The Socio-Economic Impact of the Railway

Abstract

The study looks at the experience

of railway development in the countryside between Kano and Zaria. It

looks at the ways the inhabitants perceived, appropriated and

domesticated the railroad and how their lives were transformed by it. The communities are located in the two Hausa states of Kano and Zaria. Situated strategically on trade routes and the rail line, all the communities with the exception of one were nineteenth century creations. They became significantly important with the construction and operation of the railway in the twentieth century. The railway as the study argued was the most important innovation which transformed the communities from almost nothing to economically significant center's on the rail line. It played a critical role in their social, economic and cultural life much more than previously recognized. The railway is also a double edge sword. It opened many frontiers of opportunities and at the same time indirectly endangered many. It also bread crimes and provided platforms for criminals to operate. The impact of the railway, as the study severally demonstrates differs between the communities.