Papers by samaila suleiman
Afrika Zamani
Existing studies on Nigerian historiography cover renowned historians, major historical writings ... more Existing studies on Nigerian historiography cover renowned historians, major historical writings and prominent historiographical traditions of the major ethnicities such as Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba, with little or no attention paid to the multiple ethnic minorities in the Middle Belt area. Using a range of sources, from oral interviews with historians and activists, and a textual analysis of the writings of Middle Belt intellectuals, this study maps out the textual tradition of Middle Belt historiography, its ideological background and political undertones. This article argues that the writings of Middle Belt intellectuals represent the tension between distinct intellectual trends and political agendas in postcolonial Nigeria. Animated by a discourse of marginality and resistance to the dominant interpretations of northern Nigerian historiography, the article advances a fresh approach to the Middle Belt as an epistemic struggle by the ethnic minorities of northern Nigeria to reassert ...
While existing studies on Nigerian historiography cover renowned historians, major historical wri... more While existing studies on Nigerian historiography cover renowned historians, major historical writings and prominent historiographical traditions, there is hardly any exploration of the institutional processes and concrete circumstances within which historical knowledge is produced. Deploying a range of sources, from in-depth personal interviews – with historians, archivists, museum curators and publishers of history texts – archival research to museum displays, this thesis examines the production of history and the socio-political tensions and conflicts associated with it in postcolonial Nigeria. Specifically, it explores the linkages between Nigerian history as a discursive practice and the institutions where historical knowledge is produced such as history departments, archives, museums and the publishers of history and scholarly texts. I see these processes as a kind of “history machine”, defined as the interconnected system of social technologies through which the Nigerian stat...
1 This publication was made possible by support from the Next Generation Social Sciences in Afric... more 1 This publication was made possible by support from the Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa Fellowship, with funds provided by Carnegie Corporation of New York. Introduction The place of religion in the activation of social confl icts, particularly in the post-Cold War era, is being increasingly recognised in humanities and social science research.2 However, the Middle Belt movement in Nigeria is still being seen largely from the political and ethnic angles while treating religion often as a subtext. The Middle Belt identity does not correspond to clear geo-political or ethnic unit, but is usually understood vis-a-vis its main (real or imaginary) adversary, i.e. the so-called Muslim ‘Hausa-Fulani’ culture which allegedly constitutes the main hegemonic culture of northern Nigeria, and the latter’s corresponding pre-colonial political institution, i.e. the Sokoto Caliphate. This preliminary overview seeks to draw attention, albeit briefl y, to the pivotal place of religion in t...
While historians are good at collecting "facts"/sources with a view to showing "what actually hap... more While historians are good at collecting "facts"/sources with a view to showing "what actually happened in the past", they hardly transcend their sources or go beyond their “facts” to interrogate the basic conceptual framework and worldview which inform them. This tradition informs much of modern historiography as it is practiced in Western and African academia. Nigerian historiography in the last fifty years or so provides a good case of this arrested development and conceptual poverty. Very few historians are bothered about the epistemology of history and the underlying forces behind its. This paper offers a rethink of modern historiography through a methodical and philosophical analysis of Dahiru Yahya’s approach to historiography. Using evidence from his writings and comments of other distinguished scholars on his works, the paper demonstrates how Dahiru Yahya transcends the exoteric conception of history implicit in modern historiography, through his incisive and esoteric approach to historiography. Yahya has carved out for himself an important place in Nigerian intellectual evolution. This paper, therefore, treats him as an intellectual historian whose understanding and approach to history goes beyond the conventions of modern scientific historiography without ceasing to a meticulous historian.
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Papers by samaila suleiman
Conference Papers by samaila suleiman
Talks by samaila suleiman
Books by samaila suleiman