ABSTRACT
In Nigeria, the Hausa word Arewa refers to Northern Nigeria and corresponds to all the states included in what was once the northern region of the British colony. The Sokoto Revolution was essentially a cultural/religious revolution, with little fundamental impact on society. The British government established its power in future southern Nigeria in 1860s, but initially showed no interest in expanding it. This was a time when Britain's imperial policy was defined by its possession of India, and theatres of colonialism with no connections with that overriding interest were seen as a diversion. Thus, the emirates of Sokoto presented to colonialism a set of problems that were comparatively different from those that characterised other parts of the Sahel-Sudan. In the first decade of colonial occupation, the emirates were transformed into segments of the colonial administration. In Nigeria, various methods of solving the contradiction between the civil state and a religious society in favour of religion were used by Salafi ideologues.
