Arewa or Arewaland is a

Hausa Hausa may refer to: * Hausa people, an ethnic group of West Africa * Hausa language, spoken in West Africa * Hausa Kingdoms, a historical collection of Hausa city-states * Hausa (horse) or Dongola horse, an African breed of riding horse See also ...

word which means "The North". The term is used to refer to Northern Nigeria general. The terms ' (literally "north") and ' (literally "

Northern Nigeria Northern Nigeria was an autonomous division within Nigeria, distinctly different from the southern part of the country, with independent customs, foreign relations and security structures. In 1962 it acquired the territory of the United Kingd ...

") are used in Hausa to refer to the historic region geopolitically located north of the

River Niger The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through Mali, ...

The continued use of the term, ''Arewa'' ... has conjured up an image among educated Northerners that resonated far beyond the institutional structures Sir Ahmadu Bello created: the successor to the Bornu and
Sokoto Caliphate The Sokoto Caliphate (), also known as the Fulani Empire or the Sultanate of Sokoto, was a Sunni Muslim caliphate in West Africa. It was founded by Usman dan Fodio in 1804 during the Fulani jihads after defeating the Hausa Kingdoms in the Ful ...
; the vision of God's Empire in the region; the universality of its claim to
suzerainty Suzerainty () is the rights and obligations of a person, state or other polity who controls the foreign policy and relations of a tributary state, while allowing the tributary state to have internal autonomy. While the subordinate party is cal ...
; and in a more prosaic but no less powerful sense, the concept of a polity with an emphasis on unity and sense of shared purpose in northern
West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...
beyond the popular slogan--'one North, one People'.

In the

history of Nigeria The history of Nigeria can be traced to the earliest inhabitants whose remains date from at least 13,000 BC through early civilizations such as the Nok culture which began around 1500 BC. Numerous ancient African civilizations settled in the reg ...

specifically, it is used to refer to the pre-1967

Northern Region, Nigeria Northern Nigeria was an autonomous division within Nigeria, distinctly different from the southern part of the country, with independent customs, foreign relations and security structures. In 1962 it acquired the territory of the British No ...

. In Niger, it has a very specific meaning: a small pre-colonial animist dominated state of the '' Dallol Maouri'' valley, known for the indigenous "Maouri"/"Mawri" Hausa culture. In Nigeria, some towns have been called simply "''Arewa''" in the past, before British colonisation.

Usage

In post independence Nigeria, some use the word as a general term for Nigerian

Hausaland The Hausa ( autonyms for singular: Bahaushe ( m), Bahaushiya ( f); plural: Hausawa and general: Hausa; exonyms: Ausa; Ajami: ) are the largest native ethnic group in Africa. They speak the Hausa language, which is the second most spoken languag ...

: a contraction of "''Arewacin Nijeriya''" (Northern Nigeria). Much of the north was once politically united in the Northern Region, a multi-ethnic entity, and was previously home of the seven

Hausa states The Hausa Kingdoms, also known as Hausa Kingdom or Hausaland, was a collection of states started by the Hausa people, situated between the Niger River and Lake Chad (modern day northern Nigeria). Hausaland lay between the Western Sudanic kingdom ...

, later the

Sokoto Caliphate The Sokoto Caliphate (), also known as the Fulani Empire or the Sultanate of Sokoto, was a Sunni Muslim caliphate in West Africa. It was founded by Usman dan Fodio in 1804 during the Fulani jihads after defeating the Hausa Kingdoms in the Ful ...

in the pre-colonial period, and the

Northern Nigeria Protectorate Northern Nigeria (Hausa: ''Arewacin Najeriya'') was a British protectorate which lasted from 1900 until 1914 and covered the northern part of what is now Nigeria. The protectorate spanned and included the emirates of the Sokoto Caliphate an ...

under British colonial rule. Northern Nigeria regionalist groups, such as the

Arewa Consultative Forum The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) is a political and cultural association of leaders in Northern Nigeria formed in 2000 which has considerable influence in the political scene. (Arewa means "Northern" in Hausa, the primary language of the region.) ...

,arewaconsultativeforum.org
.A good critical discussion on the genesis of the ACF can be found in *Nneoma V. Nwogu. Shaping truth, reshaping justice: sectarian politics and the Nigerian truth commission. Rowman & Littlefield, 2007 and the related

Arewa House Arewa House (Hausa: ''Gidan Arewa'') is centre for research and historical documentations under Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, located in Kaduna, Kaduna State, in Northwest Nigeria. It is also serves as a center for historical documentation and ...

are examples of this. These groups do not advocate independence from Nigeria, albeit, focus on unity of the

Hausa–Fulani Hausa–Fulani are people of mixed Hausa and Fulani origin. They are primarily found in the Northern region of Nigeria, most of whom speak a variant of Hausa or Fula or both as their first language. While some Fulani claim Semitic origins, Hau ...

which forms the majority in the north. And as such, the term has become synonymous with machinations in lieu of extending political and cultural hegemony to capture the federal state.

References

{{Reflist History of Nigeria Geography of Nigeria History of Niger Geography of Niger Regions of Africa