Nigeria has nearly 250 ethnic groups, mostly unintelligent, all of which have different cultures, traditions, and languages, making it difficult for much interaction amongst other groups. With a diverging society, it made it difficult for British representatives to have much interaction with the Nigerians. In addition, Nigeria’s lack of common history, unequal resource distribution, advocacy for regionalism over a strong central government, and geography of each group, all made it difficult for interaction with the British (Haughton Mifflin Harcourt 2017, 907). According to Knight, India has many political, ethnic, racial, and religious groups that cross each other, allowing the society to interact even through differences. For example, not all Indians speak the same language, share the same social class, or live in the same region, although having a connection through common ancestral history or traditions have helped unify the population together which helps the society interact with the British.
Nigeria’s economic prospects were what fueled the passion of most politicians from both the North and South of Nigeria. This meant that when Nigeria finally gained independence these politicians made sure that there was no room for outside interference with how the country’s economy was run. Therefore, to understand the reason for the economical difference between Northern and Southern Nigeria in the fifteen years following independence one would have to examine the financial decisions and events that set Nigeria’s economy on a path that was nothing short of disappointing by the end of
Things Fall Apart focuses on the early experience of colonialism as it occurred in Nigeria, around 1890, from the first days of contact with the British to widespread British administration. Towards the end of the nineteenth century most European states migrated to Africa and other parts of the world where they established colonies. Nigeria and other African nations received visitors who were on a colonising mission; they introduced their culture and religion that is and later imposed these on the Igbo. The culture of the people of Umuofia is immensely threatened by this
“But stories were already gaining ground that the white man had not only brought a religion but also a government.” (Achebe 155). In the novel, Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe the main character Okonkwo lives in Nigeria, Africa where a group of white missionaries come to convert the Nigerians to Christianity. The Christian Missionaries believed that their set of beliefs were superior to other beliefs and that they were the only ones who should be followed. They pushed their religion upon other people in the Nigerian tribes, and they successfully converted a few. The majority of the tribes didn’t believe in the missionaries beliefs or want to follow their ways.
The Early African Kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai were established sufficiently and later met their demise. The Early African Kingdoms were able to progress in economy and political structure by the actions of their leaders, location, religious influences, and geographical features. Religion influenced the African economy, political structure, and cultural practices. All Early African Kingdoms took advantage of the gold and salt trade and used it to hike in power. Sundiata Keita, Mansa Musa, Sunni Ali, and Askia the Great abetted their kingdoms, economy, and society.
Their music, language, dressing and beliefs defined and represented their Nigerian culture hence, showing evidence of Nigerians’ quest to reinforce and celebrate their local culture after colonialization. However, the use of the English language in the movie showed their continuous dependence on the Western culture even after
In 1967, the attempt of Biafra (Southeastern Brazil), separate yourself from the rest of Nigeria was received with violence and a civil war that lasted three years. Somewhere between one and two million people lost their lives, many were homeless, while others were left to die of hunger after the rest of the country, cutting the supply of food for the southeast region of Nigeria (Smith, 2005). During this period, many employees educated and intellectuals who dared to challenge the government fled the country for fear of persecution. "Today, it is estimated that the United States is home to approximately 10,000 "Exiled Nigerian Academics' " (Tettey, 2003:4). The discovery of oil in the Niger-Delta region of Nigeria in 1950 ushered in a new era of greater political instability.
This was done so that his ideals of masculinity and devotion to the village and its religious customs were seen as unwavering and devoted. When the British took control of Nigeria in the late nineteenth century they assumed that they brought “history”, enlightenment and advancement to people who had no valid social, political and religious customs of their own. Fanon observes that the imperialists only made history for the mother country instead of building one for Africa as in their eyes Africa was “blankness in the imagination, a land without narrative.” The problem also with writing Ibo
All recent existing civilisations are the fruit of early African civilisations. According to the “Out of Africa” hypothesis, all people alive today have inherited the same mitochondria from a woman who lived in Africa about 160,000 years ago. In addition, genetic footprints left behind by migrating peoples sixty thousand years ago shows that descendants of a small group of Africans have reached India, Asia and Australia through Djibouti’s Bab-al-Mandab. A Chinese DNA specialist, Jin Lin, with a group of scientists from the University of Texas was able to prove that the first inhabitants of China were indeed Black Africans who had migrated across Asia. Sheikh Anta Diop (a Senegalese historian, anthropologist, philosopher and politician) devoted his entire life to proving that Africa was the cradle of humanity.
Things Fall Apart is a novel set in pre-colonial Nigeria. The protagonist, Okonkwo, is a famous wrestling champion. He is wealthy, masculine and has obtained a high social ranking. He strives to maintain his reputation and fights anyone who opposes him. Okonkwo accidentally kills a man defending his reputation and is forced to leave his tribe.