8 June 2011

Debenhams' Hausa Sign Annoys Nigerians

People were surprised that major department store Debenhams in London decided to appeal to Nigerian customers by using the Hausa language in their signage last month, because they felt that Hausa was the least popular language spoken by Nigerians in the UK.

Debenhams' Oxford Street store puts up signage featuring the Hausa language at the bottom 

The signs featured the words "Na gode don sayayyarka a Debenhams" which means "Thank you for shopping at Debenhams" in Hausa, with the words also in Arabic and Mandarin. Debenhams said it selected the languages based on the highest number of overseas shoppers who claimed their tax back within the store.

One poster commenting on the topic on the Nairaland forum said:
"I think the shop owners may just be misinformed. Igbo or Yoruba would have been better. I have met very few Hausas in the UK. . . very few."
But I think Debenhams and other major stores like Harrods and Selfridges are right to court Hausa customers.

Hausas may be few in number, but the majority of those in the UK are wealthy and influential and spend lots of money in London. On the other hand, Nigerians from other tribes in the UK are largely working class and often shop in the inner-city areas. The ratio of rich Hausas to average Nigerians may be as low as 1:8, but in terms of spending power, major retailers respect them more.

Also, Hausa/Fulani shoppers are concentrated in the Oxford Street/ Edgware Road area because of the large Muslim and Arab community there, so whilst other tribes spread their wealth across the UK, Hausas are repeat, respected and respectable customers in the same large stores around Oxford Street.


A funny cartoon comparing Igbo, Yoruba and Hausa/Fulani shoppers

Because of the common sight of poor Hausa children begging on the streets of Nigeria and the 'Maiguards' (gatekeepers) of many Nigerian homes been poorly-paid Hausa men, many think that rich Northerners are too few to matter to British retailers.

But professional, educated Hausa/Fulanis in the UK (see my post 8 Reasons Why You Meet Few Hausa People in the UK) are harder to spot because they are not usually found in Nigerian-dominated areas in London as many live outside London. Also, many Hausa/Fulani men and women look 'different' because of their Islamic attire. 

People underestimate Hausa/Fulanis. They imagine we're poor, uneducated and uninterested in the finer things in life. This is true to some extent, but rich Alhajis and their families travel abroad to shop just as much as other tribes, having made their money in politics and business like other Nigerians.

Hausa is also the second most widely spoken language in Africa after Swahili, with approximately 43 million speakers across West Africa including Ghana, Sudan, Togo, Burkina Faso, Benin, Cameroon and Niger. So though Yorubas are dominant in the Nigerian diaspora, there are only 20 million speakers worldwide, the majority of whom are Nigerians with some speakers in Togo and Benin.

I applaud Debenhams for featuring Hausa in its signage, not only because of the language's popularity across Africa but also because this helps to show other Nigerians that Hausa/Fulanis have an important presence outside of Nigeria.

24 comments:

  1. "No Frawlem" give me 50. LOL. this is typically nigerian. nice post!. It's like five years of not being in Nigeria has finally made me out-dated for this to be news to me. The change is amazing. Great blog!



    --
    call Nigeria

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  2. Thanks Bradly! Visit again soon :)

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  3. Many southern Nigerians are bigoted. And they somehow fancy themselves as on the same side as the neo-con zionist rightwing in America. Many can't see beyond the 'born again' mantra so are mightily uninformed. Refreshing for me to see the unique Nigerian viewpoint. Born here but of Abia State origins. Have no religious affiliations so can be objective with all humans.

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  4. My kids & I love Kannywood films but don't understand Hausa. We pick up a few translations when they're subtitled. Any grammar books you'll recommend? Can I learn online in writing as don't have skype?
    na gode!

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  5. Sure you can learn Hausa online AUC, just click on the relevant tab at the top of this page and email me. You can learn via email communication, but installing skype is free and easy if you google it :)

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  6. Yorubas and Igbos really love Hausa people. I personally, i really do. I have a loyal Maiguard taking care of my properties even though i am out of the country. He and his wife are just too contented. Many good things to talk about the Hausas/ Fulani.
    Only different is they are really too close themselves. Hardly you can have a good friend in the inner-circle. I know few as well, lives in Lagos, we cant flow really good and this is not good because we are all Nigeria and we dont want to see Hausa like Niger people anylonger.

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  7. If I had a pound for everytime someone says, when I tell them I'm Hausa, "Oh, my maiguard is/was Hausa too," I'd be rich!

    I'd just like to publically affirm that Hausa men can be found in a variety of professions including medicine, law, business and politics; and not only by the gates of a big house :)

    Ayo, when you get home you should give your maiguard a raise!

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  8. Nice Blog,

    As a Nigerian Fulani man living in Uk I identify with your message. Keep it up, although I was literally in stitches laughing at some of the comments

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  9. Thanks Anonymous! I'm glad you enjoyed it :)

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  10. Hausas may be few in number, but the majority of those in the UK are wealthy and influential and spend lots of money in London. On the other hand, Nigerians from other tribes in the UK are largely working class and often shop in the inner-city areas.

    The Hausa's in the UK are wealthy because they have looted our collective patrimony and not because they are hard working.

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    1. This. Everyone is forgetting the unwritten / unofficial deal Hausas and Fulanis had with the British regarding the distribution of power and consequently wealth in colonial Nigeria.

      As a result today many Hausa families seem to possess vast wealth yet noone can point to a concrete source of their money.

      Sorry, I really like this blog but most of that Hausa / Fulani centred wealth are ill gotten gains that stretch all the way back to the colonial period and the various stages of the Nigerian government and not as a result of their hard work in building up some business or industry.

      Sorry to sound harsh but it's true.

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    2. Really? My people made a lucrative deal with the British? Hmmmm. But it's not harsh, many people are cynical about Northern wealth. Although we can't tar everyone with the same brush, as wealthy Hausa politicians and businessmen like Dangote abound.

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    3. I would have to agree with Sugabelly to a certain degree. I didn't know this until I started reading more about it. When the British came to the Nigerian region (not known as Nigeria then), they noted that the Igbos didn't have a central leadership but depended on elders and chiefs. To create a streamlined way to control the people, they created Ezes (Kings) to rule the Igbos. I am not exactly of the case with Yorubas, but it was largely similar. When it came to the Hausas, however, the British noted that they all ready had a system of leadership and a religion (Islam) known outside of the realms of Africa and known worldwide. They noticed the aquiline (aka. European features) of the Hausas and Fulani, with narrow noses. This European features coupled with the religion made the British label the Hausas as more civilized than the other ethnic groups. They gave them more independence to rule, governing the people largely through the Sokoto Caliphate. For that reason, many Hausas and Fulani - not as influenced by the British rule as other ethnic groups - remained Muslim and were not as introduced into Western education. The Igbos and the Yorubas, as well as other ethnic groups, were considered more primitive creating a rise of missionaries in the area and Western education. This is the reason why things are like that in Nigeria. When the British left, the former rulers left the reins to the Hausas and northerners, and the effect is still shown till this day. What the British did is very similar to what the Belgiums did in Rwanda. They separated two ethnic groups: the Tutsis and the Hutus. To outsiders, these people look quite similar. But the Belgium emphasized their physical appearance, pointing to the Tutsis taller framework and aquiline features to state they were more superior than the Hutus. The Belgium gave most of the government jobs to the Tutsis, sparking hatred and eventually a hideous genocide. If you look at history articles on the Biafra/Nigerian Civil War, you would also note that Britain and the United States support Nigeria against the Igbo's decision to make a new nation. While countries like Israel and South Africa supported the short-lived Biafra nation. Look into it. What Sugabelly says has some element of truth. It's sad the world of tension Britain and other Western countries created for us and Africa as a whole. God bless.

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    4. Fascinating read, onestarfishatatime. I guess the Fulanis and Hausas were self-confident and somewhat aloof when the British came, so they were respected, compared to how Southerners readily embraced the British culture and religion and were thus subjugated.

      But thank God that the divide and conquer policy of the British didn't lead to genocide in Nigeria. It continues to be miraculous the fact that Nigeria is still one, in spite of the many ways the British and Nigerians themselves have tried to divide it.

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    5. A genocide actually occurred in 1966/67 and it was as a result of that "divide and rule" which made the tribes suspicious and parochial about each other.

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  11. Ghanaian Hausa Living in UK22 February 2012 at 16:56

    Great piece of work and quite fascinating knowledge of your roots. Hope to hear more from you and be a role model to many Hausas living in UK . a gaida gida, akuma sanda kookarin naaki

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  12. Nagode GHLIU. I've been pleasantly surprised at the number of Hausa/Fulanis in the UK that have contacted me through this blog :)

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    1. Ghanaian Hausa Living in UK24 February 2012 at 22:18

      I guess there are a lot of us but not many on here, will be launching my blog as well so do watch out for that too.
      am sure you did meet some hausas in Ghana too on your visit.Did you get the chance to visit some of the Hausa communities ?

      sai njima

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    2. Yeah I met some Hausas in Ghana; read 'My Hausa Adventure in Ghana' in the Oct post for more. I didn't visit any communities though. Maybe when I return to Ghana. I'll look out for your blog, good luck!

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  13. Ghanaian Hausa Living in UK26 February 2012 at 13:02

    Hi, Just found a piece of hausa hiphop version of Oleku which might interest you. Stay tuned and do hope you enjoy the music ..... shakata da wan'na fai fai

    http://youtu.be/0bVMMqPrsIs

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    1. Hello,

      We are interpreting and translationg agency. We are looking for a person who speaks Hausa language as we got some jobs for Hausa interpreting. I was wondering someone can help me with this. He or she get paid for this interpreting jobs plus travel expense.
      Please contact us 02088842281 or email recruitment@dlanguages.co.uk

      Delete
    2. Hello,

      We are interpreting and translationg agency. We are looking for a person who speaks Hausa language as we got some jobs for Hausa interpreting. I was wondering someone can help me with this. He or she get paid for this interpreting jobs plus travel expense.
      Please contact us 02088842281 or email recruitment@dlanguages.co.uk

      Delete
  14. there are hardly any hausa people in London and the few that do come tend to shop in the expensive shops such as debenhams and harrods ,,,,,,, where do they get the money from? ,,,,,,,,,is it embezelled from the governemnt during their tenure in office

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