DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THREE PRECOLONIAL SYSTEM IN NIGERIA
INTRODUCTION
After the abolition of the slave trade, there was an expansion of trade in agricultural produce from Africa to Europe, particularly palm oil from the West African coastal areas. The coastal enclave of Lagos became a British colony in 1861, a center for expansion of British trade, missions, and political influence. Late 19th century and early 20th century Lagos was also a center for educated West African elites who were to play prominent roles in the development of Pan-Africanism as well as Nigerian nationalism. By the end of the 19th century, Britain began an aggressive military expansion in the region. A protectorate was declared over northern Nigeria in 1900. Despite the loss of sovereignty, the strong political and cultural traditions of these societies initially enabled many to accommodate nominal British rule with little change in their way of life. Nigeria came under the colonial rule of the British (United Kingdom) during the second half of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th century. The United Kingdom conquered the territory of present-day Nigeria, except for the section of former German-controlled Kamerun in several stages. The British dependencies of Northern and Southern Nigeria were merged into a single territory in 1914, and a legislative council, initially with limited African representation was created in 1922. Traditional native rulers, however, administered various territories under the supervision of the colonial authorities. In 1947, a federal system of government was established under a new Nigerian constitution introduced by the United Kingdom. This system was based on three regions: Eastern, Western and Northern. The idea was to reconcile the regional and religious tensions as well as accommodating the interest of diverse ethnic groups: mainly the Ibo (in the east), the Yoruba (in the west) and the Hausa and Fulani (in the north).
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THREE PRECOLONIAL SYSTEM IN NIGERIA
Hausa-Fulani clothes: This group was mostly in the north and the prominent language is Hausa. They practiced Islam, although Maguzawa, an animist religion, was also prominent in the area. They often had an emir or imam who was the main religious and political authority in the village. Because of this main authority, the British were able to rule using indirect rule. Essentially, they would have the emir rule for them. Because of this, the north had the least western influence of the three groups and even today the group is more Arab than Western in culture and traditions.
Traditional yoruba drummers: The Yoruba were found in the Western part of Nigeria and the prominent language was Yoruba, although there were several dialects. The were considered a very religious people. They believed in reincarnation, spirits, and the power of names. Each name is said to have special meaning and power over a person, and there was a very intricate naming ceremony. Like many African ethnic groups, the tribe as a community was extremely important concept in daily lives. They had a very intricate legal system called Yoruba Law, in which the family was the first level of government, then the clan or extended family, then the village chief, who was subject to the Oba. This system of government in which everyone is sort of held responsible by everyone else meant that the system of indirect rule would not have worked in Yorubaland.
Igbo women in traditional clothing: These are the eastern peoples and the focus in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart.They were very religious, and believed in spirits, multiple gods, and oracles. Reincarnation was widely accepted. Of the three groups, the Igbo were the most fragmented before colonization. The Igbo dialects were extremely different from each other from one town to the next, and political structures varied as well. They are the most village-oriented of the three groups, and were often ruled by a chief and/or council of elders. Because of the differences in language and political structure, the British really forced English and Western traditions on this group more than the others (to make it easier for themselves). This resulted in a lot of uprisings from the Igbo people, which were dealt with harshly. I thought it was interesting from the pictures I was looking through that I couldn’t distinguish the people from different groups by looking at their faces. Although the Hausa-Fula are considered more “Arab,” I thought they had the exact same facial structures as the Yoruba and Igbo- just an interesting anthropological observation. There is a lot of debate as to whether indirect rule or direct rule was “better.” I would be interested to hear all of your prospectives and opinions. Do you think the Hausa-Fulani benefitted by being “left alone,” in a way? Their culture was preserved more, but they ended up not getting the same educational advances, etc as the people in the south.
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