Sanda Kura of Borno

Umar Sanda ibn Ibrahim Kura al-Kanemi (1842–1937), known as Sanda Kura or Sanda Kori, was shehu (ruler) of the Kanem–Bornu Empire for a few months in 1900, taking power with French support after the defeat of the warlord Rabih az-Zubayr (who had ruled the empire as emir in 1893–1900). Sanda Kura was deposed by the French after a brief reign and replaced with his brother Abubakar Garbai, under whom what remained of Kanem–Bornu was incorporated into the French and British colonial empires.

Sanda Kura later served as the shehu of the Borno Emirate, a traditional state under the British Nigeria Protectorate, from 1922 to 1937.

Life

Claimant to the throne Sanda Kura was born in 1842 and was a son of Ibrahim Kura, who ruled as shehu in 1884/1885–1885/1886. After the defeat and execution of shehu Kyari by Rabih in 1894, members of the al-Kanemi dynasty fled all over the region. Some fled to the Kano emirate, others to Damagaram and a few went into hiding inside metropolitan Borno itself. and later became the leader of the resistance group in Damgaram, the largest and most important of these groups.

By the time French forces came into contact with surviving princes of the al-Kanemi dynasties, the al-Kanemi loyalists had already regrouped under Sanda Kura as their recognised claimant. The French were by this point already at war with Rabih, who had executed the French explorer Ferdinand de Béhagle in 1899. According to Fernand Foureau, all the local dignitaries in the city of Begra came to welcome the French expedition, bringing foodstuff and expressing hope that the French would be successful in ending Rabih's reign. Sanda Kura was formally recognised as the shehu of Bornu on 14 January 1900 in front of a huge jubilant crowd.

Rabih's son, Fadlallah collected his family and property at Dikwa and then retreated south with an army. and was then exiled to the Congo in October 1900. though the al-Kanemi dynasty was allowed to continue to rule without any real power as shehus of the Borno Emirate and Dikwa Emirate, under colonial authority. Due to his installation at Dikwa, Sanda Kura is retroactively considered to have been the first shehu of Dikwa in 1900, in addition to having been shehu of Borno. and served as a ajia (district head) in Maiduguri under Abubakar Garbai. In 1922, Sanda Kura succeeded Abubakar Garbai as the shehu of the Borno Emirate. He was 80 years old at the time of his return to the throne but ruled with great distinction, known for his capacity for wise judgement and his keen appreciation for modern developments. Sanda Kura is also remembered for his involvement in the production of books on Bornoan history, used in schools in Borno State.