- Complete fall of the Sokoto Caliphate in Northern Nigeria
- Helicopter crashed, killed Police DIG and three others in Jos
According to an English writer identified as Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936), if history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten.
History should be researched and practiced in order to be taught. When we don’t dismiss the past, we often use its lessons to create a worthwhile present.
Three significant events impacted Nigeria’s history on March 14th. These events added to the historical foundation of this country, whether for good or ill.
In an effort to uphold the tenets of history and bring historical events to the doorsteps of our esteem readers, WITHIN NIGERIA has highlighted four significant events that occurred on March 14th in the history of this country, Nigeria.
Complete fall of the Sokoto Caliphate in Northern Nigeria
On this date, 14th of March in 1903, the Sokoto Caliphate in Northern Nigeria completely fell following the invasion of British colonial forces after it claimed supremacy of more than 500,000 square miles. The territory was divided between British, French and German powers.
The Sokoto Caliphate also known as the Sultanate of Sokoto was a Sunni Muslim caliphate in West Africa. It was founded by Usman dan Fodio in 1804 during the Fulani jihads after defeating the Hausa Kingdoms in the Fulani War. The boundaries of the caliphate are part of present-day Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Nigeria.
The major power in the region in the 17th and 18th centuries had been the Bornu Empire. However, revolutions and the rise of new powers decreased the power of the Bornu empire and by 1759 its rulers had lost control over the oasis town of Bilma and access to the Trans-Saharan trade.
Vassal cities of the empire gradually became autonomous, and the result by 1780 was a political array of independent states in the region.
The fall of the Songhai Empire in 1591 to Morocco also had freed much of the central Bilad as-Sudan, and a number of Hausa sultanates led by different Hausa aristocracies had grown to fill the void.
Three of the most significant to develop were the sultanates of Gobir, Kebbi (both in the Rima River valley), and Zamfara, all in present-day Nigeria. These kingdoms engaged in regular warfare against each other, especially in conducting slave raids. In order to pay for the constant warfare, they imposed high taxation on their citizens.
Helicopter crashed, killed Police DIG and three others in Jos
On this date, 14th of March in 2012, a helicopter belonging to the Nigeria Police force crashed in Jos, the Plateau state captial killing a Deputy Inspector General of Police and all on board.
Amongst the passengers on the helicopter was the newly prompted Deptuy Inspector General of Police, Haruna John with three other senior police officers.
The Commissioner of Police in Plateau state visited the crash site has confirmed to newsmen that the DIG Operations was on board the flight with his orderly, the pilot and the assistant pilot.
The helicopter was conveying the police officers from Jos to Abuja after taking off from the Jos prison field.