Trans-Saharan Migration and the Colonial Gaze: The Nigerians in Egypt

Abstract

Gordon James Lethem, a colonial officer in the Nigerian service, visited Egypt in 1925 to investigate the small community of Nigerians, called Takarir, to see if and how they were influencing the political and religious climate in Nigeria, specifically the states of its Muslim north. Lethem focused on the Nigerians studying at al-Azhar mosque and those who grouped around the zawiya in the Mugharbalin quarter of Cairo–both benefiting from a waqf established by a former slave. Lethem’s portrait of the community is full of colonial disdain. Takarir (sing. Takruri) had been coming to Egypt for almost a thousand years for study, trade, and sometimes to serve as slaves, suffering as well as enjoying a wide variety of fates.