Who counts as Hausa?

Salamone and Cohen both stress that ethnicity is something people do and maintain, not simply something they inherit. Sabo shows how a group can create markers of identity: Friday wrestling matches after the mosque, a recognised leader, a common law and a shared language (see the chapter on Society). The Hausa of Sabo needed unity because they were a small group in a Yoruba city, and had to protect their cattle trade and their quarter.

The label also works from the outside. A Nigerian writer quoted by Salamone points out that many northerners who do not speak Hausa, such as Nupe, Gwari, Tiv, Idoma and Kamberi, are all called “Hausa” by southerners. Sabo itself was a mixed place, with Yoruba Muslims and Christians living alongside Hausa. Cohen also noted that Muslims in the same city can have different identities and interests, and that a Hausa quarter might support a Yoruba-led political party, as Sabo did after independence, in return for protection.