BUK Scholar Dr. Abdullahi Shehu Wins Prestigious African Dissertation Award

Dr. Abdullahi Hamisu Shehu, a faculty member at Bayero University, Kano (BUK), has been awarded the 2023 African Studies Review/Cambridge University Press Award for Best Africa-Based Doctoral Dissertation.

The award was presented at the 67th Annual Meeting of the African Studies Association (ASA) in Chicago, USA. Dr. Shehu's dissertation, "Procession, Pilgrimage, and Protest: A Historical Study of the Qadiriyya-Nasiriyya and Islamic Movement in Nigeria," explores the relationships between public religiosity and identity formation in northern Nigeria.

Dr. Shehu's research focuses on two significant movements: the Qadiriyya-Nasiriyya, a reformed Sufi order, and the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), a Shia revivalist group. His work highlights how these practices contest public space and visibility, reflecting the sociopolitical and religious complexities of post-colonial northern Nigeria.

This achievement underscores Dr. Shehu's academic excellence and reinforces Bayero University, Kano's position as a hub for intellectual and scholarly contributions from Africa. Dr. Shehu's research provides fresh perspectives on the sociopolitical dynamics of northern Nigeria and exemplifies the transformative impact of African scholarship on global academic discourse.