Northern Nïgeria Before Islam Pre-Islamic Northern Nigeria: Indigenous Traditions, Diversity, and the Politics of Historical Memory Abstract Before the spread of Islam into Northern Nigeria from the 11th century onward, the region was home to diverse ethnic groups with established religious systems, political institutions, moral codes, and economic networks. This paper documents the indigenous traditions of major Northern Nigerian ethnic groups and examines how selective historical narratives have been politically misused to erase or diminish this plural past. The study argues that Islam entered functioning societies and interacted with—rather than created—civilization in the region (Falola & Heaton, 2008; Crowder, 1978). 1. Introduction Northern Nigeria is frequently portrayed as historically uniform and exclusively Islamic. Scholarly evidence, however, demonstrates that this perception is a modern reconstruction rather than an accurate reflection of pre-Islamic ...