A HISTORY OF HAUSA SETTLER COMMUNITY IN AKWANGA AREA, 1800 - 2011

This thesis focuses on the Hausa settler community in Akwanga area of present Nasarawa State from 1800 - 2011. The problem of the study is hinged on the dominance which the histories of the major ethnic groups like the Hausa have on minority groups like the Mada. The aim of the study, therefore, is to explain the factors that attracted the Hausa to Akwanga, their impact, adaptation and challenges as they relate to the growth and development of Akwanga. The historical methodology of research was adopted by the research and this involved the analysis of primary, secondary and tertiary sources of data. In this regard, 32 oral interviews were conducted within and outside the area of study. Information was also sourced from the National Archives Kaduna, the internet as well as from books and journals. The study shows that the Mada who are mainly farmers have lived in Akwanga for more than 2,500 years and that the earliest forms of Hausa migration into the area came through seasonal migration, hunting and trading activities until the Fulani Jihads took centre stage. Thereafter, colonialism and a chain of economic, socio - political factors continued to sustain the trend. The study shows that the Hausa settler community in Akwanga had both positive and negative impact on the study area and one of the positive impact was the expansion of economic activities in the area. One of the negative effects of the Hausa settler community in Akwanga is enculturation which led to the gradual fading of Mada cultural practices as a result of the growing influence of Hausa culture in the area. The study, however, found out that in spite of the conflict that tends to thrive among indigenes and settlers in other places, there have never been violent clashes between the Mada people and the Hausa settler community in Akwanga of the Nasarawa area due primarily to the adaptability of the Mada. However,political challenges like mutual suspicion and distrust can be found among them. In this regard the work sues among other suggestions, for conscious and deliberate efforts to be made by the relevant stakeholders to promote peaceful co-existence through avenues like the staging of cultural festivals so that the Mada cultural practices will continue to thrive in the area