MONEY, POWER, AND IDENTITY The Indigenous Currencies That Powered Pre-Colonial Nigeria BEFORE political amalgamation, the regions that became Nigeria operated as distinct economic worlds, each with its own understanding of money, value, and trade. Currency was not merely a medium of exchange; it was a social institution tied to power, culture, and identity. The Yoruba, […]
The Cartography of Pronunciation The Politics Behind the Pen WHEN the British entered Nigeria, they encountered societies with complex phonetics and layered naming conventions. But empire operates by documentation. What it cannot spell, it reshapes. What it cannot pronounce, it renames. This process was especially visible in Nigeria, where tonal languages dominate meaning-making. Igbo: The […]
Ala: The Supreme Witness in Igbo Cosmology LONG before colonial administration formalised legal institutions in Nigeria, Ala (the earth deity) was central to governance, morality, and communal arbitration in Igbo societies. Unlike hierarchical kingdoms, many Igbo communities operated decentralised republican systems where spiritual cosmology and civic order were intertwined. Crimes were not just interpersonal offences […]
70% Control Was Not Just a Number — It Was a System THE Aro story is not simply about dominance, but systems innovation. Their 70% control over slave-trade routes came from: Riverway governance Market colonisation Political brokerage And spiritual enforcement. They built a commercial republic that required no king to rule, only routes to regulate. […]
By OBIOMA TORI 24–48 Hours That Define a Value Chain NIGERIA’S cassava economy is uniquely constrained by time. The crop must be processed within 24 to 48 hours after harvest, a factor that has exposed severe weaknesses in aggregation and supply coordination. According to Kabir Shagaya, Director of Strategy at Cavista Holdings, “Half […]
Cultural Power & Linguistic Diplomacy From the Margins to the Mainstream THE Oxford English Dictionary’s (OED) December 2025 update was not just another routine revision — it was a cultural declaration. Among the 500+ new entries added for 2026, over 22 originated from Nigeria and neighbouring West African countries. The update signals something deeper than […]
The Indigenous Question & Political Boundaries Not Migration, But Ancestry THE narrative that Igbo communities outside the five South-East states are products of modern migration has long shaped public discourse, census assumptions, political representation, and even resource allocation. Yet ethnolinguistic evidence, pre-colonial settlement patterns, and indigenous governance systems point to a different conclusion: several Igbo-speaking […]
Mythology Backed by Material Evidence A common critique of African historical narratives is their over-dependence on oral histories. Yet the Yoruba civilisation stands apart because its mythology aligns unusually with material confirmation. Ife’s cosmological status as the cradle of humanity is reinforced not by sentiment but by archaeological evidence of early urban planning, metallurgy, artistry, […]
Prelude to War: Politics, Fear and the Mass Exodus THE Biafra conflict remains one of Nigeria’s most contested political ruptures. Historical records show that after the 1966 counter-coup, over 1 million Easterners fled northern Nigeria, returning to a region ill-prepared for mass resettlement. Camps sprang up in school halls, church compounds, civic centres, and forest […]
The Institution Behind the Celebration MARRIAGE in Nigeria is more than a union between two individuals — it is a structured social institution influenced by history, power, economics, and belief systems. In the North and South East, marriage traditions evolved along different civilisational pathways, but both serve a similar social purpose: family legitimacy, community cohesion, […]