| Abstract: |
Previous scholars have suggested varied opinions about the history of the Maguzawa people. While some have argued that the term Maguzawa (plural) is a Hausa word, others have asserted that Bamaaguje derives from the Arabic word Majus, which means a Magian adherent of Magaaism. Magaaism was a religion similar to Zoroastrianism. Among the Hausa people, some have argued that the Maguzawa form one of the ethnic groups of the Hausa Kingdom and are descendants of Maguji, one of the eleven traditional Chiefs of Kasa Hausa (Hausaland). Presently, some people use the term to refer to those who, even after the Jihad of Uthman dan Fodio in 1804 in the northern part of the country, have refused to accept the new religion and thus either have continued traditional worship or have accepted Christianity. Both Temple (1922) and Smith (1987) have characterized these people as traditional Hausa families (indigenous people) who were untouched by Islam and who escaped the authority of Sarkin Dare. Scholars have also argued that, as a way of avoiding the new religion, the Maguzawa fled to the country's interior while the new religion was established in major cities and created a new aristocratic class of rulers, scholars, administrators, and merchants. Available documents suggest that the Maguzawa are scattered around the Kano, Katsina, Zam- fara, Sokoto, and Jigawa states of Northern Nigeria. Drawing on data from primary and secondary sources, we deploy analytical and narrative historical methods in this article. Our findings indicate that, despite the fact they are constitutionally Nigerians, the Maguzawa have been treated by the ruling elites and aristocrats as second-class citizens because of religious differences. Most often, they have been denied access to certain sociopolitical and economic privileges and have been deprived of rights to essential means of livelihood. Such deprivations have occurred due to the social, political, and economic networks revolving around the new aristocratic class. In this paper, we posit that this unjust situation has caused high levels of intolerance, discrimination, and insecurity in that part of the country. We conclude that this trend obstructs the fundamental rights of the Maguzawa by making them aliens in their own homeland and that the trend can be traced to the early attempts of particular groups to forcefully dominate others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
