NIGERIAN PEOPLES, CULTURE AND CITIZENSHIP

By Makai N. Daniel
Department of History and Diplomatic Studies
Federal University Wukari
danmakai4u@gmail.com,
makai@fuwukari.edu.ng

The main objective of this paper is to provide the basic knowledge that students need to have
to know the nation, Nigeria, very well and their cultures in all material details and aspects.
The paper is also interested in making students to be very patriotic.

Definitions of concepts or conceptual clarifications

The name 'Nigeria' (meaning Niger Area, derived from “Niger” the name of the famous
River Niger) was first suggested by, Flora Shaw, a girlfriend of Lord Fredrick Lugard, the
former British Governor-general of the colony in 1914. Flora, later married Lugard.

Earlier before Flora suggested the name, Nigeria that was accepted by the British colonialist
two other names had been considered. These are: Goldesia and Negretia.

Goldesia came from the name of Sir William Tubman Goldie, the chairman of the Royal
Niger Company, which had been in control of the southern protectorate. Sir Goldie, refused
the offer, he did not like the country Nigeria to be named after him.

The British colonialists rejected the name Negretia because it was a corrupt Latin word. ( In
the Wilderness of Life: The Travails and Triumphs of His Royal Highness Oba David Victor
Folagbade Olateru-Olagbegi 111, The Olowo of Owo Kingdom, An Autobiography by David
Victor Folagbade Olateru-Olagbegi 111. (2013). Ibadan: University Press).

Nigeria is one of Africa’s largest and most populated countries. In fact it is the most
populated country in Africa. One out of every four black person in the world is a Nigerian.
Nigeria is situated in Western part (West Africa) of Africa, it covers 923,768 square
kilometers.

The area now regarded as Nigeria came into existence as a country in January 1 st, 1914.
This was the period when the northern and southern protectorates were amalgamated
Most of what is now known as Nigeria was given to Britain in the Berlin Conference of
1884–85.

The history of the peoples that made up the present Nigeria dates back thousands of years.
The earliest evidence of civilizations in Nigeria is traced to the Iwo-Eleru rock shelter located
near Akure in Ondo State. Inside this cave is a skeleton dated c. 9000 BCE in the Late Stone
Age.

To identify a single Nigerian culture is difficult. Nigeria is home to between 200 and 250
ethno-linguistic groups. There are more than 200 languages in the country.  

About one-third of Nigerians belong to minority (small) groups or minority ethnic groups,
which include the Tiv, Nupe, Igala, and Jukun in the Middle Belt and the Ijo (Ijaw), Itsekiri,
Urhobo, and Ibibio in the Niger Delta. 

The history of Nigeria between 1000 and 1800 was characterized by the rise and fall of
kingdoms as well as the expansion of long distance and international trade that involved
slaves (human cargo and material resources).

Nigeria played a major role in the transatlantic slave trade; seven of West Africa’s 13 major
slave depots were located in Nigeria. Roughly 51 percent of all African slaves traded across
the Atlantic were from the Nigeria.

Nigerians are very religious people. They are also believed to be the happiest people in the
world. The two major religions—Islam and Christianity—dominate; however, there are also
a sizable number of people in the country that still believe in the traditional religions. There
are also few Nigerians that belong to religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and other
eastern and new religions.

On October 1, 1960, Nigeria declared its independence from the United Kingdom after
decades of colonial rule (British Colonial Era: 1840s–1960). Nigeria became a democratic
nation recently in 1999. The military ruled the country from: 1966–1979; and from: 1983–
1998.  

Since 1991, Nigeria’s capital has been the centrally located city of Abuja; previously, the
Nigerian capitals were the cities of Lokoja, Calabar and Lagos

Culture refers to the cumulative deposit of knowledge, experience, beliefs, values, attitudes,
meanings, hierarchies, religion, notions of time, roles, spatial relations, concepts of the
universe, and material objects and possessions acquired by a group of people in the course of
generations through individual and group striving;
Culture in its broadest sense is cultivated behavior; that is the totality of a person's learned,
accumulated experience which is socially transmitted, or more briefly, behavior through
social learning;

A culture is a way of life of a group of people--the behaviors, beliefs, values, and symbols
that they accept, generally without thinking about them, and that are passed along by
communication and imitation from one generation to the next.

Culture consists of patterns, explicit (direct) and implicit (indirect), of and for behavior
acquired and transmitted by symbols, constituting the distinctive achievement of human
groups, including their embodiments in artifacts; the essential core of culture consists of
traditional ideas and especially their attached values; culture systems is considered as the
products of action that conditions and influences the actions of a group of people

Culture is the sum of total of learned behaviors of a group of people that are generally
considered to be the tradition of that people and are transmitted from generation to
generation.

Culture is a collective heritage that distinguishes the members of one group or category of
people from another

A citizen is a native/indigene or naturalized member of a state or nation or a country who

owes allegiance to its government and is entitled to its protection. The opposite of citizen are:
alien, foreigner and settler). The word citizenship is from the word, citizen (Toyin F. and
Ann G., 2014.)

Nigeria and Nigerians

Nigeria shares land borders with the Benin Republic (a francophone country, colonized by
France) in the west, the Republics of Chad (francophone) and Cameroon (colonized by
France and Britain) in the east, Niger Republic (francophone country) in the north, and
borders the Gulf of Guinea (an ocean) in the south.

The national symbols are the: Coat of Arms, national flag, National Anthem and Pledge.
 The Nigerian Coat of Arms

The coat of arms of Nigeria has a black shield with two white stripes that appear like the
letter Y. These represent the two main rivers flowing through Nigeria: the Benue River and
the Niger. The BLACK SHIELD represents Nigeria's good earth while the TWO HORSES
on each side represents dignity. The EAGLE represents strength, while the green and white
bands on the top of the shield represent the rich agricultural land of the inspiring country.
The YELLOW FLOWERS at the base are Costus Spectabilis, it stands for the beauty of
Nigeria. The slogan- Unity and Faith, Peace and Progress written at the base of the Coat of
Arm is Nigeria's motto.

The Nigerian Flag

The meaning of Nigerian flag
The national flag was designed in the year 1960 by Mr. Michael Taiwo Akinkunmi, who was
then a student in London.

The importance of national flag of Nigeria lies in the fact that each colour represents the rich
cultural heritage of the country.

The green colour represents the fertile land and agricultural diversity of the country while the
white stands for peace and unity.

Thus, the national flag of Nigeria and other symbols truly reflects the Nigerian nationalistic
fervor and sentiments. This explains why the flag is used for all important national
ceremonies.

Who is a Nigerian and how do you become a Nigerian (Citizenships)

Under the Nigerian 1999 constitution, one may be a citizen either by birth, registration or by
naturalization (see Section 25 - 32 of 1999 Constitution). 

A citizenship by birth in Nigeria a person who was born in Nigeria before or after
independence and whose parents or grandparents belonged to a community indigenous to
Nigeria or any person born outside Nigeria either of whose parents is a citizen of Nigeria .

Citizenship by Registration, the President may register any person as a citizen of Nigeria if
he is satisfied that such person is of good character; he has shown a clear intention to be
domiciled in Nigeria and has taken the Oath of Allegiance. Such persons are usually women
who are married to Nigerians or people born outside Nigeria who are of full age capacity and
either of whose grandparents are Nigerians.

Citizenship by Naturalization, any person may also apply to the President of Nigeria to be
granted a certificate of naturalization. However such person must satisfy some conditions
among which are that: he or she must be a person of full age and capacity; is a person of
good character; has resided in Nigeria for a period of fifteen (15) years (the 1999 Nigerian
constitution).

Rights of a Nigerian citizen:

Protection of life and properties;

Freedom of speech;
Freedom of movement to any part of the country;

To vote and to be voted (franchise);

To protest against injustice, etc

To be meaningfully engaged (to be employed and have means of livelihood), this is a natural
and moral right.

To associate with anyone in any part of the country

To reside in any part of the country

To be taken care of when you are old, physically challenged or you are sick

To be educated, etc

Duties of a citizen:

A citizen is expected to place the interest of the state before other interest.

A citizen must obey the laws of the state.

He or she must defend the state against internal and external enemies.

Must uphold the honour and dignity of the state.

Must respect the symbol of the state

Must pay tax and other legitimate dues

Must obey the laws and regulation of the country

Must obey and respect the legitimate leaders of the country

Must not take the law into his or her hand

Must always seek and use constitutional means of settling conflicts, etc

Citizenship rights violation; limitation of citizenship rights and how to fight for your
rights:

When citizens’ rights are violated by any government or a leader, the citizens are expected to
react by: protesting peacefully, by going to the law court to seek redress or by civil
disobedience.
Citizen rights can be curtailed or limited when there is: insecurity, emergency, or for the
common good of the majority when there is scarcity or other forms of hardship such as
natural disasters.

Nigerian Cultures

Comopponents of culture: language, the way we eat, marry, greet, burial, dance, speak,
religion, dress styles, foods, means of transport, etc. everything about our lives reflect our
culture.

Cultural differences: these are the marked dissimilarities between one’s culture or culture
that one is familiar with and others. Culture differences usually lead to culture shock.

Culture shock is the personal disorientation or psychological pains a person may feel when
he or she experience or come in contact with an unfamiliar way of life due to migration or a
visit to a new community or country.

Culture conflicts: occur when different cultures or value systems make individuals to clash
or fight. Culture supremacy is the major cause of culture conflicts. Respect for other people’s
culture is the major solution to culture conflicts.

Respect for others culture: the best ways to respect other’s culture is not to downgrade
them or abuse the people who are practicing or adhering to their culture. To negatively speak
against other peoples culture is part of disrespect of culture. Lack of respect for other’s
culture is one of the major causes of conflict in our communities.

Importance of culture: is the soul of a group of people. When the people lost their culture,
they have lost their identity and focus (culture extinction).

Introduction to Nigeria’s Governance system and Concepts

Traditional governance and leadership: this was the type of administrative system that was
in operation before the coming if the colonialists. In this type of governance system, chiefs,
kings, elders and family heads were the rulers.

Colonial government:  This refers to when Britain was the ruler of Nigeria and her people.
Colonailism is the system or policy by which a nation seeks to extend or retain its authority
over other peoples or territories.

Independence: Independence is the condition of a nation, country, or state in which its

people exercise self-government after freeing themselves from another nation or group of
people that was ruling them. Independence usually brings in sovereignty, the right to rule and
make laws for oneself. Nigeria gained independence from Britain in October 1, 1960 and
became a republic in 1963.
Republic: A nation becomes a republic when her people elect directly or indirectly those
who govern them among themselves. Nigeria became a republic in 1963 because that was
when Nigerians elected their rulers in an election.

Regions and regionalism :  Regionalism is the principle or system of dividing a city, state,
etc into separate administrative regions. While regions are large areas of land whose politics,
geography or culture is different from other areas. From 1963 to 1966 Nigeria practiced
regionalism. The country was divided into northern, western and eastern regions.

Parliamentary system of government: is a system of democratic governance of a state in

which the executive and the legislative are interconnected to an extent that some of the
legislators (law makers) are also members of the executive (ministers). In parliamentary
system of government the head of state (president) is different from the head of government
(prime minister). Nigeria practiced parliamentary system of government from 1960 to 1966.

Presidential system of government: is a type of government where the executive branch is

separate from the legislative branch. The executive branch in presidential system of
government is headed by the president who is also the head of the government. Nigeria
currently practiced presidential system of government.

Federalism:  is a system of government arrangement in which the power to govern

(sovereignty) is coinstitutionally divided between a central (national) government and other
constituents political unites such as states and local government. Nigeria is a federal state.

Con-federalism: Confederalism is a loose form of federalism. Confederalism is the type of

federalism in which the states and the local governments only delegate some powers and
rights to a central or national government while they retain their sovereignty. In
confederalism all powers are not shared. The states and local government keep most of the
powers of governance. Nigeria is not practicing this type of federalism.

Federal character principle: Federal Character Principle is the distribution of public posts

and socio-economic infrastructures among the various federating units of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria. The Federal Character Commission (FCC) is the agency responsible for
this principle.

Constitution and constitutionalism: Coinstitution contains the rules and regulations that
govern a country or an organization. Some coinstitutions are not in one document or they are
not written. Nigeria however has a written coinstitution that contains all the rules and
regulation that govern the people. Constitutionalism is the principle that the authority of
government is derived from and is limited by a body of fundamental laws that are in a
coinstitution.
Separation of governance powers (legislative, executive and judiciary): Separation of
powers, is division of the legislative (law making), executive (governance and
implementation of policies), and judicial (settlement of disputes in courts, etc) functions of
government among separate and independent bodies. Separation of power limits the
possibility of arbitrary excesses by government, because the sanction of all three branches is
required for the making, executing, and administering of laws. And each branch acts as a
check to the other. Separation of power as a principle operates in Nigeria.  

Challenges of the Nigerian Nation

Ethno-centricism and sectionalism (not tribalism): ethnocentrism is judging other

people’s culture solely by the values and standards of one's [own] culture. It is also the
believe that one’s [own] ethnic group or culture is superior to [the] others. Sectionalism is the
idea that anything or person from one’s [part] section of the country is superior or better than
others.

Corruption (including political corruption): Is dishonest or illegal behavior especially by

leaders of all categories, such as: local government chairman, ministers, legislators,
commissioners, traditional rulers, lecturers, governors, police officers, students, military
officers, religious leaders etc. Examination malpractice, “yahoo-yahoo”, “419”, and under-
age voting in election are also parts of corruption. In Nigeria, it is now safe to conclude that
every sector of government is corrupt. Virtually all managers of all the sectors are corrupt.
However, there are still few individuals in the country that are not corrupt in anyway.

Religious fundamentalism: the belief that one’s religion or interpretation of religious' tenets
must be accepted by others. This is also the belief that one’s religion is superior to others and
anyone that doesn’t do or believe like him/her is of the devil.

Poverty: poverty is a condition where people or a person cannot get or met the basic needs
(food, shelter, cloths, etc) of life. Someone is said to be poor if he/she is living on less than
$1.25 (N200) per day. About half of Nigerians are poor and this is a challenge.

Illiteracy: is the inability to read, write or compute in any language. Therefore, anybody
who can read, write and compute in Hausa, Igbo or Yoruba is not an illiterate. About half of
Nigerian are illiterates.

Love for violent methods of settling disputes (e. g the Nigerian Civil War 1967-70):
generally in Nigeria, people love to settle all types of disputes with violence.
Non-violence/violent means such as demonstration, adjudication (thru the courts), and strikes
are not very attractive. The Nigeria Civil War that consumed more than 3 million people
could have been settled without violence.
Colonial legacies: the protection and sustenance of the practices and institutions that were
left to us by the colonial invaders (masters).

Culture contempt: this is the disregard for anything or any person that love to uphold or
practice the Nigerian culture. This is also the unquestionable love for anything European or
American culture, goods or services.

Identity crisis (settler and indigene conflicts): crises b/w those that called themselves
indigenes and those they called “strangers” or “settlers” in the communities are major
problems to the development of the Nigerian nation.

Leadership failure: “The trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership
(bad leaders at all levels). There is nothing basically wrong with the Nigerian character.
There is nothing wrong with the Nigerian land or climate or water or air or anything else”
(Achebe, 1984)

Nation Building

Nationalism: for us to build, Nigeria, our great country, we must have [some] element of
nationalistic tendencies in us. Nationalism is a belief, creed or political ideology that involves
an individual to identify with, or becoming very attached to, one's nation.

Patriotism: is simply the love one has for his country. Patriotism propelled one to obey the
law of his country. It also enable one to sacrifice him/herself for his/her country. Patriotism
reduces corruption.

Respect for human life: for Nigeria to develop, Nigerians must have respect for life. Life is
sacred and therefore, it should be taken by anybody. Nation building involves the protection
of lives.

Good family upbringing/positive socialization: positive family upbringing and positive

socialization are what produce good leaders for countries.  Socialization refers to the lifelong
process of inheriting and disseminating good norms, customs, traditions and ideologies that
provide an individual with the skills and habits necessary for him to live and work in his or
her own society. Socialization is the means by which social and cultural continuity is
attained.

Development of the culture of documentation of history and protest against injustice of all
types and aadoption of true secularism must be embraced.
References

Toyin Falola and Matthew M. Heaton, A History Of Nigeria, Cambridge University Press,
2008.

Toyin Falola and Ann Genova A Historical Dictionary of Nigeria, The Scarecrow Press,
Inc. 2009.

Daniel Jordan Smith, A Culture of Corruption, Everyday Deception and popular Discontent
in Nigeria, Princeton University Press, 2007  

New World Encyclopedia, http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/nigeria,

sourced, 2nd November, 2014.

Max Siollun, Oil, Politics and Violence: Nigeria’s Military Coup Culture (1966–1976),
Algora Publishing, New York, 2000.

The 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria

The Wilderness of Life: The Travails and Triumphs of His Royal Highness Oba David Victor
Folagbade Olateru-Olagbegi 111, The Olowo of Owo Kingdom, An Autobiography by David
Victor Folagbade Olateru-Olagbegi 111. (2013). Ibadan: University Press

Roger Blench, The Dimensions of Ethnicity, Language and Culture In Nigeria, 2003,
www.rogerblench.info/.../Nigeria/.../Ethnicity%20Position%20Paper%20, sourced: 2 -11-14.

James, S. Coleman, Nigeria: Background to Nationalism, University of California Press,

1971.

Ozumba, G. O, Nigeria Government and Politics, Indiana University Press, 1997

Okwudiba Nnoli, Ethnic Politics in Nigeria, Fourth Dimension Publishers, 1978

Chinua Achebe, The Trouble with Nigeria, Heinemann African Writers Series, 1984.