The proud horsemen of the Sokoto Caliphate strained to rein in their skittish steeds as the horns blared and the sun beat down from a cloudless blue sky onto the parched earth of the field of honor.
Nearby the black-turbanned camel riders found it easier to control their placid mounts as the beat of the war drums mounted in intensity, and the wailing voices of thousands of Muslim pilgrims rose in song.
The Grand Durbar called to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Shehu Usman Dan Fodio's jihad to unite the Islamic emirates of west Africa deliberately recalled his skill in war, but Nigerians see in his legacy a hope for peace.
PHOTO: AP
For while the first caliph's campaign was led by 25,000 desert warriors, the inheritance he left to an empire spanning 650,000km2 was one of learning, tolerance and the rule of law.
"It is never too late to return to those values," said Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, a southern Christian who on Sunday donned the turban of a northern Muslim lord and mounted a nomad's warhorse.
As he and Sultan Muhammadu Maccido Abubakar III cantered through the dust and the wildly cheering crowds, an army of sword-wielding infantrymen, drum-beating camel riders and splendidly robed horsemen surged behind them.
Each royal house from the three dozen emirates united during Dan Fodio's long ride to victory was represented in the multicolored tunics worn by dozens of tribes -- Hausa, Fulani and Touareg -- from across the region.
Proud as they are, the warriors bowed respectfully as they passed the bicentary durbar's guests of honor: 200 traditional rulers, the presidents of Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Ghana and envoys from as far as distant Senegal.
Dust from the parade ground was mixed with acrid black smoke as volleys of musket fire rang out among the revellers, who had come to renew two centuries of allegiance to the sultan, ruler of this ancient Nigerian city.
Many Nigerians feel they need to return to the values promoted by Dan Fodio, whose caliphate rescued the region from the whims of local feudal lords and built a society built on learning, Shariah law and social equality.
With today's Nigeria and other parts of the caliph's former west African realm sinking deeper into poverty and beset by corruption, lawlessness and ethnic strife, Sultan Maccido feels his countrymen should look to the past.
"For our part we will continue to preach peaceful co-existence irrespective of our religious and cultural differences," the monarch told the crowd and, through television, the rest of his tens of millions of followers.
Both the sultan and Obasanjo lamented a recent upsurge in violence between Nigeria's Muslims and Christians -- which has left hundreds dead in the past two months alone -- and called for peace and understanding.
Then they mounted their horses, draped in the extravagant finery of desert notables, followed by footmen supporting white, brocaded canopies.
The display recalled a battle fought on the very same field in 1903 when Sultan Attahiru I took on the British Empire in the Battle of Gingiwa.
The sultan's last stand cost him his temporal power, but his successors continued to serve as spiritual leaders under empires, dictators and latterly elected rule.
Four contenders are squaring up to succeed Antonio Guterres as secretary-general of the UN, which faces unprecedented global instability, wars and its own crushing budget crisis. Chile’s Michelle Bachelet, Argentina’s Rafael Grossi, Costa Rica’s Rebeca Grynspan and Senegal’s Macky Sall are each to face grillings by 193 member states and non-governmental organizations for three hours today and tomorrow. It is only the second time the UN has held a public question-and-answer, a format created in 2016 to boost transparency. Ultimately the five permanent members of the UN’s top body, the Security Council, hold the power, wielding vetoes over who leads the
A humanoid robot that won a half-marathon race for robots in Beijing on Sunday ran faster than the human world record in a show of China’s technological leaps. The winner from Honor, a Chinese smartphone maker, completed the 21km race in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, said a WeChat post by the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area, also known as Beijing E-Town, where the race began. That was faster than the human world record holder, Ugandan Jacob Kiplimo, who finished the same distance in about 57 minutes in March at the Lisbon road race. The performance by the robot marked a significant step forward
An earthquake registering a preliminary magnitude of 7.7 off northern Japan on Monday prompted a short-lived tsunami alert and the advisory of a higher risk of a possible mega-quake for coastal areas there. The Cabinet Office and the Japan Meteorological Agency said there was a 1% chance for a mega-quake, compared to a 0.1% chance during normal times, in the next week or so following the powerful quake near the Chishima and Japan trenches. Officials said the advisory was not a quake prediction but urged residents in 182 towns along the northeastern coasts to raise their preparedness while continuing their daily lives. Prime
HAZARDOUS CONDITION: The typhoon’s sheer size, with winds extending 443km from its center, slowed down the ability of responders to help communities, an official said The US Coast Guard was searching for six people after losing contact with their disabled boat off the coast of Guam following Typhoon Sinlaku. The crew of the 44m dry cargo vessel, the US-registered Mariana, on Wednesday notified the coast guard that the boat had lost its starboard engine and needed assistance, Petty Officer 3rd Class Avery Tibbets said yesterday. The coast guard set up a one-hour communication schedule with the vessel, but lost contact on Thursday. A Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules aircraft was launched to search for the six people on board, but it had to return to Guam because of
RSS