Tainted Legacy Islam, Colonialism and Slavery in Northern Nigeria Revised and Expanded Edition 2019

By Professor Yusufu Turaki and Ambassador Monday O Ogbe

This is a revised and expanded edition 2019 of the tainted legacy released in 2017. This new edition included update to the chapters and an addition of Chapter 16 detailing specific ways the latest impact of islamization in having on Northern Christians and minorities.

 

The past twenty years have seen a spate of violent riots a

• Language: English
• Publisher: Midas Touch GEMS
• Release date: Jun 16, 2023
• ISBN: 9781088175293

Book preview

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Tainted Legacy

Islam, Colonialism and Slavery

in Northern Nigeria

Revised and Expanded Edition 2019

Yusufu Turaki

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About The Book

This is a revised and expanded edition 2019 of the tainted legacy released in 2017. This new edition included update to the chapters and an addition of Chapter 16 detailing specific ways the latest impact of islamization in having on Northern Christians and minorities.

The past twenty years have seen a spate of violent riots and other conflicts in Nigeria resulting in considerable numbers of Christian and Muslim dead, of churches and mosques destroyed, of homes and businesses ransacked and burned. These incidents have taken place main- ly in the Middle Belt, where Christians and Muslims are present in approximately equal numbers. Recently, however, we have seen such violence occurring in the northern North itself, where Christians are a small minority. More often than not, Christians have been the targets of Muslim-initiated violence, perpetrated by groups ranging from gangs of young people to fully armed Islamist militias. Attacks by Muslims in the last ten years have killed thousands of Christians.

The climate of intimidation and fear that these repeated conflicts engender adds to an existing situation of anti-Christian discrimination and marginalisation in the North. The vulnerability of Christians has been effectively enshrined in law in twelve northern states, where shari‘a has has become the main source of civil and criminal law since 1999. Despite Muslim promises that Christians will be exempt, expe- rience has repeatedly shown the opposite. The fact that some Islamists are calling for an Islamic state in Nigeria, ruled by shari‘a, is a cause of very serious concern for Nigerian Christians.

This valuable work by Yusufu Turaki shows how the present situa- tion does not arise simply from ethnic differences, as is often suggest- ed, but is deeply rooted in the history of West Africa, dominated as it was by the mighty empires of the Sokoto Caliphate and the Sultanate of Kanem-Bornu and their Islamic colonialism. This Islamic rule was then consolidated by British colonialism, employing Lord Lugard’s policy of indirect rule. The centralised administration of the Fulanis

Tainted Legacy

appears to have appealed to British minds. Lugard himself certainly held that Islam was a superior religion and culture and that the Fulanis’ fairer skins made them natural rulers over the darker pure Africans. Thus the British set Muslims to rule over non-Muslims.

Both the Sokoto Caliphate and the Sultanate of Kanem-Bornu engaged in slave-raiding and slave-trading. The place of slavery in the teachings of Islam is little recognised, and the place of slavery in the practices of West African Muslims still less so. This work most help- fully details these two areas to embed in the reader’s mind beyond any doubt the reality of both.

In recent years violent attacks by Muslims in Nigeria have left thousands of Christians dead. Much of the conflict has occurred in the Middle Belt, and also in the North where the Church is a small and vulnerable minority. Islamic sharia is the main source of law in the North, and some Islamists there are calling for the establishing of an Islamic state.

In this important study Professor Yusufu Turaki traces the origins of the current crisis to the historical impact of Islam on Northern Nigerian society. He discusses the nature and significance of Islamic colonialism and slavery in West Africa, and how their malign influence was entrenched by the British colonial administration of the twentieth century. These practices, he argues, have bequeathed a tainted legacy of discrimination and cruelty to the Christians of Northern Nigeria.

I was most impressed by the content of this book. Yusufu Turaki has spoken the truth and supported it by facts. His evidence is indisputable and his analysis accurate. Christians and Muslims in Nigeria can and should work together for the building of the nation and its people on a foundation of truth and to turn their back on its tainted legacy. This book calls for an honest discussion on the issues of the day in Nigeria.

The Most Rev. Benjamin Kwashi, Archbishop of Jos

In a world where conflict between Islam and the West dominates political, economic and religious news, few things are as important as thorough, well- researched studies of the history that has produced the current situation.

In this volume Yusufu Turaki has produced a superb example of this kind of history, with specific reference to the role of Islam in the development of slavery in Africa. Anyone who would understand the present conflict between Islam and Christianity in Africa must read this book.

Dr Samuel Logan, International Director, The World Reformed Fellowship

Professor Turaki knows this area very well and has taught in this part of the country as well as being involved in church leadership for many years.

He speaks with much first-hand experience of the issues. Anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the role of Islam in Africa and its impact on the slave trade needs to read this important book, but also it speaks into some of the difficult issues we see in the world today.

Malcolm L. McGregor, SIM International Director

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About the author

Rev. Prof. Yusufu Turaki, Ph.D. MNIM, mnc

Yusufu Turaki is a Distinguished Professor of Theology and Social Ethics at the Jos ECWA Theological Seminary (JETS) and Director of the Centre for the Study of Religion, Church and Society (CRCS), He is an ordained Minister with Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA). He is a former Provost of JETS; was General Secretary of ECWA; National Vice-President of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN); Regional Director, International Bible Society, Enugu, Nigeria; Language and Translation Consultant, International Bible Society, Africa Office; and Executive Secretary of Ethics, Peace and Justice Commission of the Association of the Evangelicals of Africa (AEA), Nairobi, Kenya.

He holds a Ph.D. in Social Ethics from Boston University; Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at Yale Divinity School, Yale University, New Haven, Conn., USA; A double major Masters of Arts in Theological Studies (Theology and Ethics), Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, South Hamilton, Mass., USA, Bachelor of Theology, Igbaja Theological Seminary, Igbaja, Kwara State, Nigeria; Higher School Certificate, Bida Government College, Bida, Niger State, Nigeria; West African School Certificate (WASC, Division I), Abuja Government Secondary School, Abuja (Suleja), Niger State, Nigeria.

He was an Associate Research Fellow with National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru; Research Scholar, Research Enablement Programme, Overseas Ministries Study Centre, New Haven, Con., USA; Post-Doctoral Research and Research Fellow, Yale Divinity School, Yale University, New Haven, Conn., USA; Archive Researcher on Christian Missions in Africa (USA, Canada and Nigeria); Theological Advisor, Africa Bible Commentary (ABC), Nairobi, Kenya; General Editor, Hausa Africa Bible Commentary, Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria; Principal Investigator, Research on the Pentecostal Impact in Nigeria, Pentecostal and Charismatic Research Centre, University of Jos, Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria; General Editor Africa Systematic Theology; Chairman ECWA Constitution Review Committee.

He is author of several books, chapters in books, articles, papers and manuscripts in ethics, theology, missions, development, colonialism, Islam, African Traditional Religion, worldview and culture and Nigerian Pentecostalism, books such as, The British Colonial Legacy in Northern Nigeria 1982, 1993); Tribal Gods of Africa (1997); Theory and Practice of Christian Missions in Africa (1999); Tribal Gods of Africa: Ethnicity, Racism, Tribalism and the Gospel of Christ (1997) Christianity and African Gods (1999); Foundations of African Traditional Religion and Worldview (2002, 2006); The Uniqueness of Jesus Christ (20006); Tainted Legacy: Islam, Colonialism and Slavery in Northern Nigeria (2010); The Trinity of Sin (2012), Historical Roots of Ethno-Religious Crises and Conflicts in Northern Nigeria (2017) and Manuscripts such as, The Impact of Pentecostalism in Nigeria; Historical Roots of Crises and Conflicts in Nigeria; Universal Moral Laws: Theistic and Creational Foundations of Morality and Ethics; and Christianity and African Traditional Religion: A Systematic Examination of the Interactions of Religions.

He has personal experience in the following areas: Family; Pastoral and Church; Teaching; Academic, Scholarly and Education Administration; Research; Institutional Development; Church Administration and Leadership at both National and International Levels; Cross-Cultural National and International Experience; Ecumenical Experience at both National and International Levels; Inter-Religious and Islamic Experience; Government and Political Experience; and Bible Translation Experience.

He is a member of various national and international organizations, Boards and Committees. He was member 2014 National Conference, Abuja.

He is married to Deborah and they both have 4 children.

About Yusufu Turaki Foundation And Otakada.Org Digital Publishing

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Preface

This is a revised and expanded edition 2019 of the tainted legacy released in 2017. This new edition included update to the chapters and an addition of Chapter 16 detailing specific ways the latest impact of islamization in having on Northern Christians and minorities.

Many analyses of Northern Nigeria, whether of its politics, econom- ics, religions or culture, have failed to address the impact of Islam on the foundations of the Northern society. Similarly, little has been writ- ten on the Sokoto Caliphate’s legacy of colonialism and slavery and its lasting impact. Tainted Legacy seeks to fill that gap by showing the extent and significance of Islam and the Sokoto Caliphate’s shaping of life in Northern Nigeria. The book also shows how the British colonial administration entrenched the legacy of the Sokoto Caliphate, espe- cially in its discriminatory treatment of non-Muslims. In looking at this legacy, the book also describes some of the roots of the current tensions between Muslims and Christians in Northern Nigeria. Given the current state of tension between Islam and the West, this study of Northern Nigeria is particularly timely.

Islamic colonialism and slavery were crucial in defining the religion, culture, ethnicity and general social life of the region. They played a substantial role in founding and sustaining the Sokoto Caliphate and in shaping the religious, cultural and social relations between the Muslim and the non-Muslim groups in the North. Slave raiding, slave trading and slavery in the Sokoto Caliphate were not just traditional human phenomena, but were incorporated into Islamic beliefs, teachings and practices, including the jihad, and were given a profound theological definition and justification. Slavery assumes a new meaning when it is rooted in religious dogma and scriptures. So the historical effects of both jihad and slavery have been profound.

The intent of this book is not to arouse any religious, social or eth- nic commitments or hostilities. It is rather to illuminate the nature and effects of religion, racism or tribalism (ethnicity) in human

Tainted Legacy

relationships. People can use religion (or anything else) to denote a person who is different from them, and can then treat that person in the light of their own definition. All humans create or adopt ideolo- gies, dogmas or precepts that shape how they deal with their fellow human beings – for good or for evil. Religion has the capacity to pro- mote, enhance and protect human life, and the capacity to maltreat, harm and destroy it. Humanity must protect itself against the excesses of religion, racism and tribalism (ethnicity). This book demonstrates how human beings can treat others in the light of their own religion, racism and ethnicity.

My interest in Islam, colonialism and slavery in Northern Nigeria dates back to discoveries I made while doing doctoral studies at Boston University in the late 1970s and early 1980s. My focus was British colonial policies, administrative practices and attitudes towards the Muslim and the non-Muslim groups of Northern Nigeria. While I was doing research in government and mission archives, it became appar- ent to me that other movements had also left a legacy in Northern Nigeria: Christian missionaries, the Traditional Religion, and Islam and the Sokoto Caliphate. I could see the value of writing on all four movements.

In 1993, I published my dissertation on the first of the legacies: The British Colonial Legacy in Northern Nigeria: A Social Ethical Analysis of the Colonial and Post-Colonial Society and Politics in Nigeria. Then in 1999, I wrote a book on the missionary legacy: Theory and Practice of Christian Missions in Africa: SIM/ECWA History and Legacy in Nigeria, 1893–1993 (1999). In 2002 and 2006, I was able to write on the third legacy, that of African Traditional Religion, and produced Christianity and African Gods: A Method in Theology (1999) and Foundations of African Traditional Religion and Worldview (2002, 2006). Now in Tainted Legacy I have presented the impact of Islam and the Sokoto Caliphate on of Northern Nigeria, both in the past and today.

***

I have received encouragement from various people on this impor- tant research project. I would not have moved into it as quickly as I did were it not for the timely intervention of my good friend Dr Patrick Sookhdeo. He provided both encouragement and funds for this

Preface

project through the Christian and Spiritual History Foundation. This I acknowledge with profound gratitude.

Mr Paul Todd of SIM Nigeria contributed immensely both with coun- sel and by providing the initial bibliography for this project. Our con- tinuous discussions and interactions have helped to shape the contents of this book. My appreciation for this kindness from a dear friend.

Mr Samuel Peter Aruwan, a young scholar, was instrumental in the success of my research at the Arewa House, Kaduna. Some valuable materials were gathered and some photocopied. It was a delight to work with such a young and promising scholar who knows not only the people of Nigeria, but also its key places and contemporary events. I thank Samuel and the management of the Arewa House, Kaduna for making available to me very valuable materials for this research.

I also appreciate the use of other sources of valuable primary mate- rial: the National Archives, Kaduna and the mission archives of the SIM in Toronto, Canada, and in New Jersey and Charlotte, North Carolina, USA.

The Miango Rest Home near Jos, Nigeria, which belongs to SIM/ ECWA, was an ideal place for