After Master Onyema asked them to go and sleep, that next day he will continue with the story. Uchenna lay in bed next to his father immediately he came back from Master Onyema's compound. Sleep stubbornly refused to come his way. He closed his eyes in an effort to sleep but he could not sleep. His thought was on Nigeria.
There was the infuriating 'hoo-hoo' coming from his snoring father. He wondered why most father snore while asleep and remembered the day he went to Master Onyema's place and found him sleeping and snoring heavily. The thought of Master Onyema, brought back to his mind the stories he narrated concerning Nigeria. He had always believed that the different tribes in Nigeria shared common origin and were originally designed and brought together by God since the beginning of human history. " How did these different people organize their government? were there in place institutions like the police, and the army?" Eze ruminated on these perturbing questions and promised himself that he would ask Master Onyema to clarify them. As usual, children after eating their dinner began to assemble at Master Onyema small compound for his usual stories. They knew for sure that the story of Nigeria will continue, but they were not in any way to guess the actual topic the old man will prefer to share with them. Uchenna made sure he came very early to occupy the exact seat Obinna sat the previous night.
Master Onyema appeared ruminative. He gazed at the children one by one as if he was apprehensive of a possible infiltration of the gathering by some enemies. As the moon shone brightly and reflected his silhouette, he sat like a king before his subjects. Unknown to the children, Master Onyema enjoyed every bit of his relationship with them. The endless ' Good morning sir' from the children thrilled his mind, rejuvenated his aging body and reinvigorated his ailing health. "Master Onyema, please continue with the story of Nigeria" Uchenna said in a shrill but firm voice. Tell us how the Igbos, the Yorubas and the Hausa organized their governments Mgbe-eri, Uchenna added. The children burst out in laughter. The word Mgbe-eri reminded them of the story on Igbo origin. The word prove to them that they all came from Nri and settled at Ugwogo Nike to thousands of years ago. Still, they believed the version of the story which maintained that Igbos are direct descendants of the Jewish nation. The laughter ceased immediately Master Onyema muttered "I hope all of you here carried out your evening chores before coming here. For sure, you are all good children. You should continue to assist your mothers in fetching water, sourcing for firewood and in cooking. Have you heard me?" The children replied in unison, "Yes Sir." Master Onyema as is his habit, cleared his throat and said: Mgbe-eri, different people in Nigeria today had separate and distinct forms of government. Yes? There were governments. Some of these nations, like the Hausa- Fulani, was a large scale state while some others like the Yorubas enjoyed centralized state. The Igbos never had a centralized form of government. We refer to them as dispersed tribal societies. In this category were the Igbos and the Tivs.
The North embraced Islam in 1804 AD. Before the Introduction and refinement of Islam, the North had numerous tribes who were in perpetual war with each other. The most notable and powerful of these tribes were the Kwararafa Kingdom and the Bornu Empire. Most of the kings in some of the empires in the northern part of the country prior to the Introduction of Islam were expansionists, always seeking to expand their territorial and political frontiers. However, the Introduction of Islam in the North by Arab merchants provided hope and vision for the numerous nations in the region. Islam which, to its adherents, stands for total submission to the will of the Almighty Allah, was preached and propagated by prophet Mohammed in Arabia, early in the seventh century. The religion was first Introduced into North Africa during the time of Umar al-Khattab (634-644), who was the second successor of Prophet Mohammed as the religious and political head of the Muslim Community.
Precisely, Islam was Introduced into Hausa land during the reign of Sarki Kano Yaji (1349-1385). He accepted Islam from the Wangarawa- a group of Mande Oyula Muslim merchants and clerics from Mali. It was from this time, that the Hausa nation began to run a system of government patterned in line with Islamic doctrines. It is said initially that Islam was the religion of the aliens. In Hausa land, the aliens were the Wangarawa, the Fulani, the Arabs and the Kanuri. One striking quality of Islam is that it made its adoption as an instrument of government in Hausa land. Thus, after the Jihad spear-headed by Utman Dan Fodio, the Sokoto Caliphate was established to oversee the administration of the the emirates. The Jihad ended in 1809, but expansion and establishment of the emirates continued well after 1809. For instance, the emirates in Nupe and ilorin were established in 1820. In the 1830s, the emirates of Misan, Jamare were established. Kontagora emirates was founded in 1859. Other emirates were Daura, Katsina, Kano, Kazaure, Zaria, Hadejia, Katagun, Gombe, Bauchi, Fombia. Hamarua, Agaie, Lapa and Lafiagi.
The Sokoto Caliphate was made up of the aforementioned emirates each with a distinct emir and government. In other words, the Sokoto Caliphate practiced a federal system of government. The nation was not situated on a continuous stretch of territory as it contained diverse and multiple independent communities and states within its control. The head of the Caliphate is called the Caliph and he was almost like a ceremonial head. The actual administration of the Caliphate was more or less in the hands of the emirs. However, the emirs were appointed by the Caliphate. The Caliph, through his Waziri, and Emir of Gwandu sometimes stepped into the administration of the emirates either to prevent or correct deviations from the established Islamic norms.
The emirs were expected to visit the Caliph from time to time to render accounts of their stewardship. The Caliph, on his part, used the occasions of such visits to induct the emir and to reiterate the basic requirements of Islamic laws. The functions of the Caliph were not only to appoint emirs: he ensures the adherence of Sharia system and supervised the working of the emirate system and settles disputes within and between emirates. "My children, that is the story on how the Hausas organized their government in the olden days", said Master Onyema. The children were completely take in and throughout the time Master Onyema narrated the story, they listened attentively. Then, one of them said "Master, tell us about the Igbos." Master Onyema said okey and continued .
The Igbos never had any form of centralized government. Communities formed distinct governments and a system of executive. Legislative and judicial structures were also patterned community by community. In a place like Onitsha, centralized form of government was practiced. All the same, the Igwe or the Eze presided over government in the communities. He was assisted in this regard by chiefs who were selected based on personal achievements. Igbos generally do not select leaders because they believe that leaders were naturally endowed. The principle of hereditary was not given a prominent place in Igbo political life. The aga grade system and the Umuekwa as they were referred to in certain communities helped in times of wars and other upheavals. This body carried out the decision of the Igwe and his carried out the decision of the Igwe and his cabinets. They also assisted in carrying out decisions and judgements established in the course of settlement of disputes by the Igwe. The same could be said of the Umunna and the Umuada groups. The Umunna were very powerful and they ensured that the norms of the land were respected in times of marriage, naming ceremonies and other such events.
In particular, the Umuada played crucial roles in the maintenance and furtherance of the marriage institution in Igboland . They cautioned husbands who were unduly harsh and uncaring to their wives. In this regard, their instructions were often viewed seriously by the offending husbands.Generally, the Igbos were very powerful and industrious people. From Nri traditions, it would also appear that another early factor important in the formation of Igbo society was iron technology which attained its highest development in Igboland probably around Awka. Iron technology facilitated the fight against the forest environment in which they lived and in such activities as farming, hunting and the art of warfare. The children were happy that night Master Onyema told them the story of how the different tribes in Nigeria governed themselves in the olden days. (Please let continue next time ).
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