4. Daba among Youth Gangs in Metropolitan Kano

Abdullahi M. Madaki, Bala S. Dawakin Tofa, and Baffa A. Umar

Youth gangs are an important segment in the subcultures of many societies. Youth are considered to be the most important segment of the society that attracts national and international policies for development. While they are regarded as the building blocks of every society, they extract and utilize human and material resources for social, economic, and political development of every nation. In fact, they are the leaders of tomorrow. Since they occupy an important position in the society, their proper integration into the mainstream of society is essential through socialization, provision of qualitative education, and employment.

The concept of youth is defined in different ways by different people. Abdullahi (1982) defines “youth” as any person in the period between early childhood and old age. The report of the Political Bureau (1997) classified youth as those between 6 and 30 years old. Societies that place little or no attention to the positive development of their youth are, in effect, jeopardizing their future progress and development. These are among the predisposing conditions of the emergence and development of daba (group) in our society, in which the youth commonly participate. This chapter attempts to explore empirically some of the predisposing factors of daba, and the activities of Yan daba in metropolitan Kano.

Gang as a Terror Group

The terror, violence, and intimidation common to most gangs are some of their main features. In certain cases, the roughness and toughness of gang members condition them to engage in the abuse of drugs, homicide, rape, and arson.

Gangsters can be conceptualized as local terror groups who use lethal weapons such as knives, clubs, cutlasses, swords, bows and arrows, and the like to attack, kill, and indulge in wanton destruction of properties. The issue of Yan daba and Yan banga in Northern Nigeria particularly in Kano state, the second now first most populous city in Nigeria, has been debated and discussed as a social problem deserving serious attention from the Government, NGOs and other relevant bodies time and again.

As terrorism poses a global and local threat to peace, stability, democratic institutions, processes and traditions, human rights and the rule of law, the same is the case with  Yan daba in metropolitan Kano. From 1979 to date, there has developed a close connection between ‘Yan daba and democratic institutions, processes and traditions. Perhaps, the problem of the marginalized youth, who could become potential recruit into the  Yan daba gang, continues to remain significant. Many youths suffer from destitution, poverty, lack of education, disillusion, and ultimately become alienated from the society. According to Ya’u (2000):

…the collapse of social services and the increasing commercialization of education have made it very difficult for many youngsters to remain in school. As a consequence, the number of school dropouts is increasing…there is also a sharp decrease in the rate of school transition from secondary level to university, throwing a large number of youths out of the educational system, most of whom are largely unemployed. They thus resort to urban terrorism—Yan daba or are used as Yan banga by political bigwigs and stalwarts.

Daba: A Conceptual Explanation

Daba in Hausa refers to a group of individuals that assemble in a particular place. Daba can involve people of different age groups but in most cases from the same sex. According to Dan’asabe (1991), the term daba is derived from the Hausa word daba that literally means “group.” In other contexts, daba could mean a collection of hunters (yanfarauta / yantauri) who usually camp in a particular place before they set off for a hunting expedition. Traditionally, hunters use different weapons like axes, knives, iron rods, cutlasses, spears, guns, and so on to attack and even kill animals. Apart from hunting, these weapons are used for protection against external attack. During the pre-colonial period, they were not only hunters but also a warrior group who defended their territories against any attack (Dan’asabe, 1991).

The meaning of daba has changed with time. It is now associated with deviance. This may be connected with the incorporation of the yanfarauta and yantauri into the political terrain to provide security to politicians and, sometimes, to harm or injure opponents and others. The Yan banga (sing. danbanga), on the other hand, serve as bodyguards to politicians. According to Zakariya’u (2000), most leaders of yanbanga are yantauri. Nevertheless, who are the yandaba ? What are the motivating factors for their existence? Why does daba persist over time? To what extent is politicking related to the resurgence of daba?

The Emergence of Yan daba

As the year of Nigeria’s independence approached, rich aristocrats and, in some cases, Emirs began to align themselves with the political parties. After the formation of some political parties—NEPU and NPC, the significant role of hunters, known as yanfarauta, became transformed. When the NEPU leaders started experiencing increase in harassment, molestation, and arbitrary arrests from the Native Authority (NA) in sympathy with the NPC, NEPU began to recruit hunters in order to protect their leaders during tours and to act as bodyguards (yan banga). The increased sophistication of the activities of the Yan banga and the roles they played as bodyguards in the society transformed them into yandaba in Kano (Dan’asabe 1991). Dabanci is the name of the institution of daba while the institutional role-actor is Dandaba (pl. ‘Yandaba ). It is a deviant institution like any other institution with sub-cultural proscriptive and prescriptive norms governing the behavior of its members. Hence, the earlier definition of daba changed in a more pejorative way to a more negative/deviant one as Dan’asabe (1991, p. 91) further states: “It simply refers now to members of groups composed mainly of youngsters between the age of ten and thirty, who more often than not engage in criminal activities, ranging from rape, theft, substance abuse, armed robbery, gang war, larceny, assault, and so on.” As Dawakin Tofa, (1994, p. 2) notes:

Historically, the people of the ancient city of Kano, were known to be hunters…they organized themselves for “Farauta” that is, hunting for bush meat. They went along with their dogs for hunting activities. The issue of “Farauta” or hunting and “Daba” itself began from this historical fact. In the past, hunting groups used to meet in the bush to resolve differences. But, with the tremendous development of the city, hunting and dispute-resolution in the bush disappeared; hence conflicting groups try to resolve differences in the city.

(Dawakin Tofa, 1994, p. 3) posits that the phenomenon of Yan daba started to gain ground during the first republic, as members of the group worked as party vanguards as staunch supporters, thugs, and political body guards (‘Yan banga’) to party bigwigs and stalwarts. They served in these capacities during the second republic (1979-1983), and served and continue to serve in the third republic (2003-present) in more desperate ways than ever seen before.

The issue of Yan daba in general and its study in Kano metropolitan area must tackled with consideration of the fact that it was a social problem of the second republic. The impact of  Yan daba reached its peak during the second republic 1979-1983. The terrorists that beclouded the atmosphere of daba had unleashed untold psychological, physical. and material fears to the residents of Kano. For instance, it was at that time, and for the first time, a court was established to try and handle cases of Yan daba, Yan daukar Amarya and related cases under Chief Magistrate Court (7) Alhaji Ado Balarabe. The Yan daba groups were referred to in the law as members of unlawful society:

Section 97A of the penal code provides for the establishment of the “unlawful/society groups.” This section provides; a society is unlawful society if declared by an order of the governor in council to be a society dangerous to the good government of Northern Nigeria or any part thereof. Section 97B provides for the punishment of being a member of an unlawful society or a manager of unlawful society, that is; “Whosoever managers or is a member of an unlawful society shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to seven years or fine or both”.

The Activities of Yandaba

Yandaba exist in some areas of Metropolitan Kano like Mandawari, Gyaranya, Warure, Fagge, Sabon Sara, Jakara, Kasuwar Rimi, Kofar Nassarawa, Kofar Na’isa Kul-Kul, Gwammaja, Kofar Mata, Dan’agundi, and Dala. To some extent, they offer protection to the areas in which they reside from attacks by the rival daba groups and thieves. During either religious or tribal disturbances, they tend to ignore their differences and merge to protect the lives and properties in their areas. Also, they are used by politicians to serve as “political thugs” that deal with individuals or a group that may be obstacles towards achieving a certain political aim. Yandaba, as a group or gang, constitute a potent source of social insecurity in Kano. A Dandaba accepts responsibilities and commitments demanded of him by members of the group, and is ready to do anything, including murder, to preserve and maintain his membership.

The unlawful activities of yandaba include political thuggery, vandalism, theft, armed robbery, stealing, intra and inter gang warfare, aggravated assault, violence, rape, and larceny. Because most of them take drugs and other intoxicants, they become school dropouts and are marginalized in the society. As a result, they feel rejected by society and continue to exhibit their activities. These activities prevent them from performing their rightful duties to parents and the society at large. Through this, they threaten the peace, law, and order of the areas they exist.

According to a celebrated police officer named Bala, who deals with gangs of  Yan daba and is also a police officer in-charge of Jakara/Goron Dutse police station, the activities of  Yan daba “the  Yan daba is a dead issue now”. Bala was right! Residents of Kano metropolis know the methods Bala, a Divisional Police Officer, used in controlling the gang activities of  Yan daba. Bala believed in retributive justice and, hence, was determined to break, maim, or kill any suspected gang member in his stronghold. On the sponsorship of  Yan daba, Alhaji Ado Balarabe the pioneer Chief Magistrate court 7 of Yan daba says:

No one sponsors them… but the government views their activities as unlawful and hence the creation of unlawful members of society….  Yan daba according to him are a group of persons who have identified themselves and have so far agreed to a common objective, i.e., to be unlawful members of society. Their motive was not to be in collision with government but just to be unlawful.

The discussion that follows, however, will show the transformation of gang groups into new terror groups of intimidation, molestation, maiming, and killing of political opponents rekindled from the first and second republics and as a matter of life and death in the third republic. Serial daba activities in Kano is an indication that gang terrorism has come to stay in Nigerian’s political class. For example, monitored Hausa radio news broadcasts from foreign media, especially the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and Voice of America (VOA) broadcasts since the 1990s, will make some revelations.

On Friday 26th August, 1995, the BBC reported that “residents of Bakin Ruwa, and Chedi both in the metropolitan city witnessed another bloody clash among rival gangs of  Yan daba”. On 20th November, 1995 the local radio Kano station, reported that eight young ladies were arrested on the charge of being members of gang referred to as Yan hayaki, a sub-group of girl-delinquents in Kofar Nassarawa quarters in the metropolis. In another BBC (Hausa service) interview by Bala Ibrahim on Friday November, 1995, Hajiya Larai Sani confirmed the menace of  Yan daba gangs in the metropolis. On March 27, 2001 suspected members of  Yan daba slaughtered two persons in front of their houses in the Mandawari quarters inside Kano. The incidence was reported by a VOA (Hausa service) correspondent on the 6:30am news. Activities of  Yan daba recur repeatedly.

Literature Review on Gang and Gang Related Activity

In an attempt to review some of the related literature, some sociological theories of deviance are reviewed. Furthermore, other empirical research conducted by scholars are presented. Sociological theories on deviance and criminal behavior emphasize social and cultural factors. They view behaviors (yandaba inclusive) as a social problem that has its roots in the society. Durkheim’s theory on suicide (1897) indicates that anomie (normlessness), breeds deviance. Merton (1938) builds on Durkheim’s concept of anomie. Merton believes that society prescribes certain goals for everybody to achieve, but the legitimate means of achieving the goals are restricted to a few members of the society. Those who are disadvantaged innovate other techniques of becoming materially successful, thus, the society creates deviance.

Sutherland (1939) developed the differential association theory, and Cloward and Ohlin (1960) formulated the differential opportunity theory to explain various forms of deviance. Differential association emphasizes that deviance is learned through interactions with other people, while differential opportunity theory posits that gang behavior grows wherever legitimate means to the attainment of success goals, such as economic and higher educational opportunities, are blocked. These theories have been criticized, especially since many people cannot identify the persons from whom they have learned pro-criminal or anti-criminal behavior. Additionally, the assumption that lower class individuals are more likely to commit deviant or criminal behavior could be wrong and misleading. In a survey conducted by Jjankowski (1991), he found that young men join gangs because it makes sense to them. It is a rational way of getting a larger share of the things they want in an environment of chronic scarcity and deprivation. Also, Agnew (1992) developed the thesis that adolescents have a tendency to respond to strain with deviant behavior because it may provide them with a means of alleviating strain directly.

Dan’asabe (1991) and Zakariya’u (2000) argue that the main reason for the emergence of Yandaba is lack of educational opportunities. Lindstorm (1996) contends that children of a low socioeconomic status are more aggressive, while Ibbotsom (1956) observes that gang members are unemployed youths from poverty-stricken backgrounds. Fyuel (1961) argues that gangs come from emotionally unsatisfactory homes; as such, gangs that are created out of deprivation are often hostile and destructive in their behaviors. Also, Broom and Selznick (1977) submit that living in an area mainly inhabited by gangs is not enough to make a child become a gang member, but it can help when added to disorganization in the home routine, maternal supervision, and emotional ties. Furthermore, Dan’asabe (1991) postulates that a lack of parental care is among the reasons that led to the emergence of yandaba. Bazariye (1981) says that members of the society who find themselves in abject poverty remain perpetually unhappy and under stress, which invariably leads them to commit deviant acts as a consolation for what they lack. Dan’asabe (1991) states that unemployment is among the factors that predispose individuals to seek gang membership. He also asserts that the emergence of modern politics led to the emergence and persistence of daba in Nigerian society.

Campbell (1991) indicates that female gang members are victims of chronic poverty, marginalization, and unemployment; and that they became gang members when they faced problems of powerlessness of the underclass, subordination to males, social isolation, domestic labor, and responsibility of children. He further describes females as sex objects.

The Research Area, Method and Data

Kano is said to have developed around the Dutsen Dala (Dala Hill), which has been the center of its political power before the foundation of Bayajidda dynasty. Historically, the original inhabitants were iron smelters and pagans. These people were later joined by a group of immigrants from far North of Africa headed by Bagauda.

Kano was founded by Bagauda who was the first Habe ruler. Bagauda is the son of Bawo, the grandson of Bayajidda, whose descendants were said to have established the seven Hausa states. Bagauda was the first King of the Habe dynasty. The rule of the Habe dynasty came to an end after the Fulani jihad of 1804 during the reign of the 43rd king of Kano – Muhammad Alwali (1781 – 1810). The leader of the Fulani jihadists in Kano (Suleiman) was mandated by Shehu Usman Danfodio to become the first Fulani Emir of Kano, and the 44th in the dynasty. The present emir Ado Bayero became the 13th Emir of Kano in the Fulani dynasty and the 56th in the Bagauda Habe rulers. He was chosen to become the Emir in 1963.

Initially, the people of Kano followed traditional religion. Later, with the coming of the Arabs from North Africa, Islam was introduced in the 12th century. The economic activities of the people of Kano revolve around agricultural activities such as farming, animal husbandry, fishing, processing, marketing and other trading activities. It is a home of industrial activities nowadays with a relatively high number of civil servants than before. Kano metropolitan is now made up of six local governments, namely: Municipal, Dala, Tarauni, Gwale, Nassarawa, and Fagge. As a center of commerce, majority of the people in the city engage in one economic activity or the other. By and large, youth are the predominant members of the population.

Daba Transformations: From Daba to Bumburutu to Achaba back to Daba

The dynamics of Daba transformation in Kano and other parts of northern Nigeria is a process that corresponds to the social changes in the society. The transition from Yan farauta to Yan Banga, and later Yan daba, shows clearly that socioeconomic and political developments in the society have an impact on the current scenario of gang terror groups. In the last two decades the Yan Banga terror groups have transform into a specific economic class of confused and maladjusted delinquents with emerging characteristics as deluded hybrids:

• They may be school dropouts or unable to go through the school system.
• They are either unemployed or unemployable.
• They may be deeply involved in drug dependence.
• They are usually sycophants and “hangers on,” looking for money from their political masters.
• They may be seriously engaged in street hawking of petroleum products, despite the hazards of the illegal trade.
• Many of them have started demarcating their territories for their illegal business and social activities, taking advantage of the inability of the government to address these problems.
• Another likely group that may be connected to Daba is the commercial motor cyclists subculture that is booming.

Some cases of Daba activities are never reported in the media, perhaps due to the volatile nature of the city. Attempts to stop the nefarious activities of Yan daba were made, albeit politically. The recent upsurge and the renaissance of daba activities are not unconnected to the following hard-core facts on the ground, particularly related to Nigeria’s body politics. Politics is money, and the person with money gets an upgraded status, prestige, and recognition. Most elections in Nigeria were rigged. Of late, the presidential election was said to be massively rigged and the ruling party at the center was alleged to have rigged the elections not only to get the Federal seat, but also other states. The election was conducted on April 2007 for the Presidential and the gubernatorial elections. In Kano state, the transformation of  Yan daba groups was alleged to have been single-handedly financed by a party follower occupyig a crucial public office. He was alleged to have been playing a double edged game in which he recruited all available gangsters and would-be gang members into his web, including ex-daba members who resorted to making a living through commercial motor cycling known as Yan Achaba in Kano or Okada riders in Lagos and other states of the Federation. Further, he pretended to be a loyalist to the elected Executive Governor, while embezzling and looting public funds. He is alleged to have dished out motorcycles to gang members and motor vehicles to gangsters, all in an attempt to perpetuate political offices. This is a new style of transforming the jobless, the marginally employed, gang members, hooligans, and party loyalist into the political strategy for winning elections. The majority of these recruits (95%) are of the 18-30 year-old age group. In the just concluded local government elections in the Federation held from 17th November 2007, including Kano state, of the 44 local governments in the state, 30 local governments were alleged to been rigged, for results were announced although there was no counting of votes. Where votes were counted, actual counts were not made public and, as a consequence of which, lives were lost and many public buildings burnt, including local government secretariats. The youths have begun to take terror activities as an avenue of expressing their resentment towards a system that that continues to alienate them.

Findings

In this research, a number of predisposing factors of daba are mentioned and/or identified. The entire membership of daba within metropolitan Kano was the target population, a total number of 169 respondents were sampled using purposive and accidental sampling within the metropolitan area and yandaba locations were identified, from which selection was made on the basis of availability. Structured interviews were used for the data collection. The interviews were conducted in Hausa language by the researcher and some trained research assistants. The data collected were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS). The data were summarized using percentage and chi-square.

The major variables (which are independent) analyzed include: sex of the respondents, age, level of education, income, occupation, peer group influence, respondents’ parents average income, parental care, unemployment, political backing, and membership of daba—which is the dependent variable.

From the findings, it was discovered that majority of the respondents (74.6%) are below the age of 30 years. This indicates that age has some influence on one becoming a member of daba. This is because as the members of daba community get older, they tend to detach themselves or withdraw from the daba. This is in line with the findings of Dan’asabe (1991), Jjankowski (1991), and Agnew (1992) who say young men join gangs because they consider it a rational way of getting a larger share of the things they want in an environment of chronic scarcity and they respond to this strain with deviant behavior.

The sex distribution of the respondents indicates that the majority (87.6%) of them are males. This is because daba activity is largely masculine, especially considering the metamorphosis of yanfarauta to yandaba and sometimes into political vanguard groupings, making it inappropriate for females. In addition, the traditional nature of the areas in which daba activity is predominant does not encourage the participation of women in daba life. This shows that males are more likely to join daba than females. This is in line with the findings of Campbell (1991) who postulates that females became gang members when they faced problems of powerlessness of the underclass, subordination to males, social isolation, and domestic labor.

The majority (81%) of the respondents are found to have attended traditional Qur’anic schools. Only 1.2% of the respondents went to secondary school, 13% attended primary school, and none of them attended any post-secondary school. This result is congruent with that of Cloward and Ohlin (1960), Dan’asabe (1991), and Zakariya’u (2000) who said that among the reasons that led to the emergence of yandaba is a lack of educational opportunities.

The level of income of the respondents was found to be low, with 50.3% of them having an average monthly income of N 6001 to N 8000. Only 1.2% earns an average income of over N 8000. Even those whose income is high are found to be involved mainly in illegal businesses: selling Indian hemp, hard drugs, and roadside petrol (black market). This shows that people with high income are less likely to join daba than those with a low income. However, since involvement in daba activity avail the members with opportunity of engaging in illegal businesses, as mentioned above, makes membership to daba attractive to the low-income group. It is also discovered that there is a difference in the level of participation in daba activities between individuals from low-income parents and those from high-income parents. The above is in line with the findings of Ibbotsom (1956), Dan’asabe (1991), and Lindstorm (1996) who say that children within a low socioeconomic status are more aggressive and that gang members are largely unemployed youths from poverty-stricken backgrounds.

From the research, it is established that a significant percentage (72.8%) of the respondents do not have their parents living together. Thus, it can be deduced that individuals from broken homes are more at risk of joining daba than others. Also, 79.9% of them said that their parents have not given them adequate care. This is in line with the findings of Fyuel (1961), Mays (1967), Lopez-Rey (1970), Selznick (1977), and Dan’asabe (1991). Peer group influence has been described as one of the major factors that predispose individuals to daba. From the research, 88.1% of the respondents hold that view. This is similar with the main theme of Sutherland’s theory (1939).

The level of unemployment among the youths has been described by the majority of the respondents (75.8%) as one of the predisposing factors of daba. Also, from the findings, 90% of the respondents believe that poverty is one of the significant factors that facilitates the existence of daba. The majority of the respondents (85.8%), as revealed by the data, believed that membership to daba is facilitated by the political backing they recieve. They say that politicians use them during political campaigns and rallies and, to some extent, during elections. Most politicians tend to sponsor or hire yandaba to serve as their bodyguards and use them to harass and intimidate their political opponents. They further stated that they are being utilized by political office holders who are powerful in the society and are able to stop the police from arresting the daba, in addition to giving them economic and material support.

Discussion

It is evident from the findings that a large proportion of the respondents are below 30 years of age. This shows that as they are getting older, they tend to withdraw from the daba group. In this regard, age has some influence over one becoming a member of daba. It was also found that majority of ‘yandaba within the research area are males. The few females found within the gang were discovered to be mostly girlfriends to the daba male members, especially the leaders. Most of these daba members are not educated. It was established from the research that a significant percentage of them attended only traditional Qur’anic schools. Also, while only a small percentage of them attended primary schools (some even dropping out), none attended any post-secondary institution. Since the findings reveal that members of daba are significantly uneducated, they lack skills, which invariably make them remain perpetually unemployed. From the findings of the research, unemployment is one of the major factors that predispose individuals to daba.

As majority of the respondents are not educated, and unemployed in the formal sense, their level of income is thereby affected; a large percentage have low monthly income. As described by the respondents, the little income acquired is through illegal means such as theft, burglary, illegal businesses like sales of Indian hemp and hard drugs, black market petrol and so on.

One of the other major predisposing factors described by the respondents to the daba research is broken homes. A significant percentage of the respondents suffer from the effects of broken homes, as their parents are not living together anymore and, hence, could not get adequate parental care. The influence of peer group is among the factors that a large proportion of the respondents said predisposes individuals to daba. They further mentioned that it facilitates the existence of yandaba. In other words, individuals learn about deviant activities (daba inclusive) from their friends. They tend to form social bonds with deviant people from whom they learn deviant norms and values.

The majority of the respondents believe that membership in daba is motivated and sustained by politicians and political office holders who use them during political activities. The politicians sponsor the daba, having them serve as bodyguards and using them to intimidate political opponents. To some extent, the politicians protect the daba from getting arrested by the police or bail them out if they are detained.

Conclusion

The social system of any society rests on the arrangement of that society’s social structure. Everyday activity is regulated by the patterned interaction based on the social structure of that society. Therefore, through this the culture of a community is generated, learned, and imparted to members of the society. Every member of the society is expected to make every effort to conform to the society’s dominant culture, for the progress of all. However, due to the rapid changes in Nigerian society and the collapse of various of its infrastructures, including the educational system, public confidence in political office holders, and general moral decadence, the youths have been initiated into many forms of social maladjustment—things like daba or banga. Like the conventional culture, the sub-culture has its own norms and values, which are more often than not contrary to the conventional norms. This tends to create problems and challenges to the society, especially the sub-cultural group may rebel against the established order of society.

Daba activity is one of the sources of social insecurity in metropolitan Kano. Involvement of the male youths in daba jeopardizes the leadership potentials not only in the state but also in the country in general. The low level of formal education and aggressive tendencies of yandaba hinder them from getting employed, thereby making them live below the poverty line. There were many major predisposing factors to daba identified in the research, namely influence of peer group, inadequate parental care, low level of education, unemployment, low income, low level of parent’s income, poverty, broken homes, and political activities and backing of politicians.

Recommendations

In order to minimize, if not eradicate, the menace of daba activities, the following are recommended:

1. Better economic policies should be put in place to improve the living standards of youths, family, and communities.
2. Opportunities and access to education for youths should be enhanced.
3. Job opportunities have to be provided to youths to reduce unemployment, thereby minimizing the poverty level of individuals.
4. There is the need to establish vigilante groups with the aim of bringing down the rate of crime and daba activities in particular.
5. Traditional authorities need to be utilized for easy identification of yandaba and their locations for necessary reorientation and reeducation.
6. Measures should be taken to deter politicians from supporting members of daba.
7.  There is a need for establishing guidance and counseling centers to assist drug-addicts and yandaba to abandon drugs and get integrated into the mainstream of the society.

 References

Abdullahi, S. A. (1982). Historic role of African youth and the contemporary challenges. Sokoto Service, pp. 67-68.

Agnew, R. (1992). Foundation for a general strain theory of crime and delinquency. Criminology, 30, pp. 475-499.

Campbell, A. (1991). Girl delinquents. Oxford: England: Blackwell.

Cloward, INITIAL & Ohlin, INITIAL (1960). Delinquency and opportunity: A theory of delinquent gangs. New York, NY: The Free Press.

Cohen, A. K. (1955). Delinquent boys: The culture of the gang. Glencoe Free Press.

Conklin, E. J. (1989). Criminology (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Macmillan Publishing Company.

AUTHOR. (2005). Country report for Nigeria for the eleventh United Nations Congress on crime prevention and criminal justice. Bangkok, Thailand.

Dan’asabe, A. U. (1991). ‘Yandaba: Terrorist in Kano Metropolitan. Kano Studies, pp. 85-111.

Dawakin Tofa, B. S. (1994). A sociological study of ‘Yandaukar Amarya in Kano. (Unpublished M.Sc. thesis). University of Jos.

Durkheim, E. (1897). Suicide. New York, NY: Glencoe Free Press.

Hagan, J. (1989). Structural criminology. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.

Hamza, H. B. (1995). Predisposing factors of juvenile delinquency in urban centers: A study of Kano Metropolis. (Unpublished B.Sc. thesis). Bayero University, Kano.

Isah, S. R. (2004). A discourse on drug-abuse and its consequences to the youth. Paper presented at Bayerp University, Kano, Nigeria.

Jupp, V. (1993). Methods of criminology research. London, England: Rutledge.

Lindstrom, P. (1996). School context and delinquency project metropolitan research report 41. Stockholm: University of Stockholm.

Mays, J. B. (1972). Juvenile delinquency: The family and the social group. London, England.

Merton, K. R. (1957). Social structure and anomie: Social theory and social structure. New York, NY: The Free Press.

Report of the Political Bureau Directorate for Social Mobilization. 1988. Abuja.

Sutherland, E. (1939). Principles of criminology (3rd ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott.

Sutherland, E. H. (1949). Differential Association Theory. In E. W. Marwin (Ed.), Sociology of crime and delinquency (pp. PAGES). John Wiley and Sons Inc.

Umar, B. A. (2004). Urban gangs (‘Yandaba) and security in Kano State: A review of trends and challenges. Paper presented at Cleveland State University, Cleveland OH.

Wolfgang, E. M. & Farracutti, INITIAL (1967). The subculture of violence. London, England: Tavistock.

Ya’u, Y. Z. (2000). The youth, economic crises and identity transformation: The case of ‘Yandaba in Kano. In A. Jega, (Ed.), Identity transformation and identity politics under structural adjustment in Nigeria. Nordiska Africa Institute, Uppsala, Sweden. The Center for Research and Documentation, Kano.

Yablorsky, L. (1962). The violent gang. New York, NY: Macmillan Press.