Ancient Nigeria's Culture

Nigerian society changed significantly with the introduction of European values. Of those changes one of the greatest was the introduction of individualism, rather than the pride people had in the tribal system. The rise of individualism changes every society, but the Nigerian society was greatly affected and saw more Nigerian trying to leave to live in other countries with greater opportunities. One example of this would be Elvis in the short story Graceland, who wanted to move to America to pursue a career as an Elvis impersonator. This profession is an odd one, especially considering the Nigerian culture, but with the rise in individualism there is more in an emphasis on individual dreams in the society. This dream job helps to illuminate the cultural difference that began to occur once western values and ideas took prominence in the Nigerian culture changing the culture into more a European or American society with individualism being a cornerstone in the society.

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe tries to bring back up cultural, social, and spiritual basics of traditional Igbo (Ibo) existence from the year 1850 and 1900. The novel cannot be fixed like other societal and political old times of Ibo society since it is a fictional novel. However, the novel describes disagreements and anxiety that occurred in Igbo society. It also shows changes initiated by colonial ruling and Christianity. Colonialism affected the people in the Ibo society by destroying of their family’s relationships, friendships, their religion or even created fights between the tribes. Additionally, Christianity attracted the people of the Igbo society. Igbo and other societies were changed considerably due to this variety of

Throughout the ages, Africa has been populated by a diverse array of peoples, whose cultural, ethnic, and sociological differences have been shaped by the continents varied landscape ( ). Known for being the three magnificent trading territories in West Africa. Ghana, Mali, and Songhay were three very closely associated, but separate African civilizations that prospered and dominated West Africa for more than 300 years. Ancient Ghana was a rich and powerful empire. Despite the name Ancient Ghana is not related to the country we know today.

One example of the impact of Christianity on traditional religions is the state of Nigeria. In the state of Nigeria, its native religion is Yoruba. Islam is also the second largest religion that came to Nigeria from the middle east by trading between merchants. With the emergence of Christianity, Yoruba and Islam felt threatened by the number of people who were either forces or convinced in converting to Christianity. Leaders of these two religions did not stand still toward the issue.They put in a lot of efforts in order to stop Christianity from spreading across the country. However, These efforts seemed to be futile against the cooperation between colonial governments and missionaries, who used their superiority in military power to keep the rebellious African chiefs in their place. Christianity seemed to be used as a tool for the colonial government to show off their superiority of their own religious point of view compared to the traditional religion of native people. Christianity was not used for the sake of spreading religion like its earlier purpose before the colonial

Almost half the population are Christian (42.8%), Roman Catholic and Muslim are the two next large religion that practiced at around 25%. Celestial Church of Christ, Methodist, and Vodun are some of the other few religions practiced. There are 2 main linguistic groups which are Voltaic: Gulmacema, Ditammari, etc. Then there is Kwa group: Fonge, Yoruba, Gungbe, etc. but these groups are also subdivided in to sub-groups. When it comes to business and international matters French and English are the languages spoken. The biggest ethnic group in Benin is Fon which is 39% of the population. Yoruba at 17%, Adja at 15% are next biggest ethnic groups. The small groups will consist of Bariba, Fula, Ottamari, Yoa-Lokpa, and Dendi. Recognize what ethnic groups you will be in contact with on your destinations.

     Nigeria has been a country in political turmoil for a long time. The country was created in 1914 under British colonial rule and at that time it was considered a protectorate. It was not until 1960 that Nigeria received independence from the United Kingdom. One of Nigeria's problems politically is that it has over three hundred different ethnic groups. The three largest of these are the Hausa-Fulani, Igbo, and Yoruba. At the time of the independence of Nigeria it was split up into three states with each state being under the control of one of the major ethnic groups. The natural resources of the other 297 ethnic groups were exploited for the major three groups,

The Igbo people thought that cleanliness was very important. If they were clean, they were thought to have honor and they could "eat with kings" because of the cleaniness that they had.

The way my Nigerian culture is built is on respect. It may seem like a really simple thing to do. You give a person respect, and they should give the same respect back to you. Right? Well, in Nigeria, you have to show/give a lot towards another person to make them believe that you are an honorable person, as a lion that is honorable animal to the animal kingdom. It all depends on hospitality, your religion, and how you take care of yourself.

Another reason as to why Virtue Ethics doesn’t offer a successful approach to ethical decision making is because it relies too heavily on the character of individuals. For example Milgram’s experiment proved that normal citizens of society are nearly always likely to follow orders of an authority figure even when the lives of innocent people are at risk. The experiment showed that 65% of participants continued to electrocute fellow partakers up to 450 volts, just because they were told to. Virtue ethics is not act based and instead agent centred. In a given ethical decision the question asked would be ‘what kind of person should I aim to become’. Aristotle believed that when we are young ‘that is the time at which the character is being formed’.

Before we begin, let’s take a look at the country and its environs. Nigeria a former British Colony, located in the western part of Africa, it shares borders with Benin, Cameroun, and Niger. A growing population of 150million, labour force of 51million (70% Agriculture, 10% industry and 20% service), urbanisation is less than 40%, GDP is over $300billion, Per capita income is $2300. Nigeria is blessed with different cultures, languages and ethnic groups (252 in total); this was due to the colonization of the British in the early 19th century (Columbia Encyclopaedia). The British amalgamated its protectorates in 1914 to enable stable control and governance which made them create one Nation of Nigeria formed from all the groups, community and empires around the Niger area under their control. Nigeria had her independence on the 1st of October 1960 and since then various civil wars, political and religious unrest in the country to share power and resources amicably.

Chinua Achebe was born in Nigeria into a Christian household. He decided to write this book to expand the single story of Nigerians. This book was published a little prior to the Nigerian Independence which took place in 1958. Using setting, extensive details and devastating secondary characters’ influences Chinua Achebe’s book “Things Fall Apart” expresses to us that the colonization of Nigeria by European colonists was not a pretty thing that led to lots of heartbreak and the ruining of their culture.

There are many differences between each society in every country in the world. In Nigeria, the society is vibrant in diversity. With over 370 ethnic groups, there is sure to be differences and similarities between each group. The people of Nigeria are what make the country stand out from others. Nigerian people have a unique culture, symbolic customs, and eventful daily lives.

The following paragraphs in this section will seek to elaborate on the scores that make up Nigeria’s Cultural Dimension and to place these numbers in context. The definitions presented and the numbers given will be calculated based on the information presented in the Cultural Visualization table in Appendix C.

A culture defined is “the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group” according to Merriam-Webster (2017). What does this mean to the average individual? When surrounded by various cultures, as humans, we sometimes have tough decisions to make. You can develop new relationships, or avoid another due to one’s culture. The world is a very intriguing place because no matter where you go, no country, state or city will be exactly identical. Although this may be true, it is always interesting to compare countries to America to realize how different our culture compares to others. Nigeria (when compared to the United States) is a very different place which could be a vast ‘culture shock’ to someone who is not familiar with that specific culture or society. Nigeria is relatively small but has a population which surpasses Russia. This being said, in Nigeria the average age is only 17.9 years old, in contrast, the United States and Russia have an average age of 38 years old. Understanding culture awareness and its effect on the way humans live can make an individual very successful when they find themselves in a foreign environments.

Nigeria is part of the 16 countries in West Africa. Nigeria has different groups of ethnicity and has a population of about 186 million. Nigeria has over 250 ethnic groups. The ethnic groups have different belief and practices (VANGUARD,2017). The country is well known for its oil natural resources which provides most of their gross domestic product. The largest groups are the Hausa in the north, the Yoruba in the southwest and the Igbo (or Ibo) in the southeast, who account for around a fifth of the population each. The languages of these three groups can therefore be used in government. Other large groups include the Ijaw in the east and the Fulani in the north. Nigeria is divided into 36 states. In this essay I will discuss the cultural in the northern states, southern states and other cultural practices strongly encourage.