Salimonu, I'll have to agree with you that the generic usage of 'Sarki' is much closer to 'leader' than 'king'. In practice, however, individuals holding these positions can and do wield enormous powers over their 'subjects' in the fashion of autocratic kings. So, it's more or less about degree and individual style than a clear-cut distinction between kings and leaders.
I also think the ridiculous bigmanism of public officers (at all levels) in Nigeria, for example, fits into this 'Sarki/Eze' phenemenon - huge powers, without any responsibility to virtuous conduct. Kings of the Shehu mould were humane, pious and humble Sufi philosphers, in my view.
Malami
Prof Malami Buba
Department of English Language & Linguistics
Sokoto State University
PMB 2134, Birnin-Kebbi Rd,
Sokoto, NIGERIA
Thank you Professor Malami Buba for your illuminating explanation. However, I will be delighted to have answers to these questions. When we say *Emir Yahaya* do we mean King Yahaya? Is the word Emir synonymous with the word Sarki? Going by the example given below by you, can 'Sarkin Fawa' be referred to as 'Emir Fawa'?--
S.Kadiri
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - A republic of two thousand kings! My column on Thursday 29 th of October
From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
Date: Sun, 25 Oct 2015 21:41:57 +0000
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com… ahhh … but Emir Yahaya (Gwandu Emirate) is a well-known counter-example. Also, the connector -n (of) must be removed in the title + proper name, i.e. 'Sarki Sanusi'.The generic marking of 'Sarki' is very encompassing. All traditional Hausa occupations derive their legitimacy through a titular 'Sarki', e.g. 'Sarkin Fawa' (chief butcher). His own legitimacy as a 'Sarki' is confirmed in a turbaning ceremony by the village head, or the district head or the emir or the sultan, depending on the locality.So pervasive is this practice, the Hausa even have a legitimised 'Sarkin Shegu' (Chief Area Boy, in today's lingo).Naming is a fascinating but poorly under-studied area of African linguistics. And I think this whole Sarki/Eze tussle could have been better framed as an onomastic phenomenon, which in turn could have mellowed the tone of this debate.MalamiProf Malami BubaDepartment of English Language & LinguisticsSokoto State UniversityPMB 2134, Birnin-Kebbi Rd,Sokoto, NIGERIAThank you, Ib. Case closed.
Ugo
From my mobile phone
On Oct 25, 2015 1:34 PM, <ibdullah@gmail.com> wrote:Sarkin remains the generic marker of Kingship/monarchy even with the Sarauta emirate system. That is why the Emirs are hardly ever referred to as Emir Sanusi but the generic Sarkin Kano/Sarkin Sanusi.---
Sent from my iPhoneSalimonu,
People have often pointed out your tendency to deliberately twist or misrepresent your interlocutor's arguments and build on them a premises for your contrary responses that have nothing to do with their arguments. You have done that again.
I did NOT say or implied -- neither is true -- that "Sarkin ceased to be known by the Hausa after 1808".
Since I didn't say or implied that statement of yours, which is false, the argument from that false premise is preposterous.
What happened after 1808 is that the Habe kingdoms were generally replaced by emirates. The concept and meaning of Sarkin is quite a different thing.
Why are Hausa speakers silent on this issue?
Ugo
From my mobile phone
On Oct 25, 2015 6:03 AM, "Salimonu Kadiri" <ogunlakaiye@hotmail.com> wrote:Ugo, if Sarkin ceased to be known as King by the Hausa after 1808 and was replaced with Emir, it would not make sense for a congregation of Hausa, for example in Onitsha, to refer to their elected King as Sarkin instead of Emir. Interestingly, every Hausa man knows that there is lineage in the process of becoming an Emir and not just any Hausa man, irrespective of wealth, can be an Emir. Therefore, the Hausa person elected by fellow Hausa residents in Onitsha would fit in as a leader, Sarkin, and not as a King, Emir, of the Hausa people in Onitsha.
With that said, the right of Nigerians to form associations, name and choose leaders as they want is not in dispute, rather, what is in dispute is whether the choice of name, in this regard EZE, is in conflict with the existing order in the society. The leader of Igbo community in Akure cannot and should not be King of Igbo people in Akure when, traditionally and culturally, there is a King in Akure that is responsible for the wellbeing of all inhabitants in his Kingdom. The practice of Ezeship may make sense in Igbo land but not outside it.
S. Kadiri
Date: Sat, 24 Oct 2015 12:47:20 -0700
Subject: RE: USA Africa Dialogue Series - A republic of two thousand kings! My column on Thursday 29 th of October
From: ugo@berkeley.edu
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.comSarkin is more complex than that, Salimoni. It may mean leader, but it also approximates to king, as far as I know. And - - I stand to be corrected - - sarkin was the title of Hausa kings before the Sokoto Jihad of 1804-08. And that meaning continues to resonate, the fact that there are now emirates and emirs notwithstanding.
But all that is beside the point. As I have already stated, I don't care what they're called, but I understand and appreciate -- and will defend --the right of Hausa migrants in Igboland and everywhere to choose and name their leaders however it makes sense to them.
Ugo
From my mobile phone
On Oct 24, 2015 12:22 PM, "Salimonu Kadiri" <ogunlakaiye@hotmail.com> wrote:I think your translation of the Hausa word, SARKIN to mean KING is too elastic. The word actually means LEADER. Thus, and for example the King of Kano is not SARKIN KANO but EMIR OF KANO. By extension, the leader of any Hausa Community in other parts of Nigeria is just as any leader of Ohaneze Ndi-Igbo any where in Nigeria. In this wise, the compound word OHANEZE means ORDINARY AND TITLED, and NDI-IGBO as usual means IGBO PEOPLE. Therefore OHANEZE NDI-IGBO as a sociocultural organisation has nothing to do with Kings and ordinary Igbo people but an association of Igbo elites and ordinary people. There are branches of Ohaneze Ndi-Igbo and Aka Ikenga throughout Yoruba land whose functions are not different from Afenifere Renewal Group, Arewa Consultative Forum from Southwest and the North respectively. Eze Ndi-Igbo is not a socio-cultural organisation but a person, as in this case, who claims to be King of Igbo in Akure, whereas there is a King for the entire inhabitants of Akure, known as Deji of Akure with the title, Oba and named, Aladetoyinbo Aladelusi. He derived his authority from Ondo State Government and the Local government of Akure. Some people have argued that the remuneration of Kings by the States and local governments in Yoruba land are not constitutional. That is sterile intellectual masturbation since the same people want to replace the Oba with that invented colonial aberration, Eze, designed for use only in Igbo land.
S.Kadiri
Date: Sat, 24 Oct 2015 08:13:46 -0700
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - A republic of two thousand kings! My column on Thursday 29 th of October
From: ugo@berkeley.edu
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.comBode,
In case you didn't know, Hausa migrants in other regions of Nigeria, certainly in Igboland, normally have headman, who lead in settling disputes amongst them, galvanize their community to support other community members in difficult times, and liase between the Hausa communities and host societies. I don't care what they call them (though I believe that in large urban centers they are called "Sarkin Hausa", which translates as "Hausa King", and Ndi-Igbo themselves call them "Eze Hausa") , but it is a fantastic arrangement, which shouldn't ruffle feathers. Really, why should bother anybody. I will feel obliged to defend the right of the Hausa communities to have leaders if anybody should try to take it away from them. Why does this so-called Eze Igbo matter rile some people so much in Yorba and? It doesn't bother people in any other part of Nigeria. That's the question we should be asking.
Ugo
On Oct 24, 2015 4:03 AM, "Bode" <ominira@gmail.com> wrote:Ugo: You are defending the self --segregation of certain group I dare not name and the simultaneous invention of parallel traditional authorities as a right of citizenship in a modern nation sate and you see no contradiction in your thinking, that makes you a separatist and a tribalist in thought and soul. We can disagree on what federalism and citizenship means without throwing up labels but you can't help it because you are paranoid. You should take my suggestion seriously and see a psychiatrist for your needs.On Sat, Oct 24, 2015 at 12:45 AM, Ugo Nwokeji <ugo@berkeley.edu> wrote:Bode,
You don't you pull tribalism from the hat. You are the tribalist par excellence. The fact that I am defending citizenship rights does not in any way amount to "separatist" and "tribal" agenda, but the opposite of that. Only in your warped mind would that kind of logic make sense. The same you, who somehow associated my pro-citizenship rights in a FEDERAL state (the same that obtains in the United States, Canada, Switzerland, Austria and Germany) with a unitary arrangement a few short months ago, would now accuse me of advancing a "separatist" position. How do you do that? Do you even think, Bode? You are just blinded by prejudice to bring separatism into it, perhaps hoping it would somehow stick once you throw at certain kinds of people. It just doesn't work that way.
It is rather your xenophobic opposition to citizenship rights of your compatriots that is both tribalist and separatist, my friend. You can put a lipstick on a pig, it is still a pig. Only you can purge yourself of your xenophobia, tribalism and separatist sentiment that lie behind your arguments and illogicalities, such as I have highlighted above.
Remember what I wrote some months ago when you were making your xenophobic argument: "We don't have tribes, but we have tribalism, in the sense that we have people with a tribal mentality"?
Ugo
On Oct 23, 2015 2:08 PM, "Bode" <ominira@gmail.com> wrote:You are a fascist, Ugo, and there is nothing to gain from an exchange with you. You are using a modern concept of citizen to promote a separatist tribal agenda. So, for you citizenship means Yorubas can self-segregate everywhere and install kings for themselves in every community they reside in Nigeria or even in London and New York, they can install Obas everywhere as a right of (global) citizenship. You do not see that self-segregation and reversion to monarchy is the real problem here because you are blinded by ethnic loyalty. The nation state that confers the right of citizen requires integration not self-segregation and civic participation not reinvention of non-existent and archaic kingship. Kingship if you must be told derives from the lineage system, it is a close knit system of kit and kin. for those who never had kings to expend their rights of citizenship in installing kings everywhere does not simply undermine the nation state, whose rights they claim to embody but also shows a level of degeneration and lack of understanding of the institution of kingship, that only you can fail to see.On Fri, Oct 23, 2015 at 2:37 PM, Ugo Nwokeji <ugo@berkeley.edu> wrote:Bode,
If you detest being labeled as xenophobic, stop advancing xenophobic positions. It is as simple as that.
Ugo
From my mobile phone
On Oct 23, 2015 11:12 AM, "Bode" <ominira@gmail.com> wrote:Ugo,You are poisoning the wells again. It is a chronically anti-intellectual, and fascist tendency that you exhibit.BodeOn Fri, Oct 23, 2015 at 12:16 PM, Ugo Nwokeji <ugo@berkeley.edu> wrote:Well-said, Obi and Bayou,
I have said it seems many times before, the problem in Nigeria is that many, including some of the most educated Nigerians, cannot grasp the meaning of national state, let alone being a citizen in it. Otherwise, how can somebody refer to, or reduce, their fellow citizens as foreigners or visitors? It is ridiculous that this is the kind of debate we are having in the 21st century. Referring to, reducing or treating fellow citizens as foreigners in order to deny them citizenship rights under any guise is xenophobic. It has no other name. Period.
Ugo
On Oct 23, 2015 8:50 AM, "Bayo Amos" <aaeoee@gmail.com> wrote:"Bode, I think you miss the point: I do not defend the institution, but the rights of the individual to the freedom of self expression guaranteed by citizenship, and covered under Nigeria's charter of human rights. I have very little interests in these titles. But I think that a Yoruba man who wishes to be known as "Oba Awon Yoruba" or "Olu Yoruba in Zaria" has the right and in fact the obligation to defend that right. Under constitutional rule, and under the principle that covers his citizenship, the Emir of Zaria is just another citizen in Zaria, equal in status to a Yoruba in Zaria, who may be a tailor, vulcanizer or Professor. Nigeria is not a monarchy, and Zaria is in fact, part of the Nigerian federation. The Yoruba man, who is a citizen of Nigeria is no "visitor" to Zaria but a citizen of Nigeria resident in Zaria. So, if this Yoruba man wants to be "Agalaba-ji-Igwe in Zaria," for as long as he does not claim to establish extraordinary military and political control that questions the sovereign - in this case the constitution - he has the rights. It is that right we must defend, not the rights to subdue him."---ObiI am Bayo Amos and I approve this message.We should stop inventing crimes where none exists. I have examined this Eze Ndigbo thing but I am yet to really see where he erred. I know Mojere Market and the market in question, a section of Ilesa Garage, is dominated (at least 70%) by Igbo. Why can't Igbo determine what's obtainable in a market dominated by them? If there is any dispute, why must it necessarily be taken to Deji's palace? What happens to our courts? And where is it written that if a citizen is summoned by Deji, he or she must appear before him?If we care so much about Deji's powers, we should strive to put such in our laws, not this nebulous method of appealing to custom or tradition that are not really enforceable in our courts, at least in this case. In our individual minds, we might think Deji is bigger than Mr Gregory, but in the eye of Nigerian laws, there is no distinction.On Fri, Oct 23, 2015 at 9:27 AM, Rex Marinus <rexmarinus@hotmail.com> wrote:Bode, I think you miss the point: I do not defend the institution, but the rights of the individual to the freedom of self expression guaranteed by citizenship, and covered under Nigeria's charter of human rights. I have very little interests in these titles. But I think that a Yoruba man who wishes to be known as "Oba Awon Yoruba" or "Olu Yoruba in Zaria" has the right and in fact the obligation to defend that right. Under constitutional rule, and under the principle that covers his citizenship, the Emir of Zaria is just another citizen in Zaria, equal in status to a Yoruba in Zaria, who may be a tailor, vulcanizer or Professor. Nigeria is not a monarchy, and Zaria is in fact, part of the Nigerian federation. The Yoruba man, who is a citizen of Nigeria is no "visitor" to Zaria but a citizen of Nigeria resident in Zaria. So, if this Yoruba man wants to be "Agalaba-ji-Igwe in Zaria," for as long as he does not claim to establish extraordinary military and political control that questions the sovereign - in this case the constitution - he has the rights. It is that right we must defend, not the rights to subdue him.
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