Paper short abstract:

This paper explores how nomadic fishermen communities in the Sahel contribute to both their host societies and their hometown by altering between 'homes' and maintaining links over distance and space. It examines their integration in both spaces through the lenses of citizenship.

Paper long abstract:

This paper explores how nomadic fishermen communities in the Sahel contribute to both their host societies and their hometown by altering between homes and maintaining links over distance and space. For the Kebbawa fishermen, home is conceived in the plural form. Since the 1920s, fishermen communities of the Niger river have been engaged in seasonal fishing campaigns. Leaving behind their base in North-Western Nigeria (Kebbi state), the Kebbawa fishermen communities have migrated northwards up to Timbuktu (Mali) in search for fish. When the fishing season is over, they return to Nigeria with loaded boats. Based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted on the banks and islands of the Niger river, the study provides evidence of how mobility and continuous connection with both homes contribute to local development. By contrasting the case of mobile fishermen communities to those ex-nomadic communities who settled for good and lost their ties with the place of origin, the author shows the importance of the former for the dynamic of local development. Thus, the paper examines their social integration through an examination of how people belonging to fishermen communities conceive and practice citizenship beyond their national identity.