Chapter Thirty-Three: The Plan!

“Allah Nguuro. Our spies informed me that the Europeans are camped somewhere in Sarh, in a place called Fort-Archambault.”

Rabbeh had called an emergency meeting after the Europeans left. In attendance were himself, Hayah, his generals, and members of his council of advisors also known as Nokena. The council consisted of twelve noblemen from the Empire, including the Grand Qadi. The agenda was to discuss the implications of rejecting the proposed treaty from the French. Rabbeh knew his refusal to ratify the treaty, and the manner in which he did so, the French would most certainly cause the French to launch an attack on his Empire. So, it was better to be ready.

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“Allah Nguuro, we should launch a surprise attack on them while they are not expecting it. That way, we would be able to deal such a blow on them that they will run away and never look back.” One of the Generals suggested.

“I don’t agree,” Hayah said, and the man shot a disapproving glance at Hayah “We don’t know anything about them or what their true intentions are. So far, the French legion had not attacked any kingdom physically as far as I know. They only do their damage through books. If we throw the first punch, they may change their tactics and we all know that they have superior weapons to ours. It will be very bad for us.”

“We have weapons too.” The general refused to back down. “In fact I am sure we can match them weapon for weapon.” He wasn’t lying. In the course of one year, Rabbeh had collected an impressive number of the latest and most sophisticated military weapons of the day and could take on anybody. The soldiers had been itching to use them and to put their rigorous training into action. Hayah understood them.

“Perhaps, we should consider using diplomatic tactics first and see what will happen.”

“You mean we should wait for them to bring the fight to us?”

“No, I mean we should avoid unnecessary bloodshed and the loss of innocent lives. Let us explore all other options first.”

“I agree,” The Grand khadi said. “They may be devious but they haven’t been physically aggressive against anybody yet. If we start a war with them, it may have far reaching consequences that we may regret, even if we can fight them and win, how about the other kingdoms that are not as fortunate. Many lives will be lost.”

“Those kingdoms should not be our concern!” The general Interjected.

“Of course, they are!” One of the noble men said. “We are all unite by Islam and we should not be the reason for the destruction of our Muslim brothers. We should look out for our brothers.”

“Exactly,” Said, the grand qadi. “For all we know, they might not have even considered coming against us physically. We should wait and see what course of action they would take before we react accordingly.” The General was disappointed.

Rabbeh listened to each one of them with rapt attention. The meeting went on for over an hour and in the end, the decision was in favour of not fighting, but sending spies to gather as much information as possible.

Finally, he decided to weigh in. “I despise those deceitful fiends as much as you all do and I don’t mind destroying them immediately. But I agree that we should approach them with caution to know their plan and their weakness first before we strike. That way, victory would be assured. Thank you all for coming.”

“Allah Nguuro,” They all said and with that, the meeting was over.

Later that evening, Hayah joined Rabbeh at dinner in his private chambers and brought up the issue again.

“You know they will not give up, right? They will come back and to use force on us.”

“Let them come, I will be ready this time.” Rabbeh said.

“I was thinking, the people of this Empire only recently endured war; they have been through a lot. We should avoid war as much as possible.”

“I agree with you. That is why we are sending in spies first. We need to know who we are dealing with before we do anything.”

“Shouldn’t we consider the treaty?” Upset, Rabbeh felt as though Hayah had just stabbed him in the heart. “Listen to me. As a sovereign Empire, we are not obligated to accept and ratify just about any treaty thrown at us. Would they also accept that from us if we did? Don’t forget, we also know a thing or two on brinkmanship and diplomacy.... or are you by any means suggesting we succumb to the infidels?”

The anger in Rabbeh’s voice was unmistakable.

“I am saying we shouldn’t make unnecessary enemies. We can work with them and even use them to our own advantage. It would be wise to have powerful allies. It will give us an even better advantage over our enemies. You never know in what ways they could be of help to us.”

Rabbeh was quiet for a moment. He stared at Hayah as if he was seeing him for the first time. He could not believe what he was hearing. When he finally spoke, his voice was trembling with anger. “Hayah, I will never stoop so low as to enter into an agreement with infidels. I will never sell my Empire to the Europeans and I will rather die than open my borders to them.” Hayah listened with rapt attention.

“Especially not now that I have already sent out spies to get information on them. As soon as I spot any weakness, be assured I will attack. I will drive them out of this region, Insha Allah. I promise to break their stranglehold on other Muslim kingdoms as long as I live. You better decide on whose side you will be: mine or theirs.”

That was the moment it occurred to Hayah that he had made a grave mistake by partnering with Rabbeh. The man was an irrational, bloodthirsty psychopath that would never change. He doesn’t care about anyone or anything but himself. He was willing to start a war with an enemy that he could not possibly defeat just to satisfy his ego and his delusions.

Hayah remembered how Fantah had tried several times to warn him about Rabbeh. Oh, sweet Fantah. She may be young and without guile, but her instincts about people and situations were always spot on. She had foreseen everything from the beginning and tried to caution him, but he was so blinded by his own quest and so desperate to the point that he ignored all her warnings and led them right into Rabbeh’s trap. The situation was so dangerous he feared for his life and family.

He once respected Rabbeh’s bravery and once he saw a kindred spirit in him. He thought they shared similar goals and aspirations and their partnership had survived until then in cordiality. But he also made the fatal error of thinking his own wit and cunning added to Rabbeh’s bravery and resources, would make them an unstoppable force. How wrong he was. Joining forces with Rabbeh was akin to falling on one’s own sword. And that realization came a bit too late.

He decided there and then it was time for him to leave with his family. It was a war that Rabbeh would never win, and he had no desire of risking his life and that of his family unnecessarily anymore, just to please the man. He had made the grievous mistake of putting them in danger in the first place because he trusted this madman. But he was determined to find a way out of Rabbeh’s iron grip. He put his strategic mind to work, discreetly planning his escape, to take Rabbeh by surprise. He figured that even if he succeeded in escaping, the control-freak in Rabbeh might still hunt him down, so he planned for that eventuality too. In any case, what mattered was the safety of his family firs; his own life was secondary.

Fantah was in a dilemma. She wasn’t happy about the turn of events. Hayah had brought her to this awful place where she didn’t feel safe. So far, she had had different kinds of threats on her life, ranging from minor to significant and all she could do was pray.

Hayah kept on assuring her that it would be alright, that it would be soon over. It was often said, she sensed that even he, no longer believed those words. It was true that he risked his life to assist Rabbeh’s conquest of Kanem-Borno, but Rabbeh’s insatiable thirst for more power and conquest was now obvious to all. Sooner than later, he may set his sights on Hayah’s desire too - the Caliphate.

She tried to reason with him, to convince him to leave the place before it was too late but he would not hear of it. He had placed his hopes so high on Rabbeh he became oblivious to everything else. Not only was Rabbeh not going to help him and was only using him, but he was also trying to seduce her through unusual gifts, nocturnal visits, undue attention and so on. Ironically, all this usually happened at times when her husband was on risky errands for him. What Rabbeh didn’t say in words, his intentions made clear to a discerning Fantah. And she did everything possible to keep Rabbeh at bay while keeping everything secret from her man, to protect him from harm. Staying at Dikwa was beginning to irritate her and she prayed for the day to come soon, when Hayah would invade Sokoto, conquer it and become the sultan with herself as his queen.

But that day may not be likely soon, because after a full year of loyal service to Rabbeh in Dikwa, Hayah had only recently realized that he had been played and turned into an errand servant by Rabbeh. He was trapped in Dikwa. Anytime he brought up the issue of attacking Sokoto, Rabbeh would brush it aside or give uncountable excuses and promises he never intended to keep. Oh, there was still much to do to consolidate his position and you know how important you are to me. Or, if I leave the capital on another conquest now, someone might be encouraged to usurp me and we will be stranded without support or resources to fight the Sultan. There were excuses and more excuses. To keep him under continuous surveillance, Rabbeh had installed him as the Chief Imam of Dikwa. To an inexperienced mind in the game of power, it was a great position but to a man on a mission elsewhere, it was a constraint. It was a position that had nothing to do with political or military power. Hayah was infuriated.

“It’s obvious he is never going to help me at all.” Hayah’s voice was quivering in anger as he lamented to Fantah. “I cannot believe what a fool I have been.”

“No, my stranger, you trusted him and he betrayed you.” Fantah consoled him. As they sat in her beautifully decorated room, decorated like a queen’s, even more beautiful than either that of Hauwa or Talatu. If Hayah suspected anything, he didn’t mention it.

“I should have known from the start that he just wanted to use me. The signs were there but somehow I was too blind to see them. How could I have thought that joining forces with a criminal would be a good idea?”

“You were desperate, my stranger. The circumstances were dire and you needed him.”

“Yes, my beloved.” He smiled. He was amused that even after all these years she still called him stranger. She was too shy to refer to him by any real name. “Now that I know he is not going to help me, I think the best thing to do is to leave.”

“Do you think he will let you leave?”

“I don’t think so. He is too selfish to do that. That is why we are going to escape.”

“What?”

“Yes, I have been speaking to Sarkin Kano and those of Gombe and Bauchi. They were all very nervous about Rabbeh, especially after I convinced them that he would come after them soon. I have secretly formed an alliance with them. I am going to help them with their situation in return for asylum for me and my family.”

“Another alliance? doesn’t he ever learn?” Fantah thought. “What if they betray you?” she asked him.

“Oh, I have learned my lesson, believe me. They are going to help me get what I want first. Then, when I am enthroned, I will use my vast new resources to support them in return. I have agreed to give them detailed knowledge of Rabbeh’s plans and strategies. I believe I am a valuable asset to them right now.

Fantah did not like the sound of it one bit. “But how are you going leave? I don’t think Hauwa will leave her family and follow you.”

“Don’t worry about her. Just get ready. Anytime I come for you, be ready to leave at a moment’s notice, ok?”

“Alright.” she said, her heart racing.

  [End of Chapter Thirty-Three]

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