Abstract:
The 19th Century Jihad movement in Hausaland, Nupe and some Yoruba areas was a revolution that produced dramatic changes on the political, social and cultural life of the inhabitants. The aim of the paper is to locate changes in house form, settlement pattern and improved artistic skills in north- western Nigeria in particular and Hausaland in general as one of the consequences of the jihad and of the Sokoto caliphate. The data for this research was sourced through extensive literature review. The scope of the research is the North-western Nigerian areas of present day Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara States. The paper found that the jihad produced significant impact on the spatial Organization of new settlements and house form.. The designs of buildings took into cognisance the privacy, security and religious needs of the people. But most importantly the study uncovered that, the peaceful atmosphere created by the jihad resulted in economic buoyancy which provided the material basis for the patronage of the construction industry by the new jihad leaders. This created favorable conditions for the emergence of master masons (Gwanis), leading to the creation of an architectural revolution that occurred in the second half of the 19th century.
DOI: 10.36349/sokotojh.2026.v14i01.002
