Cite this article: Adam, U. A. 2023. The Role of Migrant Scholars in the evolution and development of Islamic Schools in Jos Town, 1915-1957. Sokoto Journal of History Vol. 12. Pp. 35-49. www.doi.org/10.36349/sokotojh.2023.v12i01.004
The Role of Migrant Scholars in the evolution and development of Islamic Schools in Jos Town,1915-1957
Umar Abdulhamid Adam
Department of History and International
Studies,
Sule Lamido University, Kafin Hausa, Jigawa
State- Nigeria
umarbabata@gmail.com
07066574733
Abstract:
This paper is an examination of the migration of Islamic scholars to Jos Town and the consequential establishment of Islamic schools between 1915 and 1956. Jos, a town located in central Nigeria, witnessed a significant influx of Islamic scholars during the period between 1915 and 195. These scholars, hailing from diverse backgrounds, converged in Jos and brought with them a wealth of knowledge, religious teachings, and cultural influences. The paper chronicles the circumstances that facilitated their migration, the impact of their arrival on the religious landscape of Jos, and the crucial role played by the Islamic schools they established in propagating Islamic education. Through a meticulous examination of historical records, oral traditions and primary sources, the paper unveils a captivating chapter in the cultural and educational history of Jos, shedding light on the enduring legacy of these migrations and the establishment of Islamic schools in this vibrant town.
Keywords: Migrant Scholars, Evolution, Development, Islamic Schools, Jos Town
Introduction
Since the beginning of the
20th century, Jos Town has attracted numerous individuals from within and
outside Nigeria. The allure of the area can be attributed to the economic
opportunities it offered, including tin mining, colonial administration, and its
favorable climate. As a relatively young city compared to other urban centers
in Nigeria, most of Jos Town's residents in the formative period were born and
raised elsewhere. The cultural milieu of Jos differs from the traditional way
of life found in cosmopolitan traditional urban centers across Nigeria, making
it a place where everyone is a ‘stranger.’[1]
This paper is an attempt to explore the history of the
migration of Islamic scholars in Jos Town between 1915 and 1957, and the
subsequent establishment of Islamic schools in the town. The choice of the two
periods was deliberate. The early 20th century witnessed the influx
of the Islamic scholars into the town and by 1915 Jos was officially founded as
a town by an Order from the Governor General of Northern Nigeria.[2] The
year 1957 was the period when Mallam Arabi established a new Islamic school (Islamiyya Annazamiyya) with different
outlook and system. The paper is divided into sections the first of which is an
examination of the settlement pattern
of Jos town by the 1920s and this is followed with a discussion on the
introduction and spread of Islam in the town. The remaining sections of the
paper deal with migration of Islamic scholars into Jos town; the establishment
of the early Islamic schools and lastly specialization of some selected Islamic schools in Jos town.
Settlement
Pattern of Jos Town by 1920s
Jos, as a migrant community, was deliberately divided
into two sections by the colonial government and these were Jos Township and
Jos Native town. The Jos Native town is the focal point in this paper because
it was the area occupied predominantly by Muslims. The town began to be
populated in 1910 via a ‘rough’ motor road built from Rahma at the foot of the
Plateau to link the mineral fields in Jos with the Baro–Kano railway at
Rigachikun, few kilometres north of Kaduna[3]. There was in 1914 the
establishment of Hausa settlement in Gangare as mining camp, and in 1915 Jos
was officially founded as a town by an Order from the Governor General of
Northern Nigeria.[4] Between
1917 and 1918, a town plan, which was called “Government Station Jos” was
adapted[5].
This plan was drawn up by the Ministry of Land and Surveys, Kaduna, when it was
the capital of colonial northern Nigeria. The plan divided the Jos urban centre
into two separate administrative units: a native town, subordinated to the Jos
Divisional Administration, and the Township including Government Residential
Area (G.R.A.), which was to be subordinated to the Local Authority. In the
former, the local police was to maintain law and order and in the latter, the
law and order was to be maintained by the Nigerian police. The
Bauchi-Light-Railway line from Zaria, which had been completed in 1917, marked
the boundary between the two areas.[6]
Further development of Jos took place in 1927 with the
arrival of eastern railway line, which was extended from Kafanchan Junction.
This marked an important stage in the rapid increase of population in the town.
However, in 1926, a year before the eastern railway arrival, there was a system
of registration by the Native Administration of the holders of ‘plots’ in the
Jos Native Town.[7] It is clear that
the presences of the mining camps, the Jos Town Plan, and the System of
Registration, made the settlement pattern of Jos town to be completely
influenced by having a concentration of a particular set of ethnic group and
religion dominating an area.
Although Mallam Adamu Musa argues that it was not
really the colonial division that made the high concentration of Hausa people
in one place, but the nature and reason of going to ci-rani[8] (seasonal
rural-urban migration) in Hausaland. He stressed that mostly people went for ci-rani
to places where they had someone who was from their locality. Among the
seasonal rural-urban migrants, the ‘flourishing ones established themselves in
the urban areas without going back to their home areas, except occasionally.
Those that were established accommodated those that seasonally came from the
same locality. For Mallam Musa, this was the reason behind the settlement
pattern of most migrant communities in Jos and several other towns[9]
Mahdi Adamu discusses extensively the nature of Hausa
people movements, which strongly support the above perspective. He emphasized
the importance of speaking the same language in attracting new migrants to the
established settlement[10]. In
his opinion it was mainly through voluntary settlement of individual migrants
that the communities of Hausa immigrants (called zango) grew up,
comprising people of hardly any blood relationship and united only by two
factors: their common desire to better themselves through their own professions
and their membership of one cultural entity.[11] The argument of Mahdi was
on the Hausa moving from one place to another for businesses, which they
normally moved as caravans, and his assertions were on the Hausa of 19th
century, before Colonial Administration restricted movements.
For Islamic education in Jos town, the settlement
pattern was paramount, because the early Islamic scholars were expected to
settle closer to their students, especially the elementary Islamic schools. The
proximity of the schools to the students’ residence is essential, because some
of the students were of younger age like 5 years. Another factor that
influenced the settlement pattern of Islamic scholars was their roles as Imams in the mosques, preachers for the
communities, and leaders in other spiritual matters.
The settlement pattern of Jos by the 1920s featured
people with a similar religion and ethnic affiliation dominating one place. In
the 1930s, Jos Township population figures of 3,250 showed the Igbo occupying
53.8 % of the population followed by Yoruba with 11.8% and Hausa with only
6.2%.[12] In
contrast, the Native town being the opposite of the Township, had a population
of 11,000 people, and the Hausa people occupied more than 60% of the
population.[13]
The Spread of Islam and Migration of Islamic Scholars
to Jos Town
As early as the seventh century B.C. when Prophet
Muhammad (PBUH) was given the message of Islam, Muslims considered education to
be a lifelong process.[14] The
construction of transportation network, especially railway lines, contributed
significantly in the introduction and spread of Islam in Jos town. Abdulkadir
stressed that during the early period of colonial domination, the movement of
personnel and conveyance of export produce from imported machandise to the
interior, led to the construction of road networks that connected
administrative headquarters, urban economic-nerve centers, major markets and
river and seaports.[15]
Jos town was a major tin mining centre attracting
Muslim miners and workers to the area. The construction of communication
networks witnessed the influx of a sizeable number of Muslims to the town. For
example in 1932, there were 12,944 semi-skilled Hausa laborers in Jos Division,
and by the 1940s, Muslim population had grown in Jos Native town where they
mostly settled and their religious and economic impact were being felt. The
improvement in communications facilitated the growth of Muslim population and the
growth and development of Islam in Jos town.[16]
The religion of Islam and Islamic education evolved
altogether. In Jos town, the spread of Islam was not in a form of evangelism,
but people that migrated to the tin mining fields, for business activities or
working, in the Native Administration migrated with their respective religion.
The settlement pattern of the area restricted many activities including the
Christian missionaries’ activities.[17] When the question of spread
of Islam was thrown to Mallam Abdulwab he said “there was a common saying among
our elders in Jos which says ‘kowa ka ganshi a Jas da hakoranshi talatin da
biyu yazo’ (anyone you see in Jos, he came as a matured mind, full grown
and ready for life challenge).[18]
Others, like Mallam Tijjani Ahmad, Mallam Anakallahu, Mallam Sani Aliyu, added
that the attention and concern of the early scholars in Jos town was in
educating the already existing Muslims in the town who were in need of the
Islamic knowledge, but not in converting or spreading the message of Islam to
the non-Muslims. However, in other areas of the Plateau Province, there were
missionaries’ activities during the colonial period, especially in the rural
areas of the Province. As a result, it facilitated the conversion of many
people to Christianity[19].
Trade and scholarship among the Muslims have never
been separable.[20] In
the early period of the 20th century, Muslims’ scholars mostly
stayed at home to teach, led prayers and served as business consultant (nemansa’a)
to the Muslim traders[21].
These were among the reasons Islamic scholars rarely engaged in business or
seen at the market, unless for a special reason.
Islamic scholars many times followed people and
settled with them wherever they were. Sometimes the scholars not only go
together with the people, but were either invited or advised to go to a
particular area where there was need for Islamic knowledge. This could be seen
in the subsequent accounts on how some scholars found their ways to Jos town.
The process of migration and settlement of Islamic
scholars into Jos town could be traced back to 1917, when Bunu, the Chief of
Naraguta, died and was succeeded by Barde[22]. The successor refused to
stay in the village and instead he founded a new settlement around Jos Native
town in 1918. His desertion of Naraguta was due to the abandonment and zero
interest of the Tin mining company in the Naraguta tin, because it was
discovered by the mining companies after 1903, that the area which had rich
deposit of tin ore lay not around Naraguta but to the south of it. As a result,
it led to the transfer of mining activities to the upper reaches of Dilimi
River around Gangare, Rayfield and Bukuru. This resulted to the establishment
of Gangare as the largest mining camp along the Dilimi River.[23]
When the mining companies relocated to Gangare, many
laborers also relocated to the new area. In the early months of 1918, Barde,
the Chief of Naraguta, his officials and the members of his family came to
settle in Jos town. As a chief who was appointed from Bauchi, he came along
with officials from his former territory of Naraguta, but no available record
to know the number, portfolios and profiles of those that relocated with him.[24]
Despite the vices that took place at the mining
area/camp of Gangare, Mallam Yahaya Idris[25] argues that there were
people who led prayers and counseled those who they thought could listen to
them. He affirmed that his father, Mallam Idris learned a lot about Islamic
knowledge from one Mallam Muhammad whom they worked with at the mining camp around
the 1920s. With the above account, it is obvious that the people, who settled
in Gangare and other locations after relocation from Naraguta, were learnerd;
despite the absence of a formal Islamic school.
In 1926, the British colonial authorities established
Plateau Province and Jos Town as the headquarters of the province, where the
central departments of the Native Administration were situated, which included
the native court. This attracted the second wave of the migration of Islamic
scholars en mass. As a result, many Islamic schools came onboard. The court
came to be headed by Mallam Bawa Alkalin Jos, who died in 1930. Mallam Ibrahim
succeeded him. The successor converted to Christianity in 1932, which necessitated
his removal and replacement with Mallam Abubakar a former Alkalin Gombe. The
reason for Alkali Ibrahim’s conversion to Christianity was not clear, but the
only historical possibility was the growing intimacy between the European and
the native elites and the decline in moral esteem since the fall of the Ottoman
Caliphate[26].
Mallam Abubakar served as both a judge and a teacher outside the court.
The coming of
Mallam Abubakar in 1932 attracted other scholars to Jos. However, Abubakar
became the Alkalin Gombe in 1904 and together with Emir Umaru, they
built the native administration in Gombe,[27] but with the demise of Emir
Umaru in 1922, and the ascension of his son, Haruna, to the throne, Alkali
Abubakar was relieved of his position as Alkalin Gombe.[28]
In Jos, with the conversion of Alkali Ibrahim to
Christianity in 1932, Alkali Abubakar got the opportunity to bring his wealth
of knowledge and experience to Jos. Unlike most of those that served in the Jos
Native Administration, Alkali Abubakar brought along his entire family to Jos,
and subsequently some of them came to occupy responsible positions in Jos town.[29]
Another migrant was that of Mallam Ahmad Arabi in 1934
from Nafada, Gombe State. Mallam Arabi was a nephew to Alkali Abubakar. Mallam
Arabi re-settled with his uncle Alkali Abubakar in Jos, because he was said to
have been learning from his uncle until his sudden move from Gombe to Missau
and from Missau to Jos[30].
With the approval of his parents, Mallam Arabi decided to reunite with his
teacher in Jos from whom he continued to acquire Islamic knowledge. Mallam
Arabi subsequently established his own school and became an outstanding Islamic
scholar in Jos town and beyond.[31]
In 1934, Mallam Abdullahi Alkalin Shandam migrated to
Jos from Adamawa. Mallam Abdullahi left Kano, his place of birth, around 1920
for Adamawa in search of Islamic knowledge. He studied all the Maliki books
from the elementary to Muktasarul Khalil (Lauwaliin Hausa). With
his graduation, he acquired certificate (ijaza)
that certified him as a scholar of authority, who could teach anywhere as
Islamic scholar. Around 1934, he decided to go back to his place of birth,
Kano, but while he was schooling in Adamawa, he was informed about Jos and the
wealth of knowledge of Alkali Abubakar. He developed interest of coming to Jos
not because he wanted to teach but to meet with Alkali Abubakar. After his
arrival in 1935, he decided to settle down as an Islamic teacher and to
contribute to the spread Islamic knowledge.[32]
In 1939, Mallam Aliyu Muhammad Dan Takai migrated to
Jos from his hometown, Kano. According to his son, Mallam Musa Aliyu, he was
motivated to come to Jos because of how the people from his hometown, Kano, had
negative impression about Jos. Mallam Musa Aliyu said the perception then was
that Jos town, as a migrant community, was an area where vices are common among
the people. The conclusion then was that most of the people in Jos town working
in the mining camps or engaging in business spent what they realized in immoral
activities such as gambling and patronage of brothels. For Mallam Dan Takai, if
that was what was happening in Jos, then, it is more important to be in Jos
than Kano in order to preach and teach, and he migrated to Jos in the 1939.[33]The
antecedent of Mallam Ali Dan Takai seems to be as the same as Mallam Aliyu
Muhammad.
Mallam Aliyu migrated to Jos in 1938 from Zaria where
he had been since 1929 studying under his teacher Mallam Na Iya. After he
completed his studies, Mallam Aliyu decided to go back to his hometown Keffi,
of present day Nasarawa State. However, his teacher, Mallam Na Iya, asked him
not to go back to Keffi but Jos where his knowledge would be more useful to the
people of both Jos than Keffi.[34]
Above were some of the prominent Islamic scholars that
migrated to Jos town between 1917 and 1940s. From the above we could see that
some of the reasons that attracted the Islamic scholars to Jos were purely to
teach the religion to others, and they considered it as an act of ibada (worship),
so the scholars were ever ready to travel miles away for teaching others the
religion.
Similarly, the environment of Jos also influenced
their migration. The society of Jos was not as other societies of Northern
Nigeria like Zaria and Kano Provinces, where Emirates system had exited and
traditional institutions were strong, Jos was quite different. The difference
was in the social composition and interaction due to the factors that gave
birth to the town such as the mining activities and the railway lines.
It is imperative to emphasize the fact that the
migration of these scholars continued throughout the period of study. For
instance, Sheikh Lawan Sa’adu left Kano and moved to Zaria and thereafter to
Jos in the late 1950s due to NEPU/NPC political rivalries.[35] In the late 1960s, Mallam
Muhammad Sharu Lawal also moved to Jos, and his migration to Jos was said to be
as a result of his visit to his brother, but later he discovered a greener
pasture in Jos Town[36].
However, Mallam Sharu’s student, Mallam Abdulhadi Gotal debunked this narration
and claimed that his teacher (Mallam Sharu) came to Jos not because his brother
was in Jos, but because he had seen it as an obligation to settle and teach
wherever he deemed it necessary. Whether Mallam Sahru was attracted by his
brother or the obligation to impart Islamic knowledge, Jos served the two
purposes for Mallam Sharu.
Establishment of Early Islamic Schools in Jos Town
The establishment of the early Islamic schools in Jos
town went hand-in-hand with the settlement of the migrant scholars in Jos town.
The first challenge of any migrant into a new place is accommodation, unless if
he was invited. Alkali Abubakar, who was in Jos to serve as a judge, did not
face such problem, likewise his nephew Mallam Arabi, who was in Jos based on
his uncle’s invitation.
In northern Nigeria, for instance, the Islamic
scholars were largely accommodated by their counterparts (Islamic scholars),
wealthy people or traditional rulers before they settled as independent
entities. In Jos town, it was not different because the well-doing individuals
in the town accommodated most of the scholars that migrated in the early
period. Mallam Abdulwahab narrated that many scholars were accommodated by the
richest people among their parents, who sometimes engaged in competition on the
numbers of Islamic scholars one accommodated or taking care of. In Jos town, he
added, many children of Mallams assumed their parents owned their residence,
until both the host and the beneficiary died, and then the issue of sharing
inheritance came up.[37]After
the scholars were accommodated, the scholars engaged in teaching the immediate
children of the host community. Nevertheless, if the scholar travelled to the
area with his students (Almajirai), they became his priority. The
scholar’s presence usually attracted the people of such community to engage
their children alongside the Almajirai. However, in Jos town, the trend
was different, and the Islamic scholars focused largely on the host community.
From the early 20th century, the older forms of Islamic schools in
Jos town began to emerge in a unique way when compared with the emergence of
Islamic schools in other societies of Northern Nigeria. The bulk of Islamic
students in Jos both the elementary and the higher Islamic schools were largely
the people of the host community.
Mallam Abdulwahab added that the Mallams who came with
Alamjirai in the early period faced fundamental challenges. Firstly, the
economy of Jos was largely trading and mining in the early years, unlike in
some other places like Zaria and Kano, where agriculture and commerce were the
main economic activities. The absence of agricultural activities in the area
left the Mallams without the land to cultivate, which would serve as source of
food for them and their students.
The second challenge faced by the Mallams,
particularly in a place like Gangare, was the presence of brothels, bars and
gambling spots where the Almajirai frequented for their daily begging.
This made it very difficult for the Mallams to maintain the moral behavior of
their students. Because of this problem, in 1944, Mallam Haruna who was the
first chief Imam of Gangare community, had to send the Almajirai back to
where they came from and maintained only the children of the host community and
his children.[38]
Evolution of
the Early Islamic Schools in Jos Town
Early Islamic schools in Jos town came even before the
building of a fully pledged mosque in the town. This assertion could be valid
looking at no available record to counter it, but record that supported the
declaration. This is not a rejection of the existence of massalla[39]. Mallam Gambo Hamza
observes that while he was conducting personal research on mosques in Jos, he
found that the first mosque that was built in Jos was in the 1930s by Sarki
Aliyu Barde, and the mosque was called Massallacin Alkali in present day
Adebayo Street, headed by Alkali Abubakar in 1933. The mosque was built by
Aliyu Barde the son of Barde Muhammad.[40]But Mallam Tijjani, argues
that the mosque was not built by Sarki Aliyu Barde but by Alkali Abubakar, few
months after his arrival in Jos.[41]Mallam
Tijanni’s argument was that, if truly the mosque was built by the Sarki Aliyu
Barde and being the first mosque to be built in Jos town, Sarki Barde Aliyu
could have taken the credit and called it Massalacin Sarki not Massalacin
Alkali, like the case of Sarki Isiyaku’s mosque.
In 1942, Sarki
Isiyaku built a mosque in Jos town located at the present day Yan Taya
Street and it was called Masallacin Sarki Isiyaku, later changed to Masallacin
Yan’ Taya. With this, Mallam Tijani’s view seems to be more accurate and
reliable, although Mallam Gambo’s view could also gain a ground, because the
mosque could be attached to Alkali Abubakar not because he built the
mosque, rather he made it as the firstschool where he taught people Islamic
knowledge and conducted Ramadan Tafsir. Moreover, Sani Salihu in his
Project titled The Making of Jos, he argued that the mosque was built long
before the arrival of Alkali Abubakar to Jos, which he mentioned one Mallam
Haruna as the Chief Imam at Naraguta and continued as Imam in the Alkali mosque
at Jos after relocation. The implication of accepting Salihu’s view is that he
relied largely on oral tradition, which when corroborated with other sources,
it has proven to be a fairly tale, and even the subsequent Imams he tried to
study, there were no date of transition, until the era of Mallam Adamu who said
to have led the mosque between 1924 and 1950.[42]
The mosque was utilized for Friday prayers and served
as Islamic school in Jos town. Being an outstanding Islamic scholar, Alkali
Abubakar, started teaching and preaching in the mosque.[43]As the result, the mosque
became the first formal advanced Islamic school (Zaure school) in Jos town, and Alkali Abubakar continued to teach
many students until his death in 1953[44].
However, prior to the establishment of the Alkali
Mosque in Jos town, there were informal platforms where individuals sought for
Islamic knowledge, which included one-on-one discussion among friends. This
could be seen in the account of Mallam Salisu Haliru who narrated that when he
came to Jos, his friend, Mallam Muhammad, was his first Islamic teacher who
volunteered to teach him Qur’an and other subjects like Fiqh, hadith,
tajweed, etc, and it was not in a school.[45] Mallam Salisu Haliru stated
that they started at night after their daily routines, and when they finished
the first book Kawaidil Sallat his teacher (Mallam Muhammad) told him
“both of us now need a teacher because I taught you all I know in Islamic
jurisprudence”. The two of therefore joined Mallam Arabi’s Zaure School
in 1963. With the experience of Mallam Haliru and the nature of Muslims in any
society, it is doubtful to believe that prior to Alkali Abubakar there was no
school in Jos, but it can be understood if Alkali’s school is referred to as
the first formal Zaure School in the town. With the absence of other
sources to debunk Mallam Muhammad Gambo and Mallam Ahmad Tijjani’s arguments,
the paper argues that the first Islamic school in Jos town was the Alakli
Abubakar’s school established in 1933.
From the unique
nature of Jos environment in terms of social and political institutions in the
early period, the advanced Islamic schools (Zaure School) can be said to
have emerged before the elementary Islamic schools(Makarantun allo).
This is contrary to what had existed in Hausaland where the Makaratun allo
served as the foundation of Zaure school.
On the other hand, the Makaratun allo in Jos
town unlike other societies in Hausa land, were largely populated by the
children of the host community, so the elementary schools emerged in the late
1940s when the bulk of the population brought their families instead of going
back to their former home towns occasionally. Plotnicov submitted that by 1940s
Jos had become an urban community with stability and families during the period
regarded Jos as a place where they can raise their children.[46]
For a clearer picture of the origin and development of
this form of Islamic Education, the narration would be clearer if some selected
schools are explored rather than to capture the development in a single
narration. The first Makarantan zaure in Jos town was established by
Alkali Abubakar in 1933, the same year he arrived at Jos, and the year the
first mosque was built and named Massalacin Alakali in present day
Adebayo Street in Jos town.
Alkali Abubakar was a prominent Islamic scholar,
because he was appointed Alkalin Gombe as early as 1904[47], only one year after the
conquest of Northern Nigeria by the British that marked the end the Sokoto
Caliphate.[48] In
Gombe, Alkali Abubakar with Emir Umaru built the native administration of
Gombe, as a result, he acquired power in the Emirate. Emir Umaru died in 1922
and his son Haruna took over from him. At the end of 1930, Alkali Abubakar was
removed and his removal and banishing from Gombe compelled him to relocate to
Missau and thereafter to Jos in 1932 where he was appointed an Alkali.[49] As
the Alkalin Jos, unlike most of those that held high positions in Jos NA,
Alkali Abubakar brought along with him his entire entourage to Jos.
It was in Masallacin Alkali Abubakar that
people were first taught the tenants of the religion of Islam. This means
Abubakar worked both as Alkali and as teacher during his lifetime. The school
became the first Makarantan zaure in Jos town, which attracted many
people who were eager to further their Islamic knowledge. His position as
Alkali led to the emergence of other schools, because it was not easy for him
to combine the two. Despite the difficulty, records have shown that he did not
cease to perform the two functions until his death in 1956.[50]
The second Zaure school that was established in
Jos town was the Makarantan Mallam Abdullahi (Audu) Alkali Shandam. As
highlighted above, Mallam Abdu was in Jos town after he was invited by his
teacher in Adamawa to come to Jos instead of going back to his home town (Kano)
after he finished his study in Adamawa. He was initially a student in Alkali
Abubakar's school. But after few months in the school, Alkali Abubakar noticed
that Mallam Audu was never a student but a scholar himself disguising as a
student, so he encouraged him to either become his assistant since he combined
court and teaching, or he should open his own school so that the curious Jos
students would join him. In 1935, Mallam Abdu established his school at Ndu
Street. He started in the vestibule of his house, until 1937 when they moved to
a tree shade which was directly opposite of his house for the morning and
evening sessions.[51] But
in the raining season or when it was rainy, the school would move back to its
initial venue which was the teacher’s vestibule.
By 1937, Mallam Audu was appointed as Alkali in
Shandam, a Division under Plateau Province. He served for only two years and
came back to Jos. When he came back in 1939, he continued as a teacher, but now
in a mosque at Ndu Street.[52]
According to Mallam Anakallahu, Mallam Abdu being a full teacher in Jos unlike
Alkali Abubakar made him more popular. His acceptance by the people was as the
result of his eminent contributions to Islam and Islamic knowledge, which led
many people, named their children Abdullahi during and after his lifetime in
Jos.[53]
Mallam Audu, was privileged to live longer than many scholars that lived in
Jos, and he taught for almost 55 years before he answered the call of Allah at
the age of 94.[54]
Alhaji Na-Mallam, Mallam Sunusi and Mallam Alin-Iliya,
were contemporaries with Mallam Audu in Jos town, and Mallam Gambo Hamza is of
the opinion that Mallam Audu came to Jos because he heard about the activities
of these three scholars in Jos not that of Alkali Abubakar.[55] Mallam Gambo’s opinion
would be accepted base on the fact that Mallam Audu heard about these three
scholars in Jos, but when he arrived he met them without students or even
school where they taught. Therefore, with that, he had to switch to Alkali
Abubakar as companion, because Alkali Abubakar had a school where Mallam Audu
seemed to have more interest. Another historical possibility may suggest that
the three scholars where initially seasonal scholars from their hometown
outside Jos but later moved and settled in Jos. This became so because among
the scholars residing in Jos town there was Mallam Mai Jalalaini who visit Jos
occasionally, especially during Ramadan and Maulid. In Ramadan,
he came from Kano for annual Ramadan
Tafsir in the present day Zawiyya of
Tijjanniyyah around Bauchi road.[56] This is to validate that
the three scholars lived in Jos town but initially seasonal visiting scholars
who did not establish formal schools.
Another important school to explore was Mallam Ahmad
Arabi’s school. Like Mallam Audu, he was also a student to Alkali Abubakar. But
he was different from other students because he was his nephew. Sheikh Ahmad
Arabi was born in 1909 in Nafada in the present Gombe state. He pursued his
elementary school in Dukku, after which he worked briefly as court scribe. He
later moved to Jos where he continued his Islamic education under his uncle,
Alkalin Jos, Mallam Abubakar. He was appointed an Arabic Teacher at Jos Native
Authority Elementary School. His search for knowledge took him to the famous
School for Arabic Studies in Kano, where he later served as a teacher. He was
called back by the Jos Native Authority in 1950. In 1950s he founded the Islamiyya
Nizamiyyah Schoolin Jos.[57]
Indeed, he was both a teacher in the Makarantanzaure and the new Islamiyya
Nizamiyyah School. He also had students in the Zaure School like
other scholars that settled in Jos town. He was referred to as Mallam Arabi
because he was appointed an Arabic teacher at Jos Native Authority Elementary
School and because of his passion to teach his students using Arabic Language
not in vernacular.[58].
In late 1940s and early 1950s, Zaure schools
continued to be established in Jos town. Among them was the School of Sheikh
Aliyu Dan Takai, who was also in Jos town as an Islamic Scholar from Kano and
shared similar antecedent with Mallam Audu except that Mallam Audu came from
Adamawa while Mallam Aliyu was from Kano. His school, which was in Bauchi Road,
taught many people Islamic education. In 1948, he left Jos for Ganan Daji, 52
kilometers away from Jos in the present day Barkin Ladi Local Government of Plateau
State. He settled in Ganan Daji with his brother and continued as an Islamic
teacher. His influence in the area attracted the neighboring areas of Ganan
Daji, and by 1950 he started going to Jarmai (an area in present day Kanam
Local Government of Plateau State) to conduct Tafsir in the months of Ramadan. He Stayed in Ganan Daji for only
10 years, and by 1958 he came back to Jos where Alhaji Adamu Na Marai gave him
a place to settle; and while in Jos, he continued teaching in the Town.[59]
Specialization of some selected Makaratun Zaure
in Jos town
Despite the absence of visible classification and
structures, the Zaure schools have some specifications and
peculiarities, which distinguished one from the other. The specialization of a
school is defined by the nature of the books the school taught. Moreover,
students of Islamic knowledge identified the peculiarities of different
schools, and by so doing, they usually refused to confine themselves to a
particular school. Zaure schools In Jos town during the period of study,
largely specialized on Islamic Jurisprudence. This was expected according to
Mallam Abdulwahab, because the early Islamic scholars in Jos were largely
Judges or studies Islam from judges who were expected to be an experts in
Islamic Jurisprudence (Fiqh).[60]
Islamic Jurisprudence (Fiqh) is a process by means of which Islamic
scholars derive sets of guidelines, rules and regulations from the rulings laid
down in the Qur’an and the teachings and living example of the Prophet Muhammad
(S.A.W). Over centuries, these have been formulated and elaborated upon by
successive generations of learned Islamic scholars, through interpretation,
analogy, consensus and disciplined research.[61] In Jos, Alkali Abubakar and
Mallam Audu Alkalin Shandam were both judges and well learned in Islamic
Jurisprudence, and their Zaure Schools largely concentrated in teaching
Islamic Jurisprudence, because that was their area of specialization.[62]
But it is worth noting that Mallam Arabi’s school was
not only Fiqh but also Arabic Language (Luggah) school. His
specialization in Fiqh was associated with the influence of his uncle
Alkali Abubakar who taught him almost throughout his learning period. Mallam
Arabi’s specialization in Fiqh became more visible when he wrote a book
called Sahalul Ma’akazi Ala Kitabul Akhadari in the 1970s. The book
simplified the basic Islamic jurisprudence in a form of questions and answers,
and it became widely accepted within and outside Jos town[63]. But for Arabic language,
Mallam Arabi was passionate about the language and teaching of the language to
his students. His wealth of knowledge in the field of Arabic language was more
of a passion than a specific trend of acquaintance.[64]
Mallam Mai Jalalaini and Mallam Hammajan specialized
more on Tafsir than Fiqh. The former got his name from an important Islamic
book that interpreted the Holy Qur’an, and he was among the early Islamic
scholars to interpret Qur’an during Ramadan in Jos town after Alkali Abubakar.
The latter also specialized in the interpretation of the Qur’an, which he
taught to many students in Zaure platform and during Ramadan he conducted Tafsir in Jos Central Mosque.
Indeed, some students attended more than one school
because of the differences in specialization. For instance, Mallam Abdulwahab
attended the school of Mallam Audu Alkalin Shandam and Mallam Arabi. On daily
basis he usually started with Mallam Audus’s School and after moved to Mallam
Arabi’s school with different books. All of the informants of this research did
the same, as narrated. However, this is not to conclude that the teachers only
stick to their specialization, some were able to engage in other fields despite
the peculiarities. For example, Alkali Abubakar and Mallam Audu were not only
teaching the Fiqh but also other areas such as Tafsir and Hadith.
However, the Zaure schools teachers largely specialized in Fiqh.
This is so because the subject is instrumental in the field of Islamic
knowledge and beliefs, which is a basic requirement for Muslims to practice the
religion as prescribed by the Prophet.
As discussed above, the policy of the colonial state
to segregate settlements along ethnic and class lines influenced the settlement
pattern of Jos town since the early period. Meanwhile, other developments such
as the railway line and system of registration by the Native Authority
contributed to the development of segregated residential areas in the town.
Moreover, the early period marked the beginning of Islamic scholars’ migration
into the town. As demonstrated in the paper, many of the Islamic scholars were
invited or enticed to Jos by their teachers or people who noticed their
relevance in the area. Their invitation to the area was not far away from the
need to have more Islamic scholars to educate the people and propagate the
teaching of Islam. Most interestingly, the emergence and evolution of the older
forms of Islamic schools in Jos town was different from most Nigerian Muslim
societies, because in Jos town it was much later in the 1930s that
establishment of formal Islamic school as confirmed by both oral sources and
available written documents.
A.
Published Works
Abubakar G., Isma’il T., Where I Stand, Kaduna,
Spectrum Books Limited, 1992
Arnold J.T, A Study of History, New York, DELL
Publishing CO., INC, 1946
Ames C., Gazetteer of the Plateau Province (Nigeria),
Jos Native Administration, 1932
Armijo J. “Muslim Education in China: Chinese Madrasas
and Linkages to Islamic Schools Abroad.” The Madrasa in Asia: Political
Activism and Transnational Linkages, edited by Farish A. Noor et al.,
Amsterdam University Press, Amsterdam, 2008, pp. 169–190. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46n10w.10.
Australia, 2019, pp. 98–112. JSTOR,
www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvb4bt41.14.
Berkey P. “Textual Aspects of Religious Authority in
Premodern Islam.” Islamic Studies in the Twenty-First Century:
Transformations and Continuities, edited by Léon Buskens and Annemarie Van
Sandwijk, Amsterdam University Press, Amsterdam, 2016, pp. 47–66. JSTOR,
www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1zxsk97.6.
Chalk P. “Islam in West Africa: The Case of Nigeria.” The
Muslim World After 9/11, by ANGEL M. RABASA et al., 1st ed., RAND
Corporation, 2004, pp. 413–432. JSTOR,
Elisha P. Renne, Educating Muslim Women and the Izala
Movement in Zaria City, Nigeria, Islamic Africa, VOL. 3, NO. 1,
Northwestern University Press, 2012, www.islamicafricajournal.org
Plotnicov L., Strangers to the City: Urban Man in
Jos, Nigeria, University of Pittsburgh Press, 1963, p76
Lugard F., The Dual Mandate in British Tropical
Africa, New York, Cornell University Library, 1891
Mahmud M. T., British Colonisation of Northern
Nigeria; 1897-1914, Dakar, Amalion Publishing, 2016
Umar M., Mass Islamic Education and Emergence of
Female ‘ulama’ in Northern Nigeria: Background, Trends and Consequences, The
Transmission of Learning in Islamic Africa, ed. John Hunwick and Knut
Vikor, Brill NV, Netherlands, 2004
Tanimu Hussaini., History of Arabic Language and
the Promotion of Islamic Learning in Jos, Tifama Printing and Publishing
Company, 2019, Jos
B. Journals
Aminu, Jibril. “Education in Nigeria: Overcoming
Adversity.” Journal of Education Finance, vol. 15, no. 4, 1990, pp.
581–586. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40703846.
Back, Irit. “From the Colony to the Post-Colony: Sufis
and Wahhâbîsts in Senegal and Nigeria.” Canadian Journal of African Studies
/ Revue Canadienne Des ÉtudesAfricaines, vol. 42, no. 2/3, 2008, pp.
423–445. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40380176.
Bala, Salisu. “Arabic Manuscripts in the Arewa House
(Kaduna, Nigeria).” History in Africa, vol. 39, 2012, pp. 331–336. JSTOR,
www.jstor.org/stable/23471008.
Boyle, Helen N. “Memorization and Learning in
Islamic Schools.” Comparative Education Review, vol. 50, no. 3, 2006,
pp. 478–495. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/504819.
Salisu Bala, The Contemporary Significance of the
Collapse of Makarantar Zaure in Northern Nigeria, C.1979-2015: Implication for
Peace, Development and Unity, North-East
Regional Conference, Yobe State University, November, 2016
Schacht, Joseph. “Islam in Northern Nigeria.” StudiaIslamica,
no. 8, 1957, pp. 123–146. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1595250.
Umar, M. (2001). Education and Islamic Trends in
Northern Nigeria: 1970s-1990s. Africa Today, 48(2), 127-150. Retrieved
from http://www.jstor.org/stable/4187415
C. Unpublished works
Abubakar Y, A History of Islamic Education in Zaria
1806-1960, M.A Dissertation, Department of History, Ahmadu Bello
University, Zaria, 2017
Abubakar Y, A History of Education in Kofan Doka Zaria
City c. 1850-1975, B. A Project, Department of History Ahmadu Bello University,
Zaria, 2008
Bingel A.D, Jos: Origin and Growth of the Town
1900-1972, University of Jos, Department of Geography,
Fatima Auwal, “The Role of Women in the Development of
Islamic Education in Jos: A Case Study of Jos North Local Government Area,
1980-2019”, B.A Project, Department of History, A.B.U Zaria,2019
Ramzi Ben Amara, “The Izala Movement in Nigeria: its
Split, Relationship to Sufis and Perception of Shari’a Reimplementation”, PhD
Thesis, Beirut International Graduate School of African Studies, University of
Beirut, Lebanon 2011
Rabiu Isah, “Admistration in Jos Town, 1902-1960”,
paper presented at Arewa House Seminar Series, on 12/05/2015
D. Archival Sources
NAK/JOSPROF/168, Return of Mohammedan Schools, Plateau
Province, 1935-1958
NAK/Min of Educ/DDN.418:
Mohammadan Elementary Schools Koranic Teachers for 1930
NAK/Min of
Educ./DDN.3140:Moslem School Oro 1952-56
NAK, Jos N.A, No. 274/51/1930-1950
NAK/SNP/17/11895/Vol.1, Bauchi Province Annual Report
for 1929 by C.N Monsell
NAK/Ministry of Education/ DEN779AI Vol.I/SAS School
Policy and Development/1946
NAK/Ministry of Education/ DEN779A Vol
II/SAS Policy and Development/1952
NAK/JOSPROF/709/Pilgrimage to Mecca/1953
NAK/Ministry of Education/ DEN779H/ School for Arabic
Studies, Course for Non-English Spelling Mallams, (Higher Muslim Studies)/1953
NAK/Ministry of Education/ DEN779D/SAS Students
at/1952
NAK/Ministry of Education/ 54158/ 15-man Koranic
Schools Delegation to North Africa/1962
NAK/JOSPROF/374/Bye-laws etc. Jos Township/1931
NAK/JOSPROF/729/ Moslem and Non-Moslem Festivals/1930
NAK/Ministry of Education/ DEN883 Vol II/ Girls
Education in Northern Province/ 1948
NAK/Ministry of Education/ DEN7793/ School for Arabic
Studies Kano: Buildings on New Site/ 1953
E.
List of
informants
S/N |
Name |
Age |
Occupation |
Place |
Date |
1 |
Mallam Adamu Musa |
72 years |
Retired Civil Servant |
Bauchi Road, Jos |
25/12/2019 |
2 |
Dr. Muhammad Gambo Hamza |
60 years |
Civil Servant |
Gangare, Jos |
09/04/2020 |
3 |
Mallam Ahamad Tijjani Aliyu |
69 years |
Islamic Scholar |
TudunFaida, Jos |
09/04/2020 |
4 |
Mallam Anakallahu Danladi |
79 years |
Islamic Scholar |
Dogon Agogo, Jos |
12/04/2020 |
5 |
Mallam Abdulkadi Na’Annabi |
52 years |
Islamic Scholar |
Duala, Jos |
10/04/2020 |
6 |
Prof. Muhammad Auwal Umar |
62 years |
Civil Servant |
A.B.U, Zaria |
04/08/2020 |
7 |
Mallam Umar Abdulmumin |
50 years |
Islamic Scholar |
Yan Tifa, Jos |
03/08/2020 |
8 |
Mallam Abdulhamid Adam |
63 years |
Trader |
Gangare, Jos |
28/12/2019 |
9 |
Mallam Sani Mai Walahaula |
88 years |
Trader/ Islamic Scholar |
Ganagre, Jos |
11/04/2020 |
10 |
Mallam Abdulwahab Adam |
80 years |
Islamic Scholar |
Gangare, Jos |
13/04/2020 |
11 |
Prof. Sani Umar |
60 years |
Civil Servant |
A.B.U, Zaria |
20/01/2020 |
12 |
Mallam Musa Sagagi |
68 years |
Islamic Scholar |
Gangare, Jos |
17/04/2020 |
13 |
Mallam Abbas Yusuf |
51 years |
Trader |
Yan Doya Market, Jos |
22/06/2020 |
14 |
Alhaji Ahga Abubakar |
76 years |
Retired Civil Servant |
Jossey Royal Hotel Jos |
26/09/2016 |
15 |
Dr. Muhammad Munir Ilyasu |
45 years |
Civil Servant |
Dogon Dutse, Jos |
10/09/2020 |
16 |
Mallama Fatima Idris |
72 years |
House wife |
Gangare, Jos |
02/01/2021 |
17 |
Mallam Taninu Aliyu Abubakar |
76 years |
Secretary to JIBWIS Ulama’u
Council, Plateau State Chapter |
Yelwa Road, Unguwan Rogo |
05/02/2022 |
[1]Leonard Plotnicov, Strangers to the City: Urban Man in Jos,
Nigeria, University of Pittsburgh Press, 1963, p3
[2] Anthony D.G,” Origin
and Growth of Jos Town 1900 to 1972”, Department of Geography, University of
Jos, Publication NO.1, 1976, p.6
[3]Anthony D.G, Origin and
Growth of Jos Town 1900 to 1972, Department of Geography, University of Jos, Publication
NO.1, 1976, p.3
[4] Anthony D.G, Origin and
Growth of the Town.., p.6
[5]Ames C., Gazetteer of
the Plateau Province (Nigeria), Jos Native Administration, 1932, p.329
[6]Ames C., Gazetteer of
the Plateau Province ……..Ibid p.7
[7]Opcit, C. G. Ames,
Gazetteer of The Plateau Province……. p.333 and 343
[8]Ci-Rani means leaving the
rural area for urban area in search of livelihood mostly during the dry season
and came back when the raining season started.
[9] Interview with Adamu
Musa, 72 years old, at his resident, Bauchi Road, Jos. 25/12/2019
[10] Mahdi Adamu, The Hausa Factor in West African History.
p15
[11] Mahdi Adamu, The Hausa
Factor in West African History. p.16
[12] NAK, Jos N.A, No.
274/51/1930-1950.
[13] Leonard Plotnicov,
Strangers to the City: Urban Man in Jos, Nigeria, University of Pittsburgh
Press, 1963, p76 Also see Anthony Bingel, Jos:
Origin and Growth of the Town, 1900-1972, University of Jos, Department of
Geography, 1978, P.11
[14]Adan Saman Sheikh.
‘Islamic Education in Kenya: A Case Study of Islamic Integrated Schools……p34
[15] M.S Abdulkadir, Islam
in the Non- Muslim Areas of Northern Nigeria,c.1600-1960, Ilorin Journal of Religious Studies, Vol. 1,
2011, P 12
[16] M.S Abdulkadir, Islam
in the Non- Muslim Areas of Northern Nigeria…p12
[17] Interview with Mallam
Abdulwahab Adam, Adam, 80 years, in his residence, Gangare, Jos, 13/04/2020
[18]Ibid, Interview with
Mallam Abdulwahab Adam…13/04/2020
[19] See Amess, C.G, Gazetters
of the Plateau Province
[20] Mahdi Adamu, The Hausa
Factor in West African History. P84
[21]Opcit, Interview with
Mallam Abdulwahab Adam,…………
[22] Jos Division had 15
Districts, and Naruguta was the name of the District Jos fell under, until
1926, when Plateau Province was established and Jos became the Headquarters of
the Province.
[23]Opcit. Bingel…Jos:
Origin….p.5
[24] Interview with Mallam
Gambo Hamza, 60years old, in his residence, Gangare, Jos, on 12/04/20
[25] Interview with Mallam
Yahaya Idris, 58 years old, at his residence in Gangare, Jos, on the 26/12/2019
[26] Rabiu Isa. “A Political
and Administartive History of Jos Town 1902-1960, M. A Dissertation, Zaria,
A.B.U Zaria, 2021, P137
[27] NAK/SNP/17/11895/Vol.1,
Bauchi Province Annual Report for 1929 by C.N Monsell.
[28] NAK/SNP/17/11895/Vol.1,
Bauchi Province Annual Report for 1929 by C.N Monsell
[29] Rabiu Isah,
“Admistration in Jos Town 1902-1960”, paper presented at Arewa House Seminar
Series, on 12/05/2015..P11
[30] Interview with Mallam
Musa Sagagi, at his residence, Gangare, Jos on the 17/04/2020
[31] Interview with Muhammad
Gambo Hamza, 60 year old, at his residence, Gangare, Jos, on the 09/05/2020
[32] Ibid, Interview with
Muhammad Gambo Hamza,
[33] Mallam Musa Aliyu, 64
years old, at his residence at Yantifa, Bauchi Road Jos, 12/07/2020
[34] Interview with Mallam
Musa Aliyu, ….., on the 12/07/2020
[35]Opcit, Interview with Mallam
Abdulwahab Adam………
[36] Interview with Mallam
Adam Abdudulwahab Adam, 45 years old, in his shop Yan Doya Market, Jos, on
11/04/2020
[37] Mallam Abdulwab Adam,
80years old, at his residence Gangare, on the 13/04/2020
[38]Ibid, Interview with
Mallam Abdudulwahab Adam
[39] A small structure that
Muslims use to observe prayers not more than two feet in height, or sometimes
in an open place with mat. Many of these types of mosques are seen in rural
periodic markets.
[40]interview with Mallam
Anakallahu, 79 year old, at his residence in Dogon Agogo Street, Jos, on the
12/04/2020
[41] Interview with Mallam
Ahmad Tijani Ali Abubakr, 69 years old, at his residence, TudunFaida, Jos, on
09/04/2020
[42] Sani Salihu, “The
Making of Jos”, NCE Project, College of Education, Akwanga, 1983,p32
[43]Opcit, Interview with
Muhammad Gambo….
[44] Opcit, Interview with
Mallam Ahmad Tijjani…
[45]Opcit, Interview with
Mallam Salisu Haliru,..
[46] Leonard Plotnicov,
Strangers to the City…. p52
[47]NAK/SNP/17/11895/Vol.1,
Bauchi……
[48]Opcit
NAK/SNP/17/11895/Vol.1, Bauchi……
[49]Opcit
NAK/SNP/17/11895/Vol.1, Bauchi……
[50] Opcit, Interview with
Muhammad Gambo Hamza…
[51]Opcit, Interview with
Mallam Abdulwahab…..
[52]Opcit , Interview with
Mallam Danladi A’akallahu….
[53]Ibid, Interview with
Mallam Danladi Anakallahu
[54]Opcit, Interview with
Mallam Muhammad Gambo Hamza……
[55] Mallam Muhammad Gambo
Hamza’ opinion was based on his personal research about the evolution of Jos
Central Mosque
[56]Opcit, Interview with
Mallam Tijjanni….
[57] Salisu Bala, Arabic
Manuscript in the Arewa House (Kaduna, Nigeria)……p334
[58] Abubakar Yahaya, “A
History of Islamic Education in Zaria….. P67
[59]Opcit interview with
Mallam Musa Aliyu……
[60]Opcit Interview with
Mallam Abdulwahab
[61] Abubakar Salisu, “Islamic Jurisprudence and Conventional Law”, B.A Project, Department of Religious Studies, University of Jos, 2009, p 22
[63]Opcit, Interview with
Mallam Gambo Hamza…….
[64]Opcit, Interview with
Mallam Ahmad Tijjani..
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