasan and Asma'u) died in their youth.

Are you from Northern Nigeria by the way?