Christian missionaries seem to be madmen, their message of wicked ways and false gods attractive only to outcasts.

the importance of music and dance, all could be noted and compared to similar Western mores.

He would rather play his flute than repay his debts

Okonkwo is a natural leader. His flaw, however, is that he never questions the received wisdom of his ancestors

Many indigenous polities emerged in Nigeria before the British took control in the late 19th century.

Football is a national obsession in Nigeria.

Traditional instruments include various types of flutes, trumpets, musical bows, xylophones, and wooden clappers, as well as many varieties of drum

The terra-cotta figurines of the Nok are some of the earliest statues in existence from sub-Saharan Africa. Ekpe masks and ikenga (personal shrines) from the Igbo in eastern Nigeria and ibeji (twin) sculptures from the Yoruba in western Nigeria are just three examples of the art produced in pre-colonial Nigeria.

The Nigerian legal and judicial system contains three codes of law: customary law, Nigerian statute law (following English law), and Sharīʿah (Islamic law). Customary laws, administered by native, or customary, courts, are usually presided over by traditional rulers, who generally hear cases about family problems such as divorce. K

The Central Bank of Nigeria issues the national currency, the naira,

Resource extraction is the most important sector of the economy. The most economically valuable minerals are crude oil, natural gas, coal, tin, and columbite (an iron-bearing mineral that accompanies tin). Petroleum, first discovered in 1956, is the most important source of government revenue and foreign exchange. Most of the oil output comes from onshore fields in the Niger delta, although an increasing proportion of the crude is produced at offshore locations. There are oil refineries at Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna. Nigeria has been a member of OPEC since 1971.

Outside these reserves, much of the forest cover has been destroyed through regular burning to prepare land for farming or to facilitate hunting.

At the turn of the 21st century, Nigeria continued to face an unsteady revenue flow, which the government attempted to counter by borrowing from international sources, introducing various austerity measures, or doing both at the same time.

the fluctuating world oil market and the country’s rapid population growth.

based primarily on the petroleum industry.

Before the end of the country’s civil war in 1970, many Nigerians emigrated to work in Benin, Ghana, Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, and Sierra Leone.

Since the late 1960s it has been based primarily on the petroleum industry.

. A number of compounds make up the village, usually inhabited by people claiming a common ancestor—often the founder of the village.

Marked differences exist between north and south, not only in physical landscape, climate, and vegetation but also in the social organization, religion, literacy, and agricultural practices of the people.

Each Yoruba subgroup is ruled by a paramount chief, or oba, who is usually supported by a council of chiefs.

and life expectancy has increased; as a consequence, population growth has been rapid.

first in slaves and later in agricultural goods)

The eastern Cross River area is virtually uninhabited owing to the poor soil and climate.

The main established Christian groups are Roman Catholics, Methodists, Anglicans, and Baptists. A growing number of breakaway Christian churches,

The languages of Nigeria are classified into three broad linguistic groups: Niger-Congo, Nilo-Saharan, and Afro-Asiatic. The huge Niger-Congo group is further subdivided into nine major branches, including the Kwa subgroup, spoken in the extreme southwestern corner of the country; the Ijoid branch, spoken in the Niger Delta region; the Atlantic subgroup, which most notably includes Fula; the extensive Benue-Congo subgroup, which includes Tiv, Jukun, Edo, Igbo, Igala, Idoma, Nupe, Gwari, Yoruba, and several languages of the Cross River basin such as Efik, Ibibio, Anang, and Ekoi; and the Adamawa-Ubangi languages, such as Awak, Waja, Waka, and Tula, spoken in northern Nigeria. The Nilo-Saharan group is represented in Nigeria principally by Kanuri, although speakers of Bagirmi and Zerma are also present in the country. Afro-Asiatic is a much larger linguistic group and comprises Hausa, Margi, and Bade, among others. Some peoples (such as the Fulani and the Tiv) are relatively recent immigrants, but, on the basis of modern linguistic research, it is thought that the great majority of Nigerian languages—specifically the Kwa subgroup—have been spoken in roughly the same locations for some 4,000 years.

ethnic groups in the country: the Hausa-Fulani, the Yoruba, and the Igbo.

oday these animals can be found only in such protected places as the Yankari National Park in Bauchi state, Gashaka Gumti National Park in Taraba state, Kainji Lake National Park in Kwara state (see Kainji Lake), and Cross River National Park in Cross River state.

, the vegetation has been removed by continuous cropping, overgrazing, and bush burning

Economically valuable, the oil palm grows wild and is usually preserved when forest is cleared for cultivation.

t, which receives more than 120 inches (3,000 mm) of rain a year, compared with about 70 inches (1,800 mm)

It is hot and wet most of the year in the southeast

There the vegetation provides humus and protects it from erosion by heavy rainfall.

slash and burn, intercropping, and the use of shallow planting implements to cope with the shortcomings of the soil.

Characteristic landforms in this region include oxbow lakes, river meander belts (see meander), and prominent levees. Large freshwater swamps give way to brackish mangrove thickets near the seacoast.

where the Cameroon Highlands rise to the highest points in the country, Chappal Waddi (7,936 feet [2,419 metres]) in the Gotel Mountains and Mount Dimlang (6,699 feet [2,042 metres]) in the Shebshi Mountains.

Lagos, the former capital, retains its standing as the country’s leading commercial and industrial city.

Anansi’s overriding concern is to have his own needs met and does not make an effort to provide for his family’s needs. Sometimes he eats all of the food or hides it, leaving his wife (named Tacoomah or Aso) and children (of varying numbers and names) hungry. Several tales highlight his use of cunning to obtain food. For example, in two versions of tale 11, “Throwing Away Knives,” Anansi tells Tiger to toss away his knife, claiming to do the same. When they arrive at a pineapple field, however, Anansi still has his knife but refuses to share it with Tiger, and thus he alone can eat the pineapples. In the second tale, the other character is a sheep with a spoon. Anansi tricks the sheep into leaving his spoon behind. Anansi then eats all the food before the sheep returns from retrieving the spoon.

he is sometimes a woman (Aunt Nancy), sometimes a man, and sometimes a spider.

Tiger is Anansi’s natural enemy, and sheep are stolen and consumed. Various human characters, generally to be outwitted, also feature in the stories.

To do so, he tricks other animals or eats his own children.

plantation order and triumphed over dull-witted masters.

. He was also a shape-shifter, appearing sometimes as a man or a woman and sometimes as a god. Even the spelling of his name changes throughout the tales: Ananse, Anansi, Aunt Nancy, Anancy, Hanansi, and Annancy.

his desires for food or power.

. The character is known for his shape-shifting ability, sometimes appearing as a man, woman, or spider, which adds to the complexity of his narratives.

e, most notably recognized as a trickster spider who embodies cunning and resourcefulness.

Then the king divided his city into two, and gave half of it to No-King-as-God to rule.

The king opened it and took out his two silver rings. The king wondered how the man could have found the rings and said aloud, "Indeed, there is no king like God

The king demanded the rings which he had given the man, and signaled his guards to close round him to kill him.

suddenly struck his knife on something hard and he called to his father.

They did so, and as the horn fell into the water a great fish swam by and swallowed it.

The man’s wife was tempted by the great offer, so she agreed and brought the ram's horn

The king gave the man two silver rings and told him they were his to keep, but in fact the king meant to avenge himself through them.

Instead, he would say: "There is no king like God." After many visits to the king, and many repetitions of this phrase, the king grew angry and plotted to destroy the man.

Everybody feared him and came to pay obeisance to him.

Look, the little mouse was warned by his mother, he even refused to approach me for playing.Since that day a terrible hatred settled between the snake and the mouse.

I cannot come near you. We must not forget our mothers’ advice. You're not my friend, you're my enemy now, your goal is to kill me and take me to your home as food.

The serpent was smiling while he called out to his friend the young mouse with good humor.

You mean our favorite meal is now a friend? Do we not have them as part of our delicacy every day? Here's what you will do tomorrow when you go out to play; when he comes close to you, bind him, inject him with venom and you bring him here for us to eat.

: Since when did you start to eat by yourself without keeping some for me?

it could kill you and eat you, stay far away from him.

Now, starting from today, never dare to play with a snake, it is not your friend but your enemy.

ince the time of our ancestors, snakes have never been our friends. They still consider us their favorite food.

Did you go to play at the brook that I forbade you from going?

One day the baby mouse and the serpent met, and became friends and played together.

lest he drowned and died.

spirit land and the human land. I

Then the prince from a neighbouring village came to ask for Afiong’s hand in marriage and she willingly consented, and lived with him for many years, and had many children.

. Afiong rushed to the market at once, and directly she saw the most handsome man she had ever set her eyes on. She fell in love immediately, and invited him to her house.

Afiong tried her best to help her, and cooked her food, and brought water and firewood for the old woman.

Then the old woman sent for the spider, who was a very clever hairdresser, and made him dress Afiong's hair in the latest fashion.

she refused to marry any man from her land.

First of all one man came to the prince and demanded his legs, then another his head, and the next his body, and so on, until in a few minutes the prince was left with an nothing but a skull.

All the young men in the country wanted to marry her, but she refused all offers of marriage.

. Afterwards, the king  passed a law that parents should never allow their daughters to marry strangers who came from a far country.