Abdullahi Smith (born Henry Fredrick Charles Smith, 5 May 1920–1984) was a scholar of

West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

and

culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

. He was particularly interested in

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

influence in

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

. Professor Smith was the first Director of

Arewa House Arewa House (Hausa language, Hausa: ''Gidan Arewa'') is a centre for research and historical Documentation, documentations under Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria, Zaria, located in Kaduna (city), Kaduna, Kaduna State, in North West (Nigeri ...

personally picked by its founder

Ahmadu Bello Sir Ahmadu Bello (; born Ahmadu Rabah; 12 June 1910 – 15 January 1966), famously known as Sardauna of Sokoto, was a conservative Nigerian statesman who was one of the leading northern politicians in 1960 and served as its first and only pre ...

Academic career

Smith was one of the first historians to document the complex history of conflict between Europeans and Arabs in Nigeria. He introduced to the west the existence of massive archives of Arabic literature and historical records in Nigeria, which he had anticipated as the natural result of "a powerful tradition of Arabic learning (which indeed persists to the present day)." Smith argued consistently that scholarship had neglected the Arabic history of West Africa, in part because of the complexity of the historical situation and in part because of anxiety over Europe's role. Smith taught at the

University of Ibadan The University of Ibadan (UI) is a public university located in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. Initially founded as the University College Ibadan in 1948, it maintained its affiliation with the University of London. In 1962, it became an independe ...

. He was Professor of History at

Ahmadu Bello University The Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) is a public research university located in Zaria, Nigeria, Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria. It was opened in 1962 as the University of Northern Nigeria. The university has four colleges, three schools, 18 faculties, ...

and pioneer Director of

. Professor Smith established the Department of History at Ahmadu Bello University in September 1962 which later produced some of the greatest Nigerian Historians such as Bala Usman and

Mahmud Modibbo Tukur Mahmud Modibbo Tukur (1944–1988) was a Nigerian historian, scholar and the 4th National President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). Tukur was the Head of the Department of History and Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sci ...

. Abdullahi Smith is well known for his contributions on the history of Hausaland and its

Sokoto Caliphate The Sokoto Caliphate (, literally: Caliphate in the Lands of Sudan), also known as the Sultanate of Sokoto, was a Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslim caliphate in West Africa. It was founded by Usman dan Fodio in 1804 during the Fula jihads, Fulani jihads ...

. He initiated major efforts towards the establishment of documentation and research centres and facilities in the form of archives, libraries, museums and an archaeological unit. Professor Henry F.C. Smith converted to Islam while he was the Director of Arewa House and changed his name to Abdullahi Smith.

Legacy

The lecture theatre at the Faculty of Arts in

is named after him. The Abdullahi Smith Centre for Historical Research is named after him and conceived by Bala Usman,

Muhammadu Dikko Yusufu Alhaji Muhammadu Dikko Yusufu , also known as MD Yusufu or MD Yusuf (November 10, 1931 – April 1, 2015) was a Nigerian policeman, Inspector General of the Nigerian Police Force, public servant and politician. Yusufu attended Higher Education at t ...

and George Kwanashie.

References

1920 births 1984 deaths Historians of Africa Academic staff of the University of Ibadan Historians of Nigeria {{historian-stub People from Somerset Academic staff of Ahmadu Bello University Alumni of the University of Cambridge