Ahmadu Tall

Ahmad al-Madani al-Kabir at-Tijani, commonly known as Ahmadou Sekou Tall or Ahmadu Sekou (June 21, 1836 – December 15, 1897) was the Laamdo Dioulbé (ruler) of the Toucouleur Empire from 1864 to 1893 and Faama of Ségou from 1864 to 1884. He led one of the largest states in West Africa at the time, and resisted French colonial encroachment both diplomatically and militarily for decades.

Early life Ahmadu was born in 1836, during his father El Hadj Umar Tall's stay in the Sokoto Caliphate. His mother was a Hausa slave named Aisha. Although he was the oldest of Umar Tall's sons, many of his brothers looked down on Ahmadu due to his mother's low social status. He lived with his father and numerous half-brothers in Dinguiraye before the jihad was launched in 1852.

After Umar Tall's death, the Toucouleur Empire was never able to function as a coherent whole. While Ahmadu's overall position at the head of the empire was widely acknowledged, he did not have any de facto of many areas nominally under his suzerainty. He ruled directly in Segou, but his cousin Tidiani Tall ran a functionally independent quasi-state based in Bandiagara, Habibou Tall ruled Dinguiraye, and Mokhtar Tall was in charge of Kaarta.

Confronting Rebellion After 1865, Beledougou was in a permanent state of revolt, frequently armed and supported by the French. Habibou and Mokhtar rebelled in 1869, and Mokhtar was captured but then freed in a prisoner exchange in 1873. After another year of campaigning Ahmadu was able to capture re-capture both brothers and imprison them in Segou. In 1878 the popular Aguibou was sidelined by sending him to Dinguiraye, although Ahmadu kept some of his wives as hostages in Segou to guarantee good conduct, an insult that would play a part in Aguibou switching sides to support the French. The Bambara of the Segou region, including those who had fought against Ahmadu for decades, were now chafing under the domination of the French and their allies such as Mademba Sy. The one-time enemies now collaborated against the foreign threat, and in March 1892 jointly besieged Sansanding.

Archinard reacted first by taking Djenne, which was brutally bombarded for refusing to renounce Ahmadu, then Mopti. The Toucouleur defensive line at Kori-Kori on the plateau was broken, and the city of Bandiagara fell on April 29th. On May 4th, Ahmadu's brother Aguibou was installed as the puppet Sultan of Massina.

Exile Despite being forced to flee Bandiagara, Ahmadu refused Archinard's offer of a comfortable retirement. He and Ndiaye fell back eastwards to modern-day Niger, where Ndiaye was killed. Ahmadu reached Sokoto, now in present-day Nigeria, and settled at Maykouki where he died in 1897.

Personality Ahmadu Tall was an enlightened and wise ruler, who treated French diplomats courteously, but did not possess the same charisma as his father. The historical traditions of Diafunu remember him as very calm, sober, pensive, and ascetic.

Legacy Ahmadu and his father are controversial figures in West Africa today; they built a powerful empire and resisted colonial encroachment, but were themselves imperialists imposing the rule of a Toucouleur minority on an often unwilling local population. Therefore, they have not become inspirational figures for post-colonial state building in the way that the Sekou Toure regime promoted Samory Toure. Ahmadu kept the empire together as a regional power, despite constant challenges and rebellions, for nearly 30 years. Although he was a Toucouleur, he has been remembered fondly by the Bambara of Segou over whom he ruled.

Ahmadu's son Muntaga joined forces with Samory Toure after the fall of Segou and served with him until his capture in 1898. In 1905 he was allowed to return to the city, where he became a prominent community leader.