| Culture of Northern Nigeria |
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| History |
The culture of Northern Nigeria is mostly dominated by the culture of the Fourteen Kingdoms that dominated the region in prehistoric times, but these cultures are also deeply influenced by the culture of over one hundred ethnic groups that still live in the region.
Northern Nigeria inherited much of the literary legacy of the old Sudanic states. The Hausa Sultanates from the 9th to the 18th century produced numerous literary works. [1] Thousands of such works mostly in Ajami, Hausa and Arabic still remain uncatalogued throughout Northern Nigeria. [2] Since the colonisation by the British Empire, English and the Latin script has superseded the Ajami script. Abubakr Imam Kagara is regarded as one of the fathers of modern Northern Nigerian literature, [1] His works such as Ruwan Bagaja and Magana Jari Ce, published in the 1930s, served as a bridge between the old Sudanic literary tradition and western ways.
Others such as Yabo Lari and Muhammed Sule – author of The Undesirable Element – made equally important contributions in the 1960s. In the 1980s popular authors including Abubakar Gimba and Zaynab Alkali served to keep the North's literary tradition alive and distinct from the Nigerian south. [1] The 1990s saw the emergence of authors from Abubakar Othman, Ismail Bala and Ahmed Maiwada in poetry to Maria Ajima and Victor Dugga in drama. Contemporary Northern Nigerian literature is mostly produced in Kano, Kaduna, Jos and Minna. Writers such as B. M. Dzukogi, Ismail Bala, Yusuf Adamu, Musa Okapnachi, Razinat Mohammed and E. E. Sule are still active. [1]
While the old Sudanic tradition mostly concentrated on poetry and sung poetry, from the 1950s influx of British influence served to fertilise Northern Nigerian music. [3] Dan Maraya Jos, Mamman Shata, Barmani Choge, Aliyu Dan Kwairo and a host of others are regarded as the founders of the distinct Northern Nigerian stylistic musical genre. [3] Others such as Fatima Uji continue to be popular. Since the 1990s influence of pop culture has led to rise of Northern Nigerian R&B singers. Northern Nigerian singers including Adam Zango, Ice Prince Zamani, Idris Abdulkareem and King Bawa are popular throughout Africa.
Northern Nigeria's movie industry, known as Hausa Cinema, was one of the first commercial film industries in sub-Saharan Africa. The industry was created by veteran journalists and actors from Radio Kaduna and RTV Kaduna in the 1950s. Today actors such as Ali Nuhu, Adam A Zango, Sani Danja, and Ibrahim Maishukku are popular within the region. Since the 1990s and the slow rise of Islamic fundamentalism through the proselytizing campaigns of the Izala Society, Northern Nigerian cinema has witnessed considerable setbacks and has now been dwarfed by its Southern Nigerian counterpart.
Kaduna is the state capital of Kaduna State in north-western Nigeria, on the Kaduna River. It is a trade centre and a major transportation hub for the surrounding agricultural areas, with its rail and road junction. The population of Kaduna was at 760,084 as of the 2006 Nigerian census.
Katsina, usually referred to as Katsina State to distinguish it from the city of Katsina, is a state in the northwestern geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Its capital is Katsina, and its Governor is Aminu Bello Masari, a member of the All Progressives Congress. Katsina State was brought out of old Kaduna State in 1987.
Bayero University Kano (BUK) is a university situated in Kano, Kano State, Nigeria. It was founded in 1975, when it was renamed from Bayero University College and upgraded from university college to university. It is the first university in Kano State.
Daura is a town and Local Government Area in Katsina State, northern Nigeria. It is the spiritual home of the Hausa people. The emirate is referred to as one of the "seven true Hausa states" because it was,, ruled by the descendants of Bayajidda's sons with Daurama and Magira . The University of California's African American Studies Department refers to Daura, as well as Katsina, as having been "ancient seats of Islamic culture and learning."
Barewa College is a college in Zaria, Kaduna State, northern Nigeria. Founded in 1921 by British Governor General Hugh Clifford, it was originally known as Katsina College. It switched its name to Kaduna College in 1938 and to Government College, Zaria in 1949 before settling on Barewa College. It is one of the largest boarding schools in Northern Nigeria and was the most-celebrated post-primary schools there up to the early 1960s. The school is known for the large number of elites from the region who attended and counts among its alumni include Tafawa Balewa who was Prime Minister of Nigeria from 1960 to 1966, four heads of state of Nigeria.
The Hausa are a Chadic ethnic group based primarily in the Sahel and sparse savanna areas of southern Niger and northern Nigeria. With a total population of some 30 million, they qualify as the single most numerous African ethnic group.
Abubakar Mahmud Gumi was an outspoken Islamic scholar and Grand Khadi of the Northern Region of Nigeria (1962–1967), a position which made him a central authority in the interpretation of the Sharia legal system in the region. He was a close associate of Ahmadu Bello, the premier of the Northern region in the 1950s and 1960s and became the Grand Khadi in 1967, the position was abolished.
Zangon Kataf is a Local Government Area in southern Kaduna State, Nigeria. Its headquarters is in the town of Zonkwa. It is also a name of a town in the chiefdom of the Atyap. Other towns include: Batadon (Madakiya), Cenkwon, Kamantan and Kamuru. It has an area of 2,579 km2 and a population of 318,991 at the 2006 census. The postal code of the area is 802.
Ali Nuhu Mohammed is a Nigerian actor and director. He acts in both Hausa and English movies and he is also known as king of kannywood or "sarki” Ali by the media; Kannywood is the Hausa film industry headquartered in Kano, Nigeria. Ali Nuhu has appeared in more than 500 Nollywood and Kannywood films, and earned numerous accolades. Nuhu is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential actors of all time in the history of Hausa Cinema, as well as Nigerian Cinema In terms of audience, size and income, and he has been described as the most successful Hausa film star in the world. He is the first Nigerian celebrity to act in both the Northern Kannywood and Southern Nollywood movie industries of the country with full dominance and bringing the two cinemas together.
Alhaji Garba Shu’aibu Gashuwa is a contemporary Nigerian Hausa poet.
Rahama Sadau is a Nigerian actress, filmmaker, Dancer and singer. Born and raised in Kaduna, she performed in dancing competitions as a child and during her school years. She rose to fame in late 2013 after joining the Kannywood movie Industry with her first movie Gani ga Wane.
Kwasarawa is an ancient place where some Fulani Rulers migrated to from Daura after the British and French had divided the three Daura polities, the British installed Zango's king, Malam Musa, as the new emir of Daura. Kwasarawa once part of Daura, It became part of the newly created Sandamu Local Government in Daura Emirate, Katsina State, Nigeria.
Kaduna Book and Arts Festival, also known as KABAFEST, is an annual literary, cultural, and art event in Kaduna State, Nigeria that took place for the first time in July, 2017. It was organized by Book Buzz Foundation, who also organizes the annual Aké Arts and Book Festival, in collaboration with the Kaduna State Government and the Gusau Institute. It was also the first book festival that occurs annually in northern Nigeria.
Season of Crimson Blossoms is an adult fiction debut novel by Nigerian writer and journalist Abubakar Adam Ibrahim. The novel, set largely in the outskirts of Abuja, Nigeria, depicts an unusual salacious affair between the 55-year old widow Hajiya Binta and the 26-year old drug dealer and local gang leader Reza.
Adam A Zango also known professionally as Usher or Gwaska, is a Northern Nigerian actor, producer, script writer, dancer, director and singer.
Yakubu Musa Katsina also known as Yakubu Musa Hassan is a renowned Islamic scholar and a member of the founding leaders of one the largest Islamic organizations in West Africa JIBWIS, where he still serves as the Chairman Board of Trustees.
Since the onset of the British imperial regime in the Northern Region of Nigeria, the Atyap people have reported a loss of land to the Hausas. In 1922, it was reported that a large piece of land was acquired by the Emir of Zaria, Dalhatu Uthman Yero, who failed to compensate the indigenous population of the region. In 1966, the land was provided to the Hausa trading settlement in the heart of Mabatado, called "Zangon Kataf", by the emir, Muhammad Usman. The Atyap resided within the district, in the Zaria Province of the Northern Region of, initially, British Nigeria, which became independent Nigeria. It was to remain utilized as a marketplace, where the indigenous Atyap people were banned from trading pork and beer by the settlers.
Falalu Abubakar Dorayi also known as Falalu A. Dorayi is a Nigerian film director, producer, screenwriter and film actor.