Black Magic and Bogeymen: Fear, Rumour and Popular Belief in the North of Ireland 1972-74 by Richard Jenkins. Cork: Cork University Press, 2014. 306 pp (2024)

A major aspect of historical reconstruction during and after independence in Africa was a conscious attempt by African scholars to study and write their history. This was designed to debunk the Euro-centric view that Africans had no history worth of study before their contact with Europe. In spite of the appropriateness of these efforts, most of them had concentrated on the popular mega-states and empires, with utter neglect of many of the other kingdoms. This is a major lacuna in African historiography. It is in that context that this article offers a modest attempt to fill the lacuna by discussing a crucial aspect of Owo kingdom's early history namely; the process of state formation and indigenous governance. Owo, which is adopted in this study as the unit of analysis for understanding the pre-colonial African reality of governance, social organization and self determination, is obviously one of the ancient kingdoms in Yorubaland, Southwestern Nigeria. As a largely descriptive and explanatory study, this work employed primary source archival materials and oral interviews, as well as secondary source materials from an existing body of knowledge such as books, long essays, conference papers and journal articles The study rests on the premise that any attempt to study African history will, necessarily entail the study of its different empires and kingdoms that were later colonized by the European Powers. This is the main purpose this paper sets out to achieve. Introduction The need to expand the frontiers of intellectual debate on the African past may be seen as no longer fascinating in view of the fact that a good number of African scholars had responded to the misleading views of European writers about Africa. This stance of 'non-necessity' may also be explained in the context of the evaporation of the excitement associated with the discovery of African history and the euphoria that greeted the emergence of new African nations from European colonization. More so, national governments across Africa no longer embark on generous endowment of research schemes as they did in the closing years of decolonization and the early decades of independence when they were still deeply interested in strengthening the African identity. However, this study departs from that track of thoughts and holds that there is the need to further the debate. This is hinged on a number of reasons. One, the focus of early generation of African history scholars was quite selective as they largely (if not entirely) emphasized on mega-states, leaving mini-kingdoms in the lurch of neglect. Two, there is the compelling need to attune the perception of younger generations of Africans to the historical realities of their continent by systematic discussion of the histories of the various kingdoms across Africa. This, it is hoped, will hone them to frontally confront what has been called " the perplexing problems of unstable polities and economies " (Alagoa, 1984, p. 19). It is in this context that the present study explores Owo kingdom as an African example of a history of remarkable state formation and indigenous governance in the pre-colonial period. The study is not really a confrontation with European ethno-centric writers, but it is meant to provide a platform of reminder from which younger Africans can draw inspiration and learn some methods of governance adaptable to modern times. Alagao (1984, p. 19) puts it better that " Confrontation with foreign enemies is no longer as urgent as confrontation with the problems of unity, development, and a sense of historical roots deep enough to overcome present difficulties and to build a confident future ". In order to draw a perspective on the topic within a practical framework, the discourse of this study is time-bound as it is located within the scope of pre-colonial period. Towards this end therefore, the study is split into four sections as follows. Section one is an overview that x-rays the European prejudice against Africa. Section two examines the peopling process, early history and state formation of Owo kingdom, while the third section unpacks the post-migration developments with focus on evolution of indigenous administration. Section four is the conclusion.

African Studies Review, 1975

Nte-Oswina was one powerful deity unknown to the Europeans during the processes of colonialism. A deity whose powers were used to resist British invasion of Ikwo, became prominent following the outbreak of the Nigerian-Biafran war of 1967-1970 about a century ago when the people used the oracle as an instrument of protection. Within this period however, and when the Nigerian soldiers conquered the old Ogaja province and detonated bomb at " Eke Igboji Market " , there were several Ikwo people who ran into the Nte-Oswina's forest for protection hence, there were heavy smokes that appeared and covered the forest and began to hypnotize the soldiers until they were driven away by bees. Against this background, this paper seeks to unveil the mystic powers of this deity with the aim of finding out whether the failure to document the activities of Nte-Oswina especially in the area of conflict resolution by Igbo historiographers like other powerful deities such as " Ibinukpabi " and " Igwekala " whose records dominated African history was a deliberate attempt or lack of interest from Igbo historians. Data for this study were collected from both primary and secondary methods while data collected were analyzed through the application of historical narration. Preliminary investigation revealed that the unpopularity of this powerful long " juju " wasn't deliberate but rather, lack of interest particularly from the Ikwo people who refused to provide information to early historian that sought to reconstruct the history of the preliterate people like the Ikwo society.

The Unacknowledged Ghosts of a Century of War: The Yoruba Wars and the Novels of Amos Tutuola During the nineteenth century, in the southwest of what is now Nigeria, the Yoruba peoples suffered nearly a hundred years of war. Many cities and countless villages were wiped out, thousands of civilians were killed, enslaved or perished of famine. The wars were ended abruptly by the British Empire, but they were never resolved, simply suppressed. Memory of the wars was also repressed by new nationalist movements, who created myths of timeless, unifying tradition, divorced from history. The sense of hostile fragmentation has not vanished, however: in Nigeria, since 1999, communal conflicts have claimed 13,500 lives. By reading Tutuola's texts against this history, we see how unspeakable trauma can be voiced, cried out worldwide—and yet, can go unheard. The history of the Yoruba Wars is, like the slave trade, a history which is difficult to look at directly: they are histories of guilt, of internecine violence, and histories which whisper threats of future conflict. Anthropologist Rosalind Shaw has demonstrated how these dangerous, traumatic histories are indirectly remembered through folklore and folk practice: predatory spirits, for example, which echo slave raiders. We find this kind of encoding elaborated and expanded upon in the novels of Amos Tutuola, novels which have almost universally been dismissed as fanciful. Read against the history of the Yoruba Wars, however, these novels are illuminated as dramatisations of trauma, riven by splits between self and other and haunted by violence. Against nationalist myths of unity, Tutuola's novels foreground division, multiplicity, interruptions and violent eruptions.

This article explores the meaning of the OZO title from a cultural perspective and examining it from within the indigenous culture in Igbo Land of Nigeria. Ozo titile is a status symbol in Igboland, taken by those who can afford it or who have relations or friends to sponsor them provided they are upright charater and Integrity and also are respected throughout the Community. The Nze na Ozo society (pronounced Nzeh nah Orzoh), is the highest and most important spiritual religious and social grouping in the Igbo society of Southeast Nigeria.[1][2] Initiation into the aristocratic Nze na Ozo society marks the person as nobility. To become Ozo implies that the title holder is now an 'Nze' implying living spirit and an ancestor.[3] One then becomes the moral conscience of the community and is seen to be a fair adjudicator in cases of disputes within the community.[4] In times of crisis, most Igbo communities will rely on Ozo members for leadership.[5] Generally, in most Igbo communities, only holders of Ichi title may become candidates for Ozo title.[6] Anthropologists [7] have seen cases of women with Ichi scarification, although only men are amongst the Ozo, a title which accords the individual extreme prestige, power, and influence in the community.

History in Africa, 2013

This article suggests that colonial African historiography was shaped both by the textual forms and conventions associated with local historical knowledge and by the complex political interests which emerged under colonial rule. Based on a case study of two linked debates in the small Yoruba town of Ode Remo, the article argues that beyond narratives, local historical knowledge was also contained, sometimes opaquely, in a variety of other genres and practices. During the colonial period, traditionally segmented and distributed forms of knowledge were brought together in civic debates to constitute a more general history. But while historical accounts could be inflected under political pressure or even to reflect widespread local ambitions, the enduring presence of historical knowledge in textual forms used in everyday life meant that there nonetheless remained an overall sense of what was true within the community.

SAPIENTIA GLOBAL JOURNAL OF ARTS, HUMANITIES AND DEVELOPMENT STUDIES, 2020

Ola Rotimi’s Kurunmi and Ovonramwen Nogbaisi are replete with palpable formidable pressures of incursive influences. The incursive elements represented in both Oyo and Benin Empires, as chronicled in these works have their overbearing socio-political, as well as economic influences on the people, thus exposing them to chaotic internal and external assaults and dislodging them from their customary modus vivendi or established way of life – socially, politically and economically. This paper examines these works on the background of these rather unprecedented incursions and critically analyzes their implications on the people’s established way of life.

Prithvi Academic Journal

The paper explores identity politics in the narratives of Ben Okri as they depict the Yoruba African myth. This study looks into the conditions of the culturally oppressed Africans in general and postcolonial Nigeria in particular that reframes the official version of colonial history. Myth offers reinterpretation and rethinking of the official colonial history in reclaiming the identity of the culturally excluded people with a variety of voices in response to the fictitious narrative. In line with this idea, I argue that the backdrop of postcolonial everyday life in Nigeria offers a chance to frame the topic of places more effectively. In order to comprehend and resolve the historical paradoxes and mysteries that are expressed in myth, magic and dreams, Thus, I analyze Okri’s book from the postcolonial perspective, considering sociopolitical and historical realities. In fact, Okri combines politics and the idea of history together, using his idea of an "inviolate" African...

Journal of Peace Studies and Development, 2015

The conceptual adoption of a hidden personality by Lagbaja, Nigeria's famous masked popular music artiste, to depict the facelessness of the common man represents artful diplomacy within African cultural milieu. Lagbaja relies on various resource materials including Yoruba folklore, oriki (descriptive poetry), owe (proverbs), afojuinuwo (imagination) and ohun to nlo (current affairs) in his satirical compositions. Through these elements, the artiste succeeds in making graphical representations of figures to facilitate transformative visualisation of the various political and socioeconomic occurrences in Nigeria without attracting any negative consequences on his person. This paper adopts Louise Meintjes' concept of music figure to analyse how Lagbaja deploys definitive narratives in negotiating his crusade for an egalitarian society. Specific attention is drawn to the nuance with which the artiste critiques the double burden state of Nigeria's polity as represented by her leaders' repressive actions on one hand, and corollary inactions of and consequences on the led on the other. The paper posits that the figuring of the dynamics of events that shape the day-today ordinary life of Nigerians facilitates its proper contextualisation in the reading and interpretation of Lagbaja's songs and drum texts.

The Journal of African History, 1976

Nancy Rut-ledge, KYalo Mativo. CONTRIBUTIONS UFAHAMU uriZZ accept contl'ibutions from anyone interested in Aft'ica and related subject areas. Contl'ibutions rrrzy include scholarly articles, political-economic analyses, commenta1'ies, film and book reviews and freelanoa prose, art work and poetry. Manuscl'ipts rrr.ry be of any length, but those of 1 S-25 pages are preferred. (All manuscripts must be clearly typed, double-spaced originals urith footnotes gathered at the end. Contributors should endeavor to keep duplicate copies of all their manuscl'ipts.) The Editorial Board reserves the right to edit any manuscript to meet the objectives of the journal. Authors should send urith article a brief biographical note, indicating position, academic affiliation and recent publications , etc.

SYNOPSIS:Flurries of literature have established direct line of consanguinity between the Iwhnuruọhna nation, and the Bini-dynasty. Recent literatures yet suggest otherwise- claiming an equally high ancestry to the Igbo clan. An historical study of the Igbo group involved in the re-invention and desecration of the Iwhnuruọhna ancestry suggests however that such notions- as defeasible or repealable mecha-nisms- were born out of a desire to deliberately control the physical conglomeration of the Ikwerre nation, and strain the meritorious socio-economic and political hygiene of the masses. As proponents of the Iwhnuruọhna nationality seek to firmly establish and assert their rights of territorial sovereignty within Nigeria and beyond, conflicting priorities continue to abound. In expounding on the con-ception of the Iwhnuruọhna nationality as a “sub-group” of the Igbo clan, two questions were established: What might be the motive behind the strong allegiance in the claim of lineal kinship of the Iwhnuruọhna people to the Igbo ancestry? And how might the Ikwerre ancestry be reinterpreted in order to be a useful starting point for asserting their distinctiveness and territorial sovereignty, specifically in relation to its ancestral ties? Drawing heavily upon empirical, anecdotal and practitioner-based knowledge, this paper explores a provocative but as of yet relatively studied facet of the Iwhnuruọhna genealogy, to unveil the concrete records of the cul-tural ingredients latent in the girth of history. The empirical and anecdotal evidence proposed is elicited from an historical analysis and cross-disciplinary interviews used to gather together the range of research data. It argues that the continued conception of the Iwhnuruọhna nationality as a “sub-group” of the Igbo clan is far-fetched, and that such claim only perpetuates the need for assump-tions and generalisations about the true ancestry of the Iwhnuruọhna people. It posits that the history of a political agenda begins with the assumption that kinship in blood is the sole possible ground of a people’s right to political functions, and rightly so citizens who consider themselves to be part of a group claim membership to be founded on common lineage solely for political reasons. It propos-es that perhaps Iwhnuruọhna’s pledge of allegiance to the Bini ancestry on the grounds of consanguinity rather than their Igbo com-peer places the Igbo people in a disadvantaged position, hence threatens their quest for material, human and natural resource control within the Niger-Delta. It thus concludes that the claim of ties with the Igbo group is more or less a puff piece couched to exclude the qualitative aspects of the Ikwerre history, hence a ploy to subject the people of Iwhnuruọhna to a point of unquestioning obedience to their authorities, in order to advance their political agenda.Keywords: Ancestry, Biafra, Bini-Dynasty, Culture, Neo-Colonialism, Ikwerre Dynasty, Igbo, Law, Politics

The colonial invaders and their repressive means of governance in Africa were not the only reasons that could be solely held accountable for the fall of indigenous African society during the colonial invasion. Native weaknesses, socio-cultural conflicts and hegemony were equally responsible for the falling apart of native social setups when confronted with colonial alternatives. Native people had had their own covert religious and cultural limitations long before the colonizers entered their soil. The colonial powers cleverly used such inherent societal flaws of African people as excuses to impose European religion and traditions on them. Chinua Achebe does not blindly idealize native African traditions in his writings. He frequently narrates his doubts on flawed socio-cultural practices and moral dualities in the native society, too. This paper is an attempt to explore how innate weaknesses of native Igbo people, socio-cultural conflicts and domination in the native society have al...

International Journal of Development and Management Review, 2019

African Journal of Criminology and Justice Studies, 2012

Yoruba Studies Review, 2000

The works of D.A. Ọbasá and Ṣóbọ̀ Aróbíodu, the two intelligensias ofYorùbá poetry, have been the focus of earlier scholarly works in Yorùbá, with little attention given to the comparative study of their poetry. therefore, this essay is a comparative analysis of the two poets’ poems with particular reference to issues relating to religion and colonialism. Our findings reveal that Ṣóbọ̀ Aróbíodu usually comments on issues in a direct manner while Ọbasá comments both directly and indirectly on religious and colonial issues. Also, Ṣóbọ̀ Aróbíodu’s comments on religion are basically to commend Christianity as introduced in Nigeria by the European missionaries, while Ọbasá’s poetry usually satirizes or lampoons Islamic and traditional religions. Generally, Ọbasá’s view is mainly on Yorùbá ideology while religion and colonialism are the primary foci of Ṣóbọ̀ Aróbíodu’s poetry. Therefore, there is no gainsaying that both poets advocate against religious autocracy. They both believe that colonialism is actually good, but they also argue that it also has a lot of disadvantages,which destroyed Yorùbá cultural heritage. Besides, both poets see colonialism as a movement that brings to the fore African modernization. The essay concludes that Ṣóbọ̀ and Ọbasá are both social poets in the areas of religion and colonialism.

""This festschrift in honor of Professor Ayodeji Olukoju, one of Nigeria’s brightest historians, brings together scholarship representative of the third wave of historical scholarship on Nigeria. Olukoju, a pioneering historian of Nigerian maritime history, also produced significant revisionist scholarship in the areas of economic, urban, and infrastructure history. The contributions in this volume epitomize the groundbreaking directions of his career; they are marked by a search for new explanations and venture into uncharted terrain in Nigerian history. Aside from its critical engagement of Olukoju’s impressive scholarship, this volume presents chapters on such underresearched aspects of Nigerian history as sexuality, children and youth, crime, memory, and HIV/AIDS. It offers historical explanations of a host of development challenges confronting Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, and resilient reinterpretations of the place of history in nation building. The contributors, pioneering experts in their various subfields, bring their research and teaching experience to the fore and deploy neglected data as they unfold topics that shed light on Nigeria, its peoples, and cultures. They show that history both as a daily practice and as an academic endeavor remains vital as Africans seek solutions to the continent’s critical development challenges.http://www.c-s-p.org/Flyers/The-Third-Wave-of-Historical-Scholarship-on-Nigeria--Essays-in-Honor-of-Ayodeji-Olukoju1-4438-3994-9.htm""