In present-day Nigeria there are twelve states that have adopted or implemented sharia law. These laws have spawned death sentences for two women accused of adultery. The cases have received... Show moreIn present-day Nigeria there are twelve states that have adopted or implemented sharia law. These laws have spawned death sentences for two women accused of adultery. The cases have received international attention, including the boycott of the Miss World contest in Nigeria by pageant contestants upset by the sentences, and the November riots and killings surrounding the pageant's controversy. The Nigerian Federal Government has already intervened to help free the first woman on appeal and to promise to protect the second, and has denied that the pageant was to blame for the riots. However, thousands more northern Nigerian women are affected by sharia laws, which attempt to limit forms of transportation for women and control when and how they will marry. Show less
On no continent are there as many twins as in Africa, and in no other area of Africa does the rate of twin births come near to that of West African countries like Nigeria, Benin and Togo, where... Show moreOn no continent are there as many twins as in Africa, and in no other area of Africa does the rate of twin births come near to that of West African countries like Nigeria, Benin and Togo, where the rate of twin births is over 2.5 per 1000. This article examines the position of twins among the Kapsiki of Cameroon and Nigeria through a comparison of the differences in cultural constructs of a 'normal' (single) birth and a twin birth, and through an analysis of the symbols and rituals surrounding the various types of birth. It appears that among the Kapsiki birth rites for 'normal' births gradually incorporate the infant into the kin group, protecting the mother and the child against evil influences. Twin birth rites are quite different. Other symbolic objects and a specific discourse are used. Twins form a special society within Kapsigi villages, due to the danger they are believed to pose for their parents. The symbolic position of twins is related to male initiation. The author concludes that twins are symbolically positioned on the fringe of Kapsiki society. [ASC Leiden abstract] Show less
This article deals with the moral panic that emerged in the Netherlands when it became publicly known that under-age Nigerian girls were being smuggled into the country to be put to 'work' in the... Show moreThis article deals with the moral panic that emerged in the Netherlands when it became publicly known that under-age Nigerian girls were being smuggled into the country to be put to 'work' in the sex industry. A police investigation not only found hundreds of cases but also uncovered the fact that certain unknown and occult rituals played a part in how traffickers, 'madams' and other sex bosses appeared to keep the girls locked in this exploitative system. Soon an unspecified notion of 'voodoo' came to dominate the police operation, the public image of what was happening to these girls, and the way in which the girls were treated within the Dutch judicial system. The article deconstructs the moral panic and the images of Africa and the occult which became so crucial to the way the Dutch state tried to deal with the situation. It sets this analysis in the context of an anthropology of globalization and a cultural exploration of how issues of morality and identity are affected by "the occult economies of late capitalist relations". It concludes that to a great extent the scale of the moral panic can be understood by pointing at the rigidity of the identity politics of the Dutch nation State in previous years. Research was carried out in 1996-1998. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum. in English and French Show less
Until recently, the study of the influence and image of religion in the rich visual art of the Yoruba, the largest ethnic group of Nigeria, was limited to indigenous and Christian religious... Show moreUntil recently, the study of the influence and image of religion in the rich visual art of the Yoruba, the largest ethnic group of Nigeria, was limited to indigenous and Christian religious terrains. However, contacts with Islamic culture predated other non-local religions and are also manifest in the artistic panorama of this group, offering a paradoxical image of enrichment and iconoclasm. A Yoruba saying confirms the antiquated history of Islam in their culture: Show less
This working paper provides research findings emanating from the De-Agrarianisation and Rural Employment (DARE) Research Programme, coordinated by the African Studies Centre, Leiden. The aim of... Show moreThis working paper provides research findings emanating from the De-Agrarianisation and Rural Employment (DARE) Research Programme, coordinated by the African Studies Centre, Leiden. The aim of the Programme was to examine, from a multidisciplinary perspective, the changes in size and significance of the peasant population in sub-Saharan African countries and to draw attention to the new labour patterns and unfolding rural-urban relations now taking place. This paper focuses on Nigeria and chronicles the patterns of long-term diversification that are observable in the cocoa farming community of Alade in Idanre Local Government Area of Ondo State. After some historical background information on cocoa cultivation and government policies up to 1970, when Nigeria began to experience its oil boom, it looks at the impact of the oil boom of the 1970s and the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP), introduced in 1986, on cocoa farming before turning to the situation of household production and reproduction in the aftermath of SAP, and the internal dynamics of Alade households. Finally, it looks at the extent and trends of diversification of livelihood strategies within the farming community. The conclusion is that SAP has led to a revival of cocoa farming in Nigeria and that farming households have responded to new opportunities opened up to them by adjusting their use of household resources. However, the benefits of this revival have not been evenly spread. Show less
This working paper provides research findings emanating from the De-Agrarianisation and Rural Employment (DARE) Research Programme, coordinated by the African Studies Centre, Leiden. The aim of... Show moreThis working paper provides research findings emanating from the De-Agrarianisation and Rural Employment (DARE) Research Programme, coordinated by the African Studies Centre, Leiden. The aim of the Programme was to examine, from a multidisciplinary perspective, the changes in size and significance of the peasant population in sub-Saharan African countries and to draw attention to the new labour patterns and unfolding rural-urban relations now taking place. This paper focuses on Nigeria, and is based on research carried out in the village of Osumenyi in Nnewi South (Igboland), in southeastern Nigeria. It considers aspects of farm and nonfarm activities: the role and trend of farming activities and output, patterns of migration, incomes from nonfarm activities and other sources, the role of social networks, the role of infrastructure and community development, and linkages between nonfarm activities and agriculture. The conclusion is that nonfarm income far outweighs agricultural income. The Nigerian government, still under the impression that rural development is synonymous with agricultural development, should encourage areas with increasing land shortage, increasing populations and poor agricultural resources to diversify their incomes as a matter of priority. Show less
The Plaza cinema squats on the edge of the Old City of Kano, Nigeria. Outside women sell bean cakes, men hawk cassettes, cigarettes, and oranges. Buses stop and taxis unload, disgorging passengers... Show moreThe Plaza cinema squats on the edge of the Old City of Kano, Nigeria. Outside women sell bean cakes, men hawk cassettes, cigarettes, and oranges. Buses stop and taxis unload, disgorging passengers who hurry on to catch other buses, different taxis. 'Drop me at the Plaza.' 'Meet me at the El Dorado.' These quotidian directions are uttered by urbanites who have little interest in going to the cinema but who have internalized the fact that cinema theatres, along with mosques, the post office, banks, and other institutions of the post-colony, architecturally punctuate the city. Their built forms create an abstract skeletal structure around which the city's nervous system circulates. Show less
De auteur behandelt een aantal van de problemen waarmee Nigeria momenteel te kampen heeft. Hij gaat eerst in op het probleem van de regionale machtsverdeling. De noordelijke politieke elites, die... Show moreDe auteur behandelt een aantal van de problemen waarmee Nigeria momenteel te kampen heeft. Hij gaat eerst in op het probleem van de regionale machtsverdeling. De noordelijke politieke elites, die voortdurend met elkaar concurreren, kunnen alleen regeren door coalities te smeden die elites uit de gehele natie omvatten, waarbij ze zelf de algemene leiding houden. Vervolgens komt het probleem van de corruptie ter sprake. De indruk bestaat dat de Nigeriaanse samenleving de meest corrupte ter wereld is. Het politiek systeem van omkoping werkt echter in zekere zin redelijk doelmatig. Geen enkele president of militair leider heeft sinds de burgeroorlog van 1967-1970 kunnen regeren zonder de actieve samenwerking van een ingewikkeld bestel van lokale elites, die stuk voor stuk omgekocht moeten worden om hun rol als politieke bemiddelaar te verzekeren. Omkoperij is echter anderzijds uitermate ondoelmatig in termen van bestuur. Voorts bestaat het gevaar dat regionale aanspraken uitlopen op pogingen tot afscheiding. Tenslotte gaat de auteur nog in op de ongeldigverklaring, door de toen zittende president Babangida, van de uitslag van de verkiezingen van 1993, die een overwinning betekenden voor Moshood Abiola, en die een burgerlijk bewind hadden moeten opleveren. Show less
The Kapsiki of Cameroon and the Higi of Nigeria are two tribes from the Mandara hills area of central and western Africa. Though they form one coherent group of villages, they are usually... Show moreThe Kapsiki of Cameroon and the Higi of Nigeria are two tribes from the Mandara hills area of central and western Africa. Though they form one coherent group of villages, they are usually considered as two separate ethnic units. The author normally uses the term Kapsiki for both. Based on fieldwork in the village of Mogod‚ in 1972-1973 and follow-up visits in 1979 and 1984, he presents Kapsiki society, looking at territorial and kinship organization, religion, and marriage, and the way in which Kapsiki culture enhances the chances for survival of its members. The main theme - how marriage functions in a system with an exceptionally high divorce rate - serves to illustrate the fact that present-day Kapsiki life cannot be understood without reference to fighting and the Kapsiki warlike past Show less
