Aliyu Babba

Aliyu Ibn Abdullahi-Maje Karofi was an Emir of Kano, a state in what is now Northern Nigeria. Also known as Babba and Mai Sango- The Gun User. Emerging at the end of the Basasa, his reign was marked by a series of costly wars and fortification projects that heavily militarised the erstwhile commercial Emirate. His escapades as Emir of Kano were recorded in the official historical canon of the Kano Emirate, the Tarikh Al Kano. The ballad of Ali Zaki, commemorates his reign as the last Emir of Kano.

Early life The life of Aliyu unlike other sudanic princes at the time was one of a strict adherence to Tasswuf, according to the Tarikh al Kano, Aliyu was a strict adherent of the Qadariyyah Order and a gifted swordsman. At a young age he wrote the Rad al Jahla; a sufist text for initiates. In 1893, shortly after the death of Emir Muhammad Bello, Sultan Abdurrahman appointed Tukur the new Emir of Kano. Almost immediately, Aliyu's brother and reported confident Yusuf, led the remaining children of Abdullahi Maje Karofi in rebellion. This split within the House of Dabo initiated the 3rd Kano Civil War; The Basasa. The rebels left Kano for Takai and Aliyu assumed the unofficial role of Vazier, coordinating the various military formations of the Yusufawa

Basasa Aliyu reportedly distinguished himself at the field during the Basassa, the victories of his columns at Gogel and Utai placed him at an advantage when in 1894, during the Battle of Gaya; Yusuf was fatally wounded. In February 1903, British forces captured Kano while Aliyu was away with the Emirate's large contingent elite cavalry. On receiving news of the fall of Kano at Sokoto, Aliyu and the Kano cavalry embarked on a march to retake the Emirate. After three encounters with the British at Gusau and Zamfara, in March 1903, the Kano cavalry was ambushed at Kwatarkwashi. In the ensuing battle, Vazier Ahmadu was killed and at some point before or after that, Aliyu took to flight in a Mahadist Hijira. With the defeat of the Kano cavalry, the Wambai of Kano – Abbass surrendered to the British while the remnant of the Kano Cavalry that returned to Sokoto was integrated into the Caliphal force. Months later, Aliyu was captured by the French in modern-day Niger Republic and handed over to the British.

Exile and death On his capture, Aliyu was exiled to Yola and then after a rebellion there to Lokoja, the capital of the new Northern Nigeria where he returned to his Tasswuff studies. He died there in 1926.