J

.P.Dada

Ni
ger
ianPe
opl
esa
ndCul
tur
e
J
oel
P.Da
da
1 Bri
efHi
st
oryo
fNi
ger
ia

Nig
eriaisma deupo fvariouse t
hnicgroups.Befor
et heBr i
ti
sh
annexat
ionofNi geri
a,t hesee thni
cg r
oupsl i
vedi ns eg
me nta
ry
soci
eti
esanda uto
n omo usv i
ll
agesa n
dv i
ll
a gegro
ups.Ea c
he thni
c
gro
uph adawe l
lde f
inedsoc i
al
,economicandp ol
it
ic
alsyste
m.Mo st
ofthes
ee t
hnicgroupswe reintense
lydemoc r
ati
c.Poli
ti
calaut
h o
rit
y
wasd isp
ersedwid el
ya mo ngthec omponentp art
sa ndv ari
ous
i
nsti
tuti
ons.
Wh i
letherewe reprovi
sion
sfortheexerci
seofexecuti
ve,
l
egisl
ati
veandj ud
icialfuncti
ons,i
td i
dh ap
p enthatsometi
mest he
l
inesb et
weene xecuti
ve,j udi
cia
la nde v e
nr eli
giousfuncti
ons
seemedblur
redma inl
yb ecausethesamep e
r s
onsor
gr
oupsexerci
sethesep owers(Ukpabi
,1989:
40)

Event ho
ught herewa sn oc l
eard e
ma rc
ati
oni nthep r
e-co
lon
ial
poli
ti
calsys
tem,thes y
s t
emf unct
io
neds owellinma n
yp ar
tsoft
he
countr
yands urv
ivedforcent
urie
s.Thereasonforth
es ur
viv
aloft
he
syst
emi sthatther
ewe rechecksandb al
ancesinpl
ace.Thechecks
andb al
anceswe r
ea i
me datp r
event
ingindi
vi
dualswhowo ul
dwa nt
tob ec
omed i
ctat
ors.Indeed,oneo fthes yst
emso fchecksand
bala
ncesh a
dt odowithmi l
i
taryest
abli
shment.

S
inces e
g ment
arysoci
et
ieswerebas
edonk in
shiporc
ult
ura
ltie
s,
eac
hin d
ivid
uali
nthesoci
etywaswi
ll
ingt
ocontr
ib
u t
ehi
sorhero
wn
quar
tertothedeve
lop
me n
to ft
hec
ommunity
.

I
nthe19thCen t
ury
,ma nyc ent
ral
iz
eds t
atesandking
domse xis
tedin
va
rio
usp ar
tso fNi
ge r
ia.Thewe l
lknowno nesweretheking
domso f
Beni
n,Bornu,Oyo,Nupe ,Egbaands oon.Thee s
tabl
ish
me ntofthe
So
kotoCa l
iphatealsog averis
et oaboutthir
tyemirat
esinclud
ing
Kano
,Katsi
n a,Zar
ia,Bau c
hi,Hadej
ia
,andI l
ori
namo ngoth
ers.Each

78
Re
adi
ngsi
nGe
ner
alS
tudi
es

o
ftheseEmir
ate
sh adit
sownl e
ade
rwh
owa
sex
pec
tedt
opa
y
a
ll
egi
ancet
otheSul
tano
fSok
oto
.

I
nI g
bol
a nd,ther
ewe re“const
it
uti
onalmonarc
hies
”thatexis
tedin
th
atpartoftheworld
.Specif
ic
all
y,the
yexi
stedatOni
tsha
,Ogutaand
Abohtome n
tio
nb utaf e
w.Th eo r
gani
zat
ionofthes
einsti
tut
iona
l
monarc
h i
eswa sthed i
rectresu
ltoftheint
rusi
onofBeninCult
ure
i
ntothesea r
eas.Other
wisemo stIg
bocommu ni
ti
espract
ic
edc r
ude
democr
a c
ya ndtheyl
ivedinstat
ele
sssoci
et
ies.

I
ts houl
db en ot
edt ha
te achstat
eo rcommun i
tywa sma i
nly
c
oncernedwit
hc r
eat
ingsou
nde co
nomic
,so
cialandpol
it
ic
a ls
yst
em
f
orthewe l
lbe
ingofi
tsci
ti
zens.
Eachkin
gther
efo
re,dev
isedwaysof
r
ais
ingthepro
fi
leofhi
skingd
om.

Howev er,the1 9th cent

ury wi t
nessedt hei nf
luxo fEur ope
an
me r
chan tswhoe stabl
ishedd i
fferentfir
mswh i
c hwe r
ela t
erme rg
ed
togaint heRoyalCh art
erk nowna stheRo y
alNigerCo mpanyu nder
Tubma n Ge org
e Go l
die wh os ig
ne dp rotect
oratet reat
ies wit
h
dif
fer
en t Ch i
efdoms , Kingdoms a nd Ca li
phate, ma rk
ing the
emergen ceofthep resentNi ge
r i
a.Th i
sd evelopment,si
g n
ingo ft
he
tr
eati
e sb et
weend i
ff
erentco mmun i
ti
esn umb eri
ngmo ret h
ant hi
rty
t
h
byth es econdh alfo fthe1 9 c enturywa sa chieved.Wh atthis
me a
n sine s
sencea ndu nk nownt othet radi
tion
a lrul
erswa sthe
graduallo s
so fp oli
ti
calind ependencet oBr i
tain.Foll
owingt hes
e
tr
eati
e s,theg eo
g raphi
cala reao fthep resentNige r
iawa sd i
vid
ed
i
n t
ot hreep rot
ectoratesn ame ly:No rt
he r
nPr otector
ate,Souther
n
Prot
ectoratea ndt heCo l
on yo fLa gosa ndo ilRiverProtect
orates
resp
ectively
.Be f
oret heRoy alNi ge
rCo mp anylostitsRoyalCh ar
ter
t
h
i
nt helastd ec
adeo fthe1 9c entury
, t
hePr ote
ctorate
swe reme rg
ed
i
n t
ot wof ore as
ya dmini
strati
on ,thusre sul
ti
ngi ntoNo r
ther
na nd
SouthernProtect
ora t
eswh i
chwe refurtherme r
gedin1 914k nowna s
“Ama l
ga mati
on”tob ecomeNi geri
ama ki
n gNigeri
aah et
erogeneo
us
soci
ety.

I
nde
ed,e
ache
thn
icg
roupwa
sato
nes
tag
eofd
eve
lop
men
tort
he

79
 J
.P.Dada

o
the
rwh enitwasc o
nquer
eda n
db ro
ughtunderBri
ti
shcol
oni
alrul
e
b
egi
nnin
gf r
om 1 900.From thisp e
riodo nward
s,the Bri
tis
h
c
ont
inuedtorul
eNigeri
aunti
lOcto
ber1,1960wh e
nthecount
rywas
g
ran
tedindepende
n ce
.Niger
iaisn owgrappl
i
n gwitht
heissueo f
n
ati
onhood.

2. Nigeri
an’sPe rce
pti
ono fhisWo r
ld
Niger
iaisb l
ackAf ri
ca’smo stpopulousandi nf
luenti
alState.Itis
esti
ma t
edt hato nei nf i
veAf r
icansisNi ger
ian.Th ec ountr
yi s
ble
ssedwi tha bunda ntresour
ces.Nigeri
ai st hes econdl ar
gest
suppl
ierofoiltoth eUn i
tedStatesofAme r
ica
,a ndBrita
in’stenth
big
gesttrad
ingpa r
tne r
.Beside
s,thec o
untryhast helar
gestmi l
i
tary
i
nt heAf r
icanco nt
inent.Thec ountr
yh asa l
sop lay
eda ndi ss t
il
l
pla
yinglead
ingrolesinAfric
aa ndinint
ernati
onalaffa
irs
.
Perhaps,
thatiswhyi tisbei
ngde sc
rib
eda stheGiantofAfr
ica.

Asthela
rges
tgeo-
pol
i
tic
aluni
tinAfr
ica,Nig
eri
aisloc
atedbet
we e
n
par
all
el
s4°a nd14°nort
ho ft
hee quato
r.Thecountr
yise nt
ir
ely
si
tuat
edo nthetr
opi
calzon
ea ndoc c
upiesap os
it
ionwh e
ret h
e
west
ernpar
tsoft
heAfr
icanc
ont
inen
tme etequat
ori
alAfr
ic
a.

Thec
ountr
yi sboundedinthewe stbytheRepubl
icofBeninandto
th
eNort
hb yNi gerandCh a
dRe publ
i
c.IntheEa s
titisbound
edb y
th
eRepubl
ico fCame r
oon,whil
eintheSouth,att
heGu l
fofGuine
a,
th
ecoun
tryisb o
un d
edb ySaoTomean dPri
ncip
e.

2.1. La ndandPeople
Asa lr
eadyindica
ted,Ni
geri
ah asimme nselandresou
rces,witha
surf
a c
ea reaofa pp
roxi
ma t
ely3 65,
66 9squar
emi l
ese qui
val
e ntto
923,768s quar
ek i
lomet
ers.Th i
sma kesthecountr
ya boutone–
seventhofthes et
tl
eda ndp r
oduc t
iveareaofAfri
ca.Mu cho fthe
countryisdominatedbyp l
ains,g e
neral
lylessthan609.5me t
ers
aboves e
al ev
el.Theeaster
nb orderofNiger
iaismarkedb yalmost
cont
inuousa ndundulat
ingmo untainswhichri
setoa bout2,420.5
me t
e r
sintheChapelWaddi,t
heh i
g hestk
nownp oi
nti
nNig e
ria
.

80
Re
adi
ngsi
nGe
ner
alS
tudi
es

Themo stimporta
ntp hysi
calfeatureistheNiger– Be nu eRiver,
fr
omwh ichthecount
ryd e
rivedit
sn ame.TheRiverNigerri
sesinthe
mountai
nsn ort
h–e astofS i
err
aL eo
ne,anden t
ersNigeri
aint he
nort
h-westandjoi
nstheriverBenuea tLoko
ja,andthenflowsso ut
h
in
totheGu l
fofGuinea.Atitsmo uth,t
heRiverNigerbreaksupi nt
o
ma n
yc hannel
st oform ag reats wampyDe l
tac overi
ng45, 000
squar
ek il
ome t
ers
.Bo thther iversNigerandBe nuep rovi
det he
waterBasinforthegreaterparto fthecount
ry.Therea r
es everal
othe
rs mall
erriver
sinNi geria
,wh i
chenableNigeri
anc i
tize
nst o
car
ryo utthei
re cono
mi ca ct
ivi
ti
e ssucha sfishi
ng,farminga nd
navi
gati
on.

2.2. Cl imateandVeg etat

ion
I
nNi geri
a,foure co
logi
calzo nesc anb ed is
ti
n g
uis
he d.Alongt h
e
coastl
i
neliesad ensebeltofma n
groves wamp ,var
yi
n gfrom1 8to
108k il
ometersinwidth.Itiss par
s e
lypo pul
atedandn o
tp r
o pe
rly
develo
ped.Th i
se colo
gicalz oneisf oll
owe db yaf ai
rl
ys h ar
ply
defi
nedbeltoftr
opic
alrai
nf o
resta ndoilp
a l
mb ushfroma bout90to
180k i
lometer
swi deandisi nt
ersectedbyr i
versands t
reams .This
zoneisfol
lowedb y540k il
ome t
e r
swi debeltofopenwo odla
n dand
grasssavanna.Fi
nall
y,thelattershadeso ffin
toav astu ndula
ting
pl
a t
eauwitho c
casi
onalhil
lsu n
tilonefina
llyenter
sintosandyt r
acts
ofthesout
h e
rnS a
h ar
a.

Eventho
ughNiger
iaiswholl
ylocat
edwithinthetr
opi
cs,t
hecl
imate
var
iesfr
omh umidi
tyatth
ewe sttothes ub-
trop
ica
lfurt
heri
nla
nd.
Therear
et wosea
sonsinNiger
ia,namelydryandrain
ys e
aso
ns.In
th
eS out
hernpa
rtofthec
ountry
,rai
nslastfro
mMa r
chtoNove
mb er
,
whil
eintheNor
th,r
ainsl
astfr
omAp ri
ltoOctober
.

Temper
ature
sa tthec oa
sts e
ldomriseabove90°buthumidi
tyis
hi
gh.Fur
thernort
ht h
ec l
imateisdri
erandextr
eme.Duri
ngthedry
se
a s
oni.e.h a
rmattan,windb l
owsi nfromt hedese
rt,ca
usin
g
ex
tremedrynessandcarr
yin
gwi t
hitfi
nedustpa
rti
cl
estha
tfor
mt h
e
hazeal
lo v
erthecountry
.Itismo r
es e
vereintheNor
ther
npartof

81
 J
.P.Dada

t
hec
oun
tryt
hani
tisi
nth
eSo
uth
ernp
art
.

3. Ni geri
anPe o p
lea ndThe i
rCha r
acter
isti
cs
Accor
din
gt othe1 991c e
n s
us, t
hep opul
ati
ono fNiger
iast
ooda t120
mil
li
onwh il
et helatestcensus( 2006)e s
timatesover140mi ll
ion.
Pres
entl
y( 2018)t hep opulati
onp r
ojec
ti
ons t
andsa tab o
ut1 80
mil
li
on.Itisgenerall
yb el
iev
e dthatwithi
nt hecountr
y’sboundari
es,
the
rearea pp
roxima t
ely248d ist
incteth
nicgroups,ea
chspe a
k i
ngit
s
own language,a lt
houghs o me ma yn otn ec
essari
lysp e
a kthe
l
anguagei de
nti
fiedwi ththeirethn i
cg r
oups.Th es
ee th
n i
cg roup
s
rang
eins izefr
o mt i
n yunit
sc onsist
ingoflessthan7 00p eopl
eto
gr
oupsn umb er
ingwe l
la bove1 0mi ll
ion.Th ewe l
l-
knowne thni
c
gr
oupsinNi ger
iaincludeHa usa,Yo r
uba,Ig
bo,F u
lani
,Kanuri,I
bib
io,
Ti
v,Izo
n( I
jaw),Edoe tc
.

Then umb eroflanguagess pokendo esnotn e

ce s
sarilycorr
e s
pondto
thi
sf i
gure
.Th i
si sb ecausein Ni geri
a,th en u mbero fethni
c
id
en ti
fi
ersdo e
sn otnecessari
lycorrespondtothato flanguageusers;
ass uch,t
he r
eisb oundt obemo reo rlessthanthisfigure
, si
nceone
ethnicgroupmi ghtspe a
kd if
ferentlanguageswh il
ed i
ff
erentethni
c
groupsmi g
h tspeako nelanguage.Th i
sh asledtoal a c
ko fpreci
si
on
inid ent
if
yingt hen umb ero flanguag e
ss pokeni nNi geria.Wh a
t
comp oundsthisprobl
e mf ur
theri
st hee xi
ste
nceo fd i
ffer
entvari
eti
es
ofth esamel angua ge,other
wisek nowna sd i
alects:onel ang
uage
ma yh aves ever
alv ar
ieti
es wh i
cha tt i
me sa ren otmu t
uall
y
in
te l
li
gib
le.Wh e
thers ucha rer egardeda sd ist
inctl anguagesor
di
alects(va r
iet
ies)o fthes amel angu agehasa lwa ysrema in
eda
boneo fcontent
iona mo n
gl i
nguis
ts.Th us,t
he1 976i ndexofNigeri
an
la
ng uagesi denti
fi
es3 94,wh il
et hato f1 993 i dentif
ies 452
la
ng uages.

Jus
tasisthecasewit
ht h
eirnumber,l
ingui
stsal
sodisag
reeona n
y
si
ngl
ec l
ass
if
ic
ati
onschemef o
rAfri
canlanguage
s.Butiti
sg e
neral
l
y
re
cogni
zedtha
tNiger
iaisoneofthepri
nci
p a
lli
ngui
sti
ccross
road
so f
Afr
ic
a.J.H.Gr ee
nberginh i
sc l
assif
ic
atio
no fAfri
canlanguage
s
di
sti
ngui
shesfo
urma j
orgroups,c
all
edp hyl
a.Th e
ya r
eAf r
oasi
ati
c,

82
Re
adi
ngsi
nGe
ner
alS
tudi
es

Khois
an,Niger–Co ng
oa ndNil
o-Sahar
an.InNiger
ia,t
hema j
ori
tyof
thelang
ua g
esb el
ongtotheNigerCongoPhyl
um,thoughth
erearea
subst
anti
aln umbero fl a
nguagesb elo
ngi
ngt ot he Af
ro-
asiat
ic
phyl
ume specia
ll
yt otheChadicfamil
y(Hausa,Marghi
,Bura
,Bo l
e,
Kare-
Kare,Tangal
e,etc
).Nil
o-Sahar
anh asKanur
i,Dandi
,Tedaa n
d
Zarma.Therearenolanguage
sfromtheKh o
isa
np hyl
uminNigeri
a.

TheNiger
-Con
gofa mil
yisd i
vi
dedint
oWe s
tAt l
ant
ic,Mande,
Gur,Kwa,Be nue-Congoa nd Adamawa-Ubangi
.Th e majo
rit
yof
lan
guagesofNig
eriab e
longtot
h eKwa,Benue-
CongoandAd a
ma wa
-
Ubangi
anfamil
ies.Theo the
rfamili
eswit
h i
nNiger-
Congoare;Wes
t
Atl
ant
ic(Ful
be)
,Ma n
de( BusaandShanga
),andGur(Baato
nun )
.

TheNig
erianmajo
rethni
cgroup
sa r
ewi de
lyd
ist
ri
butedallov
erthe
co
untr
y.Th eHausaar
ewi d
elydis
tri
but
edthr
oughoutthesta
tesof
Ni
geri
a,butth
eycons
ti
tut
ema j
ori
tyinth
efarnor
thofthecount
ry.

TheFulan
i-s
peakin
gp eopl
esar
ea l
sosprea
dthr
o ug
houtnor
ther
n
Ni
geri
a.Th eya r
ef oundins t
a t
eslik
eAd amawa ,Bauc
hi,Kano,
Sokot
o,Gombe,Tarab
a ,
Kaduna,Kebb
iandKats
ina(Nort
her
nNigeri
a)
et
c.Th eKan ur
iarema inl
yfoundint heChadBa si
n,par
ti
cula
rly
Born
o,Yo be,somep art
so fGomb eandAd amawa( Nor
thea
ster
n
Ni
geri
a);theNup eint heNigera n
dBe nuev a
ll
eys.TheTiva r
e
co
n c
entra
tedintheareasout
hoftheBenueRiver
.

TheYorubaarefo
u ndinSouthwester
nNiger
ia,
main
lyinOy
o,
Ogun,Osun,Eki
ti
,On do,Lago
s ,andlar
gerpar
tofKwaraSt
ate
.The
Bi
nia r
el oc
atedinEd oa ndDe l
taStat
es,whi
let
heIjaw(I
zon)ar
e
spr
eadt hr
oughoutthec o
asta
ls tr
ip
so fRiv
ers
,Bayel
sa,Del
ta,Ed
o
(S
outh-so
uther
nNi g
eria)a
ndL agosSta
tes.

TheIgb
oa r
ema inl
yfoundi
nS out
heaster
nNiger
iaspeci
fi
cal
lyi
nI mo,
Anambra,Enugu,Ebonyia
n dAbiaS t
ates
.Howe ver
,asar esul
to f
po
p ul
ati
onpressureandpressur
eo nland,man yIgb
op eo
pleh av
e
migr
atedtovari
o uspar
tsofNiger
ia.Ther
ea r
eo th
ersmall
ere t
hni
c
gr
oupsthatareloc
a t
edi
nvario
usp art
softhecount
ry.

83
 J
.P.Dada

Thediv
isi
onofNigeri
aintodif
fer
entgeogr
aphi
calzoneshasshaped
th
ep at
ter
no fli
feofthee th
nicgroup
st hatocc
upie
dt he
sez ones
.
Thegeogr
aphyoftheareainwhic
htheyli
vea f
fec
tstheminnos mal
l
way.Thepeoplewh oli
vea r
oundtheRi v
ersBe n
uea ndNigerare
mainl
yf i
she
rme na ndf ar
me r
s.Wh i
let hos
e wh oliveino pen
gr
assl
andh a
v ethei
ro c
cupati
ond i
ff
eren
tfromt hos
ei nthefore
st
bel
t.TheShuwaAr abswh oa r
emo stl
yf o
undi nBornoS t
ateare
mainl
yfar
mersa n
dn omads.

3.1. Nigeri
anArtandCul t
ureinPre-coloni
alPeriod
Thev ar
iousarta n
dc ul
tureofNiger
iaareme ansthroughwh i
cht he
countr
yc anb eident
if
ie
d .Cult
ureisd e
fi
ne da sthef abr
icofideas,
beli
ef
s,sk i
ll
s,tool
s,est
h et
icobjec
ts,me t
h odo fthi
nk i
ng,ofea t
ing
ando ftalk
inga swellasc us
tomsa ndinstitut
ion
si ntowh i
che ac
h
me mberofthes oc
iet
yisb or
n(Ukye,1973)
. Cult
u r
eincludesthewa y
eachindi
v i
dualma ke
sal ivi
ng,t
hemus ich ep l
ays,cel
ebrati
onsa n
d
fest
ival
s,mo desofcommun ic
ati
ona ndtra
n sport
atio
n, t
heh ousewe
li
veinandt hefoodwee at(Nkwam,et.al
,2001 :91).

So
cials c
ient
ist
sg r
oupedcult
u r
ei nt
ot wo c at
egor
ies
,n amely
mater
ialandn on-mate
ria
lcult
u r
e.Ma t
eri
alcult
ureme ansthose
vi
si
bleandt angi
bl
ea spec
tsofo urcul
tur
es.Forins
tanc
e,b a
sket
s,
wovenc l
oth
,s t
yleofd r
essi
ng,food
,typesofwe apons
,furni
tur
e,
f
armingimp l
ementse t
c.Whil
en on-
ma t
eri
alcult
ureme ansthose
abs
trac
ta s
pectsofpeopl
e’scul
tur
es uc
ha sla
ng u
age,myth,musi
c,
danc
es,phi
losop
hye t
c.

Onth eotherhand,artispartofc ul
ture
.Itisdi
ffi
culttod e
fineart
becauseitc ut
sa cros
ss oma nyt hi
ngs.However,wh ateveryon
e
seemst obes ayi
ngisthatforano bj
ecttobequa l
i
fie
da sawo rkof
ar
t,itmus thave“Somethi
ng ”beyondme reuti
lit
ari
anv alue.This
“S
ome thi
ng ”canonl
yb esensed.Somep eopl
ecalli
ta est
heti
cv al
ue,
someb eauty,
buteachofthesewo rdshasdif
fer
entme ani
n g
.Itisth
e
i
ndividualwhod e
cid
eswh ic
ho fthepiecesi
ll
ust
rated,
h eli
kes.

84
Re
adi
ngsi
nGe
ner
alS
tudi
es

Basi
cal
ly
,a rta ndc ul
tur
ec an
notb es epa
rate
df ro
m s oci
ety
.
Spec
if
ica
ll
y,soci
etyiswhatc ul
tur
ema kesittobe,andcult
ureis
whatsoci
etymakesittobe.Asri
ghtl
ypoin
tedoutbyNkwam,et.al
.
(l
oc.ci
t.
)“ peo
plean dtheircul
tur
ea reinap er
pet
ualstat
eo f
i
nter
acti
on,mutualinf
lue
nc e,o
finte
r-d
ependenc
ea ndpro
gressi
ve
re
cipr
ocalado
pti
on”.

I
np r
e-col
oni
alNi g
eri
a,di
ff
ere
ntwo rksofartandcul
tur
ee xi
sted.The
Yor
uba,Hausa,Igbo,I
bi
bio
,Kan u
rietc,a
llhadthei
rway sofli
fe.The
waysoflif
eo fthesepeopl
eswe recondit
ionedbytheg eo
graphic
al
envi
ronmentinwh i
chtheyli
ve.Th eKa nuriwayofd re
ssin
gwa s
qui
ted i
ff
ere
ntf romthatofIgboort h
eYo r
ubapeopl
ea nds oa l
so
wit
ht h
er es
to ftheethni
cgroupsinNigeria
.However,someo fthe
nat
iveatt
ir
eswo rnduri
ngpre-
colon
ialper
iodwe r
econdit
io
nedn otby
envi
ronment,
bu tbyrel
i
gio
n.

I
nth en o
rthwh e
rethes unisalwa y
sh i
gh,thepeopl
el i
vi
n gt
here
woreano penorligh
tg ar
ments(‘YarCiki
,Da nKi
kiorYa rShar
a’)
.
Wome nwo r
elig
htdresse
s.Thesamec o
uldn o
tbesai
do fthepe
ople
ofwester
n,easter
na ndsout
h-s
out hNiger
ia.Bec
auseo ft
hen a
ture
oft
heirenvi
ronment,t
heyworehea vydres
sestopro
tectthemse
lves
f
romt hecoolweat
her.

Vari
oust y
peso fartworksexis
tedd ur
ingth epre-
coloni
alperi
od.The
Nokc ul
turewh i
chh asb ee
nd at
edb yradi
oc ar
bonto900BCa ndAD
200wa swe l
lnotedf orthei
rartwo r
k.Be sideNo kcult
ure,mo s
tof
thearchaeol
o g
icalexcavati
onsofwo r
ksi nYo rubalan
dwe rec ar
ri
ed
outinIl
e -
If
e.Thef i
n d
ingsreveal
edan umb e rofbro
nzes c
u l
ptur
esof
vari
ouss i
zes.Insho r
t,ever
ye t
hnicgro
u pint hepre-
colo
nialerahad
ri
chculturalher
it
a gethroug
hthe i
rworkso fa r
t.
However,ma jo
rit
yo fthesewo r
kso fartha ved i
sappe
areda ndhave
foun
dt hei
rwa yst o mus eums i n Ame ri
ca,Brit
ain,Ge r
ma ny
,
Nether
landse t
c.Th i
sh asdeniedNiger
ianst heopport
unit
yo fseei
ng
someo ft hea r
tworkso fthei
rf or
efat
hers.F rant
iceff
ortsa r
en ow
bei
ngma deb yth egov e
rnmento fNigeri
at orecove
rt hesestol
en
Niger
iancultur
alh eri
tages
.

85
 J
.P.Dada

4. Evolut
ionofNiger
iaasaPo l
it
icalUnit
Whati sk nown todaya s Niger
ia wasc reate
db yt he Bri
ti
sh
t
h
col
oni
ali
sts.Europe
ana c
ti
viti
esinNig
e r
iabegana sea
rlyasthe15
Cent
ury.Theycamet otr
adewiththei
nd i
genouspopul
ati
oningoods
.
Lat
eron,thistr
adewa str
ansfor
medintotr
a dei
nh umans,whi
chran
fo
rs e
veralc en
turi
es.Thi
st r
adeinhu mansc ametob ecall
edthe
Atl
ant
icSlaveTrade.

I
tisesti
matedtha
ta bout400to600mill
i
onAf r
ic
answeresoldi
nto
th
isobnoxi
oustrad
e .Ma j
ori
tyoft
heseAfr
ic
an scamefromNigeri
a.
TheyweretakentoEuro p
ea ndtheAmeri
cas.However
,becaus
eo f
th
ec ombin
atio
no fs evera
lf a
cto
rs,t
heAt l
anti
cs l
avetra
dewa s
t
h
abol
is
hedinthe19c e
ntury.

Withthea b
oli
ti
ono ftheslavetr
ade,Br
itai
nintr
o du
c e
dthes ocal
led
‘
legi
timatetrade’
,i.
e.tradei npalmoil,gro
und nutoil
,cott
one t
c.
Ind
e edbecauseoftheirexperi
encewit
ht heearlysetofEuropeans
,
man yAfri
cansref
us e
dt oc o
opera
tewiththi
sn ews etofEuropea
ns.
Inparti
cula
r,theYo r
ubai nLagosref
usedtoc ooperat
ewithBrit
ish
tr
aders.Consequentl
y,L a
goswa sbomb ar
dedb yt heBrit
is
hNa val
Gunboatin1861andwa sma deaBri
ti
shc o
lony(CrownColony)
.

FromLa gos,theBr i
ti
shc onti
nuedtoe xt
endt heirinf
luencetoo t
her
part
so fNi geri
a.Inthep r
o ce
ss,the
ys i
gnedt radet r
eatieswiththe
rul
erso ftheseplacestheytrade
dwi t
h.In1900, thesep apertr
eati
es
we r
et r
a n
s l
atedintoreali
ty.Butbefor
et hetranslat
iono fthep a
per
tre
ati
e sintoreali
ty
,thea ctofpossess
ingthea reasn or
tha ndsouth
oft her i
v erNiger( l
aterNi ger
ia)wa sc eme nteda tt heBe rl
in
Conferenceo f1884/1885.S i
ncethen,theBriti
sht radersthatwere
assi
gn edareass o
utha ndn or
thoftheNiger-
Be nuec o
n f
luencebegan
too r
gan i
zet hemi nt
op rot
e c
tor
atesa n
dc olonies.Thus ,t
h e
rewa s
theS outhernPr o
tecto
ratea ndNo r
thernPr otect
o r
ate,wh i
chwe re
s
t
decl
aredb ySirFredr
ichD. Lugar
d(Lord)on1 J a nuar
y ,
1900. I
n1 906,thecolonyofLagoswa sme r
gedwi ththePr ote
ctor
ate
ofS outhernNi ger
ia.Ea c
ho fthep r
otect
ora t
eswa sas prawli
ng

86
Re
adi
ngsi
nGe
ner
alS
tudi
es

t
err
it
o r
yo fseparateli
nguis
ticgro
ups.Eachofthegroupshadi
tsown
di
st
incti
veh i
s t
ory,lan
guage,soci
alcust
om,andb el
ief
s.
I
n1 914,t h ea malgamati
ono ftheS out
herna nd Nort
hern
p
rote
c t
orateswa sc ar
rie
do utbytheBri
tis
hc ol
oni
a l
ist
s.Need
lessto
s
ay,thiswa sat urni
ngp o
intintheh i
st
oryofNig er
ia.I
twasf r
om
t
hatp oi
nt( 1914)t hatNigeri
a,asag eogra
phicalenti
tybec
amea
r
eali
ty.Accordingt oOkwori(2003:3
),“….i
nb r
ingin
gt henor
tha nd
s
outht o
ge t
he r
,itwa sBrit
ishint
ere
stnotthepe o
p l
esthati
nfor
me d
t
hede ci
si
o n.
”

From1 914t o1 960t heBr i

ti
shc onti
nuedt od ivi
deNi geri
ai nt
o
vari
ousa dmini
st
rati
veu nit
swi t
ht heCe nt
ralGovernmen tbasedin
Lagos.Itwa st h
isa dmini
stra
tiv
ea rran
g ementthatwa st olaythe
f
o undatio
nf ormo derng over
nme ntinNi ger
ia.Be s
ides,itwa sin
1914t h atthea rean o
rtha nds outho ftheRi verNigerb ecame
Niger
iaf romt h
ep hrase“Nigerarea.
”Itwa sLa dyF l
oraS hawwh o
l
aterbe camet h
ewi f
eo fLordLuga r
d,thearchi
tectofin
directrul
ein
Niger
iat hatsuggest
edt h
en amei ntheL ondonTime sofJ a
n uar
y8,
1887.Th en ame“ Nig
e r
ia”wash owevero f
fic
ial
lyrecogni
zedd uri
ng
t
h edeb ateoftheRo y
alNi g
erCo mpanyBillinJuly1899.S i
ncethen
t
h earean or
than dsoutho fRiverNigerhasc onti
nuedtob earthe
name‘ Nigeri
a’
.

5. I
ndigeneandS e
ttl
erPhenomenon
Theindigenean dsett
lerphenomenonh asb ee
na no ldissuein
Niger
iaevenb e
forethecreat
ionofthepoli
ti
calent
it
y.Theissueo f
If
ea n
d Mo dakekes pannedb ackt oa bo
u t200 y ear
s.Ma ny
commun i
ti
esa red ebacl
e witht h
isp henomenon.Amo ngt hem
in
cludeIfe-
Mo dakek
e,Ag ul
eir
iandUmul eri
,Atyepa ndHa usain
ZangonKa t
af,Jos-
Plate
aup henomenon,TivandJ ukun,Ij
awa nd
It
seki
rietc.InRe c
enty ea
rs,Niger
iahaswi t
nessedv i
ol
entc r
ise
s
bet
we entheso-cal
ledindi
geneands e
ttl
ers
.Th e
sev i
olen
tc o
n f
li
ct
s
fr
equentl
yh eat-upt hep ol
it
ya nde vent hr
eate
ne dt h
ev er
y
founda
tio
no fitse xi
st
ence.Thisphenomenono ft
ent oo
ka nother
di
me nsi
ontransf
ormingint
oethno-
rel
igi
ousandpoli
ti
calcri
si
swh ic
h
became preval
enta ft
erinter
valsa ndthreat
enedt hec or
porat
e

87
 J
.P.Dada

e
xis
ten
ceo
fNi
ger
iaa
san
ati
on.

I
nt heo r
din
aryme ani
ngs,thewo r
ds“I ndi
genes
”a nd“n at
ives
“s i
mplyrefe
rtoar eg
iono rcount
ryofb i
rt
h,sonso fthesoil
,
auto
chth
onsa ndabor
igi
nes.Ontheo t
her,t
he“Sett
ler
s”arethose
whojoi
nedtheindi
genesandn at
iv
eswh enth
ef o
rmerhavesett
led
downandh avees
tabl
i
shedaf or
mo fgov
ernmentandhaveasse
rted
cont
rol
overthere
sour
cesa r
oundthem.

Gi
vent hep ec
u l
i
a rhi
stor
yo fs
tateforma t
ioninNigeri
aa ndconstant
migrat
iono fpeopleandpopul
ati
ons hi
ftsinp r
e-c
olonia
lNi g
eri
a,itis
di
ffi
culttouset hetwot e
rmsme a
n i
ngful
ly.Somewr it
ersinNigeri
a
havea gr
ee dth atthe wo r
dsi ndigenea nds ett
lera r
es oci
al
const
ructi
onb yNi ger
ia’
sr ul
i
n gorp owe reli
teint hei
rs ear
chf or
le
git
ima cywithi
nt helocalcommu nit
yo rs t
atean dtheirquestfor
accesstop owera ndresourc
e s
.Th us,thes o-
cal
ledindigenesand
set
tler
sa rep i
tchedagains
te achothero veracce
s stolocalpower,
reso
urcesa ndq uest
io
n sofident
it
y.Int hi
sr e
gard,thes
ec ateg
ories
areusedi nav erynegati
vema nnertomo b i
l
izepeople
’ss e
nti
me nts
andf eeli
ng st hatn egat
et hen at
ionalp oli
ti
calo bject
iv
eso f
in
tegrati
ona ndtheevolut
ionofaharmo ni
o uspol
it
icalcommu ni
ty.

Thed i
lemmao fcit
izenshi
pinNigeri
ac r
eate
db yn oti
onsofindig
enes
isreal
.F orins
tance,i
tisav erycommo np r
acticea mongp eop
leo f
north
ernNi ger
iatob eg i
venc ont
ractemployme ntinthes outher
n
partofthec o
untry
.Th esamet hi
nga ppl
i
estoNi geri
a n
so fsouthe
rn
ori
gintob eg i
venc ontr
acta p
point
me ntintheNo rt
herns t
ateso f
Nigeri
a.Inoneinstance,f
ol
lowingthecreat
iono fEnugus t
ateouto f
theo l
dAn a
mb r
as tate
,theI g
bosi nthen ew An ambras ta
tewh o
opt
e dtostayinEnug ustat
ewe reaskedtoleavet othei
ro wns t
ate.
Thes amet hi
ngc oul
db esaidofBo r
n oandYo beS tat
es,Adama wa
andTa r
a b
aS tat
es.Gombea ndBauchiStat
esan dlotsofother
s.

Perh
ap s
,thelackofpr
ope
rdefi
nit
io
nofc i
ti
zens
hipinthel
awo ft
he
la
nd( Cons
tit
uti
on)ma yhav
eb eenre
s p
onsi
bleforth
es e
ttl
erand
i
ndigenephenomenon
.InNiger
iato
day,t
hed i
scour
seonci
ti
zenshi
p

88
Re
adi
ngsi
nGe
ner
alS
tudi
es

a
ndtheappli
cati
ono fci
ti
zens’ri
ght
so fte
ng ener
atep ol
it
ic
altensi
on
a
ndv i
ol
entreacti
onb ecauseitisintr
icat
elyli
nkedt otheissueof
e
thni
cident
it
ya nde t
hnici
ty
.Ac c
ordi
n gtotheCiti
z e
n sForum,“Thi
s
i
sthecas
eins ofarasindig
nit
yistiedtome mb e
rshipofap ar
ti
cul
ar
l
oca
lethni
cc ommu nit
y”.Th eforums aid:“…..attheh e
artofthe
d
isc
ours
eo nc iti
zenshi
pa ndr i
ghtst her
efor
e,ist heq uest
ionof
e
thni
ci
tyan ditsp ol
it
ica
lmo b
il
izat
ionb yt hepo l
i
tici
ansa ndthe
p
owereli
te”(CFCR,2002:Pp .9–1 5).Thisisama j
orobstac
leto
t
heuni
versalappl
ic
atio
no fci
ti
zenshi
pr i
ghtsinNigeri
a.

Theconceptofci
ti
zenshi
pinNigeri
as ho
uldther
efor
ebep racti
cedas
en
s hr
ine
di ntheNi g
eri
anc onst
it
uti
on.Event h
en,itwillwo r
kwe l
l
on
lyift heresourc
eso fthec ount
rya reprudent
lyma n ag
eda nd
di
str
ibut
ede q
u al
ly
.Inasitua
tio
nwh eresomes ect
io
nso fthecount
ry
ar
ed eni
eda c
c e
sstoresour
cesa ndpower,t
hep eo
pleofth a
tsecti
on
wi
llreso
rttoa c
tsofviol
enceasas i
g noffr
ustr
ati
on.Ins uchcases
,
ea
s i
estt
arget
so fat
tackwil
lbeo nthesocal
ledsett
ler
s.

Res
pectforeachother
’stradi
ti
on,cus
tom,re
li
gionands oonwill
al
soh el
pi nreduc
ingt h
et ensi
ono f
tengenera
tedb et
weent he
i
ndi
genesa ndsett
ler
s.On ceNiger
iansbeg
intoa ppr
eciat
ee ac
h
ot
her’
srel
igi
on,
cust
omsa ndtradi
ti
ons,
inadd
iti
ontofai
rdi
str
ibut
io
n
ofpowerandresour
ces,theindi
geneandset
tl
erp h
enomenonwill
gr
adual
lygi
vewa yandatruenati
onwil
lemer
ge.

6. TheCo nceptofTradeandS e
lf-rel
iance
I
nt hi
sp res
entati
on,thet e
rmt radeisu s
edt orefertoap urs
uit
f
o l
l
owe dbyano ccupati
onorme anso fli
veli
hoodrequi
ri
ngtechni
cal
ski
ll
s.Inan ut
sh e
ll
,tradeinvol
vesexch a
n g
eb et
we e
no nepers
ono r
onecommun it
ya ndtheo t
her,whichincl
ud ebuyi
nga ndsel
li
ngand
exchangeofs ervi
ces.Ont heo therh and,sel
f-r
eli
anceconnotes
rel
ia
nceo none’
so wnr eso
urces,ef
fortsanda bi
l
it
y,inessen
ce,how
commun i
ti
eswe reabletoprovi
defortheirbasi
cneedsd o
me s
ti
call
y.
Succes
sivegovernme n
tsh a
dp lannedp ol
ici
esa i
meda tdevel
oping
l
ocalc ont
entpr o
ducti
ona n dadvocatedf orpatr
onizi
ngma dein
Niger
iaproduc
ts.InNi ger
ia,th
e r
ea r
eme na ndwo menwh oh ave

89
 J
.P.Dada

a
cqui
redvari
oustec
hnic
alski
ll
swh i
charea
sset
stothena
tio
n.Th
e
r
eco
gni
tionoft h
esetechni
calskil
l
sa ndthe
irapp
li
cat
io
ni sth
e
b
egi
nni
n gofouri
ndust
ri
ald
evelop
me nt
.

However
,bothtrad
ea ndse l
f-
rel
ia
ncewi l
lo nl
ybep r
acti
cal
iz
eda nd
mater
ial
ize
di na no rderl
ys ocie
ty wh eret he
rei sp eacef
ul
coex
ist
ence.Nig
eri
anss houl
dt h
eref
or eknowt h
atn e
cessi
tyisthe
motherofinven
tio
n.S el
f-
rel
ianc
ea nds el
f-suf
fi
ci
encycano nl
yb e
achi
evedthro
ughs er
ious
ne s
so fpurposebya l
lthosewh oacqui
re
te
chnic
alskil
lsanda l
lworkers
.InthisregardallNig
eri
anss h
o u
ld
coop
erat
ewi t
ho neanothersothato urdr
e amo fsel
f-
rel
ian
cea nd
sel
f-
suff
ic
ienc
ycanb ereal
ize
d.(Oludemi,1989:115).

Niger
iansmus tchangethei
ra t
tit
udeo fexcessi
veus etheinventi
ons
ofothernat
ions.Ourtradi
tionaltechnol
ogiesast hefor
me rMi ni
st
er
ofS c
iencean dTechn ol
ogy,ProfessorE.U.Emo vonh a dobserved
,
shouldbeseena s“th ebasesta t
io
n stowh i
chwemu stret
reatand
sta
rttoa ss
e mbleourr e
quiredk nowledg
ef orther eco
n st
ruct
ionof
ourtechnol
ogica
linfr
astruct
ure”(Emo von,1989).Thec ount
riesand
peopl
e snot
edf orth
eirearli
estp r
acti
cesint heva r
ioustext
ilesand
fi
bresh a
veco nt
inue
dt oshowe xc
ellen
cei nthes
ea r
easthroughthe
i
mp rovementoftheearli
estski
llsandp r
odu c
ti
on( Obayemi,1991:
34).

Nig
eri
a nsa r
en ota ni nf
e ri
orracen ord othe yhavea ni nfer
ior
educati
on.Nige
riamu stno tcont
inuetolookb e
y on
dh erbounda r
ies
fo
rh erd omesti
ca ndi n
d ustr
ialneeds.Ra t
her,then at
ions houl
d
st
ri
veh ar
dt opro ducemuc ho fit
sf ooda ndr aw ma t
eri
als.The
pr
esentg ove
rnme ntun dert h
eleaders
hipo fPresi
dentMu hamma du
Buhariisworki
ngh ardtos topimport
atio
no fco ns
ume rgoods.The
gover
nme ntint
rod ucedap oli
cya i
meda tb oosti
ngo rencouragi
ng
l
ocalproduct
iono fgoodss u c
ha sshoes,te
x t
il
es,bagsetc.Also,t
he
gover
nme ntisemp h
aticonb oo
sti
nga gr
icul
turalprod
ucti
ont os av
e
fo
rei
gne xchange.Th e“Anc horBorr
owerS cheme”isg e
aredtowa rds
ri
ceproducti
onwh ic
hi so neo fth
eh i
gh es
ta reasofimp or
tat
ionin
fo
odc rops
.

90
Re
adi
ngsi
nGe
ner
alS
tudi
es

Asweh aven ot
ede arli
er,t hea tta
inme nto fse l
f-
suffi
ciencyfor
Nigeri
ad emand sthatallNigerianst akepartinthec ount
ry ’
sattempt
tod evelopindu st
ri
ala ndc o mme rci
alb ase. Wemus tstopt he
l
uk ewarma tti
tudetowo r
k,lazines s,cheat
ing,de c
eitanda rroga
n c
e,
wh i
cha rebyn ome ansh elpf
u leleme ntsinNi geri
a’
sma rc htowards
pr
o gress
.Th erei sn oc o
untryi nt hewo r
ldt hath asd e
v e
loped
withoutusingh ertechnica
ls kil
ls.Be sid
es,th ecit
izenso fthoseso-
call
edd evel
ope dnati
onso fthewo rldh avema det hei
rowns acr
ifi
ce
befor
et heyatt
a i
nedt hep r
esen tstatus.Nigerianstoomu stma kea n
ef
fortino r
dertoa chi
evet hei
ro wnd evelopme nt
.AsOl adume( 1991)
ri
ghtlyob s
erves,“wemu s
tp urgeo ursel
veso ft heidea-whichthis
countrymus tco n
tinuetob ean ationwh o seciti
zensa r
ei mp or
ter
s,
commi ssi
ona gentsa ndma nu facturer’
sre pr
e se
n t
ativ
es”.S incewe
haveme na ndwo me nwh oh avea cqui
redv ari
o ustechnicalskil
l
s,
th
e ys ho
ulda cquir
en ewa tti
tud eo fprid
et op ro
d uceouro wng oods
witht hewi ll
ingnesst ob uyt he ma sc ha r
it
yb egi
nsa th ome.
Nigeri
ansmus tb egi
nt op atronizet hei
ro wng oo dsra t
hert han
patr
o ni
zinggoodsthata renotma dei nNigeri
a .

Tradeisano ldo ccupat

ioninNig eri
awh i
chd atesba c
kt othep r
e-
col
onialper
iod.The r
ewa sthes hortorloc
altradeb et
weend if
fer
ent
commun it
ie
si nNi ger
ia.Thistr
a dewa sc onducte
dl oc
all
yb etween
di
ffer
entvil
lageso rcommu nit
ies.Thea rt
ic
leso ftr
adewe remo stl
y
per
ishabl
eg oods;me an
so ftr
anspo r
tat
ionwe r
emo s
tl
yh eadcarri
age;
mean sofe xc
h a
n gewe remo st
lyb ybarter
.Ho wever,ther
ee xis
ted
lo
ngd ist
ancetradewh ichrequi
re sseri
ouso r
gan i
zati
oninte r
mso f
tr
ansport
ati
on,c ommo di
tie
s,skil
lg ui
des,etc.Examp l
eso fthelong
di
stancetradeincludethetrans-
S ahar
ant r
ade,trans-
Atla
n t
ictrade
,
kol
an uttr
adee t
c .
I
nt hep ost-c
olonialperio
d,t h
en atur
eo ftradec hanged uet o
devel
opme nt
sinmo net
a r
ysystem, t
ranspor
tati
ona swe l
lasp o
lit
ic
al
devel
opme nt
st hathavetod owithb i
lat
eral
ism.Pr e
sentl
y,tr
adec an
bec lassi
fi
edi n t
od o
me sti
ca n di nt
ernati
onal.Th e me anso f
tr
ansport
ati
onh asd evel
opedtob emo reeff
ici
entu si
ngships,t
rains
,
aerop l
anes,lor
ries,carsetc.Globali
zat
ionh ast r
ansfor
me dtrade

91
 J
.P.Dada

maki
ngi tl
esssappi
ng.E-
payme
ntande -
shopp
ingma kest
radi
ng
ea
sie
r.Peop
leorde
rthei
rgoo
dsthr
oug
htheonli
neplat
for
msallo
ver
t
hewo r
ldandre
cei
vethei
rpr
oduc
tswi
tho
uttra
vell
in
g.

7. Ne gat
iveAttit
udesa ndCo nduct
Then egat
ivea tti
tudesa ndc onducto fs ome Ni g
eri
ansh ave
conti
nuedt oposeas eri
ousp ro
blemt oth enatio
n’sma rc
htowards
in
d ust
ri
a landtechnologi
calde vel
opme nt
.Th ecoun t
ryisnowfaced
withthep rob
lemso fc ul
ti
sm,d ruga buse,examinati
onma lp
ract
ice
,
arme dro b
bery,se x
ua llaxit
y,a r
sona nds oo n.S omeo fthese
Nigeri
answi thn egati
vea tti
tudea ndc on duct
ss ometi
med onot
und e
rst
a ndthei mpa c
to fthe i
rbe h
av i
ouro nt hemsel
vesa ndthe
societ
ying e
neral.Needlesstosay,ma nyofthema rebeinggr
aduall
y
takeno verbymy st
eriousd i
seaseswh icha red i
ff
icul
ttoc ur
e.In
parti
cul
ar,ma j
orit
yo ftheNigeri
any outhsh avefoundthemsel
vesin
helpl
esss t
ate,asare s
u l
tofan xi
ety,
wo rr
y, f
ear,i
nordi
nateambit
io
n,
addict
iontodruga ndlustforfashi
ona ndq ui
ckwe alt
h.

ManyNi g
eri
any outhhaver ui
nedt hei
rli
ve sbytaki
ngt opar
ty,
ob
scene mo vies
,u ndesi
rabl
en ovel
s,a rmedrobbery,sexual
i
mmo ral
it
y,parti
ci
pat
ingins ecr
etc ul
tsa nds oon. Theyh a
ve
de
v i
ate
dfromt heori
gi
nalplanofGod,wh i
chistoser
veh i
ma l
one,
andnotothe
rh umanbei
ng.Itshou
ldbeb or
neinmindthatt
rut
hwill
al
waystri
ump hoverf
als
ehood,asli
ghtwil
loverc
omedarknes
s.

Br
iber
ya ndc or
rupti
o naretwod eadl
ywo r
dsthathav edi
sturb
edthe
co
nscienc
eo fma nyNi geri
anp a
tri
ots
.Br i
ber
ya ndc orr
upti
ontake
pl
aceinthep roc
e ssofo bt
ain
ingalegi
timateoff
ic
ialserv
iceorri
ght.
ManyNigeriansh a
v eb e
enma detogivebri
bealongthelinebeca
use
ad el
i
b e
rateo bstacl
eh asbeenp l
acedo nthep atho fremderi
ng
nor
ma lser
v i
ceo rri
gh twit
houtdela
y.Indeed,b
oththed emandfora
br
ibeandt heo f
fero fab ri
beareregarde
da sc o
rruptpract
ic
es.As
Ol
adumi( 1991:67)rightl
yobserv
es,“itisthejoi
ntr es
ponsi
bil
it
yof
al
lcit
izenstof i
ghtth eseevi
lelements
”.Brib
eryan dcorr
upti
ona r
e
worke
rsa ndstudents’enemies.

92
Re
adi
ngsi
nGe
ner
alS
tudi
es

Wemu stther
eforefightcorr
upti
ona ndb ri
ber
yf r
oma l
lfro
n t
s.We
mustref
usetog i
veo rdema ndforbrib
e.TheF ede
ralGo
vernmentis
cur
rent
lyfig
hti
n gc orr
upti
ont hrou
g ht heEconomica ndF i
nance
Cr
imesCo mmissio
n( EFCC).Wemu stjoi
nh and
swi t
hEFCCt ofi
ght
co
rrupt
io
na ndb r
ibe
ry.Iti
simp or
tantreal
iz
et h
atthemaincausesof
br
ibe
ryandcorrupt
ionincl
ud e
-
a)Gove r
nme ntof
fici
alBure
a ucr
acy
b)Un d
ueI nf
luence
c
)Un n
e ces
sa r
ydelay
d)Falsestyl
eo fl
ivi
ng
e)Arti
fici
alscarc
it
y.

Nig
eri
ansmustther
efo
retrytoavoi
dthea bovel
ist
edc a
usesof
br
iber
yandcor
rup
ti
on.Stud
ent
s,L
ectur
ers,Pol
i
ce,Sol
di
ers
,Fri
end
s,
fa
mili
eset
c.s
houl
dcooper
atet
otac
kleth
es eug
lyel
ement
s.

So
meNi ger
iansareme mbersofsecre
tcult
s.GeneralYakubuGowon,
oneti
meNi geri
a’sHe adofS ta
te,ono n
eo ccasi
onr emarkedthat
cul
ti
smino urtert
iar
yinsti
tuti
onsisathreattopea c
ea ndnati
onal
se
curi
ty(Gowon,1998).Inourdail
yn e
wsp a
pers,wef r
equent
lyread
abo
uttheme n a
ceo fcultme mbersinourtert
iaryinst
it
uti
ons.For
exa
mp l
e,theGuardi
anNe wspaperofMay21 ,1
997, r
eport
edthatthe
po
li
ced i
scove
redCultinsi
gniaattheUni
versi
tyofLagosh a
ll
s.There
ar
es ev
eralst
o r
iesofCultme mberski
ll
ingthosewh ostoo
dint h
eir
wayinNiger
iantert
iar
yinst
itut
ions
.

Wes houl
dbea wa r
ethatcul
ti
smcand es
tro
yo ne’
scaree
ra n
dc an
al
soruinone’
slif
e.Notonl
ythat
,cu
lti
smcanb eastumbl
ingbl
ockto
Ni
geria
’squestfo
rpeaceandpro
sper
it
y.Besi
des,
theide
ao fasecr
et
cul
tisfal
seh
oo dandsent
iment
.

Anot
herar
eath a
tc a
ll
sforouratt
ent
ionisourmo d
eo fdre
ssi
ng.
Ther
eisnod o
u b
tthatthe
reisamo r
albankr
upt
cyinNiger
iaasa
re
sultofc ul
turalimper
ial
is
m.To day,ma ny Ni
geri
ansh a
ve
aban
done
dt hei
rtradi
ti
onalwaysofdres
sin
g.Inst
ead,the
yh a
ve

93
 J
.P.Dada

a
dopt
edwest
ernst
yl
eo fdr
essi
ng.Man
yNige
ria
nswa ntt
odr
essl
ike
t
heAmeri
cans
,i.
e.i
nJ eanspatc
hedupal
lover.So
mee ve
nd r
ess
h
alfn
ake
d.Ingen
eral
,t
h e
yp r
ete
ndtobe‘
west
erni
zed’
.

I
tisthisn e
gat
ivedress
ingthatent
icessomef r
audulentyoungst
ers
todevel
opthetast
eforsexando t
herformsofimmo r
ali
ty.Thedress
cod
ewh i
chiscur
rent
lybei
nge nf
orc
edino ureducat
ionali
nsti
tuti
ons
shoul
db es upp
orte
d.F or,a l
lr e
li
gions,e s
peci
all
yI slam a nd
Chr
isti
ani
ty,enc
ouragedecentdres
sing.Iti
se venconsid
eredas in
bef
o r
eGo df o
ro net oe xpos
ea nyp ar
to fo ne
’sb odyth atis
con
s i
deredsac
red.Wen ee
dtok nowthed ang
ersinher
entinwe st
ern
cul
turalimper
ial
ism whicht hr
eat
enst hee xis
tenceo fNig e
ria
’s
nat
ionalcul
tur
eandc oun
tersuch.

Sexuall
axi
tyisa ls
oh a
rmfultoth
emo ralwellbe
ingofanynati
on.
Besid
es,thep e o
plewh oaree ng
agedini l
legi
ti
matea ndreckl
ess
sexualact
ss tandtheris
ko fbei
ngaffe
ctedb yal
lkind
so fdis
eases
sucha sHIV/AIDS,Syphi
li
se t
c.I
na ddi
ti
ont othi
s,nobodywantsto
ma r
ryah arl
ot.Aboveall
,theAlmigh
tyGo ddespi
sesfor
nica
tio
na nd
sexualimmo rali
ty.Wemus tthere
forer e
sistthetemp t
ati
ono f
i
lle
g i
ti
matesex ualac
ts.

Poli
ti
calthuggerya ndg an
gster
ism a r
eb ecomingaf ashi
oni n
Niger
ianpoli
ti
cs.Th eNigeri
anp o
li
tici
ansrecr
uit
,trai
na ndarmo ur
te
e mingyoutha ndusea sthugsintheirpol
it
icalcampai
gns.Inthe
2003F eder
ale l
ecti
ons,forins
tance,thugswereu s
edtointi
midate
pol
iti
calop
po ne
n t
s,intheproces
so fwhichma n
yl i
veswerelos
t.But
thosewh os ur
v i
veda ren owt ur
n i
nga roundt oint
imida
tet hei
r
fo
rme rmasters,i.
e.thosetheyassist
edd ur
ingthe2003e lec
tio
ns.
Thugswh oh aveb e
e ntr
a i
nedinth eartofusingmo der
nwe apons
arenowus i
n gthewe aponsatthei
rd is
posalnegati
vel
y.Toputitin
anotherway,theyhaveb eco
mea rme drobbe
rsono urhig
hwa y
sa nd
vi
ll
a g
es,to
wn sa ndci
tie
s.

I
nanothe
rvei
n,exa
min
ati
onmalp
rac
ti
ceha
sbecomeend
emi
cinour
nat
io
n’si
nst
it
uti
ons
.Manyst
ude
ntshav
eper
fec
tedwa
ysofc
heat
ing

94
Re
adi
ngsi
nGe
ner
alS
tudi
es

i
ne xa
minati
ons.Somes tudentsnowusemo der
ntechnol
ogyli
kethe
GSMh and
sets,
c a
lcula
tor
se tc.toch
eati
ne xamina
tio
ns.Thismakes
th
eg over
nme ntata l
lle v
elst ocomeo utwithvari
ouslawsa nd
pena
lti
estoc urbe xa
min at
ionma l
prac
ti
ce.Student
ss houl
dk n
ow
th
atcheati
ngine x
a mina
t i
onsma ybead i
sgr
acetop ar
ents
,fr
iend
s,
re
lat
ionsande venthep ersonwh oisin
volv
e dinthee x
aminat
ion
malpr
acti
ce.

Ther
ea r
eva r
iouspenalt
ieswhic
ht heUn i
ver
si
tyo fMaidug
urihas
sp
eltoutforex a
minati
ono f
fen
ders.Thep ena
lti
esd ep
endo nthe
nat
ureo ftheo f
fen
cee xaminat
ionc ommitt
ed.S ome ofthese
pe
nalt
iesar
e:-
a )Expulsi
onfro
mt heUniv
ersit
y
b )Repeati
ngforas e
ssi
on
c)Re peati
ngfortwoacademicsess
ions
d )Wa r
n i
ng
e )Carr
y i
ngoverthepap
erinwh i
chthecandid
atecheat
ed.

Ex
aminati
on malpr
act
iceisa v
eryb a
dh abi
tint hen a
tio
n’s
ed
ucati
onalsy
stem,whic
hmustb
ec o
nfr
ontedfromallf
ront
sa nd
ang
les
.Th i
sistheo n
lywaywecanregai
no urpas
tg l
oryi
nt he
ed
ucati
onals
ecto
r.

8. Re-Or i
entat
ionofourMo ralandNa t
ionalValues
Thep oli
cyo fn at
ionalethi
csp r
ovid
edt hatc it
izenss houldb e
disc
ipl
ined,pa t
ri
oti
c,self
-re
li
a n
t,a ndtole
rant.Theymu sta l
sob e
abletos h owr e
spectford igni
tyo flaboura nds o
cialjusti
ce.
Niger
iansareb ythi
sp ol
ic
ye nj
oinedtoabidebythed emandso fth
eir
duti
esinorde rtoatt
ainthenati
on a
lgoalsando b
jecti
ves.Perhaps,
it
isthen ee
dt os tr
engthenthisstatepoli
cythatma deAl haj
iS heh
u
Shagari
,Nigeria
’sPresi
dentintheS eco
ndRe publi
ctoc omeo utwith
wh a
th ec a
lled“e thi
calrevoluti
on” .S i
mila
rly,Ma jo
rGe ne
ral
Muh amma dBu h a
ri’
sregi
mea l
sowa ged‘Wa rAg ai
nstIndi
scipl
ine’
.
Simil
arp ro
g ramme s we r
e i ntro
duced l at
erb y s ubsequent
governments,allofwh i
chwe r
ea imeda tbri
ngingabouts o
mef orm

95
 J
.P.Dada

o
fsa
nit
yan
ddi
sci
pl
in
etoo
urc
orr
upta
ndun
dis
cip
li
neds
oci
et
y.

However,la
c koft ol
erance,respectforelders,patr
ioti
sm,a ndsoci
al
jus
ti
cea resti
llprevale
n tinNigeri
a.Ev enthen ,
thereiss t
il
lroomfor
cor
rect
ingth i
sb eh av
iour.Wh atNi ge
riansn eedt od oist ochange
thei
ratti
tudes.Inp a
rti
c ul
ar,thef or
mul ate
rso fs t
a t
ep oli
ci
esa nd
i
mp l
eme nte
rss houldstarttheb a
ttl
eb yad her
ingstri
c t
lytowhatthey
putonpa pe
r.Inf act
,me mb ersoftheNa ti
o nalAssemb l
y( t
heSenate
andHous eofRe present
a t
ives)oughttob eobjecti
vea ndfir
mi nthei
r
pol
icyf
ormul ati
ons.ThePr esidencyanda llagencie
sa ndparas
tat
als
underits h oul
dh aveah u manf acea ndb ep at
rio
ti
ci nt he
i
mp l
eme nta
tionso fnati
o n
a l
p ol
ici
esa ndprogramme s.Thejudici
ary
,
asama t
tero furgency,ber eorga
n i
zeda ndme mbe r
sr e-
ori
entedin
theareaso fh uma ndignit
ya ndf eel
ings.Abo veall,everyNiger
ian
mustwa keu pa nda nswe rthec allforpa t
ri
o t
is
ma ndn ati
onali
sm.
Weh avetoa ccepttheslogan,
“Ni
geri
aiso urcoun t
rya ndwemu stdoa llt
oma keitsurvi
ve”

Wemus tbes e
ent ob efai
randj ustinourdeali
ngswithgover
nme n
t,
f
riends,l
eaders,r
e l
atives,
e n
emi es,nei
ghborsetc.I
nfact
,jus
tic
ea nd
f
a i
rp l
aya rethef und amentallawso fn at
ure.Thesearetheb i
rth
r
ightsofe v
erycit
izeni nNigeri
a,wh eth
errichorpoor,
blac
ko rwhit
e.
Whe nex e
rci
s i
ngpo we r
sasPr esidentofS t
u d
entUn i
onGovernment
orasPr esi
dentofth ecountry
, wemu s
ta l
l
owj ust
iceandfai
rplayto
r
e i
gns upreme.Th el asth o
peo ftheo ppr
essedisjusti
ce.Just
ice
mus tnotonlybese entob edone, i
tmus tbedone,asjus
ti
ced el
ayed
i
sj usti
ced enied.Th eref
ore,ify ouwa nts oci
aljust
ic
ed os oci
al
j
usticetoothers.

Ther
eisthen eedforallNige
rianstorespe
cto neanoth
erandt hose
ina ut
hori
ty
.Al lNi geri
anss houl
dr espec
tl aws o fthel and
,
in
sti
tut
ions
,organiza
tionsetc.I
ts h
ouldben ote
dt hatnoleadershi
p
canadmini
stersucces
s f
ull
yinac onfus
eda ndchaoti
csit
uati
on .And
noci
tiz
enwi l
lenjoyhisfre
edo mifgover
nme ntfai
l
stoe nf
orcel a
ws.
Besi
des,Nigeri
anss houldb ea ccount
abl
ef ort he
ira c
ti
onsa nd
in
act
ions.Leadersshouldadh er
etot hepri
ncipl
eso fsoc
ialjusti
ce

96
Re
adi
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nGe
ner
alS
tudi
es

andaccounta
bil
i
ty.F
oran at
io
nt oprosp
era n
db eeconomi
cal
l
y
vi
abl
e,i
tmus thavepa
tri
ot
ic,di
sci
pl
in
eda nddedi
cat
edci
ti
zens
.We
musttol
e r
ateoneanotherina l
larea
se s
pec
ial
lyou
rc ust
oms,
t
radi
ti
onsetc.

Nig
eri
a nsmustb eseentobeh ones
tanddedi
catedtothei
rduti
es.I
n
fa
ct,honest
yist hebestpoli
cy.Anyper
sonwithh one
styofpurpo
se
shal
ll a
st,tri
ump h,ands ucc
e edinallhi
se n
deavors
.A s oc
iet
y
cannotsurv
iveifit
scit
izen
sa redis
hon
e s
tinallthe
irdeal
ing
s.Loyal
ser
vicea ndh onestyrequir
es e
lf–sacri
fi
ce,s e
lfd
edic
ati
ona nd
di
scip
line.

9. Mo r
a lObl
igati
on sofCi ti
zens
Everyi ndividualh asar o l
et op l
ayi nas oci
ety.Wh et
here ach
me mb erg etsmo reo rlessth anh e/shec ontri
butesd ependsont he
wayt hes oc i
etyiso r
ganizeda n done’sp l
aceinit.Itisnotd i
ff
ic
ultto
poi
n toutt hemo ra
lo bli
gatio
n so fthec it
izen
st oth eg o
vernment.In
thed ayso fjendali
mei nEu ropea ndAf ri
ca,themo ralo b
lig
ati
onsa nd
duti
e soflo rdsandc hi
e f
swe rewe l
lkn owna nde nshri
n e
dintradit
io
n.
Witht hee me rgenceo fmo derns tate,vir
tual
lya l
lr i
ghtswh i
chwe re
t
h
prevalentinEur opeint he1 9 Ce nturywe relostando nlyobl
igat
ions
wereo bvi
o us.Th us,theg rad uala ndp ai
n f
uls tr
ugg l
ef orfr
eedom
wasc o ncentratedonid enti
fyi
n ga nde nume r
ati
n gther i
ghts,an
dn ot
themo r
a lo bl
igati
ons.Th ec umu l
ati
v eresultisth attodaycit
izens
arek eenlya wa r
eo fthei
rrightsa nda requicktoa ssertthem,butare
sadlyl ackingi nt hek no wledg eo fth e
iro wns i
deo fthes oci
al
contract
:
thei
rd uti
e sa scit
izens.

Theg ene
ralideaisthatpeopleha veduti
e s
.An devenforthosewho
arehighl
ye ducat
ed,thed uti
eso famo d
e r
nc i
ti
z e
nd onotg omu c
h
furt
herthanobeyi
ngt helawso ft
h eland.Tobef ai
r,t
hema inreaso
n
forthi
sstateofaffai
rsisprobabl
yt hatthed u
tiesofaciti
zena r
eso
obvi
ousa nds oc ommo na st ob et akenf o
rg rant
ed.Ye t,i
ti s
necessar
ytot r
yan dident
ifythem, be
ca usebei
n gconsc
iousofthem
willg
ivethemmu chg reat
ersigni
fican
c einourli
ves.

97
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9.1. TheDut yofPol it

icalPartici
pati
on
Somep hi
losophersb eli
eveth atthehighestdutyofac i
ti
zenisthatof
poli
ti
calparti
cipat
ion ,forthisiswh atwillpreservepoli
ti
calri
ghts
andk eepth esystemg oi
n g.Ifthec i
ti
zen srefusetop ar
ti
cip
ate,or
leaveeverythi
ngint heh and sofal aw,thent he
ya regivi
ngupt he
ir
rig
h t
s,anda l
sos l
owl ykil
li
ngt hes y
stem.F orins
tance,i
nd emocrac
y,
itisthedutyo fthec it
izenst oregis
terasv o
ters,andalsotocome
outa n
dv oteonElec t
ionDa y.
Furthe
rmo r
e ,
itistheirdutytos cr
utini
zeth epart
yma ni
fe
stoesand
progra
mme s,andalsot hepe r
sonali
tyofthec andidat
es.I
tisalso
thei
rd ut
ytomo n i
torthep erfor
ma nceofth ei
relecte
drepresent
ati
ves
anda ppl
ysa nct
ionswh eren ecessary
. Fai
l
u retodot hi
swil
lturnthe
systemintoajok e
. Po l
i
ticalpart
ici
pati
onc ang obeyondthi
sa nd
extendtoac t
ualforma ti
ono fparti
esa ndstandingforel
ecti
ons.
Clearl
y,t
herefor
e ,
th erightofp o
li
tic
al f
reedomg oeswiththedutyof
poli
ti
calparti
ci
pa t
ion.

9.2. Th eDut yofEc onomicProduct

ivi
ty
Everyc i
tizenhast h ed utytob ee co
no mical
lyp r
o duct
ivewi thi
n
his/herab i
l
it
y.Th ewe a l
tha ndp r
ospe
rit
ye n j
oyedb ya nyc ountr
y
depen d
so ntheprodu ct
ivi
tyofthepopul
ation
. Thi
swe al
thisalsothe
ma indeterminantofwh atthegover
nmen tcand ofo rthecit
izenry.
Yet,t h
et otalproducti
v i
tyo fthep op
ulati
oni sma deu po ft he
industr
ialcontr
ibuti
onso fc i
ti
zens.Nowi na nyc ountry
,therei sa
sizeabl
ep ropor
ti
o no ft hepopulat
ionthatisn otp roduct
ive.Th i
s
incl
ud e
st heveryy o
u ng,theold,t
heinf
irma ndth eu nemploy
ed .All
oft hem mu stea t
,c l
othea ndg etmedicalc ar
ea nds hel
ter
.Th e
burdenf ora l
lt heser estso nthes houlderso fth osewh oa r
e
producti
ve.Th e
ymus tp rovi
def o
rthems el
vesa ndf ortheo thers,
eit
h erdi
rectl
yori ndi
rectl
y.Th usi
tisthed ut
yo fallwh oa r
ewi thi
n
thep ro
ductiv
eb r
a ckettop r
oducetothema ximumo fthei
ra bi
li
ty.I
t
istheirdutytoma kethee ff
orttofi
ndso methingtod o,andn otto
becomeab urdenup ono ther
s.Someti
me stheyma yb ei d
lethrough
nof aul
to fthei
ro wn,butt heimport
antthingistoma keag enu i
ne
effor
ttob eprod
u ct
ive.

98
Re
adi
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ner
alS
tudi
es

9.3. TheDut ytoPayTax

InNigeri
atoda y
,taxesfo r
mo nl
yami nutep r
oporti
ono fgover
nme nt
revenue.Eve
nwi t
hi ndi
recttaxat
ionsucha simp or
ttari
ff
sa ndVAT,
thet otalamo untr eal
izedi ss ma l
lc omparedt ot hes caleo f
governmentex pendi
ture.Cert
a i
nl
y,thetotalcontri
but
iono ftaxesto
therevenueo fF ederal
,Statea ndLo c
alGo ver
n mentsisl e
sst ha
n
fiv
ep er
cent(5%).Th i
sisn otan or
ma lsi
tuati
on.Th i
sstateofaffai
rs
hasb eencre
a tedbyt helargeamo untofrevenuea ccr
uingfromt he
petro
leum sector
.Inan orma lsi
tuati
on,allormo stofg over
nme nt
revenuecome sfromt axes.I
nd e
ed,befor
et heoilboom, t
hiswa sthe
sit
uati
oni nNigeria.Ithas,theref
ore,alwaysbe encon s
ideredthat
thep aymento ftaxesiso n
eo ft hemo stimpo r
tantd ut
ieso fthe
cit
izens.Itisa ls
ot he ma inb aseo ft he
irf ree
do m a ndt he
just
if
icati
ono fthei
rr i
gh t
s.Ta xevadersa r
er egarde
da sp arasi
tes
wh oenjoybe
n efi
tsatthee xpenseofothers
,thesc o
ntri
butors.

4. Dut
9. i
esandResponsi
bi
li
ti
es
Thi
si n
v ol
vesal otofthings
,rangin
gf r
oml e
adingag oodand
exempl
a r
ylif
e,se
ndi
ngch i
ld
rentoschoo
ltopr
epar
ethemforser
vin
g
th
ec ount
ry,b e
ingh onestin wh at
evercapac
it
yp eopl
ef i
nd
th
ems e
lves,def
endi
ngthen at
io
n’sgoodnameinwo r
dsanddeeds.
Thesea r
en or
malduti
es,thedis
charg
eo fwhi
chdepend
so none’s
upbr
ing
ing,per
cept
io
nandc onsc
ienc
e.

5. S
9. undryDut i
es
Apar
tfr omt h es p
ecif
icduti
ese nume r
atedab ovea n
do t
h e
rst h a
t
haveno tbe e
nme nt
ionedduetol ac
ko fspace
,th er
ea reduti
e sth a
t
maya r
isef romt i
met oti
me, andother
sthataret oogeneraltod r
a w
spec
iala ttent
ion.Forinstance,itisthed utyo fcit
izenst og ive
evi
dencei nca s
eswh eretheyhaveinfor
ma t
ion.Iti
sa l
soama tterof
dut
ytoi nformt herel
evantauthor
it
ieswh e
nevero nebecome sa wa r
e
ofcr
imin alacti
viti
esorthea ct
ivi
ti
esofspiesands oon .Si
mi l
arly,i
t
isa d utyt oc o o
perat
ewi tha uthor
iti
esi nt hep r
e vent
iona nd
det
ecti
ono fcr
ime s,
andintheimp l
eme nt
ati
ono fnati
ona l
poli
cies. I
n
ti
meso fwa r,itisthed ut
yo fc i
ti
zenstoj oi
nt hefighti
ngf orces
wheneve rtheyarecall
edu p
o ntodos o
, a
nda l
sot ohelpthen ati
on al

99
 J
.P.Dada

p
rid
einal
lwayspos
sib
le.
Allt
hes
ear
esu
ndr
ydu
tie
swh
ichac
it
iz
en
h
asinhi
scoun
try
.

Thek nowl
e dgeoftherig
h tandduti
esofc i
ti
zensissoimp or
tantthat
itshouldb ema deac ompulsor
yp ar
to fallschoolcurr
iculu
ms .A
nati
o ninwh ic
ht heciti
zensa r
ei g
norantofthei
rr i
ghtsa n
dd ut
ies
cannotb ee xpec
tedtoma kemu c
hp rogre
ss.Th er
efor
e,ith ast o
become o n eo ft hei mp or
tantfunc t
io
nso fg overn
me nta nd
nongovernmen t
alorgani
za t
ion
stot r
yan demb ar
ko ne nl
igh
tenme nt
camp ai
gnsa i
me dated ucat
ingthepeopleonthei
rr i
ghtsandd uti
es.
Allt ooo ften,n on
-governmentalo r
g a
nizat
ion
sc oncent
rateo n
defendi
ngt hep eopl
e’
sr ight
s.Th i
sisn otb a
d,b utitisn otg oo
d
enou g
h.Th epeopl
es houl
da ls
ob emo b
ili
zedtope r
for
mt heirduti
es.
Indeed,i
tiswh ent heype r
for
mt hei
rd uti
eswe l
lthattheywi l
lfi
nd
thatthea uthor
it
iesarec ompell
edtore spe
cttheirri
ghts.Theh ig
h
levelofil
li
terac
ya ndigno r
anceinNigeri
ai sl
argelyresponsi
blefor
ourignora
n ceofourrightsandd ut
iesasc i
ti
zens.Thep r
esentd r
iv
e
forfor
ma landn on
-for
ma leducat
ionshould,t
heref
ore,cont
inuetobe
pursuedwithg r
eatvig
ors oastoa d
dressthesit
uation
.

Co
ll
ect
iv
ese
cur
it
y

9.
6. TheRe sponsibi
li
ti
esofGov ernment
Astheciti
zensa ree xpect
edt oc o nt
ri
butetot hed evel
opme ntof
th
eircoun
try,theg overn
me nti sa l
s oexpect
edt op erf
ormc ert
ain
obl
ig
ati
onstob et
tertheli
veso fthec i
tiz
ens.Sucho bl
i
g at
ionsin
clude:
a-Poli
ti
c alOb l
igat
ion:Th ati st hea bi
li
tyo fg ov
ernme ntto
promoteun it
ya ssigni
fi
e do nthemo tt
oo ftheNa t
ionanda s
contai
n e
di ntheNa ti
on’sCo atofArms.
b-Economi cOb l
igat
ion:Th ati sth eabil
i
tyo fg over
nme ntto
ensureth ewe l
fare,fr
ee doma ndhappinesso fthecit
izen
s,
incl
usivenessaswe llase q
ua loppor
tuni
ti
e sforal
l.
c-Socia
lOb ligat
ions:Th atist hep ro
mo t
iono fs o
cialjust
ic
e,
fre
edo m,eq ua
li
tya nds ecuri
tyo fli
vesandp roper
tiesofthe
cit
ize
n s.

1
00
Re
adi
ngsi
nGe
ner
alS
tudi
es

10. Niger
ianEnvir
on men t
alProbl
ems
Afri
cai s wi de
lys eena sa d ev
astat
edc o
nti
nentb e
c a
useo f
i
n appropr
iat
eus eoflandbyh umans.Thishascausedandiscausi
ng
ma nyp r
oblemsthewo r
stb e
ingd ese
rti
fi
cati
onthro
ughdefor
estat
ion,
soilerosi
onc o
ntaminat
iono fwatersource
se t
c.Humanb e
ingshave
cha n
gedt hee nvi
ronmen tonawi derscalemo r
et ha
na nyo the
r
speciesone ar
th.Liv
eso fin
h abi
tant
sth e
refo
rebecomeendangered.
Similar
ly,thee cosy
stemb ecomesd egradeda sar esu
lto fthe
activ
iti
eso fma n.Thesea cti
vi
tie
si nc
ludethed ep
let
io
no fn at
ural
i
n habi
tants,destr
ucti
ono ft heo z
onel aye
rsa ndsoi
ld egr
adati
on
amo ngo t
he ra ct
iv
iti
es wh ichc auseds eri
oust hr
eatt ot he
env i
ronment.

Forourdiscussi
ontob eme an
ingf
ulther
ei stheneedtod e
fi
ne
envi
ron
me ntandh owitca
nc ons
tit
uteaprobl
emt ohumanbei
ngs.
Whenwet a l
ko fenvi
ron
me ntwea r
er ef
err
ingtolan
d,wa t
er,
ani
ma l
s,pl
an t
s,airorat
mo s
phereando b
ject
swithi
nma n’
sli
vi
ng
sur
roundi
ngs(Bukar,
2001:
144).

Ol
eme fo
rda ndOb ab
i(2000)def
ineenvi
ronme ntas“t
het o
tali
tyof
th
ings,condit
ion
so rcir
cumsta
ncesthata f
fecttheexist
encea nd
deve
lopme ntofano r
gani
sm,andindi
vi
dual,orp o
pul
ati
ong r
oupo n
th
ee art
h’ssurf
ace.
”Envir
onment
,the
refo
re,isseenasthetota
li
tyof
al
lthes urr
ounding
s,inc
ludi
ngthemateri
ala ndnonmater
ialthi
ngs
whic
ha ff
ecttheexis
tenc
e,gr
owthanddevel
o pmentofali
vi
ngb ei
ng.

Envi
ron
me ntma yb e
come p r
oblemati
ct oh uma nb ei
ngsifn ot
pr
operl
yha ndl
ed.In1972,theUn i
tedNa t
io
nsd ec
lar
edt ha
t“apoint
hasb e
enr eachedi nhist
orywh enwemu sts ha
peo urn at
io
ns
th
roughouttheworldwit
hmo r
ep r
u de
ntc ar
eforoure n
vir
onmental
cons
equences”.Thedecl
arat
ionfurt
hersaysthat“t
hroughign
oranc
e
orindi
ff
erence,wec and oma ssiveandi r
rever
sib
leh ar
mt othe
ear
thl
yenv i
ronmentonwh i
chourlif
ea ndwellb
e i
ngdepend”.

I
nde
ed,o
ils
pil
l
agei
nNi
ger
iah
asn
owb
eco
meama
jorp
rob
lemt
o

1
01
 J
.P.Dada

t
hecoun t
ry.Ithascausedconsi
derabl
ed a
ma getol i
vesandprope
rty
i
nma nyp a r
tso fNigeri
a,Talki
nga bo
uto i
lp i
ll
a g
ei nNigeri
a,the
f
ormerMi niste
ro fPe t
rol
eum Re s
ources,AlhajiRil
wa n
uL ukma n
o
bservedthatwh il
eo i
lbusine
ssa c
tiv
it
iesha v
eg enerat
edimme nse
f
inanc
ialbenefi
tsforthecount
ry,t
heyhavea tthesamet i
mec r
eated
s
eri
oush ea l
tha nde nvir
onmentalprobl
emse speci
all
yint heo i
l
a
cti
vit
ya r
e asint heNi ger
-Del
ta”.Therei sn od oubtthatthis
s
it
u a
tio
nc allsforawe ll
-ar
ti
cula
tedpoli
cythate ncour
agesnati
onal
d
evelopmen to f Nigeri
an’sp etr
oleum re so
u r
ces wi t
h p r
oper
e
nvir
onme ntalc on
s i
derat
ion
s.Its houl
db eu nderst
oodt h
att he
f
ail
ureo ft he Nigeri
ang o
vernmentsa ndt hei nter
nati
onalo i
l
c
omp ani
est oevolv
eawe l
larti
cul
atedpol
icyhasc ont
inuedtores
ult
i
nh i
ghlevelenvir
onme nt
aloilp
oll
uti
on,devast
ationandd e
gradat
io
n.

Caremus tbetakeninhandl
ingpip
eli
nes
.Th eNi
geri
ancit
iz
enswho
ar
eus e
dt oo i
lb unke
rin
gs houl
ds t
opt h
isd e
vil
is
ha ct
.Ifth
ese
el
e ment
sc ont
inuetocarryoutthe
irnef
ari
ousacti
vi
ti
es,i
tcanal
so
causethemtheirl
ive
sa shappene
dinAkwa n
ainTarabast
atewher
e
oi
lb unk
erswe r
ee ngul
fedinthefi
redis
asterwhi
chb r
okeoutf
rom
th
eo il
pipel
i
n e
.

Apartf
ro moils
pill
age,theconsequenc
esofflo
odh azard
ss houl
dbe
ama tt
e rofser
iousconcerntoa l
lNiger
ians
.Indeed,f
looddisas
ter
s
i
nNi geriahaveb ecomemuc hmo resever
ea ndp rono
unced.The
Ma i
duguriandIl
o r
inflooddisas
tersof1983a nd197 6respe
cti
vel
y
areexamp l
esoffloodev e
ntsinthec o
untr
y.Flo
odd is
aster
sa r
en ot
pecul
iartoNige
riaalone.Recent
ly,
thewo r
ldwit
nessedtheTs un
ami
fl
ooddisast
erwh i
chledtolostofli
vesandproper
tyinSoma l
i
a,Indi
a,
In
d one
siae t
c.I
nMa i
d u
g ur
ifl
oodd is
aste
r,manyl i
vesa n
dp rop
ert
y
werelost.

Apartf
romh eav
yrainf
allwh i
chnormall
ycausesfl
oodd i
sast
ers
,the
abuseofwaterchannel
st hro
ughhuma nacti
vi
tie
sisama jo
rfact
or
th
a taccel
era
testhes ev e
rit
ya n
do c
curr
enceo ffloo
de v
entsin
Niger
ia(Fal
ade,1999:
11 5)
.Itisad v
isabl
eforusn ottob ui
ldour
housesonwaterchann
elso rdoany
thingtha
twillbl
ockthem.

1
02
Re
adi
ngsi
nGe
ner
alS
tudi
es

Ra
the
r,wes
houl
dal
l
owo
urwa
tert
ota
ket
hei
rna
tur
alc
aus
e.

Otherenvi
ronme nt
alproble
msc onfr
onti
ngNi ger
iaa r
ede sert
if
icat
ion,
soi
le ros
ion,wh i
rl
winda ndfi
red i
sasters.Deserti
fi
cati
o nismo r
e
pronouncedint heSah elreg
iono fNigeri
a.Clima t
ic
ally,theS ahel
regi
ono fNigeri
ah asal ongdryseasono faboutn i
nemo nthsfrom
Sept
e mberti
llMay.Itisgeneral
lybel
ievedthatthea nnualrai
n f
alli
s
decr
e as
ingov e
rthey earsandinf a
ct,shortofrainduringthey ear
s
hasc ausedd r
oughtint hisarea.Thisp r
oblemi scomp ound e
db y
exte
n si
veus eoffir
ewo odb ytherurala ndsomeu r
ba np o
pulati
on
thr
ou ghcutti
ngd owno ft r
ees.Th ec utt
ingd owno ftreesh a
s
res
ultedintodesert
ifi
cati
onn otonlyint h
eS ahelregiono fNigeri
a
butino th
erp art
so fthec ount
rya swe l
l.Wen eedtof ig
htd esert
encr
o ac
hme ntbyp l
antingmo retrees
,insteado fcutt
ingt hem.We
als
on eedwa te
r(sucha sbuil
di
ngc anal
s)tofi
ghtd eser
tif
icat
ion.

Relate
dt od eser
te n
c r
oachmen tisth eissueo fs oi
le ro
sionof
agri
cult
urallands
.Th isp r
obl
emi sdetri
me nt
altoa gr
icult
ureasit
coulddestr
oythen utr
ientofthetopsoi
l.Thisma yresul
tinv e
rylow
agri
cult
uralyi
elds.Th eNo rt
h- Easte
rnS ta
teso fNiger
iaa ndmost
partsofEaster
na ndS outh
-sout
hNi geri
ah averecorde
dav er
yh i
gh
ra
teo fs o
iler
osion.Extensi
vefarminga ndh i
ghintensi
tywindsare
th
ema incausesofs oi
lerosi
on.Itshouldben ot
e dthatsoi
lerosi
on
al
s oinf
luenc
esther at
eo fdese
rte nc
roachme nt
.
Yet,wh i
rl
winda ndf i
reo utb
reakc onsti
tutesserio
usp r
obl
emst o
Nigeri
a.Theincid
en tofwh i
rl
windi nNigeri
aismi ni
ma l.I
tisinthe
ar
e aoffir
eoutbre
akt hatNiger
iaisseri
ouslyaff
ected.Mo s
tstat
esin
Nigeri
aa r
epronetofiredis
aster
s .

F
iredisa
stersareramp antdur
ingthed r
ys ea
son,e s
peci
all
yduri
ng
hunt
ingexpedit
ions.Butf i
reoutbr
eakma yo cc
ura nyti
med ueto
c
arele
ssness.Wemu stthere
foreh a
nd l
efirewithut mostcare
.
I
nfl
amma bleproduct
ss h
ouldbek e
ptawa yfr
omf i
re.Candl
esshou
ld
b
ep rope
rlyplac
edi ncandlestan
dsb ef
oreli
ghti
ngt hem.Thi
sisto
av
o i
dthec andl
ef a
ll
ingdowno ntheg r
ound,the
rebyigni
ti
ngfi
reor
b
urninganythi
ngthatishi
ghlysusce
pti
bletofi
re.

1
03
 J
.P.Dada

Refer
e nc es
Bel
lo,S( 1989) .Cu l
ture,Eco nomyandNat io
nalDev elopment.L ag
os,
J oe–Ta lula.
Bukar,A. A.( 2006 ):Cit
izens hipEduc ationIssues,Trendsand
Prac t
ice.Owe rr
i,BarlosPu blisher
Ekeh,P. P. (
ed )( 1989) .Nig eriaSinceI nde p
endence :TheF i
rst25
Ye arsIbad a n
, Heineme n
Emovo n, E. U. ( 1989). Cu l
ture a n d En gi
n eering Re source
Ma na geme n ti nNi geria.Ke yno teAd dr
essa saS ymp os
ium
ma rkingt he7 5thBirt
h da yofPr of.Th urs
tanSh aw.
Fi
nanc i
a lTime s( 1981 .Ni
) ge ri
a:Twe nt yYearsofInde pendence.
Iba d
a n,S pe ct
rum.
Gowon ,Ya kub u.( 1998)A S peecha tt heCo nvoca t
ionCe remony,
Un iv
e r
sityo fIbada n.
James ,I(2003 ).Th eS et
tlerPhe no me no nintheMi ddleBe l
tandthe
Pro bl
emo fNat i
onalI nteg r
ation.J os ,
MidlandPr ess.
Obayemi ,A.( 1 991 )Cul t
urei nt heNi g eri
anEc ono my:S ome1 989
Pe rspecti
v es.In:Be llo,S .e t
.a l.( eds)Cult
ur e,Economyand
Nat i
onalDe velopme nt.L agos,Fre ema nProduc ti
ons.
Okwuri,J .
Z.( 2003 )
.Th ePa tchwo r
kt h atisNi g
eri
a :Imp l
icat
iona nd
Imp acto nCi ti
z e
nPa r
ticipati
ona ndAc countabili
ty.I
n:Og a,
S.A.
( ed)Ge ogr aphieso fCi ti
zenshipi n Nigeri
a.Zar i
a,Ta ma za
Pub l
ishingLt d .
Ol
a d
emiO. ( 1989) .AGo odWo rker:TheNat i
onBui l
der. Lag os,
Ci tiz
e nsBu reau.
Ukpabi,S .C( 1 989) .S trandsi nNi g eri
anMi li
taryHi s
tor
y.Zar i
a,
Ga s ki
yaCo rporati
o n
Uwaoma ,N. (
2001 ).Ci t
izens hipEduc ationinMo dernNi geri
a.
En ugu,Ba rloPu bli
she r.

1
04