By AROH ANTHONY Introduction: A Yoruba Christian Visionary AT the turn of the twentieth century, the interplay between Yoruba spiritual traditions and missionary Christianity created tension and opportunity. Rev. Emmanuel Moses Lijadu, clergyman, author, and social reformer, navigated this terrain with a vision that was both intellectual and pastoral. Unlike many contemporaries, he engaged Ifa—the Yoruba […]
Social Media Claim Under Scrutiny A viral Facebook video alleging that Igbo history was excluded from Living History for Junior Secondary Schools has triggered debate over representation in Nigeria’s educational materials. Yet the publisher and authors of the series insist the accusation is inaccurate and misleading. Accessible Publishers Ltd described the claim as “false and […]
Tradition, Conflict, and the Role of Ancestors IN the Urhobo cultural landscape of southern Nigeria, disputes between children and parents carry weight far beyond the immediate family. A unique aspect of this tradition addresses a scenario in which a child’s quarrel with a parent results in the parent falling down — whether intentionally or accidentally. […]
By AROH ANTHONY Sacred Authority in Transition: Ritual, Religion and the Politics of Ijaw Kingship A System Older Than the State TRADITIONAL Ijaw monarchy predates colonial administration and modern Nigerian statehood. Rooted in cosmological principles, it conceives kingship as spiritually mediated authority. Coronation rituals typically involve sacred oaths, ancestral invocations and shrine-based affirmations linking ruler to […]
By CHINEDU EBORAH From Quiet River Town to State Capital: Reconstructing the Old Asaba Origins and Identity LONG before it became the capital of Delta State in 1991, Asaba—originally known as Ahaba—was a modest but historically layered settlement on the eastern bank of the River Niger. The anglicized name “Asaba” emerged during colonial administration, but the […]
When River Knowledge Defied Imperial Power: The Ukwuani Trade Resistance of the Late 19th Century A Trading Network Before Colonial Rule IN the late nineteenth century, the riverine settlements of present-day Ukwuani and Ndokwa formed part of a sophisticated commercial corridor linking interior markets to the Atlantic coast. Communities such as Aboh, Abbi, and Utagba-Uno […]
By PAUL OWOGBOKONE MELI Education Infrastructure and Regional Imbalance DEBATE over development patterns in Delta State has resurfaced following renewed scrutiny of the geographical distribution of state and federal tertiary institutions. A significant concentration of higher institutions is located in Urhobo-speaking areas of the state, particularly in Delta Central. Among them are Delta State University in […]
Understanding Crime Beyond the Law CRIME is commonly defined as any act or omission that violates the laws of a society and is punishable by the state. But while the legal definition explains what crime is, it does not explain why it happens. For more than a century, scholars in sociology and criminology have developed […]
By FRANCIS RAPHEAL BIOBARAKUMA A Debate Beyond Social Media RENEWED arguments over the meaning and scope of the “Niger Delta” have resurfaced in public discourse, exposing longstanding misconceptions about geography, governance structures and separatist history in southern Nigeria. At the centre of the debate are three often conflated concepts: the Niger Delta as a geographical formation, […]
Ritual, Authority and the Politics of War IN the pre-colonial Benin Empire, war was not merely a tool of expansion; it was embedded in kingship, ritual authority and imperial governance. Historical accounts, particularly Jacob U. Egharevba’s Short History of Benin (1953), describe a political culture in which most Obas launched military campaigns within three years […]