Gandoki

novel by Bello

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July 17, 2026

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Gandoki is a novel by Muhammadu Bello, published in 1934. It is considered one of the first Hausa novels and was created as part of a competition by the Translation Bureau in Nigeria. The novel's hero, Gandoki, struggles against the British colonial regime. Bello's work blends the Hausa oral tradition with the novel form, drawing on heroic cycles and incorporating Islamic history. While didactic elements are present, the novel is noted for its experimental approach to form and content.1

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African literature
Hausa
…the bureau published Muhammadu Bello’s Gandoki, in which its hero, Gandoki, struggles against the British colonial regime. Bello does in Gandoki what many writers were doing in other parts of Africa during this period: he experiments with form and content. His novel blends the Hausa oral tradition and the novel,…
Read More
…the bureau published Muhammadu Bello’s Gandoki, in which its hero, Gandoki, struggles against the British colonial regime. Bello does in Gandoki what many writers were doing in other parts of Africa during this period: he experiments with form and content. His novel blends the Hausa oral tradition and the novel,…
Read More