Who is the Longest Serving Nigerian Sultan?

Sultan

The word 'Sultan' originates from Arabic, it was an Arabic abstract  noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun  'sultah', which means "authority" or "power". 

Later, certain rulers who claimed close to full sovereignty in practical terms without claiming the overall caliphate began to use
it as a title. The title is currently being used to describe the highest Muslim authority in any given land. 

The Sultanate overseeing the Muslims of Nigeria was establishment in Sokoto by Usman Dan Fodio in 1803. 

After invasions and colonizations of Africa in the 19th century by Europeans, the authority wielded by the Sultan was emasculated. Ever since, the role of subsequent Sultans has bothered around announcing the commencement and end of the month of Ramadan. 

From the inception of the Sultanate to date, there have been 20 Sultans in Nigeria even though, the first Sultan, Shaikh Usman Dan Fodio, never used the title. The incumbent, Sa'ad Abubakar III, is the 20th Sultan. 

The longest serving Sultan has been, Siddiq Abubakar III, he became Sultan in 1938 at the age of 35 after the passing of  Hasan dan Mu'azu Ahmadu. 

Siddiq Abubakar III was Sultan number 17 and reigned from 17th June 1938 to 1st November 1988, he was Sultan for 50 years. 

Major events that took place in Nigeria during his reign include contributing a great deal to the maintenance of order in Northern Nigeria after the 1966 coup in which Sir Ahmadu Bello was murdered. Further more, during the Nigerian civil war, Sir Siddiq Abubakar III helped to mobilise soldiers for the Federal forces. 

Sir Siddiq Abubakar III encouraged further education for females and voting rights for women in purdah, and urged the liberation of women in these respects. As a result of this philosophy, the Women Teacher's Training College in Sokoto was founded.
 

Now that we know the longest serving Sultan, it won't be bad to know the shortest serving. 

The shortest serving Sultan was Muhammad Attahiru I, he was Sultan for just 5 months. Muhammadu Attahiru I was the 13th Sultan of the Sokoto Caliphate; from October 1902 until March 15, 1903. 

He was the last independent Sultan of Sokoto before the Caliphate was taken over by the British. Muhammad Attahiru I fought against the British invasion of Northern Nigeria by Fredrick Lugard and was killed fighting in 1903. Below is a chart showing how the Sultans have come.

Note: Days and months have been omitted in some cases due to fear of inaccuracy.

S/N	Name	Reign Started	Reign Ended
1	Usman Dan Fodio	1803	1815
2	Muhammad Bello	21st  April 1817	25th  October 1837
3	Abubakar I Atiku	26th  October 1837	23rd  November 1842
4	Ali Babba bin Bello	30th  November 1842	21st  October 1859
5	Ahmadu Atiku	24th  October 1859	2nd  November 1866
6	Aliu Karami	6th  November 1866	18th  October 1867
7	Ahmadu Rufai	21st  October 1867	12th  March 1873
8	Abubakar II Atiku na Raba	16th  March 1873	28th  March 1877
9	Mu’azu	6th  April 1877	26th  September 1881
10	Umaru bin Ali	3rd  October 1881	25th  March 1891
11	Abdur Rahman dan Abi Bakar	25th  March 1891	10th  October 1902
12	Muhammadu Attahiru I	13th  October 1902	15th  March 1903
13	Muhammadu Attahiru II	21st  March 1903	1915
14	Muhammadu dan Ahmadu	1915	1924
15	Muhammadu dan Muhammadu Hasan dan Mu’azu Ahmadu	1924	1931
16		1931	1938
17	Siddiq Abubakar III	17th June 1938	1st November 1988
18	Ibrahim Dasuki	6th  November 1988	20th  April 1996
19	Muhammadu Maccido	20th  April 1996	29th  October 2006
20	Sa’ad Abubakar III	2nd  November 2006	Current