CULTURE AND THE QUESTION OF IDENTITY IN NORTHERN NIGERIA: AN OVERVIEW OF THE GRAY AREAS IN THE 21ST CENTURY

The history of human existence revealed that, culture is an integral part of human endeavor. To every community/group of people, there is a cultural identity that binds them together at different levels of cultural practices. In Northern Nigeria, cultural practices and its sustainability among non-Hausas is perceived an uncommon trait. Since some writers assumed that the history of Northern Nigerian culture is the history of the Hausa culture. This paper argues that there exist in the North other ethnic groups whose cultural structure has the capacity of meeting the expectations of its adherents, but cultural suppression, domination and subjugation threatens the smooth practices of cultural heritage of most of these non-Hausa ethnic nationalities cohabiting the Northern part of Nigeria. The ebbs and flows of cultural practices among non-Hausa cultures was factored by European cultural imperialism in the 19th century, colonial degradation in the 20th century, self-vilification of culture by its adherents, globalization among others. The work used a multi-disciplinary approach in data collation and analysis. Finally, the work suggests viable ways toward restoring the lost glory of cultural heritage and how cultural values and practices among non-Hausa communities could be resuscitated in Northern Nigeria.