Portrait of Nana Asmaʼu

Nana Asmaʼu

Nigerian princess and poet

Lived
1793–1864
Country
Sokoto Caliphate

Updated September 2026

About Nana Asmaʼu

Nana Asmaʾu was a Fula princess, poet, teacher, public intellectual, political actor and scholarly authority and a daughter of the founder of the Sokoto Caliphate, Usman dan Fodio. She remains a revered figure in northern Nigeria.

Biography from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.

Sources: book lists and dates from Wikidata and Open Library, ratings from Open Library readers. Last updated September 2026.