Our new print issue, Africa’s Hustle Republics, is here! Subscribe for less than ₦1K/$1 a week for full access.
Decades of failed governance, banditry and economic collapse are driving young men from northern Nigeria across the Sahara in search of gold, dignity and a version of manhood Nigeria no longer offers them.
Sep 6, 2026
Photo-illustration by Toluwalase Onilede / THE REPUBLIC.
Audio 1: Nasiru narrates his journey to Harouba to the author, Umar Yandaki, in Hausa.
Audio 2: Nasiru narrates his journey to Harouba to the author, Umar Yandaki, in Hausa.
Nasiru (first from the right) and his friends in Harouba. Photo courtesy of the author.
It was midday at his end, in Harouba, a border town between Mali and Algeria. The sun was no doubt bearing down against skulls there, though his voice carried no urgency. Nasiru was sending me the voice notes during his brief break from the gruelling work of gold-processing, which was just enough time to eat, drink some water, pray, catch his breath and gather himself before returning to work. That brief exchange was the start of months of scattered conversations between us. He gradually explained to me how the moral expectations on men in the Hausa-Muslim societies of northwest Nigeria, the declining value of the naira and the failure of the Nigerian government to address poverty and insecurity forced him to cross hundreds of miles and plant himself in the volatile, sun-scorched vastness of the Sahara.
Nasiru (first from the right) and his friends in Harouba. Photo courtesy of the author.
It was midday at his end, in Harouba, a border town between Mali and Algeria. The sun was no doubt bearing down against skulls there, though his voice carried no urgency. Nasiru was sending me the voice notes during his brief break from the gruelling work of gold-processing, which was just enough time to eat, drink some water, pray, catch his breath and gather himself before returning to work. That brief exchange was the start of months of scattered conversations between us. He gradually explained to me how the moral expectations on men in the Hausa-Muslim societies of northwest Nigeria, the declining value of the naira and the failure of the Nigerian government to address poverty and insecurity forced him to cross hundreds of miles and plant himself in the volatile, sun-scorched vastness of the Sahara.
The Republic is a Nigerian media-tech company dedicated to explaining our time—through deeply reported journalism on power, culture and society.
Focused consumption without interruptions.
Years of reporting at your fingertips.
Long-form journalism that matters.
Create a free account to continue reading this month and access more of our work.
About the Author
is a doctoral student at Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois. He is a historian of early modern and modern West Africa.
Comments
Sign in to comment.