EXPANSION OF THE HAUSA MIGRANT COMMUNITY IN LAGOS, NIGERIA, 1970-2007

This study to examines the growth of Hausa communities in Lagos, Nigeria. The settlement of Hausa people in Lagos is attributed to a chain of historical antecedents. The pre-colonial long distance trade championed by the Hausa in the West African region attracted a considerable number of Hausa settlers to Lagos and other Yoruba towns. Also, with the abolition of the slave trade by the beginning of the nineteenth century, a number of Hausa ex-slaves who gained freedom ended up settling in Lagos. Of profound impact was the colonial policy that favoured the recruitment of these ex-slaves into the police force. Another factor that attracted Hausa migrants to Lagos was the strategic position the city enjoyed up to 1991 as the country's commercial and political capital. Migration was and is still sustained by the fact that Lagos is the commercial hub of Nigeria. This led to the establishment of a number of Hausa communities in Lagos, especially from 1970 to 2007. The study validates the claim that the Hausa community has succeeded in creating a distinct identity in Lagos and has also exhibited some level of adaptation to and cultural assimilation into the host Yoruba community, notably in language and intermarriage.