Chapter Three: Friction

The village of Ndokula was slowly coming to life as Hayah rode out. It was a far cry from the town of Balda where he currently resided and even less developed than the city of Maroua. But it had a peaceful atmosphere to it that he loved.

The morning light had cast a calming grey shadow over the whole village. With young girls and boys leading their herds of cattle towards the bush for grazing, disturbing the dust as they moved, and making the atmosphere even greyer. Some of the young girls, brightly dressed in red, black, and white wrappers and short tops, adorned with many bangles and beads, were carrying large round calabashes filled with cow milk as they headed towards the neighbouring towns to sell and buy what they needed.

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A group of young men dressed in black jumpers, turbans and rubber shoes were also heading westwards towards the forest to hunt. Some of the older men headed towards their farms. In all, everyone was busy with one thing or another and the town was almost a hustling and bustling beehive by the time he left.

All day long, he rode through the thick dense, forest passing only a few settlements on the way, because he took a different route on his way back which wasn’t strange.  Being a warrior, he was very cautious. After all, it was trickery, bravery and tactfulness that got him to the position of a general in the Lamdo of Maroua’s army, and he had since proven himself worthy of that position many times over.

***

When he arrived at Maroua a few years back, the Fulani, who were the rulers there, were at the height of their military conflict with the original inhabitants, the Musgum, whom they referred to as the Habe-and the Musgum were winning.

Being a fellow Fulani and a blue blood, the Lamdo of Maroua welcomed him warmly as the prince he was, and because of that, he decided to enrol in the Lamdo’s army to use his extensive military training to benefit the monarch in the war with the Habe. He was favoured by providence and the Lamdo gave him a position of command. That way, he was able to introduce his own tactics and military stratagem on the battlefield. It was a wise move and his contributions helped to ensure their victory, eventually. He also made sure that the soldiers carried out basic training exercises every day to be combat-ready at all times even after the battle had been won, and to avoid being taken by surprise. He completely changed their military way of thinking.

The Lamdo was so impressed with him that he made him a General, and gave him his own daughter Talatu as a wife and the small town of Balda to oversee as a prince-regent. Because of his extensive knowledge of the Qur’an, he also served as the Chief Imam of the town. He led them in prayers in the town’s central mosque and spent his free time in between battles, teaching Qur’anic knowledge to the citizens of Balda and the occasional visitors who showed interest.

***

He arrived at Maroua by sunset. It was a large town in contrast to the tiny village he had just left behind. For one thing, there were more people, more houses, and more activities, and above all, it was more organized. There were lots of horses on the main road and shops and merchants lined the streets. It was a trading town and one of the largest in that region. As expected, there was an abundance of assorted goods and wares available for buying and selling at every turn. Traders were constantly trying to attract the attention of prospective buyers as they yelled loudly while describing the benefits of their wares which were arranged in different eye-catching styles. Sometimes, it could be quite annoying, but he didn’t mind, because, he knew they generated the lion’s share of the city’s revenue.

The houses were closely knit together and built with well-fired red mud bricks in cone and square shapes unlike

the dome-shaped huts of grass and straw of the Bororo. The people were a vibrant lot and better dressed than most of the indigenous tribes neighbouring them. Also, there were diverse kinds of people, doing various odd jobs to survive. It was a large pre-modern city.

As the evening grew darker, the traders started closing their shops, to retire for the day, with everyone in a hurry to go back to their homes. As he rode through the city, he could perceive the delicious smell of meals being cooked from different houses and it made him hungry. But he only grimaced and rode on. He had other pressing matters to discuss with the Lamdo of Maroua. He knew that a feast would be waiting for him at the palace.

Usually, he visited the Lamdo every day whenever he was around, and they always ate dinner together. Balda was not far from Maroua so he made it his duty to pay homage to his Lamdo as often as possible. Hayah came from a royal family and so, he knew how important it was to be on the Lamdo’s good side. Especially after the disgrace he had suffered back at home.

Hayah, though an aristocrat by birth, was essentially a loner by nature who liked doing things on his own terms and in his own way, which explains why he loved hunting so much. It gave him the time and freedom to be alone with his thoughts. He was also someone who loved to plan every action and did everything according to preset guidelines. Being alone helped him to organize his thoughts to come up with the necessary strategies to achieve his goals. Unfortunately, being a royal, he was always surrounded by people and that really bugged him. There were always meetings, functions and events to attend, leaving him with too little private time, and to make matters worse, the people expected him to follow certain rules and traditions instituted by long-gone kings and statesmen which he considered too rigid and archaic. His opinions, and sometimes decisions no matter how good they were, were disregarded so long as they did not conform to the pre-set norms. It was a big problem for him, for he was a man of strong opinions, considered by many as strong-headed and almost always at variance with many of his courtiers. In the end, he was forced by a faction in his court to abdicate the throne and he left Sokoto for exile, shamed and angry, leaving behind his wife and children, without a whiff of regret. His wife was a cousin who was forced on him by his father, and he married her even though he never liked her or her parents. And so, it happened, while he was battling for survival during the controversy that led to his abdication, she did not stand by him, instead she took the children and ran back to her parents whom he loathed. So, when he snuck out of Sokoto, he left her behind. His secret intention was to return someday to take what was his birth right–the throne–but first he had to learn patience. The how or when might be blurry but the plan was crystal clear in his mind.  He needed power and resources, both of which he didn’t have at that moment. So, ingratiating himself with the Lamdo was a means to get him all that. And fortunately, the Lamdo liked him.

***

He stopped at the royal mosque for Maghrib prayers, and coincidentally, the Lamdo was there too. After leading the prayers, they exchanged pleasantries with the Lamdo who was very happy to see him as always. Then, they went into the palace together. Just as he had anticipated, they were served a feast of royal dainties. The cooks must have outdone themselves, as always, he thought. There was rice and milk with honey. Cooked lamb with vegetables, and miyan taushe. Roasted chicken with hot yaji and bean soup. Oranges and bananas and mangoes arranged neatly in a beautifully carved calabash. At the end of the meal, they ate sweet dates specially brought for the Lamdo from Arabia by the Arab merchants who did business with the city of Maroua. Everything was just so perfect that he almost forgot why he was there.

After dinner, the Lamdo informed him of the current state of affairs. They were able to discuss freely and unofficially, because the Lamdo considered him his personal friend. He was not just his leading general but also his son in-law; privileges which qualified him in the eyes of the Lamdo to be taken into confidence on important state matters. The kingdom had been peaceful so far however, it was also safe to say that long silences in those parts and time could be equated to the calm before the storm.

“So Hayah, how did the hunting go? Did you kill any game?” the Lamdo asked him. 

“It was a wonderful outing for sure.” he replied.

“Oh, how so?”

“I saw some interesting game, but caught none, Your Majesty.” he didn’t want to tell the Lamdo about Fantah.

“Ok, better luck next time.” the Lamdo said before changing the subject. “I received a report that the Musgunawa had been launching secret guerrilla attacks here and there into my territory, lately.”

“I knew the truce was a joke!” Hayah was angry.

“They had joined forces with the Massa and Sumeya tribes and had been causing a lot of damage on some of the smaller villages around our borders. They have been attacking the caravans on their way to Diamaré market too.”

“I see they were trying to block our trading route. That would seriously affect our economy.”

“Of course! Not to mention the serious damage to relations between us and Yola and Tcheboa. I was informed that during the last attack, they killed over twelve people and dispossessed the traders of all their merchandise and horses.”

“The more horses they have, the stronger their military will become.” Hayah said, knowing full well that the Fulani’s military superiority over the other tribes was mostly due to their possession of war horses. It gave them speed, reduced unwarranted fatigue and a clear advantage over their enemies. Now it seemed like their enemies wanted to turn back the tide and even change the playing field by acquiring their own horses too. They had been doing that a lot lately through sporadic, but organized attacks on horse traders and stealing their horses in the process. Hayah knew it could not be allowed to continue, otherwise they would be in serious trouble.

“We could not afford to let them continue.” 

“We have to retaliate immediately.”

“Yes. When do you think it will be appropriate?”

“The day after tomorrow, I will gather my men and we will leave after dark.” One of Hayah’s biggest assets was his combat-readiness at any given time, and that was why the Lamdo loved him so much.

“Well, then.” The Lamdo said. “But I suggest we should try to have a peace talk with the Musgum chief first before any reprisal attack. He may not be aware of what is going on. For all we know, those attacks were sporadic and might have been revenge-driven.”

“Yes, Allah rene.” Hayah said. “I will instruct the messengers immediately.”

“Good” The Lamdo replied, and then changed the subject again.

“Talatu has been worried sick about you.”

“I am fine.”

“Of course, but she couldn’t understand why her groom of less than two weeks would just take off like that.”

“What are you saying Allah rene? Do you suggest that I stay at home with her and never go out?”

“No, of course not. How could I even begin to suggest that? You are a warrior who loves the outdoors. She will just have to understand.”

“Allah rene, forgive me for being so direct…”

“Hayah.” The Lamdo cut him off. “I am an old man. My days on this earth are few, I have only a few days left here on earth. I gave you my daughter’s hand in marriage because you are my friend and I trust you. 

I also believe you are capable of taking care of her even after my death. I was just speaking in my capacity as a father.”

“I promise not to let you down.”

“I trust you wouldn’t.”

***

After the discussion, he left and went straight to Balda. It took Hayah about thirty minutes of riding through the cold night to reach the town. And on arrival, he went straight to his house. On the way to his wife’s apartment, he passed different concubines who knelt down to greet him. There were about six of them of different sizes and shapes. They were all very beautiful and he could have asked anyone of them to join him in his bedroom for the night if he wanted. It was his right as a traditional ruler to have his way with any of the concubines he owned, but as tempting as that was, he chose to rather be with his wife.

When he got to her quarters, he met with her uncle the Waziri at the door, who had a habit of visiting her at odd hours, something Hayah was not comfortable with. But he couldn’t say anything since the man was his in-law.

“Allah Sabbine. Allah rene. Allah baru nganyo ma.” The Waziri greeted him in the customary royal way.

“My in-law, how are you tonight?” He returned the greetings, completely ignoring the praise that the Waziri was lavishing on him. For some unknown reason, the man made him very nervous and he didn’t like it.

“I am very well, Allah rene.”

“You look well.”

“Thank you Allah rene. I just came to see my daughter. She was so worried.”

“Worried?” Hayah feigned surprise.

“She was just wondering if you were alright, that’s all… but I assured her that she had nothing to worry about…you know she is only a child and didn’t know much about life …” he stammered.

“You have done well, my in-law. Thank you.” With that, he bade him goodnight and went inside before the conversation could be prolonged further.

He didn’t particularly like the man but there was nothing he could do about it since they were related by marriage. The Lamdo’s daughter he married was raised by the Waziri who happened to be the Lamdo’s older brother. For some inexplicable reasons, the kingmakers deemed him unworthy of the throne and crowned his younger brother, instead. As if that was not enough, he couldn’t bear any children, despite having four wives and numerous concubines. So the Lamdo, out of sympathy and for the sake of peace, gave him his favourite daughter Talatu, to be raised as his own, then at the height of their victory against the Musgum, the Lamdo asked him to marry her off to Hayah. He did that as a way of giving him a powerful in-law and to increase his power. In fact, the Lamdo did his best to carry the Waziri along and to increase his political influence, but oftentimes, he came off as a pathetic and creepy fellow, at least in Hayah’s eyes.

***

Hayah said Salaamu alaikum softly and walked into his wife’s luxurious room, a room fit for a princess. Everything about the room exuded royalty. The floor was covered with the softest of Persian rugs from Arabia, a gift from her father, Lamdo Garrei. The walls were lined with beautiful murals and calligraphy of mixed tones. The ceiling was high and domed and also decorated with beautiful calligraphy. There were small windows around the room placed high up to allow enough light in, while maintaining privacy. There were different ceramic arrangements that gave the room an even more exquisite look. A very thick, but sweet-smelling fragrance filled the air. It was coming from a small clay incense burner sitting on a small table. The charcoals were glowing hot and he could still see some of the burnt wooden perfume that was sprinkled generously on it. The aroma was intoxicating. And at the far corner of the room, his wife, the princess was sitting on the best raffia bed that money could buy. Its mattress was filled with feathers and covered with beautiful white and brown sheets imported from Egypt and surrounded by many soft feather pillows.

She didn’t look happy, he surmised. But as soon as she looked up and saw him, she got up from the bed and knelt down to greet him. He said Salaamu alaikum again, and walked over to the bed to sit beside her. Her head was bowed down. She was shy, so he cupped her face in his hands and lifted it up so that their eyes could meet. She smiled, and shyly looked away. She was very beautiful, the most beautiful of all the Lamdo’s daughters.

He cupped her face again.

She had an oval face, a pointed nose and soft luscious lips. Her long soft black hair was skilfully braided and covered with a transparent veil adorned with jewellery. He felt so lucky to have been blessed with such a beautiful wife. He didn’t love her, but he liked her and was grateful to the Lamdo for giving her to him as wife. He then lifted her up and sat her next to him on the bed.

That night, as his wife slept peacefully next to him, he was wide awake and his mind wandered to the little village north of Maroua and the beautiful shepherd girl he met there. Somehow, he couldn’t get her off his mind. He remembered her innocent smile and the sweet sound of her voice, and all he wanted at that time was to be with her.

***

The next morning, Hayah met with his military lieutenants to brainstorm on the best strategy to adopt in dealing with the problem at hand. There were many suggestions. Some wanted a pre-emptive strike while others suggested more negotiations and threats, since they were not sure if it was indeed the Musgum who were actually carrying out the attacks. At the end of the day, they agreed to invite the Musgum chief and elders for a peace dialogue. He relayed that to the Lamdo and the Lamdo gave his approval.

The day after that, Hayah sent two messengers to the Sarkin Musgum inviting him to the Lamdo’s palace for a peace dialogue. Later that evening to everyone’s disbelief, one of the messengers came back covered in blood. He was beaten and roughened up. He told them of how the other messenger was killed and the Sarkin Musgum spared his life so he could return to deliver his message.

“We will not surrender. We are ready for you.”

From that moment, it was agreed that a war would take place and they were going on the offensive.

[End of Chapter Three]

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