Nigeria
and the tragedy of Biafra1

no war in modern Scandinavia
Within the North Germanic branch of the IndoEuropean Language Family, we observe a dialect
continuum in mainland Scandinavia.
Danish, Swedish, Nynorsk, and Norwegian Bokmål
can be considered different codified national
standards of a pluricentric Scandinavian language.
Despite linguistic and orthographic differences,
Scandinavians have avoided civil warfare and havebeen internationally coöperative in modern times.
2

warring Western South Slavic dialects
The Western subgroup of the South Slavic branch of theIndo-European Language Family is another example of

Croatianin Zagreba dialect continuum. Before the break-up of Yugoslavia,=

Serbo-Croatian was a monocentric national standard.

Serbianin Belgrad

Unlike in Scandinavia, civil warfare has resulted in
Serbo-Croatian becoming a pluricentric language withfour codified national standards.

=
Bosnianin Sarajevo

Also unlike in Scandinavia, significant religious,=

orthographic, and other historical differences far

Montenegrin
in Podgorica

overshadowed the minor dialectal differences.
3

complex language ecology in Nigeria
English is the official language of Nigeria,
but 500 other languages are also spoken.
The indigenous languages of Nigeria comefrom three different language families:
Niger-Congo, Nilo-Saharan, and Afroasiatic.
Unlike the situation of Scandinavia, butsimilar to the former Yugoslavia, language
differences are associated with past warfare
and continuing ethnic strife.
4

Hausa language importanceIn addition to being a native language ofnorthern Nigeria and bordering parts ofNiger and Benin, the Afroasiatic language
Hausa is an important regional second
language and a sub-Saharan Muslimlingua franca.

5

Fula dialect continuum

The Niger-Congo language Fula is part of a dialect continuum that stretches across central Africa.
In northern Nigeria, Fula has been in contact with Hausa since the late 15th Century. Bilingualism
is very common, and there is a lot of Hausa vocabulary in the Fula spoken in Nigeria.
6Nigerian languages with many speakers
Hausa (Afroasiatic) is a regional lingua franca, and it has
been commonly written with two scripts, boko (currentlypreferred) and ajami, the latter associated with Islam.
Yoruba (Niger-Congo, Yoruboid group) is a pluricentric
language of West Africa.
Igbo/Ibo (Niger-Congo, Igboid group)
Fula/Fulani (Niger-Congo, Senegambian group)
Ibibio (Niger-Congo, Cross River group)
Kanuri (Nilo-Saharan)
Yoruba, Igbo, Fula, and Ibibio, Nigeria’s four most popular
Niger-Congo languages, are not mutually intelligible.
7

politically dominant language areas
The Hausa-Fulani are amixed ethnic group that
dominates northern Nigeria.
Most of them are Muslim.
Although Fula is thelanguage of the Fulani,
many Fulani speak Hausa.
The Yoruba dominate thearea around Lagos.
The Igbo/Ibo dominate thearea of southeastern Nigeria.
8

Yoruba and Igbo urban areas
The Hausa-Fulani, Yoruba, and Igbo groups
comprise two thirds of the Nigerian
population.
The Hausa-Fulani population resides far
from the wealthier urban areas of Lagos
and Port Harcourt. Many Fulani are seminomadic herders who frequently travel
across the international border.

9

oil discovery
In 1956, the first commercial oil wellin Nigeria began production, andsoon pipelines to Port Harcourt
were built. Crude oil exports began
in 1958.
The resulting economic boom
worsened ethnic tensions, whichclimaxed in 1966 pogroms.

10

“The pogroms I witnessed in Makurdi, Nigeria (late Sept. 1966) wereforeshadowed by months of intensive anti-Ibo and anti-Eastern conversations
among Tiv, Idoma, Hausa and other Northerners resident in Makurdi, and,fitting a pattern replicated in city after city, the massacres were led by theNigerian army. Before, during and after the slaughter, Col. Gowon could beheard over the radio issuing 'guarantees of safety' to all Easterners, all citizens ofNigeria, but the intent of the soldiers, the only power that counts in Nigeria now
or then, was painfully clear. After counting the disemboweled bodies along theMakurdi road I was escorted back to the city by soldiers who apologised for thestench and explained politely that they were doing me and the world a greatfavor by eliminating Igbos.”– Charles Keil, an ethnomusicologist who was visiting Nigeria in 196611

the Republic of Biafra (1967-1970)

In 1967, the majority Igbo area
seceded from Nigeria to form theRepublic of Biafra.
Five other African countries
recognized Biafran independence,and many other countries
supported the new government.
12

anti-Igbo retaliation
The Nigerian civil war lasted until 1970, resulting in severe starvationand other civilian suffering in Biafra; two million Biafrans died.
Le Comité de Lutte contre le Génocide au Biafra, which was later
renamed Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), wasorganized to ease Biafran suffering.
Since the war, Nigerian government discrimination against Igbo
speakers has continued.
Since 1999, the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign Stateof Biafra (MASSOB) has advocated for the peaceful creation of an
independent Biafra.
In 2020, MASSOB joined the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples
Organization (UNPO).
13

north-south income disparity
Despite the alliance of Yoruba andHausa-Fulani groups during the civil
war, the Yoruba continue to be
wealthier than the Hausa-Fulani.
One third of the Fulani continue to live
as semi-nomadic herders. They are theworld’s largest nomadic population.

14

Islam in the north; Christianity in the southSome Nigerian states have adopted
sharia (i.e., Islamic canonical law) into
their legal system. This is an indicationof the influence of Islam in those areas.
None of the southern states haveadopted sharia.
98% of the Fulani are Muslim.
Hausa language use is strongly
associated with Islam.
15

religion and female illiteracy

Native Hausa-speaking Muslim areas
have the lowest female literacy rates.

16

religion and medical services

One way to measure people’s access togeneral medical care is by the state-bystate rates of vaccination.
Vaccination rates are dramatically lowerin Muslim areas.

17English colonial legacy
English was the colonial language of Nigeria.
British colonization began with the annexation ofLagos in 1861. The Colony and Protectorate ofNigeria was formed in 1914. In 1954, Nigeria became
an autonomous Federation of Nigeria, which thenbecame independent of Britain in 1960.
The Federal Republic of Nigeria’s 1999 constitution
acknowledges the primacy of English: “The businessof the National Assembly shall be conducted in
English, and in Hausa, Ibo and Yoruba whenadequate arrangements have been made therefor.”
18Nigeria,part ofBritishAfrica,
1914the current language situation of Nigeria
Because English is the country’s lingua academica, it has also become the de facto
official language of Nigeria. In 1996, Nigeria declared French to be a second official
language taught in schools, but still French is known much less than English.
Nigeria’s constitution requires that the National Assembly use English, but indigenouslanguages may be used in the state houses.
Hausa, Yoruba, and Igbo are routinely spoken in the geographic areas dominated bythese languages. Also, Nigerian Pidgin (an English-base creole language) is spoken
throughout the country, especially in the Niger Delta Region.
English and Nigerian Pidgin have emerged as nonpolitical languages which can beused to mitigate the continuing ethnic and religious tensions of the country.
1920