Telephone number:	+31 (0)71 527 1646
E-Mail:	s.t.yusuf@hum.leidenuniv.nl
Faculty / Department:	Faculteit der Geesteswetenschappen, Institute for History, Geschiedenis diversen
Office Address:	Witte Singel-complex P.N. van Eyckhof 3 2311 BV Leiden Room number 2.06b
Personal Homepage:	www.hum.leiden.edu/​history/​staff/​yusufst.html

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Fields of interest

Railway history, rural history and socio-economic history.

Research title

The Impact of the Railway on Colonial Northern Nigeria, c. 1908-1970s A.D.

Research summary

My reseach is an attempt to deepen scholarly understanding of the social impact of Nigerian railway on rural Northern Nigeria. It establishes the intricate relations between cash crop agricultural production and mass transportation as well as their combined transformative impact on rural Northern Nigeria. In contrast to previous studies, this study specifically focuses on rural communities along Kano-Zaria railway lines. The study centers on eight communities: Challawa, Kwankwaso, Madobi, Yako, Dangora and Auchan, Gimi Dabosa and Likoro situated in the emirates of Kano and Zaria in Northern Nigeria. It investigates how rural dwellers perceived, interpreted and appropriated the railway technology as constructors, passengers, consumers and customers, involved in the sending and receiving of goods within the context of British colonialism. It also examines the unintended socio-economic and political consequences of the railway.

Teaching activities

I teach History at Bayero University, Kano (Nigeria).

Curriculum vitae

• Ph.D. Candidate, Leiden University, (August 2010-Date)
  Title of Thesis: 'The Impact of the railway on colonial Northern Nigeria, 1908-1970s A.D.'
  Advisor: Prof. dr. R.J. (Robert) Ross
• M.A. History, Bayero University, Kano, (2008)
  Title of Thesis: 'The Impact of the railway on Madobi and Kwankwaso Towns of Kano Emirate, c.1903-1967'

Affiliations:

• International Association for the History of Transport, Traffic and Mobility (T2M)

• Historical Society of Nigeria (HSN).

Key publications

• 'The incidences of thefts of railway metals in Colonial Northern Nigeria' in Afro Asian Journal of Social Sciences 2/24, Quarter IV, 2011, pp. 1-23
• "Towards a New Approach to Nigeria's Railway History: the Rural and Agricultural Alternatives" in Saheed Aderinto and Paul Osifodunrin (ed.) New Direction in Nigerian History and Historiography: Essay in Honor of Ayodeji Olukoju (in press).
• The Impact of the railway on Kano Emirate, c. 1903-1960s: The Case of Madobi and Kwankwaso Towns, (Germany: Lambert Academic Publishing, 2010)