International Journal of Environment, Ecology,

Family and Urban Studies (IJEEFUS)

ISSN(P): 2250-0065; ISSN(E): 2321-0109
Vol. 6, Issue 5, Oct 2016, 1-6
TJPRC Pvt. Ltd.

DAMATURU DISTRICT: A STUDY OF ITS PRE-EMIRATE STATUS (1922-1994)

BAKURA ALKALI ADAM
Department of History, Yobe State University, Damaturu, Yobe, Nigeria
ABSTRACT
This paper analyses events and developments which occurred in Damaturu District in the colonial period. In
Damaturu as in elsewhere, the British created the office of the District Heads from 1902 ad used them to exploit the
human and material resources in Damaturu. The British, for example used the District Heads in collection of taxes from
their subject, organized forced labour for the British, maintained law and order in the district and above all became the
spokesmen of the colonial officers. They were also expected by the British colonial officers to display a high level of
loyalty and obedience to the colonial officers. The net effect of these colonial measures put before the district by the
British put the District Heads in subservient position viz a viz British. They lost their traditional power and this affected
their states considerably. Their powers and influence wanted during the colonial period. In writing this paper, I used
both written and unwritten sources. Written sources used included books and journal articles. I also used a number of
B.A Dissertation and thesis; and, conducted interviews with resource persons all there are acknowledged in the

Stanford University, London. And, finally, the research made use of analytical method of historical writing.
KEYWORDS: Damaturu, District Emirate Status

Received: Jul 22, 2016; Accepted: Aug 17, 2016; Published: Aug 23, 2016; Paper Id.: IJEEFUSOCT20161

Original Article

reference. For the theoretical framework, I used transformation perspective as postulated by George Land of the

INTRODUCTION
THE GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION AND EARLY HISTORY OF DAMATURU
Damaturu town is located one hundred and thirty three kilometers west of Maiduguri, the Borno State
capital. It shares common boundaries with the districts of Kaga in Borno State as well as Damagum and Dapchi in
Yobe State.
Damaturu town is located on latitudes 110N, and longitudes 450N 110E1. The land is largely covered by
shrubs and some tropical trees like baobab, Acacia and Tamarind. Damaturu district was a colonial creation having
come into existence in 1992 when it was created out of Alagarno District of Borno emirate by the British. The
carving of the district followed the conquest of Borno Empire in 1902 by colonial forces under the command
Colonel Morland. 2 When the British brought Borno under its effective control, they decided to reorganize the area
in accordance with the system of indirect rule already in existence in Northern Nigeria.
The indirect rule system which was introduced into northern Nigeria by Lord Fredrick Lugard has been
defined as a system of rule whereby British officials rule the Africans through their native rulers.3 The African
rulers were the bridges between their subjects and the British administrative officers. They collected taxes from
their subjects on behalf of the British colonial government. Apart from collecting taxes for their new masters, the
people of Damaturu District were forced to engage in manual labour for the British. In short, the District Head of
Damaturu was the mouth piece for the British colonial administration, a link between his subjects and the British

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Bakura Alkali Adam

colonial officers. However, for effective administrations the district was placed under Borno Native Authority which was
headed by the Shehu, under the supervision of the Resident of Borno. This means that the appointment of the District Head
of Damaturu was to be recommended by the Shehu of Borno and approved by the Resident of Borno. It should be noted
that the approval or disapproval of a District Head by the Resident was done in consultation with the district officer who
was a supervisor of the district. 4
During the colonial period, the District Heads of Damaturu were appointed among the people of royal descent and
in some cases, any reasonable person of good record or in the good books of the British or a member of the Emirate
council. The first District Head appointed by the British when the District was created in 1922 was one Digma Kura who
assumed office in 1922. He was followed by Mala Mamman (1928-1934) and Zanna Mai Dala Ali (1934-1940). The last
District Head prior to the transformation of the District to an Emirate, was Abba Masta Shehu Sanda Kura (1980-1993)
who was one of the sons of Shehu Sanda Kura who ruled Borno from (1902-1937).
Equally important were the ward Heads (Lawan), and Villege Heads .these included the settlement of disputes
among the people and the maintenance of law and order at the local level. This informed the British to establish a grade B
court or Alkali court in Damaturu town. In addition, there was the Native Authority Police established tom maintain law
and order.

The indirect rule system, however, was such that the traditional rulers were assessed by the British and,

upgraded, according to their ability, loyalty and perceived performance. Whenever a new traditional ruler was given a staff
of office by the British, he must take an oath of allegiance to the British/government. This implies that the traditional rulers
were no longer the sole authority as it was before the coming of British. The British gradually changed the political and
administrative setup of Borno province and this naturally affected the Damaturu District. The British, for example,
removed the name of Barma, who was the acting ward Head from the list of the traditional title holders. Furthermore, the
British colonial administration also abolished the use of Chima or absentee land lords. Again, with the establishment of the
British colonial rule in Borno province, the traditional rulers became salaried staff indicating that they were no longer the
sole authority in the collection of taxes. The British also created offices for the District Heads which were not formerly
provided for. In this way, the British interfered with the old order. Apart from interfering with the political and
administrative set up the British also tempered with the traditional economy as shown in the proceeding pages. For
example, in order to encourage the production of cash crops in the District. The British took some measures aimed at
boosting the economy of the district. One of these measures was the introduction of British currency and direct taxation.
Marketing Boards were also established by the British to regulate the price of farm products, (In the district infrastructure
like the construction of railway lines, motorable roads from the coast in to the northern part of the country were achieved).6
There was, for instance, only one truck A road which passed from Kano to Maiduguri through Damaturu. The British in
1906 constructed these roads to facilitate the movement of goods and raw materials from the interior to the coast and also
introduced new system of revenue generation which affected the district, because it was burdensome.
The 1906 Revenue Proclamation abolished all forms of taxation and introduced Haraji and Jangali. The British
colonialist only allowed Haraji or the community annual tax (poll tax) and Jangali (cattle lax). There was also the 1906
Native Revenue Proclamation.7This Proclamation gave both the British Residents and the District Officers (DO) the
authority to assess their subjects before taxing them. The proclamation also fixed amount of taxes the rulers could collect
from their people. There were special charges or dues paid by Kola nut traders who had stores at motor parks before they
could proceed to outgoing areas. The moneypaid by the traders were collected and paid into the district treasury i.e.

Impact Factor (JCC): 3.7216

NAAS Rating: 3.63

Damaturu District: A Study of Its Pre-Emirate Status (1922-1994)

(Baitaimal) as part of the internal revenue. Furthermore, Damaturu was economically important during the British colonial
rule. This is because it was one of the Gum Arabic collection centers in Homo province. Gum Arabic was brought from
villages surrounding Damaturu town. Some of these were Sasawa, Kabaru, Kalalawa and Maisandari. Gum Arabic was
among the cash crops which the colonialists needed for their home industries. Colonial agents known as Akawu came from
places like Kano Maiduguri, Makurdietc in order to buy Gum Arabic in the Damaturu area.8
It is however, important to mention some of the economic changes which took place during the colonial rule. First
of all, the British abolished some traditional forms of taxation. A good example was the gradual abolition of Binniram
seasonal tax, but other traditional taxes like Haraji (Poll tax) and Jangali (Cattle tax) were retained. Furthermore, the
introduction of currencies during colonial rule and the collection of taxes in currency introduced he the British intensified
the monetization of the Nigerian economy. The gradual transformation of the Nigerian economy led to dependence on
British manufactured goods and this in turn led to the decline oflocal industries. Besides, the British introduced some new
crops such as sweetpotatoes and Irish potatoes using moderninsecticides to prevent these crops from being affected by
disease other changes which took place as a result of the system of indirect rule. The construction of motorable roads,
considerably assisted in the growth and development of Damaturu town. A number of social changes also took in the
District. There were social changes which took place in Damaturu town as a result ofBritish activities in the area. To make
life meaningful to them and their subjects, they embarked on the provision of health care services and building of markets,
provision of pipe borne water and the building of western schools. Provision ofwestern education was one of the social
services which affected the lives of many people in Damaturu town. In particular, the introduction of western education to
Nigeria dated as far back as the coming of Christian missionaries to Nigeria. For instance, the first missionary school was
opened in 1842 at Badagry, Lagos.9 At theinitial stage of colonial rule, missionary schools were only allowed in the
southernpart of Nigeria where the majority of the people were non-Muslims. This was because the Muslim rulers, in
Northern Nigeria were suspicious of the missionaryschools activities.They perceived the introduction of western education
as anattempt to impose Christianity on them; yet in 1914, the district officer requestedfor a primary school to he built in
Damaturu,following this request, a primary school was established in Damaturu in 1922 to carter for the education of
children of the residents of the area. This school was situated on the Western part ofDamaturu along Damaturu Gashua
road. Today; the school is renamed as Central Primary School, Damaturu. There were two sets of teachers in the school,
those who were paid by the British colonial government and those paid by the local treasury in Damaturu.10 One of the
basic reasons for the establishment of primary education in the district was to train the children of the indigenous
population tohelp in the colonial administration in their areas. The British colonial administrators, employed Islamic
scholars as Judges, Arabic teachers and scribes.11Later on, they were gradually replaced by staffs who were trained in
western education. The products of these primary schools were to serve as interpreters, clerks, messengers, and tax
collectors. No effort was made to train Nigerians in social services such as medicine, engineering etc. During colonial rule,
there was onlyone dispensary built in Damaturu town. This dispensary provided services topatients in Damaturu town and
neighboring villages. As years passed by, theBritish colonial administrators passed a PublicHealth Ordinance which made
tanners to lock their pits because it was according to them a nuisance to the society.
In the area of water supply, earth wells were dug in Damaturu town for both human and animal consumption.
Some of these wells were dug in market places and around abattoirs in the district.12This was to enable traders in the
markets and abattoirs to get access to water. In addition to this, a post office and police station were built in Damaturu to
assist in communication and dissemination of information as well as the provision of security to the inhabitants of the area.
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Bakura Alkali Adam

The already existing Arabic literacy which the British met was modified with new methods of reading and writing.
Western education helped in the provision of literacy in a new language (English) which became an official language in
Nigeria. The creation of Damaturu emirate was in the interest of the people of the area. The government responded to the
yearning and aspirations of the people and went ahead to create Damaturu Emirate Council, even though there were
political motives behind the creation of the State.

13

The emirate council contributed its quota in facilitating the

administration of the state by carrying out popular government programmes and by enlightening the citizens. Inthis way,
the Councils role in moving the state forward cannot be overemphasized. The council supported the developmental drives
of the state government in 1992.
Following the creation of Damaturu Emirate in 1994 a number of Emirs has been appointed. The first was Mai
Aliyu Mohammed followed by Alhaji Mai Ali El-kanemi and the incumbent Emir Alhaji Shehu ShehuHashimi who was
installed in 2003 and laterpresented with staff of the office in the same year. He accepted his responsibilities and
challenges before him of offering advice to government. Mobilizing his subjects toembrace government policies and
programmes and maintenance of security, peace and ensuring harmonious co-existence among the diverse people in his
domain.14
Undoubtedly, the creation of Damaturu emirate has brought considerabledevelopment and progress and has even
brought a balance in social justice anddevelopment. Government recognizes true role of Emir as both adviser custodians of
peace and order and security adviser of his domain. He is also considered by thepeople and the government as the Spiritual
father of the area as well as thecustodian of culture and tradition of his subjects in the state.
Among all emirs, since its creation, ShehuHashimi is the most progressive among them. He has immensely
contributed to the development of Damaturu andnot only that, he also succeeded in uniting his subjects irrespective of
tribal and religious differences. It is during his period that Damaturu emirate witnessed therenovation of the emirs palace
as well as the creation of new village units and districts. It also faced a number of challenges which are discussed below.
First of all, the emirate is a miniature replica of the former Borno emirate which has been under the leadership of
the El-KanemiShehus since 1902, and more recently the defunct Ngazargamu emirate which survived from
1998-2000.15Therefore, for a poor district unit like Damaturu and its village units to become anemirate, no doubt, it is
bound to face a lot of challenges associated with democracy, modernity and socio-economic development of the area.
Some of these challenges are the developments associated with the transition from a district statusto an emirate and the
issue of structure of the emirate councils Composition and theappointment of an emir. It was eventually decided that since
the emirate originated from the former Borno Emirate, it should he placed under the leadership of an El-Kanemi of royal
descend. This was a major challenge to the kingmakers because the choice of rightful prince for emirship mattered a lot. 16
Thus, council had to re-organize the transition from the former Gazargamu emirate to Damaturu emirate with 75%
reduction in size, population and socio-economic and cultural status. Damaturu emirate controlled only one local
government with 5% monthlyremittance to the emirate council. However, due to this development, coupled withthe large
size of civil servants, the emirate council has several problems and challenges of staff remuneration, maintenance cost,
travelling allowances of theEmir and his aides and other contingency matters. This means that the Yobe State Government
has to extend her budgetary allocations to the emirate councils through the Ministry for Local Government and Chieftaincy
Affairs and timely allocated of subvention to the emirate council. Another challenge being faced isthat the district and
village heads are no doubt salaried officials of the emirate Council the little amount of revenue generated by the emirate
Impact Factor (JCC): 3.7216

NAAS Rating: 3.63

Damaturu District: A Study of Its Pre-Emirate Status (1922-1994)

council and the subvention of less than six million Naira coming Damaturu local government cannot cater for all financial
needs of the emirate.
Damaturu local government council paid salaries, leave grant, and other emoluments of the emir, district and
village heads and all stall of the emirate council through remittance of account of the emirate council. The Overhead
costwas paid by the state government to the emirate council in accordance with the status of the emirate and budget
estimate the capital projects of the emirate Council is to be financed by the state government actually the relationship
between the emirate Council, local government and the state government is so cordial and appreciable.

17

Another equally

important challenge to the new emirate has to do with the transitional formation to fill must relevant traditional structures
whichrequired the creation of nine new offices and functions couple with new traditional roles to a large number of
interested title holders and courtiers. There was also the challenge of adapting some of the female titles which are also
confirmed to the royal family such as Yagumsu the senior wife of the Shehu, Yamaira Senior Sister and Yadooma younger
Sister to the Shehu. 18

CONCLUSIONS
This paper is in two parts; part one discussed the pre-emirate status of Damaturu while the second part treat the
creation of Damaturu Emirate. The paper observes that Damaturu was initially a district created by the British in 1922 and
transformed to an Emirate in 1991. The District Heads and the Emirs assisted proceeding governments in maintaining law,
order and general peace. They also modified the support of their subjects, in ensuring the success of government
programmes such as taxation, enrolment of pupils into primary schools, immunization exercise, environmental sanitation
etc.
It is as a result of these efforts by Emirs and their officials that the paper concludes that the traditional institutions
must be sustained by the government by the overall development of the state.
Finally, the creation of Damaturu Emirate was carried out in the interest of the people of the area and that the
creation was not an imposition on the people as wrongly perceived by some members of the community.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
List of People Interviewed (Primary Sources)
Name:

DalaBukar

Age:

65Years

Occupation:

Farmer

Place of Interview:

Damaturu

Date of Interview:

14 September, 2011

Name:

Shettima Ibrahim

Age:

- 67Years

Occupation:

Civil Servant

Place of Interview:
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Damaturu
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Bakura Alkali Adam

Date of Interview:

6th July, 2011

Name:

Alhaji IdrissKalallawa

Age:

70 Years

Occupation:

Farmer

Place of Interview:

Damaturu

Date of Interview:

6th July, 2011

Name:

Shehu Hashimi

Age:

56 Years

Occupation:

Emir of Damaturu

Place of Interview:

Emirs Palace, Damaturu

Date of Interview:

14th January, 2012

Name:

Alhaji Maisanda Lawan

Age:

67 Years

Occupation:

Civil Servant

Place of Interview:

Damaturu

Date of Interview:

17th July, 2012

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Tijjani M. The Use and Abuse of Drug (Unpublished) B.A. Project University of Maiduguri, 2002

2.

Garba, A. A Study in Indirect Rule in the Northeastern Community (Unpublished) P.H.D Thesis, University of Maiduguri
1994.

3.

Akungba A. Religious Leadership in Nigeria in Journal of Religion and African Culture vo-12, Nos 1&2, (2006)

4.

Yobe State Diary, 2011.

5.

C. Michael, The Story of Nigeria, London 1974

6.

W.N. MGreay, Nigeria Under British Rule London, 1965

7.

O. Ikime (ed) Groundwork of Nigerian History Ibadan, 1980

8.

L. Brenner, the Shehus of Kukawa, London 1973

9.

Annals of Borno (Maiduguri) vol. 41 1987

Impact Factor (JCC): 3.7216

NAAS Rating: 3.63