Based on Cohen's fieldwork in the 60s among the Hausa migrants, a people of the Yoruba area, (then the western region of the Federation of Nigeria), this book looks at how ethnic groups use elements of tradition in jostling for power and privilege in new urban situations. This is a landmark work in urban anthropology and provides a comparative framework for studying political processes in African societies.

This book examines the complex phenomenon of urban ethnicity; including Britain, the USA, Indonesia, Israel and East, West and Central Africa.