CCJH Cape Coast Journal of Humanities University of Cape Coast, Ghana Volume 5, 2013 ii iii CCJH Cape Coast Journal of Humanities University of Cape Coast, Ghana ccjournalhumanities@gmail.com Volume 5, 2013 Articles Where are our ahemma? The Gradual Erosion of the Dual-sex Political Leadership among the Akan-speaking Breman Asikuma people of Ghana De-Valera N.Y.M. Botchway, University of Cape Coast, Ghana & Nyarkoah Kakra Gyamera, Ghana Institute of Languages, Ghana 1 Contrasting Fortunes: European Activities and Cultural Transformation in Benin and Warri, 1500 – 1750 David Aworawo, University of Lagos, Nigeria 13 South-South Neoliberalism and Economic Development: Realities and Challenges of Indo-Nigerian Economic Relations in Historical Perspective Sola Akinrinade, National Universities Commision, Abuja, Nigeria & Olukoya Ogen, Centre for West African Studies, University of Birmingham, United Kingdom 39 Government Policies and Business Development in Nigeria Up To 2000AD Michael M. Ogbeidi,University of Lagos, Nigeria 67 mailto:ccjournalhumanities@gmail.com iv A Comparative Analysis of the Use of Multi-Track Diplomacy in the Management of the Touareg and Casamance Conflicts, 1960 – 2007 Irene N. Osemeka, University of Lagos, Nigeria 85 A Comparative Study of Xiang Yu, Hannibal Baca and Shaka the Zulu's Strategic Thinking Zhe Zhang & Omon Merry Osiki, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, China. 109 Navigating Oral and Literary Strategies in Hope Eghagha’s Poetry Felicia Ohwovoriole, University of Lagos, Nigeria. 127 v Editor Managing Editor: Dr. Kwame Kwanteng Editorial Advisory Board 1. Professor P. E. Bondzi-Simpson, University of Cape Coast, Ghana 2. Professor Segun Ilesanmi, Wakefrost University, North Carolina, USA 3. Professor Irene Odotei, University of Ghana, Legon 4. Professor B. G. Der, University of Cape Coast, Ghana 5. Professor Olayemi Akinwumi, Nassarawa State University, Keffi, Nigeria Copyright © 2013, Department of History, University of Cape Coast, Ghana All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the Department of History, University of Cape Coast, Ghana. ISSN: 2026-6634 vi Editorial Policies and Guidelines for Contributors Cape Coast Journal of Humanities, a journal of the Department of History, University of Cape Coast, Ghana) is currently accepting manuscripts for publication, from scholars from various parts of the globe. The Journal is interested in original works, new insights and conceptual and empirical manuscripts that add to existing knowledge. Interested scholars and researchers in the fields of social sciences, arts, law, and education are to submit well-researched articles, book reviews, comments on articles, etc. CCJH is published once in a year. Manuscripts should be typed, double-spaced using Times New Roman font size 12. Citations should conform to the CMS, MLA or APA documentation styles. The language of presentation should be English. The prescribed limit is 7,500 words on A4 paper. Electronic submissions are to be made on Microsoft Word, with the file name clearly indicated. Each manuscript should be accompanied by an abstract of not more than 150 words. All works consulted should be listed serially at the end of each article under the headline REFERENCES. Notes commenting or explaining points made in the text should appear after the main text, not at the bottom of the page. Each article should be accompanied by a separate (cover) sheet indicating the title of the paper as well as the following information about the author: (i) Full name; (ii) institutional affiliation; and (iii) current status. For the purpose of blind peer-reviewing, the first page of each article should not bear the name(s) of the author(s). The editor expects precision in presentation. Prospective contributors should therefore avoid unnecessary flowery language; write in simple easy- to-comprehend style. All articles should be sent as e-mail attachment to: ccjheditor@gmail.com or ccjournalhumanities@gmail.com. All enquiries should be sent to ccjheditor@gmail.com mailto:ccjheditor@gmail.com mailto:ccjournalhumanities@gmail.com mailto:ccjheditor@gmail.com vii Editorial This volume of the Cape Coast Journal of Humanities contains a variety of well-researched papers. The papers selected for this volume cut across the sub-discipline of History, Literature and Diplomacy. The first essay by De-Valera Botchway and Nyarkoah Gyamera discusses the gradual erosion of the dual-sex political leadership among the Akan-speaking Breman Asikuma people of Ghana. In his paper, David Aworawo examines how European activities impacted on two West African settlements i.e. the Benin and the Warri Kingdoms between 1500 and 1750. In their submission, Sola Akinrinade and Olukoya Ogen traces the history of Indo-Nigerian economic relations emphasising on its implication for south –south cooperation. Michael Ogbeidi in his paper discusses the vexed issue of the role of government in business, while Irene Osemeka’s paper addresses the use of multi-track diplomacy in the management of conflicts in West Africa. Zhe Zhang and Omon Osiki in their article examines the strategic thinking pattern of three great leaders in Asia and Africa. The last paper in the volume written by Felicia Ohwovoriole discusses the oral and literary strategies in Hope Eghagha’s poetry. On the whole, all the papers makes an insightful and interesting reading. Dr. Kwame Kwanteng Univeristy of Cape Coast, Ghana Editor, Cape Coast Journal of Humanities 1 Where are our ahemma? The Gradual Erosion of the Dual-sex Political Leadership among the Akan-speaking Breman Asikuma people of Ghana De-Valera N.Y.M. Botchway, Department of History, University of Cape Coast, Ghana & Nyarkoah Kakra Gyamera, Ghana Institute of Languages, Ghana Abstract In all known human societies, there are mechanisms for ensuring the continued existence of order and stability and also the protection of societies’ boundaries from external attacks. In Africa, chieftaincy remained the swivel of many cultures across the continent though the history of that institution differs in the various regions. While certain offices within the traditional political system of Africa are appointive, the usual mode of acquiring an office is through descent. Thus, in patrilineal or matrilineal descent systems, individuals acquire offices through lines that are reckoned paternally or maternally respectively. Indigenous political offices in matrilineal societies, in Ghana, are by tradition occupied by both males and females concurrently. Societies that have institutionalized this dual-sex system of rulership do so in order to ensure that the society benefits from the political division of labour and the role of complementation that guarantee the proper functioning of the political realm. Interestingly, within the post- colonial era, while more is heard of whether or not male traditional political offices are occupied, the same cannot be said of female offices. This article, which draws on a qualitative analysis of historical and ethnographical data, is a historical exploration and ethnographical intellectualization of the gradual extinction of the female mouthpiece at the highest order of the traditional political office, within the social 2 milieu of the Breman Asikuma traditional society, which belongs to the Akan ethnic in Ghana. Introduction The people of the Breman Asikuma traditional area belong to the Akan ethnic of Ghana, which constitute about 49.1 percent of the Ghanaian population (GSS, 2001). The traditional area is part of the Asikuma- Odoben-Brakwa District with Asikuma as the District capital. The total population of the Asikuma-Odoben-Brakwa District is 89,395 (GSS, 2005). Farming has been and remains the principal economic activity of the people in the traditional area. Equally important, however is animal husbandry. They rear animals like cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, poultries and rabbits. The agricultural sector employs about 70.4 percent of the people within the District (GSS, 2005). Nearly three-quarters of the working population are self-employed with the population of male employees three times exceeding that of the females (GSS, 2005). There are about 7 percent private formal sector employment opportunities with less than 1 percent professional and technical employment opportunities (GSS, 2005). This state of the economy and employment continues to compel many individual, especially those who have achieved some appreciable level of training in the tradition of formal school education to migrate to the cities to look for adequate professional and technical employment opportunities and other economic prospects. The people of the area speak the Breman language, which is a mixture of Fante and Asante. The Breman Asikuma traditional area comprises fourteen divisional towns with Asikuma as its capital; Amoanda, Asantem, Ayipey, Benin, Jambra, Kuntanasi, Nwomaso, Ochisua, Baako, Fosuansa, Kokooso, Anhwiam, Abookua and Amanfopong. A Brief Examination of the Anatomy of Indigenous Political Institution of the Area Matrilineal decent forms the basis for all socio-political organisations in Breman Asikuma. Thus, individuals for political offices and citizen 3 are reckoned through the female line. Every individual belong to one of the six matrilineal clans; Asona, Twidan, Abrade, Agona, Kwaana and Jumena. However, individuals for political offices are chosen from the Asona clan; the royal clan. Thus, the usual mode for acquiring an indigenous political office is through descent. As a result, both male and female lineage members of the royal lineage can qualify to hold political offices. This is particularly the case in traditional political systems that make the constitutional provision for females to rule alongside males. These traditional political systems usually have both the male and female rulers at the top of the political hierarchy. According to Okonjo (1976) this type of political system, usually found in West Africa, which ensures that the interests and views of groups are represented by sex can be labelled as the “dual- sex” system. This is because the system creates a division of labour, which allows each sex to manage its own affairs thereby ensuring that the needs of both sexes are adequately attended to. The English term ‘queen mother’ often connotes the mother of a king or a chief and this has been erroneously used to refer to female co- rulers within the traditional political systems in Africa, and Ghana for that matter. Though the Akan are emphatic about motherhood and hence refer to the female co-ruler as ohemma, which is derived from the agglutination of ohene (Chief) and maame (mother) (Boaten 1992, 1996), she is not always the mother of the ohene. She is more often the real or classificatory mother, sister, or cousin of the ohene, but constitutionally, she is regarded as the mother, in the metaphorical sense, of the ohene (Rattray, 1923; Busia 1951; Aidoo, 1981). Both ohene and the ohemma are addressed as ‘nana’. The term ohemma is also used to refer to female leaders in most Akan markets. In this essay, the ohemma is described as a female selected from a royal family, based on customary procedures, to govern and hold authority with the omanhene (paramount chief of the state – oman means a traditional state or polity) and perform roles that complement those of an omanhene within a traditional area. This article is gives some knowledge on the factors militating against the “enstoolment” or appointment of an ohemma in the traditional area. 4 The omanhene and ohemma are usually the descendents of the first founder of the town or traditional area and its stool. They never assume their positions simultaneously and certainly cannot ever be married to each other since they are members of the same royal lineage (Stoeltje, 2003). Marriage between them would be considered as ‘mogyafra’ (incestuous). The Breman Asikuma traditional area has various ahenfo (sub-chiefs), abusua mpanyinfo (male heads of lineages) and the mmaa mpanyinfo (female heads of lineages) within the town and village communities that constitute the area. These officers, as leaders of those communities, serve their people. In Cohen’s (1977) view, the role of the female co-ruler, in political areas that have them, is an indication of a well-organized monarchical state. To him, the female co-ruler in Africa is one of the important among several others, of the means by which non-centralized polities took the first step towards centralized governance. Thus, her position does not only serve the interest of the sex she represents but it is also an important institution for the establishment of centralized political systems in Africa. The dual-sex political institution, in this view, contributes to the development of centralized states as well as serves as the symbol that unites the various communities within the state. The Current Condition of the ohemma Institution of the Breman Asikuma Traditional Area Succession to a throne, stool or skin1 has been the means through which vacancies in the traditional leadership systems are filled. 1 In the Akan society, the stool is a symbol of political power. Every ohene or ohemma has one or more stools, which he/she uses to identify and legitimate his/her rank. Stools therefore are august emblems of political, judicial and social leadership. A stool is the most important of the royal regalia. When a person becomes an ohene or ohemma he/she is “enstooled” in the office. Thus during the rule of the ohene or ohemma, he/she is said to “sit upon a stool.” When he/she dies, the Akan say “the stool has fallen”. For most of the ethnic groups in the northern part of Ghana, the symbol of political power and office is the skin (normally that of an animal, mostly a cow). 5 Vacancies come about as a result of the death of the previous incumbent, his or her removal from office or his or her incapacitation or abdication. The modes of succession among many ethnic groups may take into account, but are not limited to, age and seniority, personal attributes including appearance and comportment, leadership qualities, bravery, temperament and capacity to empathize with others (Busia, 1951). This is true for both societies that have only one person as a ruler and those that have two people ruling simultaneously. In the situation where one stool or the position of one ruler becomes vacant, in dual-sex political systems, the other ruler, male or female, must ensure that the stool is occupied. When the male stool of the Asante kingdom, for instance, became vacant in 1999 with the passing away of the then king, Otumfuo Opoku Ware II, the onus fell on the female ruler, Nana Afua Kobi Serwaa Ampem II and the elders to find a suitable person to take his place. The continuity of a particular institution is then questioned when a particular stool becomes vacant for a long time. The Breman Asikuma traditional area has been without an ohemma since the passing away of Nana Adwoa Adadzewa V in 1968. While this is so, on the other hand, the omanhene, Nana Amoakwa Boadu VII who passed away in 2007 was replaced by Nana Amoakwa Boadu VIII in 2009: that is in less than two years. The ohemma combines executive, legislative, judicial, military, economic and religious roles, which complements that of her male counterpart. Looking at the Breman Asikuma traditional area from the structural-functionalist perspective informs one that the functions that the ohemma performs for the necessary maintenance of the whole society are missing. Although it can be argued that due to the duplication of the roles of the ohene and ohemma at the lineage level by the abusua mpanyinfo and mmaa mpanyinfo, the ohene and ohemma represent these interests at the top of the political hierarchy. As a result, the absence of an ohemma creates an imbalance in the representation of the views and interest of the sex she represents and undermines the very rationale behind the institution of the dual-sex political system. 6 The traditional area has had five successive ahemma, (queenmothers) as has been represented in diagram 1 below. Diagram 1 The circle represents a female, the triangle a male, and the equal sign is marriage. The bigger circles represent the first female children of the various ahemma. ‘QM’ represents the various ahemma of the traditional area with: QM I – Nana Jadua Adadzewa I QM II - Nana Adadzewa II QM III - Nana Akua Adadzewa III QM IV - Nana Adwoa Fodwuo Adadzewa IV QM V - Nana Adwoa Adadzewa V The genealogy of the ahemma of the tradition area as is indicated in diagram 1 depicts that primogeniture was always the rule when it came to the choice of the potential ohemma. The office does not go to the ohemma’s sisters’ children after her death even though there are =QM I =QM II =QM III 1 2 3 4 QM IV QM V 1 2 3 7 four segments2 of the royal lineage unless the female children of the immediate past ohemma are incapacitated of have questionable characters. Instead, the office runs through only one line thereby bypassing the others. Thus, it can be argued that though rotation has not been the rule when it comes to enstooling an ohemma among the people of the study area, it would have contributed immensely to solving the vacancy of the ohemma’s office. To a larger extent, the absence of an ohemma in the research area and hence the prevailing virtual discontinuity of the ohemma institution are the refusal on the part of eligible individuals to occupy the vacancy and the minor disputes surrounding the choice of candidates. The refusal of candidates to occupy the stool is attributed to the difficulty of some royals to combine their roles as workers, mothers and wives with the role of an ohemma, which they claim is equally demanding. The inability of Ghanaian women to combine different roles has been extensively examined by Oppong and Abu (1987) where they look at the seven roles of women, namely maternal, occupation, conjugal, domestic, kin, community and individual, and how the introduction of education and modern formal sector employment opportunities and the associated migration impact on their maternal role. Though this article did not set out to investigate the roles of women in the Breman Asikuma area, it reveals that Western education and the lure of enhanced employment opportunities elsewhere and their associated migration impact negatively on the ability to take up the ohemma‘s position. Thus, the difficulty in combining roles by some female royals, negatively affect their community role: i.e. taking up the office and responsibility ohemma. Arhin, (2007) documents that though the male ruler among the Akan may engage in constructive consultations with the members of his 2 There, are four gates or segments of the royal lineage in the Breman polity, referred to in the local parlance as ‘abusua abubuw’, from which the omanhene, ohemma, sub-chiefs and mmaa mpanyinfo are chosen. They are the Esi Derwa ‘fie’ (house), Abena Kyiriwaa fie, Afua Ome fie and Afua Sekyeraa fie. 8 council he has absolute discretion in the appointment of his female counterpart. Thus while the ohemma’s nomination of a candidate for a vacant male stool is subjected to scrutiny by the elders, the appointment of a female candidate to occupy a vacant ohemma’s stool is at the full discretion of the ohene. The implication of this is that the ohene may attempt to enstool an ohemma only when he deems fit. However, while, in the study area, the omanhene has to take the initial step of identifying a potential ohemma, the final decision lies with the lineage head, obaa panyin and members of the omanhene’s council who conduct the full investigation on the potential ohemma. The report of which would determine whether that particular female could become an ohemma or not. Thus a person’s chances of being selected for the ohemma’s position are very much dependent on the type of relationship she has with not only the lineage heads (both male and female) of her lineage but also the members of the omanhene’s council. This situation has in some cases led to a misunderstanding between potential candidates and the eventual refusal of such candidates who were chosen earlier for the position. It can then be realized from the aforementioned that these traditional stakeholders also play a significant role as to whether the ohemma’s stool is occupied or not. It is also important to mention that another factor that is leading to the changing significance of the ohemma institution in the traditional area is the duplication of the highest political arrangement in the various suburbs of the traditional area. This makes each of the suburbs to have a sub-chief and an obaa panyin who performs similar functions to that of the omanhene and the ohemma. Though this has always been the case even when was an ohemma, there was a female authority at the highest level of the political hierarchy who was the final authority when it came to women’s issue. However due to this duplication, individuals, especially the female population, do not feel the effect of the absence of the ohemma and hence the need to agitate for one. Thus, the women who benefit immensely from the roles of an ohemma have declined interest in agitating for the enstoolment of one since her (the ohemma’s) roles, power and influence are being “usurped” to some extent, by the periphery. 9 Similarly, not all the sub-chiefs in the traditional area have female counterparts because of the “troublesome” i.e. assertive nature of some mmaa mpanyinfo and the demands they imposed on their sub- chiefs, their male counterparts. Some sub-chiefs also prefer to offer the office of obaa panyin to a uterine kin from their lineage rather than to somebody who is not. The reason being that a sub-chief can easily count on the loyalty and support of obaa panyin from their own lineages; this is important given that the obaa panyin can and could foment trouble and press destoolment charges against sub- chiefs. In light of this, if a sub-chief finds that there is no ‘suitable’ person within his lineage for the obaa panyin’s position he does not suggest any other person to fill that office. Although there are evidences of ‘troublesome’ mmaa mpanyinfo, this does not warrant their reluctance to appoint female counterparts. Thus since these sub-chiefs do not have female counterparts they are not in any position to demand or agitate for an ohemma. The issue of power dynamics comes to play here since these male political leaders have occupied their positions without mmaa mpanyinfo, they do not want to relinquish some of the power to any female counterpart. Oral tradition has it that Nwomaso, Kuntenasi, Baako and Kokooso townships, which were later brought under the umbrella of the Breman Asikuma traditional area had ahene or ahenfo (chiefs) and ahemma with their associated titles, duties and responsibilities and they were autonomous. The implication of this is that now that there is no paramount ohemma, these ahemma are enjoying the autonomy their predecessors enjoyed before their towns were brought under the rule of the Breman Asikuma. Consequently, these ahemma would not be keen about the enstoolment of a paramount ohemma to whom they would have to pay homage. Thus, the autonomous nature of authority some of the lower grade ahemma enjoy in the traditional area, in the absence of the paramount ohemma, has contributed to the current state of the ohemma institution of the traditional area. The Breman traditional area has several indigenously venerated deities. Notable among them are Apofram, Ayanyam, Ochi and Nsachi. These deities have their own priests and priestesses, and days for venerating them. Before the advent of Islam and Christianity, these 10 deities served as the primary medium between the Supreme Being and the people living in the traditional area. Traditional religious worshippers in the District are, approximately, 802, with 433 male and 389 (GSS, 2005). However, since the introduction of Christianity and Islam, many indigenes have abandoned their indigenous ways of worship and adopted the Christian and Islamic forms of worship. Currently, there are approximately, 71,158 Christians with 33,466 males and 37,618 females in the Asikuma-Odobeng-Brakwa District (GSS, 2005). There are also 5,281 male Muslims and 5,261 female Muslims (GSS, 2005). One’s religious beliefs and faith have been identified as factors that contribute to the vacancy in the ohemma office, which is inextricably linked to the indigenous spirituality of the area. One respondent explained thus: “some converts [to the Abrahamic religions] especially the Christians, would think it (the ohemma institution) is abosomsem (pagan/idolatry) and so would not take up the position or want to have anything to do with it.”3 Though Christianity is not the only non-indigenous religion in the traditional area, it has negatively affected the survival of the Breman ohemma institution. The traditional political system, especially the rituals that go with it, is seen as not in accordance with the religious beliefs of some of royals eligible for the position. Thus royals, who find such rituals repugnant, will not take up the office at all. The mother of one of the royals who refused the office also explained: My daughter is a staunch Christian and is even a leader of one of the groups in her church. As a result she will not perform these rituals of the institution and so the best way to prevent this is to stay away from the institution altogether4. 3 Interview with Opanyin Kwesi Donkor, a renowned cocoa farmer in the traditional area, 27th March, 2011. 4 Interview with Maame Esi Mfomaa, an obaa panyin of a segment of the royal lineage, 27th March, 2011. 11 Without a doubt, the conflict between the performance of these rituals and one’s religious beliefs poses a threat to the survival of indigenous political institutions. It at the same time will make it impossible for some rituals to be performed if these people were to take up the offices at all. Thus, a person’s religious belief plays a paramount role in the person’s desire to take up the office by eligible royals. The implication for these refusals is that these people ‘have spat on the stool’ and therefore the position bypasses the gate of these three people thereby reducing the number of eligible candidates for the position. Conclusion The ohemma institution is an institution of social cohesion especially for the female population in any society. Nevertheless, in the absence of an ohemma in the Breman Asikuma traditional area, the other indigenous role performers have been able to ensure, to some extent, that the views of the women are given some form of recognition and representation. Though these traditional role players are able to provide some sort of atmosphere and venue for the balance of views and expression between men and women in the society, they are not able to do so at the highest level of the political hierarchy. As a result, until a new ohemma is enstooled there will always be an imbalance representation of the interests of the female population at the top of the political hierarchy. Although like the chiefship, the queenship has lost its shine: its prestige is gone, and the privileges once claimed by ahemma can no longer be claimed, if an incumbent could be found, the presence of an ohemma would provide the proper avenue for the balancing of the views of men and women in the traditional area. Tied to this is the reduced interest in the office. Women, who would have qualified for it, do not have a craving for it; such women have their own preoccupations. Some are in gainful employment elsewhere, or are married and raising families or just cannot be bothered. At the same time the rest of the society do not wish and therefore do not agitate for an ohemma to be enstooled. According to the customs of the people of the Breman Asikuma traditional area, a vacant ohemma’s stool is supposed to be occupied 12 within forty days. However, the situation since the death of the last incumbent has been the contrary; the stool has not been occupied for over forty years. It is only when eligible individuals share the common value of the need for an ohemma to be enstooled as the highest female representative of the hierarchy of the political order, that a new incumbent can be enstooled. References Aidoo, A. A., (1977). “Asante Queen Mothers in Government and Politics in the Nineteenth Century”. Journal of the Historical Society of Nigeria. Vol. 9. Boaten N. A. I., (1992). “The Changing Role of Queen Mothers in the Akan Polity”. Institute of African Studies Research review [NS] VOL. 8, NOS. 1&2. Busia, K. A., (1951). The Position of the Chief in the Modern Political System of Asante. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Cohen, R., (1977). “Oedipus Rex and Regina: Then Queen Mother of Africa”. Africa: Journal of the International African Institute, Vol. 47, No, 1. Ghana Statistical Service, (2005). 2000 Population and Housing Consensus. Central Region: Analysis of District Data and Implication for Planning. Accra: Ghana Statistical Service. Okonjo K. (1976). “The Dual-Sex political System in Operation: Igbo Women and Community Politics in Midwestern Nigeria”. In N. J. Hafkin and E. G. Bay (eds). Women in Africa: Studies in Social and Economic change. Stanford University Press. Oppong, C. and K. Abu, (1987). Seven roles of women: Impact of education, migration and employment on Ghanaian mothers. International Labour Organization. Switzerland. Rattray, R.S., (1923). Ashanti. Oxford. Oxford University Press. Stoeltje, J. B., (2003). “Asante Queen Mothers: Pre-colonial Authority in a Postcolonial Society”. Research Review No 19.2. 13 Contrasting Fortunes: European Activities and Cultural Transformation in Benin and Warri, 1500 – 1750 David Aworawo Department of History and Strategic Studies, University of Lagos, Nigeria Abstract Interactions between Europeans and the diverse peoples of Africa with whom contacts were established in the period of European expansion from the early 15th century to the 19th century, affected the cultures of African peoples in different ways. European cultural influence was more intense in the African coastal communities, which had closer relations with European adventurers, traders and missionaries than those of the interior. This was the experience of Benin and Warri, two prominent kingdoms in the Bights of Benin and Biafra which came into contact with the Portuguese in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. This article explores the nature of European cultural influence in the two kingdoms beginning with the Portuguese, and the responses to the attempt to introduce a new way of life. It contends that attempts to introduce European culture were resisted in Benin while they recorded a measure of success in Warri. It argues that the existing social environment and political structures in the two kingdoms were the most important determinants of responses to the introduction of European culture. Using mainly oral and secondary sources, the article establishes that the assumption of cultural superiority by Europeans and expectation that their cultural practices would be embraced by African peoples was an illusion, which generally failed to materialize. The experience of the Portuguese in Benin and Warri also confirms that the acceptance of European culture by some African groups and communities in the early period of European expansion was not necessarily an acknowledgement of 14 the superiority of the new culture but was dictated by the influences of the prevailing political, economic and social conditions. Introduction In his study of Portuguese activities in Africa in the early period of European expansion, James Duffy states that the accounts of some of the dramatic events, especially the heroic achievements of some Portuguese adventurers “furnish a seemingly endless source of inspiration to chroniclers, poets, scientists, in Portugal and abroad, who so define, elaborate, and redefine past glories that these years have become an age of supermen whose inspiration is still a living presence in Portuguese colonial thought.”1 This is true of the analysis of Portuguese exploration and indeed of all the European colonial powers from the 15th century to the 18th century. Some of the works produced from the description of Portuguese colonial activities by the disparate group of analysts described by Duffy focused on Portuguese cultural influence and Christian missionary activities in the places visited across Africa. However, very little attention was paid to the impact of the introduction of a new way of life on affected African groups and communities as well as their responses. These themes became the focus of other scholars in later years. Still, much is left to be understood of aspects of these important events, which help to explain some realities of African social development even in contemporary times. This emphasizes the importance of the central issues broached in this article. As already pointed out, European adventurers, missionaries, and traders travelled southward along the west coast of Africa from the first half of the 15th century onwards, beginning with the Portuguese who reaced Senegal in 1441, the Gold Coast in 1471, Benin in 1485 and Warri around 1520.2 Adventurers from other European countries followed about a century later, and from the sixteenth century onward, Benin and Warri, like other African states visited by the Europeans, began intensely to witness “the impact of the West.” Located around the Atlantic coast in Southern Nigeria, Benin and Warri were inhabited by diverse groups whose cultures came to be 15 greatly influenced by the activities of the Europeans. Many, including kings and princes, became Christians and learned the Portuguese language in Warri. However, whereas European cultural influence endured among the Itsekiri of Warri, it generally did not among the Edo-speaking people of Benin. This was a reflection of the differing perception of the people of European culture and the prevailing social and political conditions in the two kingdoms in the 16th and 17th centuries. The general climatic condition of West Africa was insalubrious and the mortality rate among the European visitors was exceedingly high. This did not, however, frighten many of them from coming to different parts of Africa and staying long enough in some communities to exert cultural influence on the people. Benin and Warri were some of those communities where the people came under great European influence from the early sixteenth century. Christian missionary activities were carried out, and before long, the way of life many of the people became transformed. In both kingdoms, several aspects of the traditional way of doing things changed as many embraced the Christian faith. A good number also learned the Portuguese language and some of these were kings and princes. The result was that for the Bini and the Itsekiri, aspects of their culture, “that complex whole which includes knowledge, beliefs, art, morals, customs and other capabilities acquired by man as a member of society,” became transformed from about the mid- sixteenth century.3 By the third quarter of the sixteenth century, Portuguese cultural influence had become pronounced in Benin and Warri. However, from about the second quarter of the seventeenth century, the Bini generally reverted to their traditional way of life. The influence of Christianity waned so dramatically that when two missionaries visited Benin from São Tomé in 1695 they discovered that not only had many Bini people who had earlier embrace Christianity abandoned the new faith, but the native fathers called Ohonsa had also relapsed into idolatry and many of the churches had been converted into shrines of idols with sacrifices found in them.4 Other aspects of Western cultural influence were similarly rejected by the 16 Bini. This trend continued with a few exceptions up to the end of the colonial period. On the other hand, among the Itsekiri, Christianity remained influential, and different aspects of the way of life of the people continued to reflect Western influence throughout the colonial period. The nature and varying responses to European culture in Benin and Warri up to 1750 is the focus in this article. The political, economic and culture factors responsible for the differing responses in the two kingdoms are also examined. A fascinating aspect of the differing perception of Western culture by the people in the two communities is that many of the features discernible in the eighteenth century have persisted to contemporary times. Benin and Warri before the Advent of the Europeans Benin was one of the largest and most powerful states in West Africa in the pre-colonial period. The heartland of the kingdom lies to the north of the Niger delta in Nigeria’s Midwest area. Various sources indicate the Benin grew to become a state around the eighth century AD as thirty-one villages in the neighborhood of Ubini coalesced to form a bigger polity with Ubini as its capital. From the late fifteenth century, Benin expanded tremendously, conquering vast groups and incorporating diverse peoples from the Niger in the east to Lagos and Porto Novo in the west. Accordingly, from the sixteenth century the Benin kingdom began to be called an empire.5 The dominant group in Benin are the Bini, and Edo-speaking group. Other Edo-speaking groups are the Ishan and Afenmai who inhabit the north and northeast of Benin. All these other Edo-speaking groups came under the control of the Benin kingdom at the height of its power in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Some Igbo communities to the east of Benin and the Urhobo and Itsekiri to the south as well as some Yoruba speaking communities to the west equally came under Bini hegemony during the same period. Before the advent of the Europeans, the Bini had developed an elaborate social system and a complex world-view that distinguished them from their neighbours. By some process of socialization, the cultural practices were passed down from one generation to the other and the average Bini was very traditional in his approach to life. 17 From the late fifteenth century onwards, as the Bini monarchy expanded its power, an elaborate set of practices evolved around the person of the king, and he was elevated almost to the status of a deity. In addition, many festivals came to be established, and one of them, the Igue, was centered on highlighting the powers and achievements of the monarch.6 There were also numerous rites that guided different activities in private and public life ranging from birth, marriage, and burial, to trading, farming, craftwork, and chieftaincy. Indeed, for the Bini, there was a well-established prescribed traditional way of dong virtually everything when the Europeans came to Benin in the late fifteenth century. The Itsekiri kingdom, for its part, was founded in the late fifteenth century. Various traditions indicate that elements of the Ijaw, Urhobo, and some Yoruba groups had inhabited the area around the Forcados River before the Iginua migration of the late fifteenth century, which led to the establishment of a monarchical form of government in Ode Itsekiri, the leading settlement in the area. The founding of the Itsekiri kingdom is dated to this period when the monarchy was established. Iginua himself was a prince of Benin, whose father Olua experienced political turbulence during his reign. The opposition of the people to Olua during the latter part of his reign in Benin, and the part that Iginua is perceived to have played in encouraging his father to adopt unpopular policies, convinced Olua that Iginua was not going to be accepted as his successor. It was therefore arranged for Iginua to leave Benin to found a separate kingdom to the south along the Atlantic coast.7 The result was the establishment of a new kingdom with its capital at Ode Itsekiri whose inhabitants were variously called Selemon, Jekri, Iwere, Ouere, and Warri. The capital, Ode Itsekiri itself, has since the nineteenth century, been called by the more popular name of Warri. Many of the settlements around Ode Itsekiri which had been founded by Yoruba, Ijaw, and Urhobo elements before the Iginua migration came to be incorporated into the Itsekiri kingdom. Others were founded after the Iginua migration, some by Itsekiri kings who succeeded Iginua, and others by some of the noblemen who had accompanies Iginua to Ode Itsekiri during his flight from Benin.8 18 Thus, from the beginning the Itsekiri kingdom was composed of elements of different groups such as Yoruba, Urobo, Ijaw, and of course the Bini immigrants of the late fifteenth century. A study of the Itsekiri language shows that 90 percent of Itsekiri common words are identical with Yoruba words. Kingship terminologies are, however, distinctly Edo. A few words relate to the Ijaw and Urhobo languages, and there are also a few loan words from Portuguese and English.9 This trend is not surprising, considering the fact that the Edo immigrants comprise the ruling class even though they were much smaller in population. Itsekiri culture has been a reflection of the circumstance of the founding of the kingdom. Aspects of the cultures of the Yoruba, Ijaw, and Edo are prominent in the Itsekiri way of life 10 The political structure of the Itsekiri was, however, almost like that of Benin. The position of the king and the council of chiefs had a striking similarity with what obtained in Benin, although the Itsekiri monarch adopted the title of Olu instead of Oba, which was the title of the king of Benin. In the early seventeenth century when the influence of the Portuguese around the Benin River was becoming intense, the Itsekiri culture and political system were still evolving, hence the Itsekiri were generally not as traditional as the Bini.11 This would have contributed to their more favourble reception of Western culture than the Bini in the 17th and 18th centuries. Portuguese Cultural Influence in Benin up to 1650 A number of sources indicate that a group of Portuguese travellers led by Ruy de Sequeria reached the outskirts of Benin in 1472 and met the Bini king Ewuare the Great.12 This was the first group of Europeans to meet a Bini king. It was in 1485, however, that another group of adventurers found its way into Benin City proper. This group, which was led by Joao Affonso d’Aveiro, became the first set of Europeans to enter Benin. Ozolua, who was king of Benin at the time, took some interest in the Portuguese visitors. D’Aveiro’s party returned in 1506, and a closer relationship began to develop between the Bini and the Europeans.13 Esigie succeeded Ozolua as the king of Benin in 1504, and he was more interested in the activities of the 19 Europeans than his predecessor had been He encouraged the Christian missionaries who came with Portuguese adventurers and traders, and the foundations of Christian missionary activities in Benin were laid. Western culture gained much influence in Benin during Esigie’s long reign, which lasted for over four decades. Esigie sent an ambassador to the king of Portugal in the person of Ohen-Okun, the Olukun priest of Ughoton. The Portuguese monarch was said to have responded by sending gifts to Esigie, along with Catholic missionaries whom the Bini king had requested in his message through Ohen-Okun.14 The missionaries quickly commenced work and churches began to spring up in different parts of Benin. Traditions recall that some of the most prominent of the churches were located at Idummwerie, Ogbelaka, and Akpakpava. The Akpakpava church was called “Holy Cross Cathedral” and was sited on Ikpoba Road. Oba Esigie himself was said to have built a church, which he encouraged his subjects to attend. One of his sons and two prominent chiefs, the Uwangue and Eribo, were said to have become very strong Christians following the encouragement of Esigie. During Esigie’s period as the king of Benin in the early 16th century,“the work of the Mission made progress and thousands of people were baptized,” notes Jacob Egharevba.15 Considering the strong influence that Bini monarchs exercised from the period of Ewuure’s reign in 1440 to the beginning of the seventeenth century, Esigie’s interest in Christianity would have greatly and positively influenced the expansion of the new faith of Benin. The expansion of Christianity of Benin meant dramatic changes in the culture of the people. As already pointed out, social life in Benin had been conditioned by a web of traditions, taboos, festivals, and rituals before the advent of the Europeans. Many aspects of these changed for those who embraced Christianity. Polygamy, for instance, was common among the Bini before the sixteenth century when Christianity gained prominence. The acceptance of the new faith meant that monogamy began to be practiced among a section of the population.16 In addition, the traditional marriage system began 20 to function along with the Catholic-style marriage. This was a fascinating social transformation among the Bini. There were some areas where Christian belief was in agreement with Bini culture. In many areas, however, they differed markedly, and it was this that necessitated great adjustments in the way of life of those that embraced Christianity in Benin. In naming ceremonies, burial rites, ancestor worship and other religious practices, there was much that was diametrically opposed to Christian beliefs. Since the life of the average Bini was guided by practices surrounding these cultural issues, those who embraced Christianity had to struggle to make many changes in the style of life they had been used to. This took much determination in view of the fact that traditionalists opposed the cultural changes that Christianity was introducing. Even Esigie himself could not fully embrace Christianity as a result of the changes that the new religion required. As the king, he had to lead other chiefs and the generality of the people in elaborate state rituals and ceremonies, the practices of which were against Christianity’s beliefs. He could, therefore, encourage others to embrace the new religion and offer support in other ways, but he could not fully take a stand for the new religion. Indeed, a clash occurred between Esigie and the Europeans in the 1540s over conflicts in traditional cultural practices and Christian beliefs.17 For those who were able to take a stand for the new faith, however, what took place was a cultural transformation. Apart from the impact of Christianity, the influence of Western culture was manifested in other ways among the Bini from the early sixteenth century. Many Bini took an interest in the Portuguese language and Oba Esigie himself is known to have had a good understanding of the language. Esigie’s son Orhogbua, who was sent to Portugal by his father, had a good mastery of the Portuguese language as well.18 Thus it occurred that some Bini began to speak and write a European language for the first time. The same was true of Western-style dressing. Some of the Bini envoys who were sent to Portugal became fascinated by the European style of clothing and began dressing in the Western way. Some who did not go to Portugal also copied Western-style dressing from the Portuguese whom they 21 saw in Benin. This was, however, more common among men than women, probably because all the Bini envoys sent to Portugal at this time were men, just as almost all the Europeans who came to Benin during this period were also men (indeed, the records mention no woman). Although fewer Bini people would have mastered the Portuguese language and adopted Western-style dressing than those who embraced Christianity, these aspects of the people’s culture were nevertheless influenced by the coming of the Europeans to Benin. Portuguese cultural influence in Benin was also facilitated by their promotion of education. The history of Western education in Nigeria began with a small elementary school established by Portuguese missionaries in the palace of the king of Benin in 1515.19 The school was attended mainly by the children of the monarch and his chiefs, many of whom became literate. Although there is no evidence that these early beginnings led to the expansion of Western education in Benin, the small school established by the Catholics made it possible for the pupils to learn the Portuguese language, simple arithmetic and Christian doctrines. As a tool for social transformation, the rudimentary education organized by the Europeans undoubtedly enhanced “the impact of the West” in Benin in the 16th century. Aspects of the material and food culture of the Bini were equally affected by the coming of the Europeans from the late 15th Century. Joao Affonso d’Aveiro is credited with introducing coconuts to Benin in the early 16th century, and cassava, which was to become the main staple food among the Bini, was introduced about half a century later. It was not long after the introduction of coconuts that the coastline to the south and many compounds in Benin became dotted with the trees. Since the seventeenth century, coconuts have become an important part of Bini food culture. It is used to eat maize, gari, and bread. Gari, which is made from cassava, has remained the staple food, not just in Benin, but in Nigeria as a whole since the early twentieth century.20 For the Bini, starch and tapioca are other types of food that have been made from cassava. Although it was in the 20th century that the popularity of these food items really grew among the Bini, and indeed among other Nigerian groups, various sources indicate that they were fairly widely eaten as 22 early as the eighteenth century. It can therefore be concluded that European expansion influenced Bini food culture from the 16th century onwards and also that the impact has endured up till the present century. The motives for European expansion from the early 15th century onwards varied widely, ranging from the desire to discover hitherto unknown lands, to the interest in spreading the Christian faith, sheer love of adventure, and of course trade. These motives some scholars have summarized under the broad headings of gold, God, and glory. The issue of which of these motives was strongest has remained a moot question, but what can hardly be doubted is that economic considerations were very strong.21 Thus, in the interaction of the Bini with the Portuguese and later the Dutch and English, trade featured prominently. From the late fifteenth century and for much of the sixteenth century, articles such as the famous Benin “blue” cloth, ivory, pepper, brass works, wood works, and leopard skins were bought from Benin by European traders. Slaves began to feature in the “articles” of trade in the second half of the seventeenth century. From the last quarter to the seventeenth century and for the next one and a half centuries or so, the trade in slaves came to dominate the economic interaction between the Bini and the Europeans. In exchange, items such as glassware, firearms, leather materials, household utensils, iron sheets, and later, gin and tobacco, were brought to Benin by the European traders.22 Some of the items such as trinkets, leather materials, iron sheets, glassware, and other household utensils came to form an important part of Bini material culture, and indeed, possession of some of them became a status symbol of sorts. European trinkets, for instance, began to be combined beautifully with locally made beads in Benin. Almost all of the goods imported from Europe were unknown in Benin before the coming of the Europeans in the late fifteenth century. In Benin, as in most other parts of sub-Saharan Africa visited by the Europeans in the age of discovery, many prominent people hankered for the product brought from Europe in exchange for local items. Ade Adefuye has noted that when the king of Lagos, Oba Akinsemoyin, sent some gifts to Oba Akengbuda of Benin in the late eighteenth 23 century, the Bini monarch was very pleased, and he proudly displayed some of them in his palace and these were items obtained from Europeans.23 Indeed, it has been argued that a major attraction of the slave trade for African leaders and traders was the desire for exotic goods from Europe. For the Bini, their material culture came to be greatly influenced by imported goods from Europe. Different types of locally made clay pots that had been the main household utensils that were used side by side with those made of glass and steel in the course of time in many households. At a much later period, a few houses with thatched roofs gave way to those with roofs made of corrugated iron sheets.24 Items like and spirits simply indulged the Bini who had access to them, and the importation of European-made firearms made wars more destructive. Before the advent of Europeans in Benin, wars had been fought with weapons such as cutlasses, bludgeons as well as bows and arrows. More sophisticated weapons, the most prominent of which were guns of different makes and shapes, were imported from Europe from the 16th century. For Benin, access to European-made firearms helped the kingdom in its wars of expansion and conflicts with its neighbors in the 17th and early 18th centuries. For instance, when the Attah (king) of Igala, a kingdom to the north of Benin, declared war on the latter in 1515, Igala was said to have had the upper hand until Portuguese missionaries and traders joined Benin against the Attah in the war and supplied more sophisticated weapons imported from Europe. Igala was defeated in 1516.25 European trade with, and presence in, Benin in the 16th and 17th centuries thus affected Bini material culture and the kingdom’s politics, economy, and society in diverse ways. A consideration of European activities in Benin in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and the reaction of the Bini to them reveal that in the early period of the arrival of the Europeans in Benin, a large section of the population, including some kings and princes were fascinated by many of the novel things that the foreigners introduced. Thus, a good number embraced Christianity with the dramatic change in culture that this entailed. Similarly, a few Bini learned the Portuguese language just as the food culture of the people was enriched with new crops that the Portuguese introduced to Benin. Furthermore, as many as could afford the exotic goods 24 imported from Europe among the Bini acquired as much as they could, which conferred a new status on many. However, with the passage of time, the interest of the Bini in changing their age-old culture and adopting European values and ways of life surely waned. This was reflected in their commitment to Christianity, the rudimentary education that the Portuguese were trying to introduce, the Portuguese language, and other aspects of Western culture to which many Bini had earlier displayed a great interest. Some scholars have suggested that what seemed to be a demonstration of interest in Christianity and Western culture by the rulers of Benin in the 16th and early 17th centuries was not really any genuine interest but some pretence to enable them to have access to European weapons, which they needed to fight their neighbours and expand their kingdom. A.F.C. Ryder argues that since papal decrees forbade the delivery of arms to infidels, the rulers of Benin had no choice but to pretend to be committed to the Christian faith since they desperately needed the weapons.26 This point of view is difficult to accept without question. A careful consideration of developments in Benin during the reign of Oba Esigie, for instance, can only leave one with the conclusion that at least this Bini monarch was genuinely interested in the expansion of the Christian faith in Benin and the adoption of aspects of European culture. His permission for an elementary school to be established in his palace, his interest in learning the Portuguese language and his encouragement of his sons and noblemen to do same, his establishment of churches, and his very close relationship with the European missionaries and traders, all prove that Esigie’s interest in the Christian faith and Western culture could not have been a mere pretense.27 This is not to say that there were no Bini kings who made a pretense of supporting Christianity so as to secure European firearms, but it would be wrong to make sweeping generalizations on this. It should be stressed that it is always difficult to make an accurate assessment of issues having to do with motives. If the question of the motive for encouraging Western culture by some in Benin remains a subject of bickering, what is not in doubt is that as the 16th century drew to a close, interest in Christianity and 25 other aspects of Western culture waned considerably in Benin.28 This trend continued in the 17th and 19th centuries. The influence of Western culture on Bini social life was therefore ephemeral. The reasons for this and the extent of the attenuation of Portuguese cultural influence in Benin during this period are examined in the next section. The Changing Response to European Culture in Benin, 1650-1750 The Europeans who visited the area around Benin from the fifteenth century, like those who visited other parts of the Gulf of Guinea, stayed for only short periods during each visit to area as a result of the insalubrious climatic conditions. Nevertheless, Europeans of different nationalities, beginning with the Portuguese and later joined by the English and the Dutch, never ceased to visit Benin throughout the three centuries that preceded the period of formal colonialism in the late nineteenth century.29 In spite of this, after a measure of early success, European influence in Benin began to decline from the early seventeenth century, and the trend continued up to the establishment of formal colonial rule in the kingdom following the “Benin Massacre” by the British in February 1897. One area where the loss of interest in Western culture in Benin was very clearly manifested was in the rejection of Christian values after initial acceptance by many. Different sources reveal that after the death of Oba Esigie around 1550, his son and successor Orhogbua, who had earlier been sent to Portugal and who had learned the Portuguese language, continued to encourage the expansion of the Christian faith and European activities in Benin. Thus, Western cultural influence continued in Benin in the second half of the 16th century during the reigns of Orhogbua and Ehengbuda. Oba Ehengbuda died around 1606 on the River Agan on his way to Lagos to suppress the revolts of some vassal states. His death plunged Benin into a political crisis that weakened the kingdom. As one source states: “The death of Ehengbuda… around 1606 had tremendous impact on the future development of the Benin empire. To worsen matters a split occurred between members of the Eghaevbo n’Ogbe and Eghaevbo n’Ore which led to serious rivalry among them. This 26 created instability which weakened the empire.”30 Under these circumstances, it was difficult for the rulers of Benin to be concerned with the promotion of European values or the Christian faith. It would therefore seem that reduction in the influence of Western culture and resistance to the Christian faith in Benin became pronounced after the death of Oba Ehengbuda in 1606. The kings of Benin after Ehengbuda certainly did not encourage Christianity and other European activities, save for their interest in European weapons. In addition, the political crisis that engulfed Benin for much of the 17th century took all the attention of the rulers, so that even if any had been interested in encouraging European activities, the prevailing conditions would have made that impossible. By the mid-17th century, the attenuation of the influence of the Christian faith and European values had become glaring in Benin. For instance, when Father Joseph of Xison visited Benin in 1651 he found the churches in a deplorable state with hardly anyone attending them. Furthermore, his efforts to see the then Oba Ahenzae failed, as the monarch refused to have an audience with him.31 A worse condition was described when Pope Innocent XII sent Father Angelus to inspect Christian activities in Benin in 1692. He described the condition of the Mission as “alarming and deplorable.”32 In 1692 a group of missionaries visited Benin from São Tomé to inspect the Mission in the city. They reported that the state of the Christian faith in Benin was “appalling.” For the churches had not only been abandoned, but they had also been converted into shrines of idols, and sacrifices were actually found in them. As if that were not bad enough, the native fathers called Ohonsa had also relapsed into idolatry.33 A similar pattern of rejection was manifested toward European culture and values. The elementary school that had been established in the king’s palace in 1515 was closed down and hardly anyone could be seen taking interest in the learning of any European language. The people simply returned to their traditional ways of doing things and the rites and rituals that governed different activities became as prominent as ever. It was not as if these traditional practices had disappeared at any time, but there were at 27 least some Bini people who abandoned them as they embraced Christianity and adopted Western values, and it was thought that the number would increase with time. This was in the 16th and early 17th centuries. By the middle of the 17th century, there was hardly any Bini who did not conduct his affairs in the traditional way. As already noted, even the native fathers were observed to have returned to the worship of idols in the second half of the seventeenth century. The only thing that was left was trade with Europeans, especially the slave trade, which continued to increase in value from the second half of the seventeenth century and throughout the eighteenth century.34 The English joined the Portuguese in Benin in the second half of the sixteenth century. Windham, the first Englishman in Benin, visited the town in 1553. He was accompanied by the Portuguese navigator Francisco Pinteado. Other British adventurers, traders, and missionaries came to Benin shortly after Windham’s visit and for the next three centuries before the area came under British colonial rule in the late nineteenth century.35 The British, like the Dutch who joined them in the area toward the end of the sixteenth century, concentrated on trade. A few, however, such as John Bird and James Welsh, who came to Benin between 1588 and 1590, carried out Christian missionary activities and humanitarian work.36 Their experience in Benin was worse than that of the Portuguese. For the Portuguese had established themselves in Benin for well over half a century before the arrival of the English and the Dutch, and they had forged excellent relations with the leaders of the kingdom and many of the ordinary people before the arrival of Europeans from other countries. Again, at the time when the English were beginning to establish their humanitarian and evangelical activities, the Bini had become antagonistic to European cultural influence. They therefore scarcely had any impact in the Benin up to the end of our period, and indeed up to the early nineteenth century. This was probably responsible for the shift of their activities to the south and southeast of Benin. They eventually recorded a measure of success among the Isoko and Urhobo.37 28 For the Dutch, their preoccupation was trade, and many of them became notorious as unscrupulous slave dealers. They made barely any cultural impact among the Bini. It is therefore clear that European influence in Benin had fluctuating fortunes from around 1520 to 1750. After some initial success, “the impact of the West” almost disappeared in Benin from the early seventeenth century. This trend continued until the mid-eighteenth century and even after. What remains to be analyzed is the reason for the dramatic change in the response to European culture in Benin from the early sixteenth century to the eighteenth century. The character of the kings of Benin after the death of Oba Ehengbuda in the early seventeenth century and the political crisis that engulfed the kingdom throughout the century were undoubtedly critical factors in the rejection of Western culture. From the mid-fifteenth century, the kings of Benin wielded tremendous power as the kingdom expanded in different directions. This created a situation whereby the interest of the king greatly influenced the direction of things in Benin.38 This was clearly shown in the nature and extent of European influence in Benin during the reigns of Esigie and Orhogbua. Their interest in Christianity and Western culture influenced many Bini to embrace the Christian faith and to adopt Western values. On the other hand, the lack of interest in European culture by the rulers of Benin after Ehenguda influenced many of the ordinary people to oppose the new way of life that the European were trying to introduce. A related issue was the political crisis that Benin experienced from the early seventeenth century. As already pointed out, the rulers of Benin for much of the century were so preoccupied with this problem that promotion European culture would have been the last thing to have interested them, even if they were not opposed to Western values. Perhaps the most important factor that influenced the attitude of the Bini toward Western culture in the 16th and 17th centuries was the strong attachment of the people to their tradition. Before the arrival of the Europeans in Benin, the people had evolved elaborate traditions to which they were strongly committed. This made it difficult for them to adopt another culture whose value system was opposed to that of the Bini. It is this factor that explains why Oba 29 Esigie could not really embrace Christianity in spite of his strong support for the religion and other activities of the Europeans. As the king he had to lead the people on different occasions when certain festivals, ceremonies, and rituals were to be carried out. Since almost all these practices were against Christian belief, Esigie’s becoming a devoted Christian would have logically led to his having to relinquish his position as king. Indeed, in 1529, on the advice of his mother Idia, Esigie brought to the capital a famous diviner named Azagbaghedi from Okada (a small village to the west of Benin). Azagbaghedi claimed that he saw through his magical powers the danger of throwing open the stranger’s gate (meaning that the free hand that the Europeans were given to operate in Benin was dangerous).39 All these came to affect the attitude of the Bini toward the Europeans. At least those who believed Azagbaghedi’s warning were cautious in their attitude toward the Europeans. The Bini have remained committed to their traditions down the centuries. It was the tradition forbidding foreigners from visiting Benin during the Igue festival, which the British colonial authorities could not accept, the led to the murder of the British Acting Consul C. Philip and his party by Bini chiefs in 1896,40 and as late as 1979 when Oba Akenzua II died, Bini traditional leaders insisted that everyone must shave his head as a sign of respect for the dead king in accordance with the traditions. This led to much disquiet and generated tremendous controversy, especially among non-indigenes and foreigners in Benin.41 The Nigerian government too, at both the national and the state levels, became torn between allowing Bini chiefs to have their way and defending the rights of the people to decide whether and when to shave their heads as stated in the country’s Constitution. The conflict was eventually resolved in favour of the provisions of the Constitution.42 Despite the position taken by the government on the issue, many indigenes of Benin and its environs, both educated and uneducated alike, shaved their heads as a mark of respect for Bini traditions. The point is that the Bini are very traditional. This factor played a critical role in their opposition to the Christian faith and Western cultural influences from the early 17th century to the mid-18th century. The situation was not quite the 30 same, however, among the neighbours of the Bini to the south, the Itsekiri of Warri. European Cultural Influence in Warri The first group of Europeans to visit Warri and interact with the Itsekiri was the Portuguese, just as was the case in Benin; but unlike the condition in Benin, the Portuguese did not keep much record of their early contact with the Itsekiri. “There exists no contemporary record of the first mission to Warri, nor indeed of the beginnings of Portuguese contact with that kingdom,” notes A.F.C. Ryder.43 P.C. Lloyd equally observed that “the Portuguese do not mention Warri in their reports of the discovery of Benin in the late fifteenth century.”44 Some have suggested that during the early period of the evolution of the Itsekiri kingdom, the new state was regarded as part of the Benin Kingdom; hence it was considered unnecessary to mention Itsekiri separately.45 Whatever may have been the reason for the omission, the result has been that the date of the beginning of Portuguese activities in Warri cannot now be precisely determined. What can nevertheless be concluded is that since the Portuguese mention their activities on the Benin and Forcados rivers from the first decade of the sixteenth century and their contacts with some groups in the area. The Itsekiri kingdom, which was the most important in the Forcados River area, would certainly have been visited. Thus, by at least between 1530 and 1540 close contacts had begun to be established between the Europeans and the people of Warri.46 As was the case in Benin, Catholic missionaries came to Warri in the second half of the sixteenth century. The first group of these missionaries were Augustinian monks who were sent from São Tomé by Gaspar Cao, the Bishop of São Tomé at the time. Shortly after their arrival in Warri, they founded a settlement named Santo Agostinho from where they carried out their missionary activities. Before long, many Itsekiri embraced Christianity and changed from their traditional way of life. A. F. C. Ryder described one of the early experiences of the missionaries among the Itsekiri thus: 31 One of these first Augustinian missionaries named father Francisco… acquired great prestige and authority among the Itsekiri. He crowned his achievement by one day gathering the population around “a certain tree which, thanks to charms and diabolical superstitions was held in great awe among them”. He then proceeded to destroy it, presumably by cutting it down. When the gods of the juju failed to inflict immediate and condign punishment on the perpetrator of this outrage, father Francisco’s prestige rose higher than ever.47 It is not known what percentage of the Itsekiri population ultimately embraced Christianity, but the number seemed large enough for Christian beliefs to be widely practiced in Warri. After the dramatic act of Father Francisco described above, the influential missionary was able to persuade the reigning Olu (king) of Itsekiri to present his son for baptism.48 The young prince was baptized under the name of Sebastin, a name taken after the reigning Portuguese king. Sebastin became king in the 1590s, and being a Christian himself, did all he could to encourage Christian missionary activities in the Itsekiri kingdom. He consistently appealed to the Portuguese monarch for priests to spread the faith and administer the sacraments among the Itsekiri. Sebastin subsequently sent his eldest son, who was christened Domingos, to Portugal to be instructed in theology and return home to serve as priest. Domingos studied in the Hieronymite College at Coimbra, as well as the Augustinian College and the Jesuit College, both at Lisbon. After almost a decade of theological education, Domingos returned to Warri with a large retinue, a sizeable amount of European goods, and his Portuguese wife, whom he had married toward the end of his schooling.49 Domingos eventually became king in the second quarter of the seventeenth century. Even though he did not become a priest as had been expected, he nevertheless gave strong support to the Christian faith, although according to some sources, not as much as his father Sebastin had done. From the time of Sebastin’s accession in the late sixteenth century up to the end to 32 the eighteenth century, all the rulers of Itsekiri, save for one nameless Olu who reigned from the 1730s to the 1760s, professed the Christian faith, so much so that some sources have claimed that Christianity was a court religion in Warri until the nineteenth century.50 J.F. Ade-Ajayi also notes that from the late 16th century to the early 18th century, “the Warri rulers (of the Itsekiri kingdom) became well known as professed Christians.”51 Beyond the circle of kings and princes, various records by missionaries, traders and sailors, however, state that many ordinary Itsekiri people also embraced Christianity and abandoned the traditional way to life as they sought to live according to Christian teachings. For instance, a report by Father Columbin of Nantes of December 1640 stated that in Warri “the ruler was a Christian and many of his subjects had been baptized.”52 Father Columbin was a French missionary who had been engaged in missionary work in the Gulf of Guinea since 1634. Similarly, a Dutch visitor to Warri in 1644 described the people as espousing the Christian faith. He was fascinated by his discovery of “a church and an altar complete with a picture of Christ on the cross, St. Mary and the Apostles, and two alter candlesticks… there were also many people entering the church rosary in hand.” At a later period, another European visitor in Warri recorded that he saw “at Christmas a great procession which went from the town to a small village carrying a crucifix and some other symbols of Christianity.53 The conclusion that can be drawn from all these is that a drastic change in the way of life of many Itsekiri took place as a result of Christian teachings in Warri from the last quarter of the sixteenth century. It was not a phenomenon that was confined to the ruling class in the kingdom. Christian missionary activities were accompanied by the introduction of Western education in Warri at the elementary level, and some Itsekiri did go to São Tomé and Portugal for more schooling (the majority for theological training).54 The interactions between the Portuguese and the Itsekiri created the condition for intermarriage between them. This gave rise to a good number of people of mixed blood among the Itsekiri from the seventeenth century onwards. At least one of the mulattos, Antonio 33 Domingo, became king later in the 17th century. Both the educated Itsekiri and the mulattos were inclined to live more according to Western values than to local customs and traditions, and many spoke the Portuguese language.55 Just as Western culture had influenced the way of life of the Bini during the early years of the advent of the Europeans in Benin, its influence was also noticeable among the Itsekiri: the introduction of new crops that affected the food culture; the importation of different products from Europe that added to the material culture; and the introduction of new styles of dressing that were used side by side with the indigenous ones.56 It should be stressed, however, that in almost all aspects of cultural transformation in Warri, local traditions flourished with the foreign, even among many who embraced Christianity. One source notes that various records of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries indicate that “the Itsekiri [held] with considerable tenacity to certain of the external rites and symbols of the Roman Catholic religion without abandoning their more important social customs.”57 The veracity of this point of view is clearly revealed by the observation by Captain John Adams, the English sailor who visited Warri around 1795. He noted that although the Itsekiri king Manuel Otobia strongly encouraged Christianity and claimed to be a Christian, he nevertheless had over sixty wives. The irregular presence of priests in Warri is identified as an important factor that contributed to this situation. Despite the mixture of traditional culture with Christian practices, it could be said that cultural transformation took place among the Itsekiri from the late 16th century to the early 18th century and Ryder has concluded that it is difficult to “deny that [Christianity’s] secondary effects upon the religion and culture of the whole Itsekiri state may have been very considerable.”58 Clearly, European cultural influence was more pronounced and enduring in Warri than in Benin from the 16th century to the 18th century. Many factors were responsible for this development, which had very little to do with the acceptance of European culture as superior to the indigenous one. The factors shaping the varying responses to European cultural influences are to be identified in the 34 existing political, economic and social conditions at the time of the arrival of the Europeans. Benin was an old kingdom, which had developed a stable political structure, and an elaborate cultural system to which they had become strongly attached over many centuries.59 The Itsekiri kingdom, on the other hand, was relatively young and its cultural practices were still evolving in the 16th century, drawing a great deal from the Bini and Yoruba. There was also the factor of the expectation of support from the Europeans in times of crisis and economic benefits to the Itsekiri kingdom.60 This explains why sometimes the Itsekiri collaborated with the Portuguese and some other European groups that came in later years against some of their neighbours. Interestingly, some of these trends have continued to manifest themselves in relations between the Itsekiri and some of their neighbours until contemporary times.61 For the Bini, their attachment to local cultural practices which they have evolved over the centuries has also generally endured. Conclusion From the analysis, it is clear that the European influenced the cultures of the Bini and Itsekiri from the early sixteenth century to the mid-eighteenth century in quite different ways. In Benin, after measure of acceptance at the initial stage, European culture and the Christian faith began to be opposed from the early seventeenth century onwards. In Warri, on the other hand, Western cultural influence remained prominent almost throughout the period, although local practices generally continued. The reasons for the rejection of Portuguese culture and abandonment of the Christian faith in Benin from the early seventeenth century onwards have already been discussed. Clearly, the absence of similar conditions in Warri was responsible for the enduring nature of Western cultural practices there. The prevailing political, economic and social conditions at the time of the arrival of the Europeans was therefore a major factor in the varying responses of the Bini and Itsekiri to European cultural influence. In addition, responses also reflected the interest of each state. 35 Endnotes 1. James Duffy, Portuguese Africa (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1961), 9. 2. William Duiker and Jackson Spielvogel, World History vol. to 1800 (Belmont: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1998), 496. See also Walter Wallbank and Arnold Schrier, Living World History (Chicago: Scott, Foresman and Company, 1958), 330-32. 3. B. Taylor, Primitive Culture (London: John Murray, 1891), 1; R. E. Bradbury, The Benin Kingdom and Edo-Speaking Peoples of South-Western Nigeria. (London: International African Institute, 1957), 1-4, 181-82. 4. Jacob Egharevba, A Short History of Benin (Ibadan: Ibadan University Press, 1960), 38. 5. J. C. Anene, “Benin, Niger Delta, Ibo and Ibibio Peoples in the Nineteenth Century,” in A Thousand Years of West African History, ed. J. F. Ade-Ajayi and Ian Espie (Ibadan: Ibadan University Press, 1965), 299; Egharevba, Short History of Benin, 23 6. A. U. Osagie and D. Aworawo, “The Benin Kingdom: History and Culture up to 1800,” in History and Cultures of Nigeria up to AD 2000, ed. Akinjide Osuntokun, David Aworawo, and F. Masajuwa (Lagos: Frankad, 2002), 58; Jacob U. Egharevba, Benin Law and Custom (Nendeln: Kraus Thomson, 1949), 24. 7. O. Ikime, “The Peoples and Kingdoms of the Delta Province,” in Groundwork of Nigerian History, ed. O. Ikem (Ibadan: Heinemann, 1980), 90 8. P. C. Lloyd, The Itsekiri (London: International African Institute, 1957), 178-80 9. Lloyd, The Itsekiri, 174 10. V. Edo, “Peoples of the Niger Delta up to 1800,” in History and Cultures of Nigeria, ed. Osuntokun et al., 34-35 11. Lloyd, The Itsekiri, 177-81 12. A. U. Osagie and D. Aworawo, “The Benin Kingdom.” 36 13. A. F. C. Ryder, Benin and the Europeans, 1485-1897 (London: Longman, 1969), 29-30, Egharevba, Short History of Benin, 27- 28. 14. A. F. C. Ryder, “The Benin Kingdom,” in Ikime, ed., Groundwork, 116 15. Egharevba, Short History of Benin, 28 16. Osagie and Aworawo, “The Benin Kingdom,” 60; Egharevba Benin Law and Custom, 15-16. 17. A. F. C. Ryder, “Missionary Activity in the Kingdom of Warri to the Early Nineteenth Century,” Journal of the Historical Society of Nigeria, 11/1(1960):1-2. 18. Egharevba, Short History of Benin, 32-35. 19. B. Fafunwa, History of Education in Nigeria (London: George Allen and Unwin, 1974), 74-75. See also K. Ihenetu, “The Development of Formal Western Education in Nigeria up to 1990,” in Osuntokun, et al., History and Cultures of Nigeria, 454. 20. P. Vieger, Trade Relations between the Bight of Benin and Bahia, 17th -18th Centuries (Ibadan: I. U. P., 1976), 582; P. Kilby, Industrialization in an Open Economy: Nigeria 1945-1966 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1969), 185-91. See also S. Agboola, “The Introduction and Spread of Cassava in the Second Half of the Nineteenth Century,” Nigerian Journal of Economic and Social Studies 10(1968):369-76 21. Duiker and Speilvogel, World History, 496-47; A. F. C. Ryder, Material for West African History in Portuguese Archives (London: The Athlone Press, 1965), 1; Igbafe, “Benin under British Administration,” abstract. 22. Cassava was introduced to the area around Warri and Benin in the sixteenth century, but it was in the nineteenth century that it spread to other parts of Nigeria through the activities of returnee slaves from the New World who promoted the Christian faith and agriculture. E. J. Alagoa, “The Niger Delta States and Their Neighbours, 1600-1800,” in History of West Africa, vol. 1, ed. J. F. Ade-Ajayi and M. Crowder (London: Longman, 1971), 295; D. Aworawo, “Relations between Nigeria and Europe,” in Nigeria 37 and the Wider World in the Twentieth Century: Essays in Honour of Professor Akinjide Osuntokun, ed. A. Akinyeye (Ibadan: Davidson Press, 2003), 137. 23. A. Adefuye, “Oba Akinsemoyin and the Emergence of Modern Lagos,” in History of the Peoples of Lagos State, ed. A. Adefuye et al. (Lagos: Lantern Books, 1987), 42 24. Egharevba, The City of Benin, 8-10 25. Osagie and Aworawo, “The Benin Kingdom,” 60. 26. Ryder, “Missionary Activity in the Kingdom of Warri,” 1 27. Egharevba, Short History of Benin, 27-28. 28. Osagie and Aworawo, “The Benin Kingdom,” 64 29. R. July, A History of the African People (London: Faber and Faber, 1970), 111-12. 30. Osagie and Aworawo, “The Benin Kingdom,” 63. 31. Egharevba, Short History of Benin 38. 32. Egharevba, Short History of Benin 37-38 33. Osagie and Aworawo, “The Benin Kingdom,” 64 34. July, History of the African People, 111. 35. Philip Igbafe, Obaseki of Benin (London: Heinemann, 1972), 2-4. 36. Osagie and Aworawo, “The Benin Kingdom,” 63. 37. Ryder, “Missionary Activity in the Kingdom of Warri,” 1-2. 38. Bradbury, The Benin Kingdom, 14-19; Egharevba, Benin Law and Custom, 24. 39. S. B. Omoregie, “Forty Questions and Answers on Ubinology” in Great Benin, ed. S. B. Omoregie (Benin City: Neraso Publishers, 2000), 122-23. 40. J. B. Webster and J. A. A. Boahen, West Africa since 1800 (Longman, 1980), 190 41. Interview, A. U. Osagie, Benin City, 16 March 2002 42. Interview, E. Idahosa, Benin City, 17 March 2002 43. Ryder, “Missionary Activity in the Kingdom of Warri,” 1. 44. Lloyd, The Itsekiri, 181 38 45. Ryder, “Missionary Activity in the Kingdom of Warri,” 23. 46. Lloyd, The Itsekiri, 181-82 47. Ryder, Missionary Activity in the Kingdom of Warri,” 2. 48. W. E. Moore, History of Itsekiri (London: Frank Cass, 1970), 28- 31 49. Lloyd, The Itsekiri, 181; Ryder, “Missionary Activity in the Kingdom of Warri,” 6. 50. Ikime, “The Peoples and Kingdoms of the Delta Province,” 104-5. 51. J.F. Ade-Ajayi, Christian Missions in Nigeria, 1841-1891: The Making of a New Elite (London: Longman, 1965), 3. 52. Ryder, “Missionary Activity in the Kingdom of Warri,” 9. 53. Ryder, “Missionary Activity in the Kingdom of Warri,” 9-10. 54. Bradbury, The Benin Kingdom, 181; Ryder, “Missionary Activity in the Kingdom of Warri”, 21 55. Ikime, “The Peoples and Kingdoms of the Delta Province,” 105; Brabdury, The Benin Kingdom, 181 56. J. Adams, Remarks on the Country Extending from Cape Palmas to the River Congo (London, 1923), 15; see also A. F. C. Ryder, “An Early Portuguese Voyage to the Forcados River,” Journal of the Historical Society of Nigeria 1, no 4 (1959): 307-11 57. Ryder, “Missionary Activity in the Kingdom of the Warri,” 23 58. Ikime, “The Peoples and Kingdoms of the Delta Provinces,” 105- 6; Ryder, “Missionary Activities in the Kingdom of the Warri,” 23. 59. T. Falola and M. Heaton, A History of Nigeria (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008), 25-26. 60. P. C. Lloyd, “The Portuguese in Warri”, ODU (Old Series), 1956, 27-29. 61. Interview, A. Usifoh, Usen, 20 March 2002; Edo, “Peoples of the Niger Delta up to 1800,” 40. 39 South-South Neoliberalism and Economic Development: Realities and Challenges of Indo- Nigerian Economic Relations in Historical Perspective Sola Akinrinade Visiting Professor, National Universities Commision, Abuja, Nigeria & Olukoya Ogen Visiting Senior Research Fellow, Centre for West African Studies, University of Birmingham, United Kingdom Abstract This study provides a historical analysis of Indo-Nigerian trade relations by exploring the diversified nature of Indian investments in Nigeria. This exploration is situated within the purview of the undercurrents of neo-liberalism and South-South cooperation. The paper argues that ideally, India should invest in Nigeria’s human capital and its inadequate and dilapidated social infrastructure. India should also be interested in sharing its technological know-how to help diversify the Nigerian economy. However, this study discovers that India is primarily motivated by its enlightened self-interest. This conforms to the realities on ground in this age of globalisation and neoliberalism. Indeed, the current pattern of Nigeria’s economic relations with India is inherently asymmetric and as such it is a threat to the sustainable economic development of Nigeria. Studies have shown that asymmetric interdependence is inherently a relationship of dominance rather than that of equality. The paper, therefore, concludes that the prevailing skewed and asymmetric economic intercourse between India and Nigeria is capable of undermining Nigeria’s developmental efforts. It also poses a veritable challenge to the attainment of the cardinal objectives of South-South cooperation. 40 Introduction With more than 1 billion people, or one-fifth of the world’s population, India’s population, its rapid economic growth and neo- liberal economy have made it a very significant participant in the global economy. India is also the fourth largest economy in the world in terms of purchasing power parity and it is a de facto nuclear power (Singh, 2007:2). For many developing countries such as Nigeria, India simultaneously offers new vistas of hope as well as challenges. Indeed, through the sheer quantum of its investments and bilateral trade with Nigeria, India has been widely acknowledged as a major driver of Nigeria’s economic growth. Yet, scholarly works on Asian- Nigerian trade relations have concentrated mainly on Chinese economic relations with Nigeria (Ogen, 2008a). Thus, the pattern of Indo-Nigerian trade remains largely an under-explored field. This paper examines the growing economic relationship between India and Nigeria as manifested in the explosive growth in trade and investment. This economic relationship is largely driven by the sheer magnitude of economic exchanges, trade and investments within the framework of South-South cooperation. Interestingly, the paper aligns itself with what Zeleza (2008: 172) critiques as the ‘emerging alarmist discourses’ about the remarkable Asian economic interests in Africa. Our central thesis is that while it is indubitable that Indo-Nigerian economic relations can never fit into the framework of nineteenth century European imperialism in Africa, the fact must be underscored that India’s phenomenal economic clout in Nigeria is predicated on its fervent quest for energy to drive its massive industrial infrastructure, the search for raw materials to feed its industries, the need to secure overseas markets for its industrial goods, and the craze for investment outlets to reinvest surplus capital. Whichever perspective one looks at it, this is economic imperialism at its best. Specifically, this piece is primarily interested in determining the extent to which the Indian presence in Nigeria has facilitated Nigeria’s drive towards economic development. This examination is situated within the theoretical trajectories of South-South cooperation and the economic theory of imperialism. Moreover, from a comparative 41 standpoint the paper also considers whether India’s current aggressive proactive economic policies towards Nigeria would have been different without Chinese overwhelming presence in many strategic sectors of the Nigerian economy. The paper concludes that the prevailing skewed and asymmetric economic intercourse between India and Nigeria have been undermining Nigeria’s developmental efforts, thereby posing a veritable challenge to the attainment of the cardinal objectives of South-South cooperation. Current State of Research on Indo-Nigerian Relations The sparse literature on Indo-Nigerian relations is mainly dominated by the publications of non-Africans (Singh, 1986; Singh, 2007; Hawley, 2008; Wong, 2009). The implication is that this body of literature sometimes deflects very much from the reality on ground. Of course, this is due largely to inadequate knowledge about the undercurrents of the Nigerian socio-political milieu, over- generalisation arising from the regional or thematic focus of most of the available literature, and sometimes but rarely as a result of prejudice and racial arrogance. For instance, Singh (1996) appears to be the only authoritative book specifically devoted to the economic dynamics of the relations between Nigeria and India. In spite of the book’s copious details and comprehensive analyses, the work is apparently written from an Indian perspective. Again, the analyses contained in the said book did not extend beyond the mid 1990s, leaving out the totality of the post-1995 developments. This temporal gap is the current focus of this study. Again, the edited book by Hawley (2008) concentrates solely on the vibrant cultural exchange between Africa and India. The book provides many examples of the cultural interactions that reinforce our understanding of globalisation as an all-embracing and pervasive cultural concept. Understandably, it says little about contemporary economic interaction between India and Nigeria. Other works such as Wong (2009) touches briefly on the exploits of major Indian oil companies in Nigeria in its broad analysis of the activities of Asian companies in Angola and Nigeria, while 42 Singh (2007) devotes some attention to contemporary Indo-Nigerian trade in its general assessment of the Indian presence in West Africa. As far as Nigerian scholars are concerned, the kernel of the highly descriptive literature on Indo-Nigerian relations is celebratory of the new-found potentials of India as a preferred developmental partner to the West because of the general assumption that India and Nigeria share profound similarities in their historical experiences. For example it is widely believed that India and Nigeria shared similar experiences as former British colonies, are culturally diverse, have large populations and have similar developmental challenges. Igwe (2008) provides a fine illustration of the current delusion in Nigerian government circles about the significant similarities between India and Nigeria and the rationale behind the strong advocacy for the replication of the Indian developmental model in Nigeria. In the same vein, Magaji and Adamu (2008) greatly extol the alleged shared similarities between Nigeria and India, while Kura (2009) over- exaggerates the similarities between the two nations and the enormous possibilities of actualising the Indian developmental template in Nigeria. In the era of increasing globalisation, Agbu (2008) underscores the significance of South-South cooperation for the sustainable development of Nigeria and other countries of the South as a veritable alternative to North-South economic cooperation. However, we argue in this study, that India and Nigeria only share broad characteristics. In fact, what is seldom remembered is the fact that these seeming similarities are also differences because the actual experiences of these nations are drastically different. The fact that Great Britain gradually withdrew from India over the course of 50 years ensured that India’s struggle for independence created a greater sense of nationalism. Again, when Great Britain eventually pulled out of India, India’s exposure to institutions, education, and democratic ideals led to the adoption of colonial political institutions (Lem, 2005). Even more significant is the fact that when India achieved independence in 1947, it already possessed what might be termed an "intellectual infrastructure" that put it head and shoulders above most newly emergent independent or developing countries. The universities 43 of Madras, Bombay, and Calcutta had been established for nearly 100 years. An Indian had won a Nobel Prize for Physics in as far back as 1930. Thus, India's comparatively well-developed intellectual infrastructure had endowed it with an intellectual elite who sought "cutting edge" research findings from all over the world and succeeded in internalising and utilising them (Lele and Goldsmith, 1989: 311-312). In contrast, Nigeria’s road to independence was much shorter. Great Britain withdrew over only ten years, leaving Nigeria with little resistance, limited infrastructure, and a very weak understanding of how to rule itself as a unit (Lem, 2005). In many ways Nigeria’s experience with colonialism both caused and exacerbated ethnic tensions. Colonialism also weakened Nigeria’s capacity for rapid development. Therefore, it is the contention of this paper that without a foundation in unity, education, and democratic ideals, Nigeria may have to find a separate path to development from that of India. Approaches to the Study of Indo-Nigerian Relations Theoretically, the concept of South-South cooperation started to influence the field of development studies in the 1990s, and in 2003, the United Nations started using the term to describe the cooperation among developing countries in promoting investments, expanding trade and facilitating development (Akinrinade and Ogen, 2008: 162; UNIDO 2008 and UNCTAD 2005). This realisation was informed by the fact that poor nations might find appropriate, low-cost and sustainable solution to their developmental problems in other developing countries rather than in the rich developed countries of the North (Melville and Owen 2005:1-2). Consequently, in 2003, the Asian-African Sub-regional Organisation Conference (AASROC) re- affirmed the fact that South-South cooperation was not an option but an imperative to complement North-South cooperation for the facilitation of the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (Ogen, 2008a: 82). The World Bank also recognises the innate potentials of South-South cooperation for advancing the global development agenda and decided 44 to set up a multi-donor South-South Experience Exchange Facility (SEETF) in 2009. SEETF is a flexible funding mechanism to facilitate knowledge exchanges among developm