Usuman dan Fodio 1754-1817. Fulani religious and political leader. Beginning as an itinerant Muslim missionary in northern Nigeria, he gained a large following for his syncretic visions, establishing a base in Gudu. After Usuman successfully conducted jihād (holy war) against the king of Gobir (1804-8), his followers conquered most of the other Hausa states of northern Nigeria by 1812. He established the Sokoto caliphate, which he left to his brother and son. After his death, his son, Mohammed Bello, gained sole control.