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'Be Conscious of Your Identity': Why Hausa is More Than Language
'Be Conscious of Your Identity': Why Hausa is More Than Language
Sputnik Africa
As the world marks World Hausa Day on 26 August, we celebrate a language that has never been confined to borders, traveling through trade, migration, and... 26.08.2026, Sputnik Africa
2026-08-26T12:14+0200
2026-08-26T12:14+0200
2026-08-26T12:15+0200
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'Be Conscious of Your Identity': Why Hausa is More Than Language
Sputnik Africa
As the world marks World Hausa Day on 26 August, we celebrate a language that has never been confined to borders, traveling through trade, migration, and culture to connect millions across Africa. The question today is not just about preservation but about equipping Hausa to shape the future of education, innovation, and digital knowledge.
Across the continent, African languages carry history, literature, and collective memory, yet they remain undervalued in official spaces where colonial languages still dominate. The challenge is not simply about speaking Hausa at home or in the marketplace but about committing it to research, writing, and publishing and ensuring that it competes favorably at every level and endures for generations to come.The Global South Pole spoke with Professor Abdalla Uba Adamu, a scholar of media and cultural communication whose work spans Hausa culture, literature, film, music, and digital culture, and Professor Yakubu Magaji Azare, Director of the Centre for Research in Nigerian Languages, Translation and Folklore at Bayero University, Kano, about the cultural identity of Hausa, the sidelining of African languages in official domains, and the urgent need to promote indigenous languages through research and publishing.Professor Adamu argued that Hausa is more than just a means of communication; it carries a core identity that cannot be erased by borrowing words or absorbing other cultures, and he cautioned against the assumption that anyone who speaks Hausa is automatically Hausa, insisting that the identity of Hausa people remains distinct. Professor Azare highlighted how colonial legacies have fostered an inferiority complex, making governments and elites prioritize foreign languages over African ones, and warned that without deliberate promotion through writing and publishing, even a language with millions of speakers risks decline. Both scholars agreed that while Hausa thrives in homes, markets, and religious settings, its future depends on breaking into official spaces and being treated as an equal to colonial languages.To listen to the whole discussion, tune in to the Global South Pole podcast, brought to you by Sputnik Africa. In addition to the website, you can also catch our episodes on Telegram.► You can also listen to our podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Deezer, Castbox, Pocket Casts, Afripods, Podcast Addict, Overcast, and Mave Stream.► Check out all the episodes of Global South Pole
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'Be Conscious of Your Identity': Why Hausa is More Than Language
Aliyu Bello
Correspondent, Podcast Host
As the world marks World Hausa Day on 26 August, we celebrate a language that has never been confined to borders, traveling through trade, migration, and culture to connect millions across Africa. The question today is not just about preservation but about equipping Hausa to shape the future of education, innovation, and digital knowledge.
Across the continent, African languages carry history, literature, and collective memory, yet they remain undervalued in official spaces where colonial languages still dominate. The challenge is not simply about speaking Hausa at home or in the marketplace but about committing it to research, writing, and publishing and ensuring that it competes favorably at every level and endures for generations to come.
The Global South Pole spoke with Professor Abdalla Uba Adamu, a scholar of media and cultural communication whose work spans Hausa culture, literature, film, music, and digital culture, and Professor Yakubu Magaji Azare, Director of the Centre for Research in Nigerian Languages, Translation and Folklore at Bayero University, Kano, about the cultural identity of Hausa, the sidelining of African languages in official domains, and the urgent need to promote indigenous languages through research and publishing.
Professor Adamu argued that Hausa is more than just a means of communication; it carries a core identity that cannot be erased by borrowing words or absorbing other cultures, and he cautioned against the assumption that anyone who speaks Hausa is automatically Hausa, insisting that the identity of Hausa people remains distinct. Professor Azare highlighted how colonial legacies have fostered an inferiority complex, making governments and elites prioritize foreign languages over African ones, and warned that without deliberate promotion through writing and publishing, even a language with millions of speakers risks decline. Both scholars agreed that while Hausa thrives in homes, markets, and religious settings, its future depends on breaking into official spaces and being treated as an equal to colonial languages.
"The Hausa language is more than just the Hausa language. Not only does it define the language, but it also defines us because of the language," noted Professor Abdalla Uba Adamu. "If we continue to promote our own languages, then we hope time will come when they will also compete favorably both in a home situation and even at the official level. So until we begin to harness that and until we begin to see that as a very important aspect of our living and our identity, I think we will continue to wallow in this situation of having an inferiority complex over other languages," added Professor Yakubu Magaji Azare.
To listen to the whole discussion, tune in to the
Global South Pole podcast, brought to you by
Sputnik Africa. In addition to the website, you can also catch our episodes on
Telegram.► Check out all the episodes of Global South Pole 
