For centuries, an unbroken, often unofficial cord exist between Nigeria and Sudan. The ongoing internal has seen largely undocumented Nigerians mostly the ancient Sudanese Hausa communities leaving the war torn country, many heading towards Nigeria. In this report, Adewale Adeoye writes on the unforeseen impact the crisis may have on Nigeria.
The ripples of the war in Sudan, some 4000 kms away, may soon be felt in a unique way in Nigeria. Keen observers fear that very soon, locals may begin to see droves of Sudanese on the streets, in their neighbourhoods, on the plains, on high and lowlands across the country especially if the war in the horn of Africa, between the Sudanese Army led by General Abdel Fathah al-Burhan and General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo of the Rapid Support Group continues.
The Hausa are found across Sudan but most prominent in Darfur, Al-Jazira, Kassala, Gedaref and in the Blue Nile area. In Sudan, the Hausa population is estimated to be between 10 to 14 million. They speak both Hausa and Arabic and have lived in Sudan for over 500 years but many retain their Nigerian ancestry.
For over 500 years, they have been part of the Sudanese history, culture and politics even though the indigenous population often resent their dominion. Only last year, the Hausa community in Sudan revolted, demanding that they be recognised as indigenous holders of land in the Blue Nile leading to the death of more than 100 mainly unarmed people. No fewer than eight people were killed, Trayo Ali, a Sudanese wrote I a detailed account . The resentment did not diminish their place in Sudanese history. So many reasons account for the huge Hausa population in Sudan.
In the fourteenth, through the seventeenth centuries, Muslims from what is now Nigeria travelled by camel or horses to Mecca. Passing through Sudan was important in the often long and arduous trip for the holy pilgrimage. Thousands of mainly Hausa pilgrims, caught by adventure and the search for knowledge, took Sudan as home.
Many Hausa traditional warriors in the Army of Uthman Dan Fodio to execute the 1804 Jihad were said to have fled Northwards including towards Sudan following the British conquest of the Sokoto caliphate in early 1903. At present, the population of Sudan is 44 million with Hausa representing some 20 percent. With the war, many are looking towards Nigeria as the next place to flee.
Already, the impact is being felt by Mutkah Suleiman, 59. He has eight (8) children. He was caught in the mayhem at ‘Zongo Hausa’, a community in Khartoum where Hausa people of Nigerian descent had lived for decades.
In an online chat with our correspondent, Suleiman insists that he would be leaving Sudan as soon as the coast is clear.
“We are exploring the possibility of going through Chad to Nigeria with my family”. Suleiman’s grandfather originally came from Zaria and had settled first in Darfur in the late 1800 before moving to Khartoum in 1906. “We live in Zongo, over 90% of families here are from Nigeria, even though we have been living in Sudan for more than a century we retain our family ties in Nigeria” he said.
‘The Nigerian government needs to show more than cursory interests in the war in Sudan. The displacement may see millions of Hausa in that country return to Nigeria, considered their ancestral home’, Mr Sina Odugbemi, an official of the Human and Environmental Development Agenda, (HEDA) told The Nation. Odugbemi is not a stranger to trans-Saharan migration. He once travelled to Libya from Nigeria, by road, passing through the desert in a six month journey which most outstanding price was his ability to learn how to speak Arabic. The activist who was the head of a Nigerian civil rights delegation that met late Mumamar Quadaffi in 2011 at a hut located in a Tripoli military barracks, during which our this writer also met with the Libyan strongman, gave similar warning at the break of the Libyan war. ‘When we returned to Nigeria in 2011, I warned that the crisis in Libya would affect stability in Nigeria, but no one listened’ he told our correspondent on Tuesday adding that today, extremists in Northern Nigeria not only source some of their weapons from Libya but also hire some of them in the former Libyan Army as mercenaries. Our correspondent recall the meeting with Ghadaffi with nostalgia. Scores of soldiers of Nigerian origin were identified in the Ghadaffi team of guards while in the Libyan army at the time, there were Nigerians who already rose to the rank of a General, some of who our correspondent met at a dinner in skyhigh Corinthia Hotel before the outbreak of the war.
‘With the raging war in Sudan, many people in that country of Nigerian descent, who settled there centuries ago are looking up to Nigeria as their most potent save haven’ a diplomat who does not wish to be named told The Nation.
A Professor of Philosophy at the University of Port Harcourt, Lucky Akaruese told our correspondent that Nigeria shares boarder with Chad Republic and Chad will inadvertently host hundreds of thousands of Sudanese refugees and that Nigeria cannot immune itself from such pressure that Chad must of necessary contend with.
‘Another possibility is that if RPF is defeated and decimated, some of its fighters could escape to Nigeria and possibly join groups like Boko Haram, which will further complicate our present situation. The reality as at today is that the variables are legion and Nigeria’s political leaders must brace themselves for any eventuality’ Akaruese said. While the Hausa are fleeing Sudan, the nearby countries are less attractive.
In Chad, for 13 years, conflict has reigned with some 5.6m believed to be at the risk of a major food crisis while another 2.9m are internally displaced. Niger and Mali face similar situation compounded by climate change, desertification and violent scramble for natural resources compelling many to migrate to Nigeria. With the crisis in Sudan, the situation may even get worse. Most if not all the Hausa in Sudan speak Arabic and the Hausa language on the other hand. Yusuf Mohammed, 78 said he would remain in Sudan, though he could not stop his children from leaving the chaotic land to where he described as their ‘ancestral home’ which is Nigeria. “Many Hausa are leaving Sudan in large numbers, the destination of most of them is Nigeria,” Mohammed said adding that Nigeria is about the only country that is ‘culturally stable’ enough to accommodate Sudanese of Nigerian descent.
“Nigeria is seen by many Sudanese Hausa as the economic hub of Western Sahara. Its the most prosperous country in West Africa, most other countries in West Africa are either ‘ small to accommodate the population of those fleeing from the war or they are not stable enough to attract those seeking fortunes away from war”, he said. It should be added that many of the Hausa from Sudan also realise that their kinsmen hold important political authorities in Nigeria. Though the Hausa have lived in Sudan for centuries they have also had their own dose of conflict with indigenous Sudanese who consider them as strange usurpers.
A Sudanese female journalist Mrs Zainab Mohammed Salih in 2022 wrote that “a demand by Sudan’s Hausa Community to be recognized as traditional custodians of some land in Blue Nile state has erupted into deadly violence. More than a hundred mainly unarmed people were killed and thousands of Hausa have been driven from their homes prompting angry demonstrations elsewhere in Sudan about treatment”.
Former Sudanese strongman Omar al-Bashir was reported by a newspaper saying the Hausa are non-indigenous to Sudan prompting tongues of strive against him. Al-Bashir had to retract his position. The Hausa in reality have been living in Sudan for over 500 years but have never been accepted, even though they have been part of Sudan political history which underlines the prospect of their possible return to Nigeria given the raging war.
The Hausa took part in the Mahd’s army organized against British rule. In fact the first Prime Minister of Sudan, Mr Ismail Al-azhari, who was born in Al-obied in the Kordofan region is Hausa. Another prominent Hausa is Rasheed Tahir Bakir an indigene of Gadarif, former Vice President to Former Sudanese President, Gafar Numeri. His mother is believed to be Fulani. In Sudan, the Fulani are referred to as Falala.
Hausa have also produced iconic figures in music and art including but not limited to Aisha a-Falatiya. She was the first woman to sing on National radio in Sudan. The first Jazz Musician in Sudan is Hausa, Sharhabed Ahmed. The Hausa are also famous for ‘Agashie’, the Sudanese version of Suya,
In the building of the modern state of Sudan, Hausa were involved so also is in the industrial foundation of the country especially concerning the Sudanese Port.
Hausa are believed to be very active in fishing and constitute a major labour workforce in the Port of Sudan.
With the festering war, there are grave concerns that many Hausa people in Sudan will be compelled to relocate to Nigeria. “We were having challenges in recent times, we are being told that we are not Sudanese. Now the war between the Sudanese Army and the Rapid Support Group has fueled the urgent need for Hausa to return to their ancestral home, chief of which is Nigeria” said one of the Hausa in Sudan.
Though the Nigerian authorities have evacuated some people from Sudan, it appears those being evacuated are different from those who would find their way to Nigeria willy nilly.
“Many of Sudanese Hausa don’t need visa to visit Nigeria, the Hausa language is the stamp necessary for entry into Nigeria” a Hausa Sudanese already in Nigeria told The Nation. Of course, this is compounded by Nigeria’s over 1000 loose borders and the fact that the Sudanese Hausa are expected to find affection on their way through the Hausa communities in Chad, Mali and Niger, the likely routes to be taken by those fleeing hate and war.
There are other potential dangers and fresh lessons Nigeria needs to learn. Osa Osaikhuiwu, the coordinator of African Congress for Cultural and Economic renaissance (ACCER) based in the United States told The Nation that Nigeria needs to watch events in Sudan with keen interests and take pro-active measures. He said there is the prospect of the was in Sudan destabilising the Nigerian political economy.
A security expert who does not wish to be named said the feud between Hausa and Fulani in North West which has grown in proportion may escalate with the influence of Hausa from Sudan. He said their entry into Nigeria may see many of them pitching tents in the Fulani-Hausa feud in the North West. He urged Nigerian security institutions to police the borders and stop what he described as ‘harmful and dangerous’ incursion into Nigerian territories before it is too late.
Prof Akaruese said Nigeria cannot be free from millions of people seeking refuge from war given the imperialist concept of state creation which factionalised ethic groups into different territories without their consent.
‘If such huge population move into Nigeria, a concentration of them in a particular area will definitely tilt (positively or negatively) the social and cultural pendulum towards certain direction which could be alien to the already existing ones in Nigeria. The Janjaweed/Islamic militancy mentality could be part of the said possible alien cultures’, Prof Akaruese said
He argued Nigeria should learn from Sudan that the problems associated with countries that are multi-ethnic and religious and that there must not be any pretention in the management of the crises and intricacies that such situation naturally precipitates. He said even if Nigeria stops the influx of Hausa from Sudan, the country should learn from Sudan how to manage dissent arising from deep feelings of exclusion and marginalisation. He urged political leaders to be fair and honest in any attempt at resolving contradictions and problems which ethnic pluralism precipitates.