Lere, Nigeria
Encyclopedia
Lere is a Local Government Area in Kaduna State
, Nigeria
. Its headquarters are in the town of Saminaka.
It has an area of 2,158 km² and a population of 331,161 at the 2006 census.
BRIEF HISTORY OF LERE TRADITIONAL INSTITUTION
The chiefdom of Lere was established in 1808 by a branch of Toronkawa
Fulani, known as the Fulanin Wunti-Gyamzo, under the leadership of
Malam Muhammadu Dabo Titi. This Fulani group arrived at the Bauchi
territory in the late 18th century after moving from Maru in Zamfara.
The leader of this Fulani clan settled in the precinct of Zaranda
during the pre-jihad period.
Having settled at Zaranda for awhile, Malam Muhammadu Dabo Titi
shifted base to Toro and built his home at a place called Gyamzo.
Thus, that was how the group under Muhammadu Dabo Titi got its name
Wunti-Gyamzo.
At the commencement of the jihad spearheaded by Shehu Usman Dan Fodio
in 1804, Malam Muhammadu Dabo Titi assisted Mallam Yakubu, the flag
bearer of the jihad in Bauchi, which resulted in the establishment of
Bauchi Emirate in 1805. Malam Muhammadu Dabo Titi was offered the
title of Sarkin Yaki by Malam Yakubu, the first emir of Bauchi, but he
relinquished the title to his in-law, Muhammadu Kusu, a Filata Borno.
Muhammadu Kusu's descendants and those of Muhammadu Dabo Titi hold the
title of Sarkin Yaki (King Maker) and also District Head of Lame
successivefully, in the present Bauchi Emirate to date.
Shortly after a major disagreement ensued between Malam Muhammadu Dabo
Titi and the Emir of Bauchi Mallam Yakubu over the imposition of
cattle taxes on Fulanin Wunti. The case was referred to Shehu Usman
Dan Fodio, who after careful study ordered for the return of the
cattle to Titi.
Sequel to this a request was again made by Malam Muhammadu Dabo Titi
to Shehu Usman Dan Fodio for the transfer of allegiance to Zazzau from
Bauchi.
Malam Musa Bamalli, the first emir of Zazzau was a personal friend and
teacher to Dabo Titi and his brother Malam Sambo.
The Shehu, however, suggested that Dabo Titi relocate to Bukuru, near
present day Jos, Plateau State, where he would be made a flag bearer.
But Dabo Titi chose to stay under Malam Musa and remain in his Toro
country home. The Shehu granted Dabo Titi's request for transfer of
allegiance and advised firmly that Dabo Titi should accept a vassalage
status in Zazzau emirate. The Shehu carved out parts of Bauchi and
Zazzau emirates and incorporated them into the new Lere vassal state,
marking the creation of Lere chiefdom in 1808.
From the onset, Lere's territory as engraved by the Shehu covered a
vast area within the present Bauchi and Plateau states. To the east,
it stretched up to a place called Inkel. Also it extended to River
Dilimi and Farar Gada in Jos to the south, while to the north it
stretches to Riruwai in Kano state. The western boundary was the Lere
river, widely known as River Karami.
The Shehu allowed Dabo Titi to remain in Toro, which did not go down
well with Malam Yakubu and so he asked Dabo Titi to move out of the
area, when he refused Yakubu marched his forces to Ribina, west of
Toro, and made it part of his territory. Ribina was earlier under the
rulership of Dabo Titi.
Dabo Titi reported the matter to Malam Musa, the emir of Zazzau, and
sought his permission to fight Malam Yakubu so as to reclaim his
territory, but Malam Musa urged him to move southwest of Toro and
avoid armed conflict, which the Shehu has forbidden among his
followers. Dabo Titi moved his headquartres to a place called Kunka,
then, inhabited by a tribe called Limoro and consolidated his country
and subjects as vassal of Zazzau. Dabo Titi and his people found it
difficult to settle in one place because of their large number. They
broke up into smaller settlements within the territory they controlled
and occupied. Subsequently, the headquartres of Lere vassal state was
moved to several places up to the time it was established in its
present site in 1870 by Sarkin Lere Muhammadu Dankaka (1857-1907).
Sarkin Lere Idris Murabus (1830-1847) founded his base near the rock
of Gurba (near Sheni), while his brother Sarkin Lere Mamman
(Muhammadu), who ruled from 1850 to 1856 chose a place called Liyanga,
which is near present day Domawa, as his headquartres. Upon his
ascension to the throne in 1857, Malam Muhammadu Dankaka founded
Masherengi as a unified settlement but was forced to abandon it
following a night raid by Sarkin Ningi Dan Maje in 1867 which
destroyed the town.
To pacify Malam Yakubu following several agitations, Lafia, which was
earlier a vassal of Zazzau was ceded to Bauchi by the Sokoto Caliphate
as its vassal in return for Lere in 1812.
This exchange resulted in Zazzau emirate having ten vassal states
namely Lere, Keffi, Nasarawa, Doma, Jema'a, Lapai, Kajuru, Kauru,
Fatika and Durum. The ten vassal states operated independent
hereditary leadership succession within their existing ruling houses.
Among all these vassal states, however, only Lere has been given the
mandate to keep up to a dozen royal drums (Tambura), which indicated
the pre-eminence of Lere above the other components. As stated earlier
Lere vassal was ruled by the following chiefs:
1. Malam Muhammadu Dabo Titi (1808-1830)
2. Malam Idris Murabus (1830-1847)
3. Malam Aliyu I (1847-1850)
4. Malam Mamman (1850-1856)
5. Malam Muhammadu Dankaka (1857-1905)
Sequel to the colonial takeover of the Northern Emirates in 1903, the
vassalage system was abolished and replaced by districts and
provinces. In the course of this re-organisation, substantial parts of
Lere Vassal State were merged with Bauchi and Plateau provinces. The
remnants which constitutes the present Lere Local Government Area was
thus reduced to a district status under a hereditary rulership system
(or Sarki) in 1905 during the reign of Muhammadu Dankaka. Consequent
to the reduction of Lere vassal to a district status, the following
district heads ruled the district.
1. Malam Muhammadu Dankaka (1905-1907)
2. Malam Abdullahi (1907-1912)
3. Malam Abubakar (1912-1915)
4. Malam Abdullahi (1915-1918)
5. Barden Lere Abdulkarim (Regent) (1918-1920)
In the period of 1907 to 1918, during the reign of Emir of Zazzau
Aliyu Dan Sidi, Sarkin Lere Abdullahi and Sarkin Lere Abubakar were
alleged to have misappropiated tax and were deposed. Both Sarkin Lere
Abdullahi and Sarkin Lere Abubakar were neither given the full status
of District Head and were not paid any salary throughout the period of
their reign. However, Sarkin Ruwan Zazau Salau, Dan Galadiman Zazzau
Abbas and his brother Walin Zazzau Halliru were moderators until 1920.
After the removal of Abdullahi for the second time, no chief was
appointed for Lere for two years. However, in 1920 Walin Zazzau
Halliru was gazetted as District Head of Lere for the period of 1920
to 1924. Since then Lere has the following District Heads posted from
Zaria.
1. Walin Zazzau Umaru (1925-1946)
2. Dallatun Zazau Muhammadu (1946-1951)
3. Walin Zazzau Umaru (1951-1968)
4. Makaman Zazzau Karami, Alhaji Halliru (1968-1986)
It was also in 1920 that Sarkin Lere Aliyu Mai'Itu was appointed
Village Head of Lere. Thus, the following people ruled Lere with a
reduced status of village head.
1. Malam Aliyu Mai'Itu (1920-1924)
2. Malam Musa Ladan (1924-1927)
3. Malam Muhammadu Mijinyawa (1927-1942)
4. Alhaji Muhammadu Sani (1942-1980)
5. Alhaji Umaru Muhammad (1980-1986)
RETURN OF DISTRICT HEADSHIP TO ORIGINAL HEIRS
However, a turning point in the transformation of Lere Chiefdom was
made in 1986 when late Sarkin Lere Alhaji Umaru Muhammad, then Village
Head of Lere was appointed as District Head of Lere. He succeeded late
Makaman Zazzau Alhaji Halliru who died in the same year.
RESTORATION OF LERE TRADITIONAL INSTITUTION
The upgrading of Lere traditional institition from the status of a
district to a third class chiefdom on December 27, 2000 marked another
historical milestone. This is a precedent for the full restoration of
Lere's traditional status and a step towards attaining the position of
Emirate as its peers in Kaduna and other states.
Yet again, following the process of re-grading some traditional
institutions, the Kaduna State Government under the administration of
Alhaji Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi upgraded the Lere traditional stool from
Third Class to Second Class status on March 9, 2007.
The postal code
of the area is 811.
Kaduna State
-History:The state is the successor to the old Northern Region of Nigeria, which had its capital at Kaduna. In 1967 this was split up into six states, one of which was the North-Central State, whose name was changed to Kaduna State in 1976. This was further divided in 1987, losing the area now part...
, Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
. Its headquarters are in the town of Saminaka.
It has an area of 2,158 km² and a population of 331,161 at the 2006 census.
BRIEF HISTORY OF LERE TRADITIONAL INSTITUTION
The chiefdom of Lere was established in 1808 by a branch of Toronkawa
Fulani, known as the Fulanin Wunti-Gyamzo, under the leadership of
Malam Muhammadu Dabo Titi. This Fulani group arrived at the Bauchi
territory in the late 18th century after moving from Maru in Zamfara.
The leader of this Fulani clan settled in the precinct of Zaranda
during the pre-jihad period.
Having settled at Zaranda for awhile, Malam Muhammadu Dabo Titi
shifted base to Toro and built his home at a place called Gyamzo.
Thus, that was how the group under Muhammadu Dabo Titi got its name
Wunti-Gyamzo.
At the commencement of the jihad spearheaded by Shehu Usman Dan Fodio
in 1804, Malam Muhammadu Dabo Titi assisted Mallam Yakubu, the flag
bearer of the jihad in Bauchi, which resulted in the establishment of
Bauchi Emirate in 1805. Malam Muhammadu Dabo Titi was offered the
title of Sarkin Yaki by Malam Yakubu, the first emir of Bauchi, but he
relinquished the title to his in-law, Muhammadu Kusu, a Filata Borno.
Muhammadu Kusu's descendants and those of Muhammadu Dabo Titi hold the
title of Sarkin Yaki (King Maker) and also District Head of Lame
successivefully, in the present Bauchi Emirate to date.
Shortly after a major disagreement ensued between Malam Muhammadu Dabo
Titi and the Emir of Bauchi Mallam Yakubu over the imposition of
cattle taxes on Fulanin Wunti. The case was referred to Shehu Usman
Dan Fodio, who after careful study ordered for the return of the
cattle to Titi.
Sequel to this a request was again made by Malam Muhammadu Dabo Titi
to Shehu Usman Dan Fodio for the transfer of allegiance to Zazzau from
Bauchi.
Malam Musa Bamalli, the first emir of Zazzau was a personal friend and
teacher to Dabo Titi and his brother Malam Sambo.
The Shehu, however, suggested that Dabo Titi relocate to Bukuru, near
present day Jos, Plateau State, where he would be made a flag bearer.
But Dabo Titi chose to stay under Malam Musa and remain in his Toro
country home. The Shehu granted Dabo Titi's request for transfer of
allegiance and advised firmly that Dabo Titi should accept a vassalage
status in Zazzau emirate. The Shehu carved out parts of Bauchi and
Zazzau emirates and incorporated them into the new Lere vassal state,
marking the creation of Lere chiefdom in 1808.
From the onset, Lere's territory as engraved by the Shehu covered a
vast area within the present Bauchi and Plateau states. To the east,
it stretched up to a place called Inkel. Also it extended to River
Dilimi and Farar Gada in Jos to the south, while to the north it
stretches to Riruwai in Kano state. The western boundary was the Lere
river, widely known as River Karami.
The Shehu allowed Dabo Titi to remain in Toro, which did not go down
well with Malam Yakubu and so he asked Dabo Titi to move out of the
area, when he refused Yakubu marched his forces to Ribina, west of
Toro, and made it part of his territory. Ribina was earlier under the
rulership of Dabo Titi.
Dabo Titi reported the matter to Malam Musa, the emir of Zazzau, and
sought his permission to fight Malam Yakubu so as to reclaim his
territory, but Malam Musa urged him to move southwest of Toro and
avoid armed conflict, which the Shehu has forbidden among his
followers. Dabo Titi moved his headquartres to a place called Kunka,
then, inhabited by a tribe called Limoro and consolidated his country
and subjects as vassal of Zazzau. Dabo Titi and his people found it
difficult to settle in one place because of their large number. They
broke up into smaller settlements within the territory they controlled
and occupied. Subsequently, the headquartres of Lere vassal state was
moved to several places up to the time it was established in its
present site in 1870 by Sarkin Lere Muhammadu Dankaka (1857-1907).
Sarkin Lere Idris Murabus (1830-1847) founded his base near the rock
of Gurba (near Sheni), while his brother Sarkin Lere Mamman
(Muhammadu), who ruled from 1850 to 1856 chose a place called Liyanga,
which is near present day Domawa, as his headquartres. Upon his
ascension to the throne in 1857, Malam Muhammadu Dankaka founded
Masherengi as a unified settlement but was forced to abandon it
following a night raid by Sarkin Ningi Dan Maje in 1867 which
destroyed the town.
To pacify Malam Yakubu following several agitations, Lafia, which was
earlier a vassal of Zazzau was ceded to Bauchi by the Sokoto Caliphate
as its vassal in return for Lere in 1812.
This exchange resulted in Zazzau emirate having ten vassal states
namely Lere, Keffi, Nasarawa, Doma, Jema'a, Lapai, Kajuru, Kauru,
Fatika and Durum. The ten vassal states operated independent
hereditary leadership succession within their existing ruling houses.
Among all these vassal states, however, only Lere has been given the
mandate to keep up to a dozen royal drums (Tambura), which indicated
the pre-eminence of Lere above the other components. As stated earlier
Lere vassal was ruled by the following chiefs:
1. Malam Muhammadu Dabo Titi (1808-1830)
2. Malam Idris Murabus (1830-1847)
3. Malam Aliyu I (1847-1850)
4. Malam Mamman (1850-1856)
5. Malam Muhammadu Dankaka (1857-1905)
Sequel to the colonial takeover of the Northern Emirates in 1903, the
vassalage system was abolished and replaced by districts and
provinces. In the course of this re-organisation, substantial parts of
Lere Vassal State were merged with Bauchi and Plateau provinces. The
remnants which constitutes the present Lere Local Government Area was
thus reduced to a district status under a hereditary rulership system
(or Sarki) in 1905 during the reign of Muhammadu Dankaka. Consequent
to the reduction of Lere vassal to a district status, the following
district heads ruled the district.
1. Malam Muhammadu Dankaka (1905-1907)
2. Malam Abdullahi (1907-1912)
3. Malam Abubakar (1912-1915)
4. Malam Abdullahi (1915-1918)
5. Barden Lere Abdulkarim (Regent) (1918-1920)
In the period of 1907 to 1918, during the reign of Emir of Zazzau
Aliyu Dan Sidi, Sarkin Lere Abdullahi and Sarkin Lere Abubakar were
alleged to have misappropiated tax and were deposed. Both Sarkin Lere
Abdullahi and Sarkin Lere Abubakar were neither given the full status
of District Head and were not paid any salary throughout the period of
their reign. However, Sarkin Ruwan Zazau Salau, Dan Galadiman Zazzau
Abbas and his brother Walin Zazzau Halliru were moderators until 1920.
After the removal of Abdullahi for the second time, no chief was
appointed for Lere for two years. However, in 1920 Walin Zazzau
Halliru was gazetted as District Head of Lere for the period of 1920
to 1924. Since then Lere has the following District Heads posted from
Zaria.
1. Walin Zazzau Umaru (1925-1946)
2. Dallatun Zazau Muhammadu (1946-1951)
3. Walin Zazzau Umaru (1951-1968)
4. Makaman Zazzau Karami, Alhaji Halliru (1968-1986)
It was also in 1920 that Sarkin Lere Aliyu Mai'Itu was appointed
Village Head of Lere. Thus, the following people ruled Lere with a
reduced status of village head.
1. Malam Aliyu Mai'Itu (1920-1924)
2. Malam Musa Ladan (1924-1927)
3. Malam Muhammadu Mijinyawa (1927-1942)
4. Alhaji Muhammadu Sani (1942-1980)
5. Alhaji Umaru Muhammad (1980-1986)
RETURN OF DISTRICT HEADSHIP TO ORIGINAL HEIRS
However, a turning point in the transformation of Lere Chiefdom was
made in 1986 when late Sarkin Lere Alhaji Umaru Muhammad, then Village
Head of Lere was appointed as District Head of Lere. He succeeded late
Makaman Zazzau Alhaji Halliru who died in the same year.
RESTORATION OF LERE TRADITIONAL INSTITUTION
The upgrading of Lere traditional institition from the status of a
district to a third class chiefdom on December 27, 2000 marked another
historical milestone. This is a precedent for the full restoration of
Lere's traditional status and a step towards attaining the position of
Emirate as its peers in Kaduna and other states.
Yet again, following the process of re-grading some traditional
institutions, the Kaduna State Government under the administration of
Alhaji Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi upgraded the Lere traditional stool from
Third Class to Second Class status on March 9, 2007.
The postal code
Postal code
A postal code is a series of letters and/or digits appended to a postal address for the purpose of sorting mail. Once postal codes were introduced, other applications became possible.In February 2005, 117 of the 190 member countries of the Universal Postal Union had postal code systems...
of the area is 811.