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Native Officer Ali D.C.M, ADC, was a native officer originally from Katsina in His Majesty King Edward the Seventh’s Hausas[1] who served in the British colonial forces in West Africa and the recognized Head of the Hausa community (Sarkin Hausawa) the year 1907 in the British colony, Gold Coast.[2][3][4]
Early life and military career
[edit]Native Officer Ali enlisted in a military unit established by governor Sir John Hawley, known as "Glover Hausas or the “Hausa Force" in the year 1863 during a period of British expansion in West Africa and he subsequently served in several British military expeditions in West Africa.[5] He served as a Sargeant Major commanding troops at Prasu during the third Anglo-Ashanti War of 1873-1874. He and other officer were sent to the United Kingdom for further training in 1875-1876.[5]
Ali later took part in several military campaigns and expeditions including one where he and 60 Hausa troops landed on an Island and searched it from end to end [6] He received a medal for his service during the Awuna expedition of 1885 and Denkyira expedition in 1890 . He served as an aide-de-camp to Gold Coast governors including Sir Matthew Nathan, Sir John Pickersgill Rodger and Frederick Mitchell Hodgson.[5] He continued his military career into the early twentieth century, serving with the 2nd Gold Coast Regiment before retiring.[5]
Retirement and leadership
[edit]After Native Officer Ali retired from the service of Government in June 1902, and he was receiving a pension of £48 per anum.[7] Ali settled in Accra Ussher Town, Horse Road where he built his Zongo quarters, this location was where the current Accra General Post Office sits.[8]
In 1907, the Hausa Community led by High Priest Mama Fulata Bornu, who was then the Chief Imam, together with Mallam Abubakare (Priest), Mallam DanJimba (Priest), Native Officer Harri Zanuah of (The Gold Coast Regiment) and Mallam Bukare (Priest) petitioned through the Colonial Government to officially recognize Native Officer Ali as Head Chief of the Hausa Community (Sarkin Hausawa), they wrote,
"As Hausas we have so far been under a great disadvantage in having no head chief, and whenever it has been necessary to wait upon the Government, it has always been difficult to obtain a spokesman.
"We are writing solely on behalf of the Hausas residing here. We have nothing to do with the Yorubas or other tribes who have their own head-chiefs.”[7]
On October 26, the Hausa community’s request was approved by Governor John Pickersgill Rodger through Sir William Charles Fleming Robertson secretary for native affairs.[9] Native Officer Ali held the position until his death on 2nd day of February 1908.[2][7][3][10][4]
Death and legacy
[edit]Native Officer Ali died on February 2, 1908.[11] Remained Native Officer in the Gold Coast Regiment of the West African Frontier Force (also known as Native Officer in Chief of the Gold Coast Hausas) and Head Chief (or headman) of the Hausa community in Accra until his death.[11]
He is regarded as one of the three principal early migrant leaders in the Gold Coast, alongside Mallam Naino (Nenu) and Alhaji Brimah[10]
After his death, his name and ceremonial titles lived on in the person of his son by a Fanti woman from Elmina , Alhaji Mohammed Ali.[7]
References
[edit]- ↑ "ARIBA ALI V. ALHAJI MAMA ALI". judy.legal. Retrieved 2026-09-28.
- 1 2 Pellow, Deborah (1991). "The Power of Space in the Evolution of an Accra Zongo". Ethnohistory. 38 (4). Duke University Press: 414–450. doi:10.2307/482480. ISSN 0014-1801.
- 1 2 Papafio, A. B. Quartey (1911). "Native Tribunals of the Akras (Continued from p. 330)". Journal of the Royal African Society. 10 (40). [Oxford University Press, Royal African Society]: 434–446. ISSN 0368-4016.
- 1 2 Ahmed-Rufai, Misbahudeen (2002). "The Muslim Association Party: A Test of Religious Politics in Ghana". Transactions of the Historical Society of Ghana (6). Historical Society of Ghana: 99–114. ISSN 0855-3246.
- 1 2 3 4 Johnson, Marion (1986). "The Slaves of Salaga". The Journal of African History. 27 (2). Cambridge University Press: 341–362. ISSN 0021-8537.
- ↑ Claridge, William Walton (1915). A History of the Gold Coast and Ashanti from the Earliest Times to the Commencement of the Twentieth Century (in ISO 639-1) (Vol.1 ed.). London: John Murray. p. 281.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - 1 2 3 4 Dretke, James P. (May 1968). The Muslim Community in Accra (An Historical Survey) (M.A. thesis). Legon: University of Ghana.
- ↑ Tucker, Kelly JoAnne (2002). A History of Accra's "Zongos": Heterogeneity and Social Change. Indiana University. pp. 84–91.
- ↑ Robertson, Charles (26 October 1907). Letter from the Acting Secretary for Native Affairs to Mama Fulata Bornu, Mallam Abubakare, Malam DanJimba, Native Officer Harri Zenuah, and Malam Bukare (Report). Secretary for Native Affairs Records. Accra, Ghana: Public Records and Archives Administration Department (PRAAD). ADM 11/1448.
- 1 2 Sulemana Anamzoya, Alhassan; Alhassan, Baba-Zakaria; Ntewusu, Samuel (2023-09-17). "Migrant Chiefs in Stranger Communities in Ghana: The Challenge of their Inclusion into the Houses of Chiefs". Contemporary Journal of African Studies. 10 (1): 112–138. doi:10.4314/contjas.v10i1.5. ISSN 2343-6530.
- 1 2 Gold Coast Leader. 1908. p. 6235 – via Stanford.
External links
[edit]
Media related to Native Officer Ali at Wikimedia Commons