Migration and Diaspora Identity in Northern Nigeria and Ghana, 1900–1970

This book uncovers the driving forces and mechanisms through which Yoruba migrant communities in Kano, the largest commercial and administrative city in northern Nigeria, and Tamale, the largest commercial and administrative city in northern Ghana, forged diaspora identities and grappled with the challenges of social inclusion and exclusion. Drawing on fieldwork interviews and archival research in particular, it analyses how socio-economic forces and power relations shaped the very different experiences of the two communities as well as how they sustained ties with the homeland in southwestern Nigeria. By contrasting Yoruba diaspora identity in northern Nigeria and Ghana, this book closely examines how citizenship and belonging, used as a form of political control during colonial rule, was further developed in the post-colonial era and furthers discourses on transnationalism and homeland politics.