Modibo Adama

According to UNESCO, Modibo Adama was a Fulani scholar given a standard by Usman dan Fodio, leader of the Sokoto jihad. From the early nineteenth century, he led a series of campaigns in the region of Fombina, present-day Adamawa, subjugating populations that did not adhere to Islam. These campaigns resulted in the founding of the Adamawa emirate, one of the largest in the Sokoto empire. Its capital settled at Yola, in present-day Nigeria, around 1841. According to UNESCO, this jihad durably shaped the ethnic and religious make-up of northern Cameroon, where the Fulani are today among the largest groups.