NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE SURVEY 50B; NIGERIA; THE SOCIETY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: NIS
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP01-00707R000200100006-9
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• Sequence Number: 6
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CONFIDENTIAL
SOB /GS /S
Nigeria
February 1973
NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE SURVEY
CONFIDENTIAL
NO FOREIGN DISSEM
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NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE SURVEY PUBLICATIONS
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This chapter was prepared for the NIS unu'er the
general supervision of the Central Intelligence
Agency by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Social
4, and Economic Statistics Administration, Depart-
ment of Commerce. Research was substantially
completed by November 1972.
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NIGERIA
CONTENTS
This General Survey supersedes the one dated De-
cember 1969, copies of which should be destroyed.
A. Introduction 1
Extent of cultural and social differences; historical
background; national objectives and potential.
B. Structure and characteristics of society 3
Multifaceted social structure.
1. Ethnic groups 3
Size and location of major tribal groups; social
composition; linguistic complexity; classifica-
tion of languages; bilingualism and use of
English.
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Page
2. Social structure 9
Effect of Islam and British control; developments after independence; West-
ernization of tribal groups uneven; growth of modern sector of society; traditional
organization and practice.
3. Values and attitudes 12
Overlay of Muslim and Western influences; urban -rural differences; geographic
and religious differences; ;nterethnic rivalries; attitudes toward other countries.
C. Population
Size, composition, and growth; attitudes and government policy.
1. Size and distribution 15
a Size 15
Census data accuracy.
b. Density and distribution 15
North -south distribution and by state; urban growth.
2. Age -sex structure 17
Population age; urban -rural differences.
D. Manpower and labor 19
I Labor force
Size and composition; participation rates; tribal differences; distribution by
occupation; qualificatijns.
2. Work opportunities 23
Hiring practices; mobility; unemployment and underemployment; government
programs.
3. Conditions of work 23
Work regulations and practices; wage rates and variations; inflation; fringe
benefits; legislation; productivity.
4. Tabor and management organizations 25
Labor unions, size and effectiveness; government restrictions; labor federations;
leadership conflicts, financial problems, and external affiliations; kind and
effectiveness of management associations.
E. Health
28
Health levels low; state and local governments largely responsible for health matters.
1. Environmental sanitation
28
Levels low and compounded by ignorance and indifference; water supply and
extent of contamination; no modern sewerage systems; disposal of garbage; federal
laws and enforcement; food handling.
2. Diet and nutrition
29
Food production increases less than population growth; diet unbalanced; geo-
graphical differences; special problems of children.
3. Common diseases
30
Vector favorable environment; statistics on incidence of disease; disease control
programs and problems.
4. Medical personnel and facilities
31
Critical personnel shortages; distribution; foreign assistance; medical schools;
statistics on facilities.
F. Welfare and social problems 32
1. Welfare problems 32
Employment, health, food, and housing all pressing problems; urban housing cost
high; cost of living increasing; welfare traditional responsibility of family; gov-
ernmental and private welfare institutions; social legislation; Nigerian Red Cross.
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2. Social problems Page
35
Crime statistics; alcoholism and drugs; government and private efforts to combat
crime.
G. Religion 36
Secular state; strengths and regional variations of religious beliefs; history and
relations with government and each other.
1 Islam 38
Areas of strength; basic tenets and pract;ces; Sunni, Ahmadiyyah, and Hamaliy-
yah sects; Sufism; education.
2. Christianity 40
Areas of strength; Roman Catholicism; Protestant churches; syncretic sects.
3. Animism 41
Areas of strength; vestiges in other beliefs; characteristics of belief; social force
in traditional society.
H. Education
Basic problems; geographic differences; general policy.
I. Covernment and education
43
Federal and state responsibilities; voluntary agency schools; financing; supervision.
2. Educational attainment and opportunity
44
Literacy; primary school enrollment and objectives; geographic differences; access
to schooling; morale.
3. Educational system
45
System not uniform.
a. Primary education
46
Dropout rate; curriculum; problems.
b. Secondary education
46
Kinds of training; curriculuns.
c. Higher education
47
Numbers and location of educational plants; training available; fields of major
interest; north -south differences; foreign study.
1. Artistic and cultural expression
49
Highly developed cultural expression; historical development and mediums; modern
artists and forms of expression; traditional crafts; social role of music and folk
literature; development of contemporary literature and drama; cultural societies
and museums.
J. Public information 57
Media most highly developed in wesi .`.Erica; government conk .)l of media; journal-
istic standards and coverage; foreign publications and news services; publishing
industry; availability of libraries; radio, television, and films� availability and
popr,farity; government plans for expansion of services.
K. Selected bibliography 61
FIGURES
Page
Fig. 1 Geographic distribution of principal tribal groups ("Wp) 4
Fig. 2. Representative Nigerians photos) 5
Fig. 3 Hausa trader (photo) 6
Fig. 4 Northern Nigerian market photo) 11
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Fig. 5
Yako initiate (photo)
12
Fig. 6
Population, area, and population density, by state table)
16
Fig. 7
Population density map)
17
Fig. 8
Population of major cities table)
18
Fig. 9
Estimated population, by age group and sex table)
18
Fig. 10
Estimated age -sex structure, Nigeria and the United States chart)
19
Fig. 11
Estimated labor force, by age group and sex table)
20
Fig. 12
Estimated labor force participation rates (table) I......
20
Fig. 13
Traditional economic activity (photos)
21
Fig. 14
Labor force, by occupational category and sex table)
22
Fig. 15
Employment in the modern sector of the economy chart)
22
Fig. 16
Professional manpower, by place of birth chart)
22
Fig. 17
Strikes and lockouts (chart)
25
Fig. 18
Size and national affiliation of trade unions chart)
27
Fig. 19
Vendor selling ingredients for home remedies photo)
28
Fig. 20
Public water hydrant photo)
29
Fig. 21
Food handling photo)
30
Fig. 22
Representative Fulani dwellings photos)
33
Fig. 23
Consumer price index table)
34
Fig. 24
Ibo masquerader (photo)
37
Fig. 25
Kano mosque photo)
39
Fig. 26
Typical Koranic school in northern Nigeria
40
Fig. 27
Animist invocation photo)
43
Fig. 28
University enrollment table)
48
Fig. 29
Benin pectoral mask (photo)
49
Fig. 30
Nok terra cotta head photo)
50
Fig. 31
Ife bronze head (photo)
50
Fig. 32
Benin ornamental mask photo)
51
Fig. 33
Benin bronze plaque (photo)
51
Fig. 34
Yoruba mask (photo)
52
Fig. 35
Example of present -day mural art photo)
53
Fig. 36
Muslim chieftain in ceremonial robes photo)
54
Fig. 37
Musical instruments (photos)
55
Fig. 38
Native dancers (photos)
56
Fig. 39
Nupe bronze sculpture photo)
57
Fig. 4
Daily newspapers table)
58
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The Society
A. Introduction (U /OU)
Created for reasons of political and ewn, is
expediency, Nigeria encompasses a bewildering array
of languages, cultural traditions, and social mores. It is
a land of extremes, its topography ranging from
coastal mangrove swamps in the south to semidesert in
the far north, its social groups from nomadic tribes to
fully Weste: nized elements in urban centers, and its
economy m subsistence farming to modern
industry. Little is known about the origins of Nigeria's
present -day population, which is larger than that of
anv other country in Africa. Available information
indicates that there were early migratory movements
into the area from northern and eastern parts of the
continent. While most of the inhabitants of Nigeria
are of Negro stock, there has been some admixture of
Hamitic and Semitic strains among northern groups.
The Fulani began drifting gradually into the Hausa
homeland in the 13th century, bringing with them
Islam, the first major foreign influence that was to
help shape the society of Nigeria. A pastoral people,
the Fulani came in search of grazing lands, and as the
migration continued over the centuries they became
largely integrated with the Hausa and eventuallv
assumed positions of leadership among them. One
Fulani leader, Usuman dan Fodio, a fanatical sheikh,
rose against the Hausa and compelled them to join
with the Fulani in a Muslim holy war early in the 19th
century, resulting in the conquest and conversion to
Islam of many minor tribes in the north. Subse-
quently, Muslim influence was extended farther
south. Islam had a profound effect on Nigeria,
molding not only the religious life of numerous tribal
groups but their social and political structures as well.
In the 15th century, the Portuguese, seeking trade
routes to the east, became the first Europeans to enter
what is now Nigeria. Domestic slavery was prevalent
throughout the region, and slave trading soon
followed, becoming a lucrative enterprise for the
Portuguese and later for other Europeans, including
the British. The trade was conducted with tribes
inhabiting the coastal areas, but most of the slaves
were from the interior. Many were prisoners of war or
criminal'- others were obtained through organized
raids. The slave trade triggered ruinous intertribal
warfare which lasted for more Char. 300 ;rears. Growing
sentiment in England against the trade led to the
passage of an act in 1807 making it illegal for British
subjects to engage in it, but the traffic in slaves was
continued by other nations for several decaees.
Meanwhile, Christian missionaries arrived, working
mainly in the coastal areas, where they established
schools and introduced Western -style education.
Eventually they spread Christian teachings and
Western values northward as avenues of travel were
opened their effect in the interior diminishing as
they encountered entrenched Islam.
The British had occupied Lagos Island in 1861 in
order to stop the slave traffic and to promote
legitimate trade, and the island, along with a small
strip of the mainland, became a British colony the
following year, marking, the beginning of a presence in
Nigeria which was to last until 1960. During the
1880's, the British extended their influence to the east
and north in an effort to stem German and French
encroachment, and by the turn of the cer �!ry their
occupation of the area was virtually compi :e. In 1906
the region was divided into Northern Nigeria and
Southern Nigeria, and in 1914 the two were united in
one political entity, an unlikely amalgam of diverse
peoples, nearly all of whom regarded their own tribe as
the primary focus of allegiance. The British practiced
a form of indirect rule, confirming Muslim emirs in
power in the north, provided they recognized overall
British sovereignty, and ruling through chieftains or
other local leaders wherever possible in the south.
During the colonial period, the static north became
increasingly differentiated from the south, where such
improvements as road and railroad building and
harbor dredging fostered a spreading money economy
and comparative economic well- being. Also, unlike
the north, the south had the benefit of educational
and medical services offered by Christian missions.
When nationalism began to surface as a viable force in
the period between the two world wars, its
development was impeded by this regional di-
chotomy, as well as by persistent tribal animosities and
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religious difference:,. Nevertheless, an emerging
indigenous leadership composed primarily of Western
educated Ihu aril Yoruba elements pressed its
demands, first for greater partic�ip =lion in seif-
govcrnment end later for complete independence.
When independence was granted in October 1960,
the new republic came into being under a pr-carious
triregional alignment inherited from the British: a vast
Northern Region controlled by Muslin, Hausa Fulani
groups, politically and socially conservative and
inhospitable to secular education and other Western
ideas; an Eastern Region dominated by th( largely
Christian lbo, aggressive, substantially Westernized,
and traditionally democratic; and a Western Region
dominated by the Yoruba, almost equally divided into
Muslim and Christian groups and tending to he more
conservative than the Ibo but more liberal than the
Hausa and the Fulani. Agitation b\- non- Yorubit tribes
in the )'Western Region resulted in the formation of a
separate Mid Western Region in 1963, Nnd in 1967 the
entire Nigerian territory was reapportioned into 12
new states in an effort to meet the demands of many
Eastern and Northern ethnic groups for separate areas
and greater autonomy.
The postindependence decade of the 1960's was
marked by turmoil and strife as one crisis succeeded
another. In the period leading to the outbreak of civil
war in 1967, undiminished interethnic� and
interregional antagonisms were augmented by the fact
that the Hausa Fulani had been able to maintain
control of the federal government, it circumstance
which nourished additional resentment among the Ibo
and the Yoruba and among many minor groups as
well. The Hausa-Fulani, for their part, had come to
fear that Western- educated Ibo were attempting to
dominate the country by mon�spolizing the better
Positions in the civil service and in private industry. A
general climate of hostility was exacerbated by
corruption and inefficiency in government administra-
tion at all levels. The year 1966 was marked by
massacres of Ibo tribespeople residing in the North
and by two military c(,ups within it 6 -month period..
After the second coup, Yakubu Gowon, a Christian
army officer and a member of a minority tribe from
the Middle Belt, was chosen to lead the Federal
Military Government (F1\1G). Despite his various
efforts to preserve national unity including the
previous)- mentioned reorganization of the regions
into 12 states in the hope of balancing areas and
groups �the Ibo dominated Eastern Region seceded
from the federal union on 30 May 1967 to become the
Republic of Biafra, thus bringing on a civil war which
ran its destructive course for 2 1 /2 years. Essentially a
2
struggle betti%e�en Ibo secessionists and other Nigerians
who were determined to maintain the federation, the
conflict ended on 15 January 1970 when Biafran forces
surrendered to federal troops. r'neonfirmed reports of
casualties suffered by both sides, including Biafran
c�iviha:rs who died of starvation or of diseases resulting
from malnutrition, range from 200,(1(X) to 2 trillion.
M:'hile the Nigerian Covenrnent is still wigaged in
the work of reconstruction and rehabilitation
necessitated bN ravages of the war, it is also committed
to seeking solutions to the manifold problems that
have plagued the country since independence. :'he
primary goal of the FMG, as enunciated h� General
G(wIrrt, is to weld Nigeria into it truly unified nation,
an objective which he believes can be acained only
through programs designed to reduce economic all(']
social disparities between the various population
groups and thereby minimize the rivalries and tensions
which such disparities produce. The Second National
Development Plan (1970 -74) stresses the advancement
of the less developed states as an approach to solving
this b:-,,ic problem. A major focus of the government's
efforts will be the expansion of educational
opportunity and a restructuring of the school system to
meet national development needs.
Nigeria has it promising economic potential, being
richly endowed with natural resources, including an
abundance of cultivable land. Because of a wide range
of climatic c�ovdi: ions, almost every product of
tropical agriculture can be produced. brit less tiurn
5051 of the arable acreage (including fallo\% land) is
under cultivation, And most of that is devoted to
subsistence farming. The country's rninerul wealth is
also substantial, including petroleum, tin, iron ore,
coal, limestone, lead, all(] zinc Most important has
been the recent rapid growth of the oil industry, which
is the roost significant single dk namic� force in the
ec�ononry. 'Meanwhile, although living conditions vary
throughout the country, depending on regional and
other factors, the mass of the Nigerian people are still
subject to extreme poverty and its attendant ills, a
situation which is aggravated by it rapid rate of
population growth.
The FMG, administered by it Supreme Military
Council and an Executive Council headed by General
(:ow