Modibbo dan Ali dan Muhammad Fodio (c.1780-1c.1859).
โ... a cheerful old man of noble demeanour and with pure Fulbe features with which his middle height and rather spare growth exactly corresponded. He was simply but neatly dressed in a white shirt and shawl of the same colour. Modibo Ali is the oldest member of the Reformer's [Shehu dan Fodiyo] family still alive, being the son of Ali an elder brother of Othman and about 75 years of age. He was seated in the antechamber of his house before a door at which his little herd of milch cows was assembled and he received me with unaffected tendernessโ. (Barth 1859 III: 128)
Modibbo dan Ali was a nephew of Shehu Uthman dan Fodio, being the son of the Shehuโs elder brother Ali/Aliyu, who died in 1805. The description above is by the German/British explorer Heinrich Barth who visited Modibbo dan Ali in April 1853 in Sokoto.
By then, he was the oldest among the Fodiawa, having outlasted his cousins Sultan Bello, Atiku, Emir of Gwandu Muhammad Wani dan Abdullahi (d.1833) and being older than the then Sultan Aliyu Babba (c.1805-1859) and Emir of Gwandu Ibrahim Halilu (c.1790-1858).
Modibbo was a lieutenant of Sultans Bello and Atiku during their reigns. During the battle of Kalembaina (1821) with the partisans of Abdussalam Baโare led by Dan Boya, the assault was led by Modibbo Ali, Atiku Abubakar and by their other cousin Muhammad Wani dan Abdullahi. He participated in all of their campaigns against the dynasts of Gobir, Kebbi and Katsina, especially the Gawakkuke campaign (1836).
Modibbo Ali, due to his age, experience and kinship affinity was very influential at the end of the reign of Atiku (1837-1842). That Sultan had entrusted him with the captaincies of many ribats. When the Sultan died while returning from campaign against Maradi-Tibiri, there was a bit of hesitation on what should be done and who should be proclaimed as Sultan. Sultan Atiku had shown his preference to his younger half-brother Ahmad RufaโI (c.1812-1873) and it seems that Modibbo Ali and Mallam dan Tafa (1804-1864) were backing that choice. In Sokoto, the qadi [Alkali] Alhaji preferred the proclamation of โIsa Mai Kware Autan Shehu [1817-1871], the youngest and posthumous son of Shehu dan Fodio, as Sultan while the Waziri and the Sarkin Yaki supported Muhammad Belloโs eldest son Aliyu Babba [1805-1859], a nephew of the two other candidates, but older and more experienced in command. Finally, the deciding voice was the one of the Emir of Gwandu, Halilu dan Abdullahi, who pledged allegiance to Aliyu Babba, and called all the officers, emirs, hakimai and others, to do so.
Modibbo Ali died in the 1850s. Probably after 1859, if we follow the logic of the elegy made at his death by his cousin Nana Asmau (1794-1864). He lived in Bodinga and many of his descendants live there to this day. He was noted for his genial, cheerful disposition, Spartiate lifestyle and particular care for the elderly and for the young.
Below the Elegy for Modibbo (Alhinin Mutuwar Modjbo dan Ali) by Nana Asmau (translated from Hausa to English)
I write this poem sorrowfully, weeping
For my relative Modibo dann Ali, a very generous man.
5 He had a happy disposition
A firm character, and was a good Muslim
6 He honoured his kinsmen
And reacted to any disaster as a Muslim should. 625
7 He practiced his religion and guided his family
In the ways of religion and prayer
8 He took care of the younger generation and helped
The elderly in the Community.
9 Our lives on earth have now been made more lonely
But God's Will be done.
10 And we accept what is ordained for us
By our Merciful Lord.
11 I pray for forgiveness for my Modibo [wa na in hausa; which could be my elder brother]
And that he might dwell in the place of peace.
12 Give him comfort and rest
in the grave, and reassurance.
12 Raise him with the Shehu to Paradise
Where there is joy forever.
14 And also Aliyu and Waziri*
For they lived and died together.
15 May our wishes be fulfilled
And may we be resurrected with them
16This is my prayer to God, may He grant my wish
I pray for the Prophet
17 And his Family, Companions and Followers
Of the Sunna, in the name of the Prophet.
Note: the man in the picture is not Modibbo but a 'Fulani from Sokoto'. Photo taken at the turn of the 20th century.
"Alhaji Aminu Kano โ The commissioner keeps a day to day account of his spending in a exercise book. When his father died in May and left ยฃ2.12, Aminu Kano promptly entered the legacy in his accounts book."
-- Drum magazine, c. 1967
If this is your daddy,you daddy will not die o
This is the first time I'll see a Nigerian politician speak with sense
And e sure me die say he no fit ever be Apc member