CHAPTER VIII
A VISIT TO THE EMIR OF KANO
Kano Province under the British Administration includes a number of independent Emirates which we found existing and which we have maintained, viz.: Kano, Katsina, Katagum, Daura, Kazaure and Gummel. The total area of the Province is 28,600 square miles, i.e. almost the size of Scotland, and its population 2,600,000, or what that of Scotland was in the middle of last century.
The present Emir, Abbas, a reserved and very dark Fulani, with refined regular features and long aristocratic hands, is a fine figure of a man. The description of a visit to him may serve to convey some idea of the ceremonious etiquette observed at the courts of the Mohammedan Emirs (Kano being typical of all the great Emirates, with the exception of Sokoto where formalities are even more elaborate), besides throwing light upon several questions of interest and moment connected with the problems of British administration. To depict the Emir’s residence as a compound built of clay is, while accurate, to give but an inadequate idea of the imposing character of these solid structures, the best of which are, with supervision, capable of resisting for centuries the action of the weather. I am probably understating the case when I say that the tall and bulky wall—some fifteen feet in thickness—surrounding the residence encloses five acres. Dismounting at the principal entrance, we are escorted through the gateway by several functionaries and emerge into a vast enclosure open to the sky. At its extremity, facing us, is an inner wall and another deep embrasured gateway leading to the state apartments. On our right stands the Emir’s private mosque, a building of considerable proportions but smaller, of course, than the public mosque outside the walls. Here and there a few picturesque figures are noticeable. For, perhaps, a minute we wait. Then a blare of trumpets resounds, and through the inner gateway emerges a brilliant gathering which advances slowly towards us, the Emir in the midst. Within a dozen yards or so it halts, and the Emir, separating himself from the throng, greets us with hand outstretched—the only African in the Emirate to whom etiquette allows this particular form of salutation with the White man. Towering above most of the councillors, officers of state and heads of leading families by whom he is accompanied, and bearing himself with great dignity, the Emir murmurs some words of welcome. He is dressed entirely in costly white robes and turban; his feet are encased in ostrich-feather sandals, a footgear introduced in the sixteenth century by Mohamma Rimfa, the twentieth Emir of Kano, justly revered for a reign full of years and usefulness, and he carries the silver-mounted staff of office presented to all the ruling Emirs by Sir Frederick Lugard after the British occupation. He invites us to follow him and leads the way in silence to his apartments, his courtiers closing round us as we proceed. In the same impressive silence we pass through the inner gateway and find ourselves in a broad passage flanked on either side by lofty audience chambers whose dimensions it is difficult to gauge in the semi-obscurity which reigns within them. At the end of the passage is yet another gateway. Thenceforth we proceed alone with the Emir and the Waziri or Vizier—the present holder of that office being a man of great independence and strength of character, whose fearless candour and ripe judgment have been of inestimable service in assisting successive Residents to understand the many complex problems of native administration. Crossing a courtyard we enter the outer room of the Emir’s private apartments. And here for an hour we discuss many things, chairs being provided for us while the Emir and Waziri, in accordance with the etiquette of the country, sit cross-legged before us. A word as to the architecture and appearance of the room, which, as we were subsequently to ascertain, is roughly similar to the audience chambers we have left behind. It is some twenty to twenty-five feet in height, with an arched roof supported by wooden beams on the cantilever principle; both beams and roof are, like the floor, stained a deep black with the varnish obtained from the shell of the locust bean; a few plates of European manufacture are let into the supporting rafters; the walls, constructed of the usual sun-baked clay mingled with other substances, have a glittering appearance due to the admixture of mica; two doors, an outward and an inward one, of massive timber bound with iron bars affixed by native nails ornamented with large circular brass heads, and a divan of rugs and shawls complete a picture which suggests a certain austere simplicity.
INSIDE KANO CITY.
After the usual interchange of compliments, I said it was desirable the Emir should understand clearly in respect to any subjects which might be touched upon, that I had no connection direct or indirect with the British Government, or with any British commercial or other interest; that I was merely visiting his country as an independent traveller, and would report what I had seen and heard, and that I hoped he would feel free to tell me frankly what was in his heart, for the people of England only wished to know the truth. Conversation then ranged over the part of the province of Kano I had, up to that time, visited; the industry of the inhabitants, their methods of agriculture, the care they bestowed upon secondary crops, such as cotton, cassava and onions, the great city market and the variety of goods sold therein. I expressed a wish to see the irrigated farms, and the Emir named certain localities near the city where such farms were to be seen. The increasing prosperity of the country through the preservation of peace was touched upon de part et d’autre. The antiquity of the city and its interesting records was the next subject approached. It would, I remarked, be a very great pity if its essential characteristics were not maintained amid the innovations which the railway would bring in its train. From that point of view I ventured to express regret that the ancient walls of the city were, in parts, falling into disrepair. In time to come future generations of Kanawa would, I thought, lament the fact. Would it not be possible to start repairs on one section at first, performing the needed work gradually, doing a certain amount every year and finishing section by section? The Emir fully concurred, saying that his people themselves wished the walls restored. He hoped to deal with the matter, but thought that it might be easier to commence preliminary repairs on a general scale rather than start one part and finish that first as I had suggested. From the question of the wall we turned to the more difficult one of European traders and educated Native traders from the coast whom the railway would bring, settling in the city. The Emir remarked that, while foreign merchants were welcome, it would be better for them and for the city and its inhabitants if those who wished to trade with the Kanawa founded places of business at convenient spots outside.
THE EMIR OF KANO ON THE MARCH.
Missionary propaganda in the Muslimised Hausa States of the north was next touched upon. The subject has already given rise to discussions at home, which are being followed in Northern Nigeria with anxious concern, and such momentous consequences are bound up in it that I felt it incumbent to ascertain through personal contact, the views of one of the most important, in a certain measure the most important, of the Mohammedan chiefs through whom we exercise supreme control. I told the Emir I would be quite frank with him, and hoped that he would be equally frank with me. The English people and the Kanawa people, I said, worshipped the same Almighty Creator of the universe. The English people followed the teachings of Christ, the Kanawa people the teachings of Mohammed, and both peoples thought their religion the best. But although the people of England held firmly to their beliefs, they had no desire to interfere with that of the Kanawa. Their representative, Sir Frederick Lugard, had pledged himself in their name to that effect, and the English people always kept their word. But, I went on, some of my countrymen who wished well to the Kanawa, thought Christianity could be preached in Kano without breaking this pledge, because there would be no interference and no moral pressure would be put upon the people of Kano to change their religion even though Christian teachers sat down in the city and taught. The Kanawa could come and hear them, or not, as they pleased. That was the view held by some of the people in my country. What I wished to know were the Emir’s opinions in the matter. Did he, or did he not, see objections to the presence of Christian preachers in the city?
For some time the Emir kept silent, his fingers twitching nervously. One could see the struggle passing in his mind and realize some of the difficulties of his own position. Presently he spoke thus—I reproduce the words as literally as possible:—