Lekan's Blog

Who is Usman Danfodio-Brief History By Lekan Macualay Usman dan Fodio, Muslim religious leader and founder of the Sokoto Caliphate in what is now northern Nigeria. A Fulani born in the Hausa state of Gobir, Usman dan Fodio studied the Koran with his father, an eminent scholar, then moved from place to place to study with other religious scholars. When he was 25, he began teaching and preaching, and from this time his reputation as a holy man grew. He taught Islam in Gobir, and he was probably engaged as tutor to the future sultan Yunfa because of his learned reputation.  Usman criticized the Hausa ruling elite for their heavy taxation and other practices that he claimed violated Islamic law. His call for Islamic reform (and tax reduction) earned him a wide following in the 1780s and 1790s, when he became a political threat to Gobir sultan Nafata. When Yunfa assumed power as sultan in 1802, the repression of Usman’s followers worsened. Following the example of the pr...

I want to go to London… to see Buhari By Reuben Abati Read his piece below.... When 15 million plus Nigerians voted for President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2015 General elections, their expectation was that he would be available to serve them 24/7/365, and that those who fielded him as their candidate had done their home work to avoid what is curiously becoming the Katsina problem in Nigerian politics. Katsina!  But we have now found ourselves in a situation whereby our President is now in London, for more than one month sir, ma, and we are here, and we have an acting President, who according to everybody, including the extremists and the mischievous, and the politically partisan, is beginning to try his best, with his admirers, now praying for the worst.     For that reason alone, we have an emotionally, politically and spiritually divided country on our hands. Don’t mind what they tell you, and don’t deceive yourself, the Nigerian Presidency is i...