Category: Culture

Ajanlapa

History – General, People, Social – Tradition

Ajanlapa was the brave warrior whose self-sacrificing, patriotic act incidentally overturned the war waged by Lajomo, king of Nupe land in favor of Ajiboyede, Alaafin of Oyo’s army. Oyo warriors were retreating but Nupe soldiers went particularly after the Alaafin. When it became clear the king would be killed, Ajanlapa hastily exchanged dress with his…
read more
Ahmadiyya

Philosophy – General, Religion

Ahmadiyya is an Islamic group headquartered in India, founded by Mirza Ghullam Ahmad with a distinct Islamic ideology which varies considerably with orthodox teachings. Adherents believe Ahmadiyya had a mandate to divest Islam of fanatical beliefs and to return the religion to the true Islamic teachings as practised by Prophet Muhammad. In what is seen…
read more
Mind

Social – Psychology

Mind is the term often employed to signify all the faculties of the Souls. In this 17th April 1937 editorial of the Nigerian Provincial Guardian, the mind, as a subject, is applied to the intellectual faculties, in distinction from the moral; as the heart is being employed to denote the moral, in distinction from the…
read more
African Spurred Tortoise

Agriculture- Animals (Others), Tradition – Customs

The African Spurred Tortoise, Geochelone sulcata, called Ìjàpá in Yoruba and celebrated in many of its folktales as a wise animal, is found in the north of Nigeria and other Sahel regions. They adapt to arid environments through a few means; their thick skin which limit moisture loss, very little discharge of urine, and burrow…
read more
African Renaissance

Lifestyle – Others, Philosophy – African, Social – Psychology

African Renaissance term used by authors is descriptive of the cultural movement in the British West Africa, in which the pioneer set of educated Africans, erstwhile propagators of the New Africa ideology, began to go native, in reaction to the racist tendencies of the whites. The term, “Renaissance” though qualified as “minor” was used by Ajayi JFA in…
read more
Ethiopianism

Philosophy – African

Ethiopianism was a philosophy of several early Christians in Africa, foremost among who was James Johnson, who required his brethren, in the words of Jacob Kehinde Coker, founder of one of the breakaway groups, to worship God as Africans, independently, both in spirit and in truth, applying Christianity to African customs, not repugnant to Christ’s…
read more
Mojola Agbebi

History – General, Journalism, Literature – General, Literature – Religious, Philosophy – African

Mojola Agbebi is the native name of the poet and advocate of Ethiopianism, who was born April 10, 1860 as David Brown Vincent in Ilesha. Mojola repudiated his European name in 1894, the year he was ordained as a Baptist minister in Liberia. He frequently used his pulpit to deliver anticolonial sermons, which was also…
read more
National Theater

Architecture, Culture – Others

National Theater, a Nigerian architectural monument, was launched in 1976 by the Head of State, General Olusegun Obasanjo as a venue for the second Festival of Arts and Culture (FESTAC), which was to hold in 1977. The building, standing at over 31 meters and covering an expansive land of 23,000 square meters, was designed after the…
read more
Esugbayi

Culture – Others, Geography – Land, History – Political

Esugbayi, the Oba of Lagos was designated Eleko of Eko, meaning, “the owner of Lagos”. He was the first Lagos monarch to reinforce the title. Others may have abstained for the reason of the complex nature of the kingdom’s organogram which sees Idejo chiefs, rather than just the Oba as the primary land owners. This…
read more
Aguda

Fashion – Lifestyle, History – General

Aguda is the term used for Yoruba Brazilian returnees in 19th Century Lagos. Many of these people, also known as emancipados, or Amaros were captured from the interior in the late eighteenth or early nineteenth century and exported to Bahia in Brazil. The immigration of Amaros were concurrent with those of the Saros, Yorubas who…
read more