The Suleja Emirate ( Hausa: ''Masarautar Suleja'') is a Hausa principality in what is now

Niger State Niger State is a state in the North Central (Nigeria), North Central region of Nigeria, bordered to the east by Kaduna State and the Federal Capital Territory (Nigeria), Federal Capital Territory, to the north by Kebbi State and Zamfara State, ...

, Nigeria. The emirate was established as the Abuja Emirate during the 19th century, located just north of the site of the present-day federal capital city named

Abuja Abuja (; , ) is the capital city of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, strategically situated at the geographic midpoint of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (Nigeria), Federal Capital Territory (FCT). As the seat of the Federal G ...

. When the new city was established, the emirate and its capital were renamed the Suleja Emirate and

Suleja Suleja is a city in Niger State, Nigeria, just north of Abuja, capital of the country. It is sometimes confused with the nearby city of Abuja, due to its proximity and the fact that it was originally named Abuja before the Nigerian government ad ...

. The emirate covers about 1,150 square miles (2,980 square km) of wooded savanna area. Suleja Emirate, Kontagora Emirate, Borgu Emirate, Agaie Emirate and Kagara Emirate were the major Emirates in Niger state.

History

The current emirate originally included four small Koro chiefdoms that paid tribute to the Hausa

Zazzau Emirate The Kingdom of Zazzau, also known as the Zaria Emirate, is a Nigerian traditional state, traditional state with headquarters in the city of Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria. The current emir of Zazzau is Ahmed Nuhu Bamalli Order of the Federal Republi ...

. After warriors of the Fulani jihad (holy war) captured

Zaria Zaria is a List of Nigerian cities by population, metropolitan city in Nigeria, located at present time within four local government areas in Kaduna State. It serves as the capital of the Zazzau Emirate Council and is one of the original sev ...

, Zazzau's capital, 137 miles (220 km) north-northeast about 1804, Muhammadu Makau, sarki (king) of Zazzau, led many of the Hausa nobility to the Koro town of Zuba. Abu Ja (Jatau), his brother and successor as Sarkin Zazzau, founded Abuja town in 1828, began construction of its wall a year later, and proclaimed himself the first sarki of Abuja, while retaining the title ''Sarkin Zazzau. Withstanding Zaria attacks, the Abuja emirate remained an independent Hausa refuge. Trade with the Fulani emirates of Bida (to the west) and Zaria began in Emir Abu Kwaka's reign (1851–77). When Abuja's leaders disrupted the trade route between

Lokoja Lokoja is a north-central city in Nigeria. It lies at the confluence of the Niger River, Niger and Benue River, Benue list of rivers of Nigeria, rivers and is the capital city of Kogi State. While the Bassa Nge, Yoruba people, Yoruba Oworo peopl ...

and Zaria in 1902, the British occupied the town. Alluvial

tin mining Tin mining began early in the Bronze Age, as bronze is a copper-tin alloy. Tin is a relatively rare element in the Earth's crust, with approximately 2 ppm (parts per million), compared to iron with 50,000 ppm. History Tin extraction and use ca ...

began in Emir Musa Angulu's reign (1917–44). In 1976 a large part of the emirate plus territory from other states became the Federal Capital Territory, centred on the new city of

. The emirate was renamed

, based on the renamed town of

which remained in Niger State.

Awwal Ibrahim Alhaji Mohammed Awwal Ibrahim (born September 8, 1941) is a Nigerian traditional ruler who served as governor of Niger State from October 1979 to December 1983 during the Nigerian Second Republic. He was elected on the National Party of Nigeria ...

became the Emir, or Sarkin Zazzau, of

in 1993. His accession resulted in rioting and destruction of property by opponents. He was deposed on 10 May 1994 by General

Sani Abacha Sani Abacha (; (20 September 1943 – 8 June 1998) was a Nigerian military dictator and statesman who ruled Nigeria with an iron fist as military head of state from 1993 following a palace coup d'état until his death in 1998. Abacha's seiz ...

. After the return to democracy, Awwal Ibrahim was restored to his title of Emir of Suleja on 17 January 2000. His restoration again caused a series of violent clashes, forcing the government to call in anti-riot troopers and impose a 20-hour curfew.

List of rulers

Following is a list of the rulers of the emirate.

References

{{Nigerian traditional states Niger State Nigerian traditional states Emirates