Alhaji Hajji ( ar, الحجّي; sometimes spelled Hadji, Haji, Alhaji, Al-Hadj, Al-Haj or El-Hajj) is an honorific title which is given to a Muslim who has successfully completed the Hajj to Mecca. It is also often used to refer to an elder, since it ...

Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

Usman Nagogo dan Muhammadu Dikko (1905 – 18 March 1981) was

Emir Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cerem ...

Katsina Katsina, likely from "Tamashek" eaning son or bloodor mazza enwith "inna" otheris a Local Government Area and the capital city of Katsina State, in northern Nigeria.

(''Sarkin Katsina'') from 19 May 1944, until his death. A

Fulani The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people ( ff, Fulɓe, ; french: Peul, links=no; ha, Fulani or Hilani; pt, Fula, links=no; wo, Pël; bm, Fulaw) are one of the largest ethnic groups in the Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region. ...

from the

Sullubawa ''For the Arab Hutaymi tribe, see Sulluba'' The Sullubawa are a Fulani clan that historically featured prominently in the Fulani War which founded the Sokoto Caliphate. The ruling dynastic houses of Kano Emirate and Katsina Emirate; as well as ...

Clan, he succeeded his father,

Muhammadu Dikko Alhaji Muhammadu Dikko also known as Muhammad Dikko dan Gidado (1865 – May 1944), was the 47th Emir of Katsina from 9 November 1906 until his death in 1944. He was the ninth Fulani emir, as well as the first emir from the current ruling Sullu ...

, as Emir, and was succeeded by his son, Muhammadu Kabir Usman.

Education

Nagogo commenced his education under Islamic scholar Attahiru, who taught the future Emir and his brother in Katsina's Gambarawa Quarters. He commenced his elementary education in 1921 at Katsina Provincial School, but was interrupted by his father's visit to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, where the two met King

George V of the United Kingdom George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Que ...

. He graduated from the provincial school in 1923, after which he taught there for six months. Usman_Nagogo

Political career and reign as Emir

Nagogo was appointed to position of Native Authority Police Chief in 1929; during his term he expanded the police department by erecting new buildings and hiring more officers. In 1937, he became the District Head of Katsina Metropolis. Nagogo was officially installed as the tenth Emir of Katsina by Arthur Richards, Governor of Northern Nigeria, on May 19, 1944, although he had succeeded his deceased father to the position in March. The same year, he visited England,

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, and

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

; in Burma, he met with Nigerians in the

Royal West African Frontier Force The West African Frontier Force (WAFF) was a multi-battalion field force, formed by the British Colonial Office in 1900 to garrison the West African colonies of Nigeria, Gold Coast, Sierra Leone and Gambia. In 1928, it received royal recognition ...

(fighting for the United Kingdom as part of the

Chindits The Chindits, officially as Long Range Penetration Groups, were special operations units of the British and Indian armies which saw action in 1943–1944 during the Burma Campaign of World War II. The British Army Brigadier Orde Wingate form ...

). On January 12, 1946, King

George VI of the United Kingdom George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of Ind ...

appointed him as a federal minister of the colony. He was a regional minister without portfolio from 1952 until the military coup of 1966, which one of his sons,

Hassan Katsina Hassan Usman Katsina (31 March 1933 – 24 July 1995), titled Chiroman Katsina, was the last Governor of Northern Nigeria. He served as Chief of Army Staff during the Nigerian Civil War and later became the Deputy Chief of Staff, Supreme Headqua ...

was involved in. Life President of the

Nigerian Polo Association Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

, Nagogo was one of pioneers of indigenous Nigerian

polo Polo is a ball game played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small hard ...

; as of 2002, his handicap of +7 is still the highest of any African. He was at one point chairman of Muslim religious organization

Jama'atu Nasril Islam Jama'atu Nasril Islam (JNI) (English: "Society for the Support of Islam") is an umbrella group for the Nigerian Muslim community its headquarter is in the city of Kaduna, and its president is the Sultan of Sokoto. The organisation conducts Is ...

(JNI).

Family

Nagogo's mother was Hassatu, from Katsina. One of Nagogo's sons, Muhammadu Kabir Usman (born January 1928), succeeded his father as Emir upon Nagogo's death, and was Emir as of 2006; Kabir received his name from Arab cleric

Sherif Gudid Sherif, also spelled Sharif (and, in countries where Francophone Romanisation is the norm, Cherif or Charif), is a proper name derived from the Arabic word (, 'noble', 'highborn', 'honorable'), originally a title designating a person descended fr ...

, a friend of Nagogo. Another son,

(born 1933), joined the

Nigerian Army The Nigerian Army (NA) is the land force of the Nigerian Armed Forces. It is governed by the Nigerian Army Council (NAC). The Chief of Army Staff is the highest ranking military officer of the Nigerian Army. History Formation The Nigerian ...

, eventually rising to the position of Major General.

Honours

Nagogo was appointed a Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(CBE) in the 1948 New Year Honours, and invested as a Knight Commander of the Order (KBE) in the 1962 New Year Honours. He was appointed a Companion of the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

(CMG) in the 1953 Coronation Honours.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nagogo, Usman 1905 births 1981 deaths Emirs of Katsina Nigerian Muslims Nigerian recipients of British titles Nigerian Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Nigerian polo players Nigerian traditional rulers