Chapter Thirty-One: King!

Rabbeh took effective control of the empire immediately. He appointed some of his finest soldiers in the day-to-day administration of the palace. As for the realm, he also appointed some of his officers to serve as dual chiefs to rule side by side the local chiefs he met in-place. He preferred the indirect rule of governing where the chiefs ruled, but were answerable to his appointed officers, who were intermediaries. That way, he controlled the chiefs more effectively while the people remained loyal to them. Moving swiftly, he restructured the government of Kanem-Borno empire from a loosely decentralized government to a unitary government where all state powers were centralized in Dikwa, the capital, in other words, in himself. He was a control-obsessed individual.

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The Mai raised old taxes, created new ones and increased tributes in order to strengthen and enlarge his army. Taking a page from Hayah’s military tactics, he raised a very large army which he consolidated with the conquered regular army on ground, new recruits, captives and his soldiers who fought his cause from his days at the desert camp. The army was constantly drilled, motivated, equipped with weaponry well ahead of the times, and battle-ready. However, Hayah was no longer in charge of its training and doctrine. The Mai was apprehensive that the man might stage a coup against him. Even his own son, Abdou was left unpromoted from commander to a general. Others were placed above him. The Mai was not only an avid student of the game of power and conquest; he was also a consummate practitioner.

To assuage any likely rebellion by the people, he built new mosques and expanded the markets. He initiated policies to encourage farming and international trade, especially along the Trans Sahara routes by giving out large amounts of money to farmers and merchants. He stationed soldiers at specific places along the trade routes known to be vulnerable to Tuareg marauders to make them safe for both travel and trade. He ordered the raid of all notorious bandit camps to capture or kill them to make the roads safe for everyone. Being a former rebel leader himself, he knew where most of the bandits were, and the threat they posed. Having taken care of security matters, he commissioned the digging of deep wells in all districts of the empire with some along the Lake Chad–Fezzan trading routes to supply the resting camps in the desert. His radical actions created an economic boom with taxes from farm produce, slave trade, horses, cotton, kolanut, perfumes, salt, silk, copper, gold and silver, increased significantly.

He appointed Abdou as his chief advisor and second-in-command. A lavish ceremony was held to officially coronate him as Chiroma, the crown prince and successor to the throne.

Finally, after months of stalling, he appointed Hayah as the Chief Imam of Dikwa to replace the current one there. Hayah was monumentally disappointed, to say the least.

“Chief Imam, again?” Hayah confronted him in his private chambers.

“Yes, Hayah. But it’s just a temporary appointment. I am still adjusting my administration. I will find something better for you. I promise.”

“I am not interested in ruling here in Kanem-Borno. You know that.”

“I know. But I need you to be patient with me.” 

“The plan was, after we conquer Kanem-Borno, to immediately go on to Sokoto before the dust even settled down.”

“Yes, but as it turned out, there was more to Kanem-Borno than I initially thought, Hayah. I have to place my feet firmly on the ground before I leave.  I still have pockets of resistance to my rule here and there, and if I don’t stamp them out and silence them completely, then all my efforts would have been for nothing. Please bear with me.”

“For how long, Rabbeh?”

“For as long as it takes!” Rabbeh screamed at him, thus ending the conversation.

Fantah, Talatu, and Hauwa were all given luxurious apartments within the Mai’s Palace. Unlike at Balda, Hayah was not given his own palace in Dikwa, even with his new appointment as the Chief Imam. Instead, he had his own apartment inside the Mai’s palace. Rabbeh was definitely a control freak and wanted to keep Hayah close so that he could monitor him. He knew what Hayah was capable of and did not want to take any chances. That way, he held Hayah in check. Even if Hayah had decided to attack him in his own palace, he couldn’t risk the safety of his family by doing so. After all, family meant everything to him.

Fantah loved her apartment even though she hated living in Dikwa. It was much more beautiful than the one she left in Balda. Who would have thought it possible? Everything was grander and more impressive than the last. Even the slaves were more numerous and the food tasted better.

But despite all this, she couldn’t relax to enjoy anything, and with good reason. What she had suspected for long had come to pass. Rabbeh betrayed Hayah. He tricked him into helping him achieve his own dream, with a promise to do the same for him, only to go back on his word. But strangely, Hayah was still holding on, hoping. He still believed that Rabbeh would one day make good on his promise and help him. But Fantah knew that would never happen. Rabbeh was too selfish and greedy for power to let anyone else share it with him. She sensed it from the moment she met him and her instincts were almost, never wrong. She feared that by the time Hayah realized his mistake, it would be too late for him. Rabbeh could even have him killed if he considered him a threat.

To make matters worse, Rabbeh started making passes at her. Despite his busy schedule of trying to hold the empire together, he still made time to visit her to make silly comments. He would send Hayah on long errands and as soon as he was gone, the Mai would visit her, sometimes at odd hours. That always made her uncomfortable. There was always nothing of importance to tell her; instead, he went to her, on the pretext of checking on her, to make sure she was fine. He claimed it was his responsibility because they were all living under his roof. But Fantah was not stupid. She could tell what his real intentions were and didn’t like it. Whenever he came, he never failed to compliment her looks or on how she smelled. At other times, he brought her gifts. Why was he always nervous and fidgety? He may be a fearless warrior and an all-powerful king, but he never had the courage to tell her what was really on his mind and for that, she was grateful. If he had asked her, how could she have answered him no, that would have put Hayah life in jeopardy – something she was praying against. On the days he didn’t visit, he sent her gifts and all whatnot. Only recently did she discover that the apartment given to her was the one meant for the empress? of the palace. She checked Talatu and Hauwa’s apartments and noticed that neither was as luxurious as hers. It was obvious to her that Rabbeh was showering her with favours not because of her husband but to woo her and win her over. The Mai coveted everything her husband had and was willing to get it, including his wife.

But she hid everything from Hayah. Not because she wanted to cheat on him, but because of what he would do if he found out what Rabbeh was up to. It would be catastrophic and it might end up with one or both of them dead. It’s one thing for Rabbeh to go back on his word about helping him, but to find out that he had disrespected him by moving in on his woman would be the worst offense of all. Hayah would not take his bruised ego lightly.

  [End of Chapter Thirty-One]

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