Sokoto: “King of War’” marks 20th anniversary on the throne, By Tadaferua Ujorha

As Sarkin Yakin Gagi marks 20 years on the throne, he looks at his multi-cultural household and concludes that a future Sarkin Yaki may even have European roots, by reason of mixed marriages within the family. -One arm of the family has blood from Dublin in Ireland! His late father had a Yoruba wife and a brother married from Edo state, while yet another married from Cross River. This is a very mixed family with roots spread all over Nigeria.

Umar Sani Jappi comes from a long line of warriors. He is Sarkin Yakin Gagi. This is a community in the Sokoto South local government area. He speaks about his lineage: “Yerima Sambo was the first Sarkin Yaki. My father, grandfather, and great-grandfather all bore the title Sarkin Yaki.”

● Turbaned in 2005

2025 marks his twentieth year on the throne of his forebears, and there are symposia, prayers, drumming, and merriment to mark the event. He goes down memory lane, “I was turbanned in January 2005. At that time, I was advised to be very sincere in whatever I was doing. I was also advised not to conspire with anybody to cheat people, and also that I should do everything to remain self-reliant, so as not to rely on anybody’s wealth, or divert their resources for my personal use.”

● “A future Sarki may be half caste”

His family is multi-cultural, multi ethnic and even has some European blood. His words, “My elder brother is married to a lady from Cross Rivers state. She is an Assistant Superintendent of Police. Her first son is serving in the Nigerian military. He is a soldier working in Kaduna. One of my brothers is married to a Yoruba lady, and they have 7 children. I have another brother who married a lady from Edo State. She has many children, too. Her daughter is married to somebody living in Dublin, Ireland. This, therefore, means that among the next generations of Sarkin Yaki, a future king could be a half caste.”

● “My late father had a Yoruba wife”

Intermarriage is common in the family. According to Sarki, “We have a robust family relationship. My father married a Yoruba lady before he married my mother. Most of my elder brothers are children of the Yoruba mother, and I believe one of them could be Sarki tomorrow. Also, as I said, a future Sarki could be half-caste. Intermarriage has done well here in Sokoto, and I believe this is why we are growing here in Gagi as a flourishing and prosperous community. A future Sarki will likely emerge from this mixed group.”

● Multi-cultural Gagi

Gagi itself is a multi-cultural community “I have never known a time when Gagi had a limited number of inhabitants. They keep coming because of the opportunities that abound here. We have educational, health, and economic empowerment opportunities. The topography of Gagi is beautiful, and then there is the presence of security agencies, “ says Sarki, adding, “We are close to the army barracks. We are also close to the air force, as well as civil defence organisations. We have a lot of opportunities that attract people to Gagi.”

● Small Nigeria

A part of Gagi has been named Small Nigeria. This is a reference to the huge concentration of diverse groups from different parts of the country who reside there.
“In Salame, we have a mini-Nigeria. All tribes have their representatives here. We love one another. If you go to the old airport area of Gagi, you would think you are in Offa or Enugu, because of the huge concentration of people from these cities. That is why I involve them in my council”, says Gidado Umar, Ubandawakin Salame.

● Hundreds of Churches

There are hundreds of churches in Gagi. Sarkin Yaki says, “I believe the churches in Gagi are up to 200. If you count 100 churches today during a visit, by the time you come next year, they will have multiplied. If community people find it necessary to sell the land to any Nigerian who wishes to buy, we cannot deny him the purchase of land or to build infrastructure. This is what encouraged them to establish more religious institutions, as well as more economic centres. All of these are situated in the international trade fair market. That is the area where most of the churches are located.”

● Story of Yerima’s

He explains, “Before Sarkin Yaki, we had the traditional chieftaincy, named after Yeriman Gagi. There were seven Yerima’s in Gagi. Yerima number eight was the first Sarkin Yaki. During the war, he was upgraded by the then Sultan Muhammadu Dendo, who appointed him as Sarkin Yaki. He was first crowned as Sarkin Yaki on the battlefield. He was the 8th Yerima and became the first Sarkin Yakin Gagi. He transitioned from Yerima to the title of Sarkin Yakin Gagi. I am the IIth Sarkin Yakin Gagi on the throne.”

● New weapons

Jappi agrees that today, even though he is Sarkin Yaki, the weapons of war have changed. Whereas his forbears used simple farming tools, swords, shields and spears, different tools are used today by the holder of the title. In other words, the analog world or old way of doing things is being replaced by digital systems, and Sarkin Yaki lies smack in the middle of this new time. In other words, the role of Sarkin Yakin Gagi is now quite different from what it was some 200 years ago

● Digital world

According to him, “The war is on, but the tools used are different. There are new tools, as well as new frontiers to explore. The role of Sarkin Yaki has changed somewhat. Before, owing to the feudal system of agriculture, our ancestors were peasant farmers, but today, we are investing in mechanised agriculture. That is a major difference. We are moving from the analog to being digitalised, which is why I am speaking to my people about artificial intelligence. We are putting our children on the new path so that they will succeed in life. This is the nature of the war we are engaged in. In everything, the computer is central.”

● Expansion in education

There has been an expansion in terms of education in his household. He uses his family to set an example for the Gagi community. His words, “My younger sister just returned from Malaysia, where she studied Human Resources. She went all the way to Malaysia to study for four years.” This is a huge message to his people.

● India-Sokoto

He explains, “My biological child is currently in India studying Clinical Pharmacy. My daughter just earned a degree in Medicine at Usman Dan Fodio University, Sokoto. Another daughter of mine is studying Nursing and Midwifery at the Teaching Hospital, Sokoto. My second child is pursuing Criminology and Security Studies at UDUS. The younger ones are in expensive private schools here in Sokoto.”

● Empowering people

Sarkin Yaki has a vision for the future. He wishes to move his community forward “I believe we are investing. We are impacting in terms of education. When our people are educated, they are then empowered and will be able to confront challenges occurring in the contemporary world. This explains why we are investing in the education of our wards.”

● One primary school

There has been an expansion in terms of education “When I was turbanned here in Gagi we had only one primary school. Today, I have more than 4 senior secondary schools in Gagi. We also have the national Almajiri pilot school, which was inaugurated by President Goodluck Jonathan. It is a very historic Almajiri school. Formerly, we had a College of Nursing Sciences, domiciled in our community. But zero community members were graduating from that school. Now women are fully participating and graduating from the school.”

● Merriment in Gagi

It is a sunny morning. The square in front of the palace at Gagi, Sokoto state, slowly fills up. Sarkin Yakin Gagi is marking his twentieth anniversary on the throne. Men, women, children with bright eyes, titled men in royal attire, and visitors from far and near begin to fill the area. Colourfully dressed musicians arrive, with rich, energetic voices, endless poetry and drums. All of a sudden, they begin to beat the drums, and they turn either left or to the right, with their hands forming a magnetic connection with the drums. It is a wedding of fingers and drums which unite to create auditory pleasure. The men produce stirring music using the Kotso, a popular local drum common across Hausaland, as they sing. Their voices rise and fall, and gently cut through the air, which has space enough for any song. Seated at a little distance, trumpeters with long, glowing trumpets patiently wait. A few days later, children from schools within Gagi congregate within the same square to congratulate Sarkin Yaki. It is another colourful and uplifting moment.

● Sultan’s Musician

“My name is Mohammed Faru, Chief singer at the Sultan’s palace, as well as the Faru district. We are the Sultan’s musicians, and we do not perform for anybody but only for someone who is a chief or a traditional ruler. We came here to celebrate Sarkin Yaki, because I was invited here to perform as part of events marking his twentieth anniversary on the throne. We are here to perform and to entertain.” The dark, well-built Faru has a sense of humour, as well as a good memory, a gift essential to his craft. As the ceremony gets underway, it turns out that he is a good dancer, too.

● Chief Singer

He continues, “My father was a praise singer to the Sultan. I come from a family of musicians who sing for the Sultan. I am the chief singer at the Sultan’s palace, and I am known as Sarkin Makadan Faru. This drum is the Kotso. It is a drum beaten to perform for the royals. We have different drums used during a performance.”

● Performances

Later on the same day, there is a series of cultural performances at a secondary school in Gagi, put up by various cultural groups in Gagi, with some performers coming from Yabo. Gbagyi, Tiv, Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa, Yan Tauri, and Fulani troupes were present and delighted the audience considerably with their beautiful dances, songs and the dancers from Yabo did a remarkable dance, wielding swords, which are symbols of defence during the war. The group is known as Mayakan Yabo.

● Women participation

Sarkin Yaki speaks on women’s participation in the household as well as the community “In a conservative northern state like Sokoto, with religious sensitivity, the man is the major decision maker in family and community. Men deny women participation, but we have tried to bridge the gap between the man as the head of the family, and to allow women to participate, to allow women in some decision making in the family, as well as community decision making. We have now made substantial improvements in women’s participation. Before my coronation, you could not have 10 % of women coming out to participate. As I am speaking to you, women’s participation now in this community is a hundred per cent.”

● GBV

His words “If I want to see all the women in this community today, in one hour you will have more than one thousand women gathered here for activities, whether it is economic empowerment, education, health matters, security and safety, prevention and response to GBV. The number of women reporting their husbands to me if they are abused has increased. If they abuse them, I will call the husband and reconcile them. This has happened many times.”

● Family planning

He opens up on family planning “If we invest in our population, we capitalise on more investment and marry the number of wives that we can take care of. Religion allows us to marry up to four wives, but it also advises us to stay with one. We advise people that they should not marry a woman they cannot take care of, or have children whom they cannot cater for.” He reasons “ They will become victims of negative circumstances and embrace social vices. We have created the sensitisation that couples should embrace family planning. We guide them on how they can use family planning to improve the quality of life, through adhering to the number of children they can take care of.”

● Vulnerable mothers, vulnerable children

Jappi explains, “An educated mother will produce an educated population, but a vulnerable mother will deliver vulnerable children. When the mother is empowered, she will also have beautiful children, with sound education, health care, good moral upbringing. But if the children are denied access to education, or access to health, they become the raw materials for banditry and counterinsurgency.”
‘Children, we can cater for’
His vision for the future is “I plan to see that we have a sizeable number of productive populations, not violent populations. You can achieve this through mobilising people to fear the Almighty, to be sincere, with their wives and children. They will marry in such a way that they are sincere to their wives and children. When we have the head of the household adhering to his capacity, we should do our task. If we cannot do our task, then we should not marry more wives. We should not generate a number of children that we cannot take care of. When you deny youths employment, they will employ themselves. The population is of two types; the choice is ours. There is population for development, and population for destruction.”

● Sarki’s daughter

“I want him to continue supporting the poor and orphans. I want him to shine. Gagi is a peaceful place, where you can find people from many tribes and cultures. We are a tolerant people. We are peaceful and we accommodate people,” says Hauwa Mohammed Sani, a daughter of Sarkin Yaki, who is present at an afternoon of cultural performances.

● Military Hospital

“I am about to write a book on the history of the military hospital, Sokoto, the first person I will mention in the book is Sarkin Yakin Gagi. How I met the Sultan, including Sarkin Sudan and many others, was with the help of Sarkin Yakin Gagi. Today, Sarkin Yaki is now 20 years on the throne. The military hospital that existed in the town until it was moved back to the barracks by the military authority came into being through his hard work. It came about through his hard work. It was Sarkin Yakin Gagi who originated the idea of the military hospital,” says Colonel Igwe Amara (Rtd), during an interview.

Colonel Amara says, “Gagi is home to all the non-Hausa speaking groups in Sokoto state. Almost all the churches that I have known in Sokoto state are in Gagi district. I think there are one or two in Wurno or Goronyo, but the rest are located here.”

● “Child spacing:

Amara sheds light on health interventions in the area “Sarkin Yakin Gagi was the first of the district heads to embrace child spacing in Sokoto state. When every other district had their doubts about it, saying it is not good, that it is opposed to religion, he openly canvassed for it. He started the female development initiative in the state, and now every other person is just keying in. Child spacing is part of it. In other words, advocacy was made such that people will space childbirth in a way that it will not affect the health of a woman. He was the first to initiate this. Today, he is the ambassador of child spacing for the UN.”

● Transforming children

“I am migrating from the analog world to the digital world to create prosperity for my community, for my people, to ensure I deliver service, and that I deliver on my mandate. If you go to the health facility, to schools, if you see the women who are befitting. The way I am transforming my children and youths, it is hard for you to find youths involved in vices in Gagi. The way I bring people of different ethnicities and religions in Gagi, is another front in the war. We unite, bringing pastors, Imams, the physically challenged, women, bringing everybody together as a structure. Last year, we generated N300,000 to support Christians at Christmas. We also do the same for Muslims during the month of Ramadan,” adds Jappi.

Over the years the seat of Sarkin Yaki has undergone significant transformations. As Sarkin Yaki he may wield a sword from time to time, and his office naturally demands this. However, his shield and sword are not just physical tools, but are rather mental, ideological, and are at once inclusive and electronic, using the vehicles of debate and persuasion. In other words, the human voice is a useful weapon in his arsenal. This may not have been so a few centuries ago, when his forebears ruled as Sarkin Yaki. It can be said that he wields this new type of sword with wisdom and humility.

■ Ujorha is a freelance journalist. He was in Sokoto.