Babatu or Baba Ato, was the Zarma military leader and jihadi warlord over the Zabarma Emirate in the late 19th century. Babatu originated in Indougou (N'Dougou) in what is today the nation of

Niger Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...

. Babatu became the ruler of the Zabarima emirate in 1878 after the death of the former ruler, Gazari. He was a slaver and fought against Sandema warriors. In 1887 his forces raided Wa the capital of the

Kingdom of Wala Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchic state or realm ruled by a king or queen. ** A monarchic chiefdom, represented or governed by a king or queen. * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and me ...

and caused much of the population to flee.

Personal life

According to historians, Babatu was born in 1850 and began his expeditions in the 1880s. He wore tribal marks which he created himself. He also expected soldiers and slaves to wear uniform marks with their leaders. He thought it was necessary. He was Muslim but it did not prevent him from attacking other Muslims.

Battles

According to oral traditions and written sources, Babatu carried out many attacks on some Builsa villages such as: * Battle of Sandema * Battle of Kanjaga * Chuchuliga: Babatu defeated an army consisting of warriors who were unified from Chuchuliga, Navrongo and Paga. It is claimed this battle was probably part of his Navrongo campaign. * Wiesi: The conquest of Wiesi and Kunkwa took place "four or five years before the whites came to fight the Zabarimas". * Kunkwa: In a battle on a small river, the inhabitants of Kunkwa offered Babatu's troops fierce resistance, and both Babatu's son Ishaka as well as the chief of Kunkwa lost their lives but in the end, Kunkwa was defeated. * Siniensi: After the conquest of Siniensi, there was a dispute between two Zabarima leaders. It is claimed Babatu gave the village to a son of his predecessor. *

Fumbisi Fumbisi is a town in the Builsa South District in the Upper East Region of Ghana. The town is known for rice production. In 2019, the Paramount Chief of Fumbisi was Nab Clement Anyatuik Akanko II. Institutions * St. Peter & Paul Parish * Fum ...

: it was said although the chief of Fumbisi sacrificed a white bull to his drum before the battle, he lost it and was killed.

Death

He suffered a number of defeats as his power began to decline and also because of the influence in Northern Ghana. He fled to a town called

Yendi Yendi (Dagbani language, Dagbanli: Yani, meaning "Seat of the Yaa Naa"), is the traditional capital of the Kingdom of Dagbon and the administrative centre of the Yendi Municipal District in the Northern Region of Ghana. As of 2021, the populatio ...

and after to a town in present-day

Togo Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to Ghana–Togo border, the west, Benin to Benin–Togo border, the east and Burkina Faso to Burkina Faso–Togo border, the north. It is one of the le ...

. He died from a spider bite in 1907.

References

* {{cite journal , url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41403569 , title=The Zabarima Conquest Of North-West Ghana, Part I , last=Holden , first=J.J. , date=1965 , journal=Transactions of the Historical Society of Ghana , volume=8 , pages=60-86 1850 births 1907 deaths 19th-century politicians Zarma-Songhai people