Argungu Emirate

Origins

The Kingdom of Kebbi lost its capital, Birnin Kebbi, to Fulani jihadists in 1805, but its rulers kept fighting from the marshes and towns to the north. Around 1831 they made Argungu, on the Sokoto river, their base, and from there the Kebbawa continued the war against the Gwandu Emirate and Sokoto.

Rule and society

Argungu was a fortified Hausa state that kept old Kebbi titles and institutions. Its rulers were Muslims who rejected the political claims of the caliphate, and they allied with other Hausa refugees in Gobir and Maradi. The wars brought frequent raids and counter-raids, interrupted by truces, and the emirate's people farmed and fished in the river valley.

Decline and legacy

British forces occupied Argungu in 1902, and it became an emirate of the Protectorate of Northern Nigeria. Its emir still reigns, and the town is famous for the Argungu Fishing Festival, held annually since the 1930s.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.