Settlement and Inter-Group Relations among the Hausa and the Central Delta Region before 1900

Abstract

The paper examines the period before 1900, marked as a watershed in Nigerian history. This period is also known as the pre-colonial era in Nigeria, although there were events, towards the late 19th century, that led to colonial conquest in most parts of southern Nigeria while the north officially fell around the early 20th century. Prior to the periods mentioned, the people of both regions lived and traded with one another peacefully from as early as the 16th century. With the recorded chain of sociopolitical, ethnic and religious tensions in most parts of the country, there is a growing misrepresentation of the relationship that exists between the peoples of the Nigerian area. This paper concludes that the settlement and inter-group relations among the Hausa and the people of the Central Delta before 1900 were mutual.