Approaching the Study of Yoruba Diaspora in Northern Nigeria in the 20th Century

In 1956, the defunct western region government launched the Yoruba Historical Research Scheme. The main aim was to produce an authentic and coherent history of the Yoruba, covering all aspects of the people from the earliest times. Despite the fact that a tremendous achievement was recorded in this enterprise, an enormous lacuna exists in the study of Yoruba diaspora in northern Nigeria. While accounts of Hausa impact on Yoruba history, particularly for the pre-colonial and colonial periods, have been offered, only passing references have been made to acknowledge the Yoruba factor in the history of the Hausa society during the same period. Within this context, the paper explores the chronology of Yoruba migration and formation of diaspora communities in northern Nigeria during the twentieth century. It raises the questions: what were the migration patterns? What forms of identities did the diaspora communities produced? What were their linkages with the Yoruba homeland? What were their contributions towards the development of towns in Yorubaland? Of what implication was the Yoruba diaspora to the socio-economic development of northern Nigeria and Nigeria as a whole? The paper focuses on the interplay of cultural, political and economic forces in the formation of Yoruba diaspora communities in northern Nigeria.