CULTURAL HISTORY BEHIND THE NIGERIA ART WORK

Nigeria is one of the Africa States which acquires her independence in 1960. But the people and their indigenous culture have ancient foundation. Nigeria with Land mass of 925,000 sq km has a popular place above 140 millions persons. It has about 350 indigenous language commodities and several thousands of dialect communities. In spite of this diversity of habitat and language, cultural and political formations, these political and language communities represent specific geo-cultural civilization. With a land area of 22-27% of the total Africa population, which means that one out of four Africans is a Nigerian and at the world Negroid population every fifth or sixth black man is a Nigerian. The history of the black Diaspora from medieval times to present is thus part of the Nigerian story. The African dimensions of this Nigeria story is heavily documented within west and central Sudan, Northern African, the valley (Egypt and Sudan) while overseas dimensions is strongest in Brazil and middle America, the Caribbean and North America. It is however pertinent to know that cultural linguists have proved that the 350 or so languages of Nigeria region belong generally to 3 out of 4 language families indigenous of African. These 3 families area are:-
(1) The Niger – Kordofanian or Niger – Congo family which include language spoken from sense – Gambia in the West through western Africans, central and eastern African to South African. This including all the Bantoid language from the Cameroon regional the republic of South Africa. The cradle of Bantoid and the entire Niger – Congo or at least its Benue – Congo Branch is in the Nigeria area Igbo (Ibo), Igala, Gwayi, Edo ate are part of this language family.
(2) Afro – Asiatic, (Semitic or Erytheaic) family which incidentally include the ancient Egyptian, Berber, Cushitic, Hausa, Kotoko, Angas etc, are members and of course shuwa Arabic which later came into Nigerian region within oral/written historic rather than prehistoric times.
(3) The Nilo Sahara family which being confirmed to the Nilo Sahara – Sahalian fringe could have been generically related to Niger – Congo in what would be a Kongo – Sahara super – family. Kanuri, kanembu and Songhai are the Nigeria member of this family.
(4) The fourth family the Khosian which is confirmed to southern Africa (Tanzania and South Africa – Namibia) is not represented in Nigeria. But the 3 families represent a time depth of 10,000 – 15,000 years of continuous growth and internal diversification.
It is now obvious that the indigenous and pre-mechanical culture group and language communities of the Nigerian are a product of the major dynamics that affected most continental Africa and South – West Asia. One important significance and their ten to thirteen indigenous Nigeria communities and their close affiliates – Edo, Fulani, Gwari, Hausa, Idoma, Igala – Yoruba, Ibibio, Igbo, Kamberi, Jukun, Nupe, Kanuri – Kamembu, Tiv, are enumerated in the millions or multiples of millions rather than in thousands or multiples of thousands. The sculptural traditions of the people are therefore traditions of peoples, densities of populations rooted in great antiquity.
The classical cultures of Nigerians today are celebrated in many forms. One dimension of these developments is the Phenomenon of Urbanization whereby veritable towns and cities, many of them with city walls and elaborate fortification have survived. Such celebrated centers are Birnin, Gazargamo, Birnin Kebbi, Kano, Ile-Ife, Benin, Katsina, Old Oyo, Bida, Sokoto, and Ibadan which was the largest urban centre in black Africa. These urban centers were also the centers of states, kingdoms and Empires. These ranged from city- states of the coast such as Nembe, Bonny, Opobo, etc., imperial centers such as Idah, Kwararafa, Old Oyo, Sokoto and its numerous emirate capitals. But great numbers of these Nigerians communities did not developed dominant urban centers; instead, they operated as commonwealth under unwritten religious, oracular, dynastic, gerotocratic, economics etc. Constitutions. Unlike the mega states, these mini-states did not enter into the great epics-but they were able to demonstrate a resilience and timeless-ness in that their individual identities have been preserved intact whether in Igbo land, Idomaland, the Jos Plateau region, or among the Ibibio, Ijaw, Urhobo, Northern Edo and others.
One important lesson learnt from all the cultures, political and language communities of Nigeria is that artistic creativity in the various media – clay, iron, bronze, brass, wood, straws, textile, leather, stone, bone, ivory, calabash, shell, even glass was never a monopoly of any one of the 350 or so language communities i.e. The pre – mechanical technology available to both the mega and mini states was basically the same – even in such strategic areas as metallurgy, cavalry, weaponry, herbalogy, Architecture, textile, water – craft etc.
It is very clear from the above that the cultural heritage of the people fall into many parts as may be documented for many society of age.
Although a lot have been made about the neglect of most Africa societies of the wheel, the Plough, and even writing. It must also be admitted that these societies was able to function and even achieve excellence without them. One example is the unique complex earth ware in the forms of walls and ditches. The Iya or Iyala of the Benin sub-region of Nigeria.
It is the remains of the largest and most massive earth constructions yet known from the pre mechanical era. It is four to five times longer than the Great Wall of China and with over a hundred times as much materials moved as the great Pyramid and Cheop, these earthworks cover about 6500sq.km (2500sq.miles) of rain forest with a complicated network of enclosures. Their estimated total length is in excess of 16,000km (10,000miles) and with an average ditch bottom to bank cross section of 2.25sq.metres. Their total volume is very probably in excess of 37,000,000 cu.m involving over 150million man – hour of work.
The Nigeria region has been inhabited from early time by Stone Age. (Overlapping with the Paleolithic) population. The Nigerians evidence for early man has not been as clears, diverse and as ancient as in the case in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa etc. The story of man’s culture in Nigeria becomes much clearer of Europe (Asia). From Iwo Eleru, near Akure in Ondo State and just to the North of Benin comes the earliest direct evidence for the presence of Negroid populations in Nigeria. This is dated to 11,300 BC. The lithic industry of these early collectors of the Nigerian forest belongs to the microlithic tradition, pottery (terracotta) was also well known to the makers of the microlithic tools and the later Neolithic populations who were already practicing Agriculture before 3000BC. From Iwo Eleru evidence and the discoveries elsewhere in the West Africa forest and Savannah and from the Sahara in the North, It is observed that modern West Africa populations have been in these homelands throughout the Holocene period. Based on Archaeological evidence and linguistics students statistical analyses. The parent or protolanguage from which West Africa languages are descended have a time of some 10,000 years or even more.

Esie Soapstone

Esie Soapstone is a culture that flourished in Kwara state North of Ile –Ife. In Esie there are over one thousand soapstone figures – representing human being, ancestors – beaded, bearded, seated and wearing a great variety of head – dresses and hair – styles. Today, they have become a centre of local religious reverence and worship which is climaxed by an annual festival which takes place in April of the Christian calendar.
During this period, sacrifices are made; prayers are offered at the original temple.
These stone images form the subject of various local myths – one of which asserts that they were humans turned to stone by divine punishment.
It is however explained scientifically that they were made of stone locally quarried and carved. They represent a civilization which had declined before the present political cultures were formed in the area. It is however believed that, these stone images are well above 200 years of age.

Esie Soapstone

Esie Soapstone is a culture that flourished in Kwara state North of Ile –Ife. In Esie there are over one thousand soapstone figures – representing human being, ancestors – beaded, bearded, seated and wearing a great variety of head – dresses and hair – styles. Today, they have become a centre of local religious reverence and worship which is climaxed by an annual festival which takes place in April of the Christian calendar.
During this period, sacrifices are made; prayers are offered at the original temple.
These stone images form the subject of various local myths – one of which asserts that they were humans turned to stone by divine punishment.
It is however explained scientifically that they were made of stone locally quarried and carved. They represent a civilization which had declined before the present political cultures were formed in the area. It is however believed that, these stone images are well above 200 years of age.

ILE – IFE CULTURE

Ile- Ife, the cradle of the Yoruba race is located in the present day Osun State. The uniqueness of Ile-Ife or simply Ife in Africa history manifested itself at many important levels in the cosmology of the universe, the centre at which the first man was created or molded in clay and given the breath of life. In spiritual terms Ife had been and remains a holy city, home of Divinities (Orisa) of which the king the Oni is the living embodiment. At the political level, the culture of the region Ile-Ife was the source, the centre from which the kings of the numerous kingdom and empires including Oyo, Benin, Ketu etc were sent to rule. Ife remains the source of the legitimacy of these and other rulers.
From the point of view of the cultural history of Africa, Ile-Ife was an early centre of urban tradition. The dynasty of Oduduwa and other predynastic system before it centered on the Obatala, Orisa Nla are within a time span of one thousand years or more.
The art of Ife combines terracotta, bronze and stone sculptures; these are done in life sizes or naturalistic styles.
The Ife terracuttas represents kings, Queens and commoners (even criminal and victims of human sacrifices) all these are date to between 900AD and 1400AD. As in Nok terracottas which depict animals (rams, elephants, hippos), articulation of beauty through body and facial markings, dress for the body and depiction of kingly crowns bracelets and emblems of royal and cultural authority.
Ife goes beyond its terracotta’s medium the copper, brass/bronze tradition of metal casting by the lost – wax or cire-perdue method has received extensive publicity.
Also prominent among Ife corpus is the stone sculptures. These include obelisks, representations of humans and fish, stools and enigmatic of cult objects, the Ife stone sculpture has northern dimensions especially in the little studied collections from Esure, some 100km. south of north-east of Ile-Ife sculpture have very important extensions in relation to arts of Benin and Owo.

NOK CULTURE

Nok culture is a prehistorically culture which flourished in the central Nigerian area – a territory extending from the middle of the Jos Plateau western through Abuja to Kagara and southwards to Katsina Nla South of it Benue many discoveries where also made at Ankiring, Wamba, Tare and Jema. The area in which these discoveries have so far been found has already spread to an area of 300 miles by 100 miles lying across the Niger and Benue valley of the ham Jaba culture group at which many of the terracuttas have been discovered. The area has also yielded not only terracuttas and evidence of early iron working but also stone tools of the achulian tradition. These terracottas were initially discovered by European Tin – miners within and around the Tin miming Zone in 1928 from alluvial deposits at a depth of 7n or more. These discoveries help to add a new dimension to Nigeria, African and indeed the world cultural heritage. The Nok people appears likely to have enjoyed an economy and way of life nearly as advance as that of the present inhabitant although at first, it was not clear whether the Nok Terracuttas belong to the Neolithic age or Iron Age. Things become clearer after systematic excavation were carried out at data-able sites such as Nok and Turaga site at which the close and clear terracottas and iron working were demonstrated.
Data from direct Archaeological excavation and move recently from thermohuminiscence have generally been accepted to place the beginning of the Nok culture to at least the fifth 5th millennium (BC) to the 9th millennium BC. For a long time an upper limit data of 200 AD was the only one available. Recently T.L Dates are now available at some Nok Terracuttas which show that, they were still being produced after 600AD. Thus, the Nok Terracuttas were produced over a period of 1100 years (500BC – 600AD) and as long as 1500 years (300BC – 700AD)
One unique feature of the Terracuttas work is that they represent the earliest coherent and articulate tradition of sculpture of a naturalistic system in Black Africa. They help to provide the baseline on which to study subsequent artistic traditions, schools and movements in this region of Africa.
From the foregoing, it is obvious that the great school of Ile-Ife, Benin, Owo, Igbo – ukwu and indeed the prodigious output in wood, stone, ivory, metal and clay of the indigenous civilization of Nigeria can be seen to have an indigenous and ancestry, the Nok Terracuttas being a legitimate and credible prototype.
These Terracuttas have help to add a vital dimension to the study of the history of technology and Africa beliefs systems as they present evidence of an awareness of the landscape and its contents including animals such as elephant, the snake, the monkey and possibly cattle. They depict evidence of technology of production by showing working tools such as the axe or hoe. Elements of basic aesthetics as in bracelets, anklets, and possibly ear and lip – plugs that indicate a society of cultured citizens, a society that was not self – sufficient but produced the surplus that made the pursuit of artistic creativity possible. And the presentation of man is the central subject of its concern as most of their creativity is in human form.The culture also allows us to have a glimpse at instance of disease and bodily deformities as they allow us to see the meticulous attention paid to hair – styles of which some have survived into the twenty century.

Nigerian culture

Bronzes, which have been dated to about the 9th century ad , were

discovered in the 1930s and ’40s at Igbo Ukwu, near the southwestern

city of Onitsha. (See also African art.) They reveal not only a high

artistic tradition but also a well-structured society with wide-ranging

economic relationships. Of particular interest is the source of the

copper and lead used to make the bronzes, which may have been Tadmekka

in the Sahara, and of the coloured glass beads, some of which may have

come from Venice and India, the latter via trade routes through Egypt,

the Nile valley, and the Chad basin. It is believed that the bronzes

were part of the furniture in the burial chamber of a high personage,

possibly a forerunner of the eze nri, a priest-king, who held religious

but not political power over large parts of the Igbo-inhabited region

well into the 20th century.
History » Kingdoms and empires of precolonial Nigeria

Early Nigerian culture

The Nok culture

Evidence of human occupation in Nigeria dates back thousands of years.

The oldest fossil remains found by archaeologists in the southwestern

area of Iwo Eleru, near Akure, have been dated to about 9000 bc. There

are isolated collections of ancient tools and artifacts of different

periods of the Stone Age, but the oldest recognizable evidence of an

organized society belongs to the Nok culture (c. 500 bc–c. ad 200).

Pottery head found at Nok, Nigeria. In the Jos Museum, Nigeria. Height

21 cm. [Credits : Frank Willett]Named for the village of Nok, site of

some of the finds, the ancient culture produced fine terra-cotta

figurines, which were accidentally discovered by tin miners on the Jos

Plateau in the 1930s. Initially Neolithic (New Stone Age), the Nok

culture made the transition to the Iron Age. Its people raised crops

and cattle and seem to have paid particular attention to personal

adornment, especially of the hair. Distinctive features of Nok art

include naturalism, stylized treatment of the mouth and eyes, relative

proportions of the human head, body, and feet, distortions of the human

facial features, and treatment of animal forms. The spread of Nok-type

figures in a wide area south of the Jos Plateau, covering southern

Kaduna state southeastward to Katsina Ala, south of the Benue River,

suggests a well-established culture that left traces still identifiable

in the lives of the peoples of the area today. Many of the distinctive

features of Nok art can also be traced in later developments of

Nigerian art produced in such places as Igbo Ukwu, Ife, Esie, and Benin

City.

Nigeria's rich cultural heritage

Nigeria's rich and varied cultural heritage derives from the mixture of

its different ethnic groups with Arabic and western European cultural

influences. Secret societies, such as Ekpo and Ekpe among the peoples

of the southeast, were formerly used as instruments of government,

while other institutions were associated with matrimony. According to

the Fulani custom of sharo (test of young manhood), rival suitors

underwent the ordeal of caning as a means of eliminating those who were

less persistent, while in Ibibio territory girls approaching

marriageable age were confined for several years in bride-fattening

rooms before they were given to their husbands. These and other customs

were discouraged by colonial administrators and missionaries. Some of

the more adaptable cultural institutions have been revived since

independence; these include Ekpo and Ekong societies for young boys in

parts of the southeast and the Ogboni society found in the Yoruba and

Edo areas of southern Nigeria.

MARRIAGE, FAMILY, AND KINSHIP

arriage. There are three types of marriage in Nigeria today: religious

marriage, civil marriage, and traditional marriage. A Nigerian couple

may decide to take part in one or all of these marriages. Religious

marriages, usually Christian or Muslim, are conducted according to the

norms of the respective religious teachings and take place in a church

or a mosque. Christian males are allowed only one wife, while Muslim

men can take up to four wives. Civil official weddings take place in a

government registry office. Men are allowed only one wife under a civil

wedding, regardless of religion. Traditional marriages usually are held

at the wife's house and are performed according to the customs of the

ethnic group involved. Most ethnic groups traditionally allow more than

one wife.

Depending on whom you ask, polygamy has both advantages and

disadvantages in Nigerian society. Some Nigerians see polygamy as a

divisive force in the family, often pitting one wife against another.

Others see polygamy as a unifying factor, creating a built-in support

system that allows wives to work as a team.

While Western ways of courtship and marriage are not unheard of, the

power of traditional values and the strong influence of the family mean

that traditional ways are usually followed, even in the cities and

among the elite. According to old customs, women did not have much

choice of whom they married, though the numbers of arranged marriages

are declining. It is also not uncommon for women to marry in their

teens, often to a much older man. In instances where there are already

one or more wives, it is the first wife's responsibility to look after

the newest wife and help her integrate into the family.

Many Nigerian ethnic groups follow the practice of offering a bride

price for an intended wife. Unlike a dowry, in which the woman would

bring something of material value to the marriage, a bride price is

some form of compensation the husband must pay before he can marry a

wife. A bride price can take the form of money, cattle, wine, or other

valuable goods paid to the woman's family, but it also can take a more

subtle form. Men might contribute money to the education of an intended

wife or help to establish her in a small-scale business or agricultural

endeavor. This form of bride price is often incorporated as part of the

wooing process. While women who leave their husbands will be welcomed

back into their families, they often need a justification for breaking

the marriage. If the husband is seen as having treated his wife well,

he can expect to have the bride price repaid.

Though customs vary from group to group, traditional weddings are often

full of dancing and lively music. There is also lots of excitement and

cultural displays. For example, the Yoruba have a practice in which the

bride and two or three other women come out covered from head to toe in

a white shroud. It is the groom's job to identify his wife from among

the shrouded women to show how well he knows his wife.

Divorce is quite common in Nigeria. Marriage is more of a social

contract made to ensure the continuation of family lines rather than a

union based on love and emotional connections. It is not uncommon for a

husband and wife to live in separate homes and to be extremely

independent of one another. In most ethnic groups, either the man or

the woman can end the marriage. If the woman leaves her husband, she

will often be taken as a second or third wife of another man. If this

is the case, the new husband is responsible for repaying the bride

price to the former husband. Children of a divorced woman are normally

accepted into the new family as well, without any problems.

Domestic Unit. The majority of Nigerian families are very large by

Western standards. Many Nigerian men take more than one wife. In some

ethnic groups, the greater the number of children, the greater a man's

standing in the eyes of his peers. Family units of ten or more are not

uncommon.

In a polygamous family, each wife is responsible for feeding and caring

for her own children, though the wives often help each other when

needed. The wives also will take turns feeding their husband so that

the cost of his food is spread equally between or among the wives.

Husbands are the authority figures in the household, and many are not

used to their ideas or wishes being challenged.

In most Nigerian cultures, the father has his crops to tend to, while

his wives will have their own jobs, whether they be tending the family

garden, processing palm oil, or selling vegetables in the local market.

Children may attend school. When they return home, the older boys will

help their father with his work, while the girls and younger boys will

go to their mothers.

Inheritance. For many Nigerian ethnic groups, such as the Hausa and the

Igbo, inheritance is basically a male affair. Though women have a legal

right to inheritance in Nigeria, they often receive nothing. This is a

reflection of the forced economic independence many women live under.

While their husbands are alive, wives are often responsible for

providing for themselves and their children. Little changes

economically after the death of the husband. Property and wealth are

usually passed on to sons, if they are old enough, or to other male

relatives, such as brothers or uncles.

For the Fulani, if a man dies, his brother inherits his property and

his wife. The wife usually returns to live with her family, but she may

move in with her husband's brother and become his wife.

Kin Groups. While men dominate Igbo society, women play an important

role in kinship. All Igbos, men and women, have close ties to their

mother's clan, which usually lives in a different village. When an Igbo

dies, the body is usually sent back to his mother's village to be

buried with his mother's kin. If an Igbo is disgraced or cast out of

his community, his mother's kin will often take him in.

For the Hausa, however, there is not much of a sense of wide-ranging

kinship. Hausa society is based on the nuclear family. There is a sense

of a larger extended family, including married siblings and their

families, but there is little kinship beyond that. However, the idea of

blood being thicker than water is very strong in Hausa society. For

this reason, many Hausas will try to stretch familial relationships to

the broader idea of clan or tribe to diffuse tensions between or among

neighbors.
SOCIALIZATION

Infant Care. Newborns in Nigerian societies are regarded with pride.

They represent a community's and a family's future and often are the

main reason for many marriages.

Throughout Nigeria, the bond between mother and child is very strong.

During the first few years of a child's life, the mother is never far

away. Nigerian women place great importance on breast-feeding and the

bond that it creates between mother and child. Children are often not

weaned off their mother's milk until they are toddlers.

Children who are too young to walk or get around on their own are

carried on their mother's backs, secured by a broad cloth that is tied

around the baby and fastened at the mother's breasts. Women will often

carry their children on their backs while they perform their daily

chores or work in the fields.

Child Rearing and Education. When children reach the age of about four

or five, they often are expected to start performing a share of the

household duties. As the children get older, their responsibilities

grow. Young men are expected to help their fathers in the fields or

tend the livestock. Young women help with the cooking, fetch water, or

do laundry. These tasks help the children learn how to become

productive members of their family and community. As children, many

Nigerians learn that laziness is not acceptable; everyone is expected

to contribute.

While children in most Nigerian societies have responsibilities, they

also are allowed enough leeway to be children. Youngsters playing with

homemade wooden dolls and trucks, or groups of boys playing soccer are

common sights in any Nigerian village.

In many Nigerian ethnic groups, the education of children is a

community responsibility. For example,
Nigerian people at a market. Food plays a central role in the rituals

of all ethnic groups in Nigeria.
Nigerian people at a market. Food plays a central role in the rituals

of all ethnic groups in Nigeria.
in the Igbo culture the training of children is the work of both men

and women, within the family and outside it. Neighbors often look after

youngsters while parents may be busy with other chores. It is not

strange to see a man disciplining a child who is not his own.

All Nigerian children are supposed to have access to a local elementary

school. While the government aims to provide universal education for

both boys and girls, the number of girls in class is usually much lower

than the number of boys. Sending every child in a family to school can

often put a lot of strain on a family. The family will lose the child's

help around the house during school hours and will have to pay for

uniforms and supplies. If parents are forced to send one child to

school over another, many will choose to educate boys before girls.

MARRIAGE, FAMILY, AND KINSHIP

Marriage. There are three types of marriage in Nigeria today: religious

marriage, civil marriage, and traditional marriage. A Nigerian couple

may decide to take part in one or all of these marriages. Religious

marriages, usually Christian or Muslim, are conducted according to the

norms of the respective religious teachings and take place in a church

or a mosque. Christian males are allowed only one wife, while Muslim

men can take up to four wives. Civil official weddings take place in a

government registry office. Men are allowed only one wife under a civil

wedding, regardless of religion. Traditional marriages usually are held

at the wife's house and are performed according to the customs of the

ethnic group involved. Most ethnic groups traditionally allow more than

one wife.

Depending on whom you ask, polygamy has both advantages and

disadvantages in Nigerian society. Some Nigerians see polygamy as a

divisive force in the family, often pitting one wife against another.

Others see polygamy as a unifying factor, creating a built-in support

system that allows wives to work as a team.

While Western ways of courtship and marriage are not unheard of, the

power of traditional values and the strong influence of the family mean

that traditional ways are usually followed, even in the cities and

among the elite. According to old customs, women did not have much

choice of whom they married, though the numbers of arranged marriages

are declining. It is also not uncommon for women to marry in their

teens, often to a much older man. In instances where there are already

one or more wives, it is the first wife's responsibility to look after

the newest wife and help her integrate into the family.

Many Nigerian ethnic groups follow the practice of offering a bride

price for an intended wife. Unlike a dowry, in which the woman would

bring something of material value to the marriage, a bride price is

some form of compensation the husband must pay before he can marry a

wife. A bride price can take the form of money, cattle, wine, or other

valuable goods paid to the woman's family, but it also can take a more

subtle form. Men might contribute money to the education of an intended

wife or help to establish her in a small-scale business or agricultural

endeavor. This form of bride price is often incorporated as part of the

wooing process. While women who leave their husbands will be welcomed

back into their families, they often need a justification for breaking

the marriage. If the husband is seen as having treated his wife well,

he can expect to have the bride price repaid.

Though customs vary from group to group, traditional weddings are often

full of dancing and lively music. There is also lots of excitement and

cultural displays. For example, the Yoruba have a practice in which the

bride and two or three other women come out covered from head to toe in

a white shroud. It is the groom's job to identify his wife from among

the shrouded women to show how well he knows his wife.

Divorce is quite common in Nigeria. Marriage is more of a social

contract made to ensure the continuation of family lines rather than a

union based on love and emotional connections. It is not uncommon for a

husband and wife to live in separate homes and to be extremely

independent of one another. In most ethnic groups, either the man or

the woman can end the marriage. If the woman leaves her husband, she

will often be taken as a second or third wife of another man. If this

is the case, the new husband is responsible for repaying the bride

price to the former husband. Children of a divorced woman are normally

accepted into the new family as well, without any problems.

Domestic Unit. The majority of Nigerian families are very large by

Western standards. Many Nigerian men take more than one wife. In some

ethnic groups, the greater the number of children, the greater a man's

standing in the eyes of his peers. Family units of ten or more are not

uncommon.

In a polygamous family, each wife is responsible for feeding and caring

for her own children, though the wives often help each other when

needed. The wives also will take turns feeding their husband so that

the cost of his food is spread equally between or among the wives.

Husbands are the authority figures in the household, and many are not

used to their ideas or wishes being challenged.

In most Nigerian cultures, the father has his crops to tend to, while

his wives will have their own jobs, whether they be tending the family

garden, processing palm oil, or selling vegetables in the local market.

Children may attend school. When they return home, the older boys will

help their father with his work, while the girls and younger boys will

go to their mothers.

Inheritance. For many Nigerian ethnic groups, such as the Hausa and the

Igbo, inheritance is basically a male affair. Though women have a legal

right to inheritance in Nigeria, they often receive nothing. This is a

reflection of the forced economic independence many women live under.

While their husbands are alive, wives are often responsible for

providing for themselves and their children. Little changes

economically after the death of the husband. Property and wealth are

usually passed on to sons, if they are old enough, or to other male

relatives, such as brothers or uncles.

For the Fulani, if a man dies, his brother inherits his property and

his wife. The wife usually returns to live with her family, but she may

move in with her husband's brother and become his wife.

Kin Groups. While men dominate Igbo society, women play an important

role in kinship. All Igbos, men and women, have close ties to their

mother's clan, which usually lives in a different village. When an Igbo

dies, the body is usually sent back to his mother's village to be

buried with his mother's kin. If an Igbo is disgraced or cast out of

his community, his mother's kin will often take him in.

For the Hausa, however, there is not much of a sense of wide-ranging

kinship. Hausa society is based on the nuclear family. There is a sense

of a larger extended family, including married siblings and their

families, but there is little kinship beyond that. However, the idea of

blood being thicker than water is very strong in Hausa society. For

this reason, many Hausas will try to stretch familial relationships to

the broader idea of clan or tribe to diffuse tensions between or among

neighbors.
SOCIALIZATION

Infant Care. Newborns in Nigerian societies are regarded with pride.

They represent a community's and a family's future and often are the

main reason for many marriages.

Throughout Nigeria, the bond between mother and child is very strong.

During the first few years of a child's life, the mother is never far

away. Nigerian women place great importance on breast-feeding and the

bond that it creates between mother and child. Children are often not

weaned off their mother's milk until they are toddlers.

Children who are too young to walk or get around on their own are

carried on their mother's backs, secured by a broad cloth that is tied

around the baby and fastened at the mother's breasts. Women will often

carry their children on their backs while they perform their daily

chores or work in the fields.

Child Rearing and Education. When children reach the age of about four

or five, they often are expected to start performing a share of the

household duties. As the children get older, their responsibilities

grow. Young men are expected to help their fathers in the fields or

tend the livestock. Young women help with the cooking, fetch water, or

do laundry. These tasks help the children learn how to become

productive members of their family and community. As children, many

Nigerians learn that laziness is not acceptable; everyone is expected

to contribute.

While children in most Nigerian societies have responsibilities, they

also are allowed enough leeway to be children. Youngsters playing with

homemade wooden dolls and trucks, or groups of boys playing soccer are

common sights in any Nigerian village.

In many Nigerian ethnic groups, the education of children is a

community responsibility. For example,
Nigerian people at a market. Food plays a central role in the rituals

of all ethnic groups in Nigeria.
Nigerian people at a market. Food plays a central role in the rituals

of all ethnic groups in Nigeria.
in the Igbo culture the training of children is the work of both men

and women, within the family and outside it. Neighbors often look after

youngsters while parents may be busy with other chores. It is not

strange to see a man disciplining a child who is not his own.

All Nigerian children are supposed to have access to a local elementary

school. While the government aims to provide universal education for

both boys and girls, the number of girls in class is usually much lower

than the number of boys. Sending every child in a family to school can

often put a lot of strain on a family. The family will lose the child's

help around the house during school hours and will have to pay for

uniforms and supplies. If parents are forced to send one child to

school over another, many will choose to educate boys before girls.

POLITICAL LIFE

Government. Nigeria is a republic, with the president acting as both

head of state and head of government. Nigeria has had a long history of

coups d'états, military rule, and dictatorship. However, this pattern

was broken on 29 May 1999 as Nigeria's current president, Olusegun

Obasanjo, took office following popular elections. Under the current

constitution, presidential elections are to be held every four years,

with no president serving more than two terms in office. The Nigerian

legislature consists of two houses: a Senate and a House of

Representatives. All legislators are elected to four-year terms.

Nigeria's judicial branch is headed by a Supreme Court, whose members

were appointed by the Provisional Ruling Council, which ruled Nigeria

during its recent transition to democracy. All Nigerians over age

eighteen are eligible to vote.

Leadership and Political Officials. A wealthy political elite dominates

political life in Nigeria. The relationship between the political elite

and ordinary Nigerians is not unlike that between nobles and commoners.

Nigerian leaders, whether as members of a military regime or one of

Nigeria's short-lived civilian governments, have a history of doing

whatever it takes to stay in power and to hold on to the wealth that

this power has given them.

Rural Nigerians tend to accept this noble-peasant system of politics.

Low levels of education and literacy mean that many people in rural

areas are not fully aware of the political process or how to affect it.

Their relative isolation from the rest of the country means that many

do not even think of politics. There is a common feeling in many rural

areas that the average person cannot affect the politics of the

country, so there is no reason to try.

Urban Nigerians tend to be much more vocal in their support of or

opposition to their leaders. Urban problems of housing, unemployment,

health care, sanitation, and traffic tend to mobilize people into

political action and public displays of dissatisfaction.

Political parties were outlawed under the Abacha regime, and only came

back into being after his death. As of the 1999 presidential elections,

there were three main political parties in Nigeria: the People's

Democratic Party (PDP), the All Peoples Party (APP), and the Alliance

for Democracy (AD). The PDP is the party of President Obasanjo. It grew

out of support for opposition leaders who were imprisoned by the

military government in the early 1990s. The PDP is widely believed to

have received heavy financial assistance from the military during the

1999 elections. The APP is led by politicians who had close ties to the

Abacha regime. The AD is a party led by followers of the late Moshood

Abiola, the Yoruba politician who won the general election in 1993,

only to be sent to prison by the military regime.

Social Problems and Control. Perhaps Nigeria's greatest social problem

is the internal violence plaguing the nation. Interethnic fighting

throughout the country, religious rioting between Muslims and

non-Muslims over the creation of Shari'a law (strict Islamic law) in

the northern states, and political confrontations between ethnic

minorities and backers of oil companies often spark bloody

confrontations that can last days or even months. When violence of this

type breaks out, national and state police try to control it. However,

the police themselves are often accused of some of the worst violence.

In some instances, curfews and martial law have been imposed in

specific areas to try to stem outbreaks of unrest.

Poverty and lack of opportunity for many young people, especially in

urban areas, have led to major crime. Lagos is considered one of the

most dangerous cities in West Africa due to its incredibly high crime

rate. The police are charged with controlling crime, but their lack of

success often leads to vigilante justice.

In some rural areas there are some more traditional ways of addressing

social problems. In many ethnic groups, such as the Igbo and the

Yoruba, men are organized into secret societies. Initiated members of

these societies often dress in masks and palm leaves to masquerade as

the physical embodiment of traditional spirits to help maintain social

order. Through ritual dance, these men will give warnings about

problems with an individual's or community's morality in a given

situation. Because belief in witchcraft and evil spirits is high

throughout Nigeria, this kind of public accusation can instill fear in

people and cause them to mend their ways. Members of secret societies

also can act as judges or intermediaries in disputes.

Military Activity. Nigeria's military consists of an army, a navy, an

air force, and a police force. The minimum age for military service is

eighteen.

The Nigerian military is the largest and best-equipped military in West

Africa. As a member of the Economic Community of West African States

(ECOWAS), Nigeria is the major contributor to the organization's

military branch, known as ECOMOG. Nigerian troops made up the vast

majority of the ECOMOG forces deployed to restore peace following civil

wars in Liberia, Guinea-Bissau, and Sierra Leone. Public

dissatisfaction with Nigeria's participation in the Sierra Leonean

crisis was extremely high due to high casualty rates among the Nigerian

soldiers. Nigeria pledged to pull out of Sierra Leone in 1999,

prompting the United Nations to send in peacekeepers in an attempt stem

the violence. While the foreign forces in Sierra Leone are now under

the mandate of the United Nations, Nigerian troops still make up the

majority of the peacekeepers.

Nigeria has a long-running border dispute with Cameroon over the

mineral-rich Bakasi Peninsula, and the two nations have engaged in a

series of cross-boarder skirmishes. Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger, and Chad

also have a long-running border dispute over territory in the Lake Chad

region, which also has led to some fighting across the borders.

HISTORY AND ETHNIC RELATIONS

Emergence of the Nation. Every ethnic group in Nigeria has its own stories of where its ancestors came from. These vary from tales of people descending from the sky to stories of migration from far-off places. Archaeologists have found evidence of Neolithic humans who inhabited what is now Nigeria as far back as 12,000 B.C.E.

The histories of the people in northern and southern Nigeria prior to colonization followed vastly different paths. The first recorded empire in present-day Nigeria was centered in the north at Kanem-Borno, near Lake Chad. This empire came to power during the eighth century C.E. By the thirteenth century, many Hausa states began to emerge in the region as well.

Trans-Sahara trade with North Africans and Arabs began to transform these northern societies greatly. Increased contact with the Islamic world led to the conversion of the Kanem-Borno Empire to Islam in the eleventh century. This led to a ripple effect of conversions throughout the north. Islam brought with it changes in law, education, and politics.

The trans-Sahara trade also brought with it revolutions in wealth and class structure. As the centuries went on, strict Islamists, many of whom were poor Fulani, began to tire of increasing corruption, excessive taxation, and unfair treatment of the poor. In 1804 the Fulani launched a jihad, or Muslim holy war, against the Hausa states in an attempt to cleanse them of these non-Muslim behaviors and to reintroduce proper Islamic ways. By 1807 the last Hausa state had fallen. The Fulani victors founded the Sokoto Caliphate, which grew to become the largest state in West Africa until its conquest by the British in 1903.

In the south, the Oyo Empire grew to become the most powerful Yoruban society during the sixteenth century. Along the coast, the Edo people established the Benin Empire (not to be confused with the present-day country of Benin to the west), which reached its height of power in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.

As in the north, outsiders heavily influenced the societies of southern Nigeria. Contact with Europeans began with the arrival of Portuguese ships in 1486. The British, French, and Dutch soon followed. Soon after their arrival, the trade in slaves replaced the original trade in goods. Many of the coastal communities began selling their neighbors, whom they had captured in wars and raids, to the Europeans in exchange for things such as guns, metal, jewelry, and liquor.

The slave trade had major social consequences for the Africans. Violence and intertribal warfare increased as the search for slaves intensified. The increased wealth accompanying the slave trade began to change social structures in the area. Leadership, which had been based on tradition and ritual, soon became based on wealth and economic power.

After more than 350 years of slave trading, the British decided that the slave trade was immoral and, in 1807, ordered it stopped. They began to force their newfound morality on the Nigerians. Many local leaders, however, continued to sell captives to illegal slave traders. This lead to confrontations with the British Navy, which took on the responsibility of enforcing the slave embargo. In 1851 the British attacked Lagos to try to stem the flow of slaves from the area. By 1861 the British government had annexed the city and established its first official colony in Nigeria.

As the nonslave trade began to flourish, so, too, did the Nigerian economy. A new economy based on raw materials, agricultural products, and locally manufactured goods saw the growth of a new class of Nigerian merchants. These merchants were heavily influenced by Western ways. Many soon became involved in politics, often criticizing chiefs for keeping to their traditional ways. A new divide within
Central Ibadan, the second-largest city. Nigeria is the most densely populated country in Africa.
Central Ibadan, the second-largest city. Nigeria is the most densely populated country in Africa.
the local communities began to develop, in terms of both wealth and politics. Because being a successful merchant was based on production and merit, not on traditional community standing, many former slaves and lower-class people soon found that they could advance quickly up the social ladder. It was not unusual to find a former slave transformed into the richest, most powerful man in the area.

Christian missionaries brought Western-style education to Nigeria as Christianity quickly spread throughout the south. The mission schools created an educated African elite who also sought increased contact with Europe and a Westernization of Nigeria.

In 1884, as European countries engaged in a race to consolidate their African territories, the British Army and local merchant militias set out to conquer the Africans who refused to recognize British rule. In 1914, after squelching the last of the indigenous opposition, Britain officially established the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria.