Ideological tensions
The conservative Wahhabist ideology, which is dominant in Saudi Arabia, made inroads in northern Nigeria in the early 1980s. Until then, it had been dominated by the mystical Sufi tradition.
Prayers to dead saints and visits to their tombs were condemned as polytheism and idolatry.
In Sokoto itself, the Saudi-funded World Islamic League set up an office to propagate its views, putting itself at odds with those who revere dan Fodio in the Sufi tradition. Read full in Guardian
