Chapter Twenty-Six: Cross/Double Cross

First thing in the morning, an army of two thousand Fulani soldiers led by Lamdo Salli's new general, Malam Munde, marched into the outskirts of Balda and encountered what seemed like an equal number of Muharib soldiers waiting for them, led by Hayah himself. However, Hayah had set a trap for them. Though it appeared that two thousand soldiers were waiting for the attack, it was actually one thousand men arranged in a straight line, ten men thick. Behind them were wooden structures built and arranged to look like men wearing the Muharib uniform and armor. So, when the Fulani soldiers descended on them, it seemed as though they were up against all of Hayah's men.

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As the battle commenced, another column of Muharib soldiers, ten soldiers thick and numbering up to one thousand men, enveloped the Fulani soldiers. Five hundred soldiers on each side completed the encirclement, with another one thousand still hidden and waiting for the next batch of Lamdo Salli's men to attack and be enveloped as well. The battle was fierce and bloody, and Rabbeh's men fought with fearlessness and strength, making them seem invincible. Despite having guns, they chose not to use them in this first wave of the battle.

Before long, Lamdo Salli's fighters were falling in large numbers. As the battle raged on, Muharib fighters attacking from the rear cleared a path between themselves and the wooden mannequins dressed as soldiers and retreated. These mannequins were laced with long, sharp protruding spikes pointing in all directions. Gradually, the Lamdo's soldiers were pushed backward by the Muharib towards the deadly spikes, leading to their eventual death by impalement. The Fulani soldiers were routed, and before long, they were all dead.

Lamdo Salli had stationed a few sentries on a hill near Balda to observe the progress of the battle and report back to him as soon as the Muharib soldiers were weakened. He planned to launch a second wave of attack to finish them off. Unbeknownst to him, while the battle was in progress, Hayah had dispatched a band of soldiers previously briefed for the matter, who sneaked up on the sentries and killed all of them. As a result, Lamdo Salli's line of communication was cut off, and confusion began to set in.

After killing the first unit, Hayah's men retreated and switched places with the standby soldiers, led by Rabbeh himself. Their orders were to attack and destroy the Lamdo's next batch of soldiers upon arrival. Meanwhile, the Muharib soldiers who fought in the initial wave recuperated to serve as surprise backup later on – a clever tactic Hayah learned from his previous battle with the Habe.

Lamdo Salli waited for word for hours, but none came. He feared the worst but knew there was nothing he could do. Unable to wait any longer, he decided to go in blindly with all his men. Lamido Zubbairu had trusted Lamdo Salli, but now worried that his trust in him might have been misplaced. They had all risked their kingdoms to support him, and if Salli lost to Hayah, they would all suffer collateral damage and lose their thrones. The thought of Hayah as the new Lamido of Yola frightened him, and he was determined not to let that happen. So, he sent his men to Balda for the second attack, assuming that even if the Muharib seemed to be winning, they must be weary and unable to survive this attack. However, he was wrong.

When the Fulani soldiers reached Balda, they were met by a wall of resistance from able Muharib soldiers who were anything but tired. Within minutes, another wave of fighting was in progress, and while that was happening, a column of the now-rested Muharib soldiers numbering up to 2000 enveloped them, with five hundred on each side just like in the first wave of attack. Again, within a short time, the Fulani soldiers were falling in large numbers. Then, just when they thought it couldn't get any worse, the Muharib released about fifty bulls on them – another resource abundant in that region. The bulls were trained to attack anything red in color. Since the Fulani soldiers were wearing red uniforms, they became prime targets. The bulls rammed through their ranks, picking out only the Fulani soldiers, and impaling them with their horns! It was astonishing even to the Muharib soldiers.

Suddenly, the Fulani soldiers realized that they were overpowered, so they decided to make a run for it. The Muharib soldiers made way for them, just like in the first wave of battle that led them towards the spikes. In the confusion, they ran into the wooden mannequins with the spikes for another round of death by impalement! That realization meant more panic ensued as they kept running in circles, like rats in a maze.

They were in a dilemma. It was either Muharib Soldiers from the north, sharp spikes to the south, or angry bulls to the east. The only option was to run west towards the forest.

What they didn't know, again, was that the Muharib soldiers had dug a very deep trench ten feet long and ten feet wide in that direction. So, while their eyes were fixated on the forest as they ran in fear, they couldn't see the trench until it was too late. One by one, they fell headlong into it and got impaled by sharp wooden spikes inside. Only a handful of Fulani soldiers escaped the nightmarish death; even then, they were taken out by Muharib archers hidden strategically on trees along the way to the surrounding villages.

It was a complete and comprehensive massacre. Every single Fulani soldier was dead by the end of the day, including Lamdo Salli. It was a resounding victory for Hayah, the Muharib. Rabbeh was impressed with Hayah's military cleverness, something he had never seen before. He had heard of Hayah's military prowess for a long time, but witnessing it firsthand made him realize the true extent of Hayah's abilities. He was proud of Hayah and glad that he accepted his offer for partnership, both as an in-law and ally. Hayah had proven to be a valuable addition in his quest to conquer the Kanem-Bornu Empire.

That victory meant that Hayah became the undisputed Lamido of Fombina. All the major chiefs that supported him came one after the other to pay homage to him as the new Lamido. In doing so, they denounced Lamido Zubbairu as their paramount monarch. After the homage and congratulatory messages, Hayah returned to Balda to prepare for how to launch an attack on Lamido Zubbairu, who had lost all his soldiers in battle, to kill him and burn down the palace in Yola. After that, he would return to Balda and officially declare the place as his new capital, with himself as the new Lamido.

It was funny how the sudden turn of events was not what he had planned. All this time, he had his eyes on the seat of the Caliphate. But right now, with his new position, he would be almost as powerful as the Sultan. Of course, he would have to keep defending himself from the Sultan's forces if he wanted his new kingdom to last, but with Rabbeh's cooperation and the soldiers he planned to train from among his subjects, he would be able to hold off his enemies and might even gain enough victories to go for the seat of the Sultan. But first things first, he needed to go home to rest and enjoy his victory with Fantah.

However, when he got home, the sight he met was not a pleasant one. From the entrance, he could see the bloody bodies of his guards littered everywhere. Cautiously, he dismounted from his horse and ran into the compound, followed by his men and Rabbeh. Everyone was dead, from the guards to the servants. He feared the worst as he approached Fantah's apartment. In front of the apartment lay the body of Arabu, his favorite lieutenant. Arabu had fought to his last breath defending Fantah, but the men must have been too many, and he was killed. The death of Arabu totally broke Hayah down. He loved that boy dearly and considered him like a son. Arabu had come with him from Sokoto when he was about four years old, and Hayah raised him as his own. The young man was very intelligent and curious, quickly mastering the recitation of the Qur'an before he was ten years old, and by eighteen, he was a small Imam himself. When he was only twelve, he begged Hayah to let him join his army, and reluctantly, Hayah agreed. Arabu learned fast, but Hayah always tried to protect him from being in any real danger by giving him other assignments of scholarly nature during times of war. It was his own way of protecting him, wanting him to carry on his legacy after his death. Leaving him behind to protect Fantah, Hayah did not foresee any danger, but now, he realized how wrong he was. The loss of Arabu was a punch below the belt that weakened him emotionally.

He picked him up and hugged him, sobbing. “No, my son!” he said quietly to himself through tears. He rocked him on his chest and cried for a little while before setting him down and going into the apartment.

Fantah was not there; only the bodies of her female servants, Asabe and Ladi, were found, but not hers. “Maybe she is not dead,” he thought and felt a little relieved, but not for long. He then ran to his wife's apartment, where she was also missing, along with their children. All her maids were killed.

“How could this happen?” Rabbeh was angry. Hayah did not say anything. He was overcome with emotions. “I thought all of Lamido Zubbairu's soldiers were in the field, and we killed them.”

At that moment, a servant who was badly hurt and covered in blood limped toward them. He was coming from the direction of Fantah's apartment. Rabbeh drew his sword, but when he saw how badly hurt the man was, he put it back into its sheath.

“Allah rene…” He said weakly and was about to collapse, but Hayah ran and caught him just in time, then gently placed him on the ground while holding him up.

“What happened?” He asked the man.

“Allah rene… It was Lamido Zubbairu…” He went ahead and narrated that while they were busy in the battlefield, Lamido Zubbairu sent two hundred men to attack Hayah's house and kill everyone. They broke through the security easily. Even though the place was heavily guarded, they were not ready for two hundred well-armed and well-trained soldiers. The security men were mostly Muharib followers with no formal military training. The real soldiers were on the battlefield with Hayah and Rabbeh.

So, after killing everybody, they kidnaped Hayah's family, giving one condition for their ransom: If Hayah wants them back alive, then he should send Rabbeh and his army out of Fombina. After that, he should come to the palace at Yola to take his family and leave, too. “If you want to get your family back alive, then you will have to surrender and leave Fombina. Lamido Zubbairu said that he doesn't want you as a prisoner, he just wants you to take your men and leave.” You are no longer welcome in Fombina. The man's life had been spared to give Hayah the message.

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“You cannot be serious, Hayah,” Rabbeh said. “You are not actually considering surrendering to him, are you?”

“I have to, Rabbeh. If I don't, he would kill them.”

“But Hayah, you finally got what you wanted. You are a king now, and you want to throw it all away?”

“They are my family, Rabbeh, my wives and my children! I cannot let him kill them. I must save them.”

“He would never do that. His grudge is with you.”

“And they are my family. I believe he will kill them to hurt me.”

“But we are so close to achieving our plans, I am sure we would be able to rescue them. Please let my men go in disguise and rescue them…”

“No!” Hayah snapped. “I can't take that risk. We don't know if they are being held in the palace. If they go in and fail, he will kill them.”

“So, what are you suggesting we do now?”

“You have to leave immediately.”

Rabbeh was silent for a minute. “Very well then, I cannot risk being captured anyway, you understand?”

“I do. Go well, my brother. If I survive this, I will come to you in Baghirmi.”

“I will be expecting you. May Allah be with you.” Rabbeh said and hugged him.

“And you too.”

Within twenty-four hours, the city of Balda was cleared of Rabbeh and all his men. Informants from within the town relayed the information to Lamido Zubbairu, who then invited Hayah and only a few men to his palace. It was heavily guarded. Over two hundred soldiers armed to the teeth surrounded the palace, and Hayah was glad he did not take Rabbeh's advice. An attack on the palace would have had disastrous consequences.

He was arrested as soon as he arrived, but instead of being thrown in jail like the last time, he was made to swear on the Qur'an that he would leave Fombina immediately after his family is given back to him and never return. Lamido Zubbairu assured him he did not intend to keep him as a prisoner. He just wanted him to leave, in peace. He had been nothing but trouble from the moment he arrived, and he wanted all that madness to stop. Hayah accepted the Lamido's terms and swore on the Qur'an, and being a religious man, he would never go back on his word.

He was then led by guards to an undisclosed location where he retrieved his family. Instinctively, he knew it was a trap, but he played along. Escorted by ten of his soldiers, he found his family at the bank of River Gongola on his way out of Fombina. They were abandoned there an hour earlier by soldiers. He was so happy to see them unhurt. He praised Allah, then took his family on a journey towards Baghirmi to meet up with Rabbeh. He had won all the battles but lost the war. Once more, he was leaving a place he should be ruling in disgrace.

[End of Chapter Twenty-Six]