The peoples of the Savannah zone are divided into two:
1. The people's of the Savannah far north
2. Those of the middle belt
1. Savannah Far North: The Hausa, Fulani and Kanuri ethnic groups are the most numerous and politically dominant groups in the far north. The Hausa people are mostly concentrated in Sokoto, Kano, kaduna, Gombe, Bauchi, Yobe and Zamfara states. Politically, the Hausa city were never unified before the advent of the Fulani conquest in the early parts of the 19th century. Following this development however, Islam became more widely adopted and today, the Hausa profess the Muslim faith and both their political and social life, including land tenure and legal systems revolves round Islamic principles.
The peoples economy is characterized by the cultivation of guinea corn, millet, maize and beans and most of the Hausa lived in small agricultural villages, although there are also large popular Hausa towns like Kano, Katsina, Zaria and Sokoto, etc. The Hausa own cattle, but the natural business of cattle rearing is carried out by the cattle Fulani. Another important charcteristic of their economy is the prevalence of irrigation farming. In fact they are one of the few Savannah ethnic groups that practice this form of agriculture. The people are very popular craftsmen and traders. The popular crafts of the people include leather works, wood carving, weaving etc. Hausa professional long distance traders distributed these goods throughout Nigeria. It has been noted that in Nigeria, they are largely responsible for the organization of the trade in cattle and kola nuts.
The Fulani are another ethnic group in Hausa land. They are probably the only ethnic group in Africa with no distinct territory being essentially scattered throughout the countries of Sudan zone, from Senegal in west Africa to the upper Nile in the east. Historical evidence has shown that they migrated into Nigeria from the West and settled among the Hausa and subsequently conquered them during the Fulani Jihad led by Uthman Dan Fodio at the beginning of the 19th century.
In Nigeria, the Fulani can be classified as the cattle Fulani and the settled or town fulani. The cattle Fulani as a group are primarily cattle keepers and their lifestyle is characterized by migration from one place to another in search of water and greener pastures for their cattle, especially during the dry season. The cattle Fulani leads a practical and simple life and lives in a camp of tents or grass shelters, which is deserted as soon as death occurs. They are endogamous since they hardly marry outside their community or tribes men. This has made it possible for them to maintain their ethnic purity and identity, even though they have mixed with several groups, especially the Hausa. Unlike his Kinsmen, the town Fulani, the cattle Fulani is not a committed Muslim. He practices many customs of traditional religion and is particularly fetish. The town or settled Fulani lives in towns among their Hausa hosts. Many of them are either administrators or farmers. They also keep large herds of cattle, which they keep in the custody of the nomadic cattle Fulani. They are also devout Muslims and have been largely responsible for the spread of Islam throughout Hausa land and parts of the middle belt.
The Kanuri of Borno are like the Hausa Muslims. It is important to however point out the fact that Islam got to Borno before the advent of the Fulani jihad in Hausa land. Most of the Kanuri like their Hausa neighbors are traditionally settled cultivators and Traders. Many of them also own large herds of cattle, which are kept under the care of Shuwa Arabs or the cattle Fulani.
The Middle Belt of Nigeria
The minority ethnic groups of the Savannah zone inhabit the middle belt. A major feature of this part of the North is the preponderance of micro ethnic nationalities. Some of these tribes include the tiv, Jukun, Nupe, berom, Igbira, igala, chamba, kuteb,idoma , alago, igede, ngas, Etulo, bassa komo, nyif on, akwenya, ufia kilba ,langtan, montol, ankwe, etc. Trade and cultural contacts between these groups before the advent of the colonialist was fairly extensive. As a matter of fact, most of the ethnic groups have a history of inter group relations predating the arrival of the Europeans. Similarly, they had a well developed network of interactions with people from other zones, although a dominant theme in their history their determination to maintain independence from their neighbours, expressed sometimes in intense war fare between them and their immediate and distant neighbours.
One of the major feature of these people's sociopolitical organizations is the verbal absence if centralized political organs of government compared to their neighbours in the far north and southwest. Political power and authority here revolves round lineage heads and people with impeccable leadership qualities. It should be mentioned however that the absence of law and order in these polities. As a matter of fact, these polities had all the attributes of government and they were potential state societies before the advent of colonialism.
Most of the ethnic groups in this category have peculiar a settlement pattern which has determined their history and culture over the decades. They exhibit a territorially dispersed and desperate settlement pattern that has contributed to their land tenure system. This settlement pattern has been linked to their essentially agrarian lifestyle. They are very good farmers and cultivate a wide range of crops, ranging from root to grain and tree crops. These are all produced in very large quantities both for local consumption and exchange with their neighbors from other parts of Nigeria. Arising from the important place migrations occupy in their history, societies in this region are mostly heterogeneous. Most of the communities in the Middle belt are therefore multi ethnic. This is a feature that has tremendously affected the nature of their cultures. Cultural traits have indicated that, in the past, there has been extensive inter mingling between groups in the course of their migrations, settlement and general development.