Nigeria

Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa, the eighth most populous country in the world, and the most populous country in which the majority of the population is Black. Nigeria is situated on the Atlantic coast in the West African region and has a landmass of 923,768 square kilometers. It shares land borders with the republics of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in the north. The more than 150 million people of Nigeria have evolved a cultural setting that is a study in contrasts and one with complex dimensions. Nigeria is a vast country characterized by cultural complexity, a multiplicity of religious loyalties, ethnic plurality, and linguistic differences as well as diverse historical experiences.

Nigeria's social boundaries are often described as artificial. This characterization is correct in the sense that certain ethnic groups and communities were split and located within the colonial state territories of different European powers following the 1884 to 1885 Berlin conference. Thus, although Nigeria formally became one entity in 1914, after the amalgamation of the then northern and southern protectorates along with Lagos, many members of the different ethnic groups found their kinsmen and neighbors just outside Nigeria's political boundaries. The name Nigeria, derived from the River Niger that runs through the territory, was coined by Flora Shaw, the future wife of Baron Lugard, who at the time was the colonial governor-general. Today, there are estimated to be more than 250 ethnic groups in Nigeria. While no ethnic group enjoys absolute numerical majority, four main groups can be identified, including Hausa and Fulani in the north, Yoruba in the west, and Igbo in the east. Some other groups include Kanuri, Ibibio, Idoma, Efik, Ijaw, Itsekiri, Nupe, Tiv, and Urhobo. All the ethnic groups have different cultures, which together constitute the country's variety of cultures and religions, often expressed in terms of “unity in diversity.”

Contemporary Nigeria seems to have produced the most profound religious vitality, with interaction of the indigenous religions, Christianity, and Islam producing new religious constellations that have attracted more scholarly attention than anywhere else on the African continent. Although several religions exist in Nigeria, religious affiliation appears to be characterized by rather distinct regional divisions, thus helping accentuate regional and ethnic distinctions. However, by the 1990s, Islam dominated the north and has competing numbers with Christianity in the southwestern Yoruba, while among the southeastern Igbo group, Christianity appears predominant. The growth and transformation of these religions can be better understood when considered within the locus of mutual religious interaction, rivalry, and influence. This contest for space and influence has produced new religious movements, which appropriate symbols and employ religious imageries from one or the other of the religious traditions. This gives them an innovative interpretation and produces a new kind of religious creativity. Beyond the focus on religion as a coterie of belief and ritual patterns, the treatment of religion as an epistemological phenomenon allows for a deeper understanding of the complex interaction between Nigeria and other parts of the world. One important aspect of the interconnectedness between globalization and the religious diversity of Nigeria lies in the fact that its religious constituencies both influence globalization and respond to the challenges and opportunities that globalization offers. The connection between globalization and religion in Nigeria can partly be understood in terms of the legacy of European colonial conquest and occupation, neocolonialism, and the introduction of Islam and Christianity. The global scope of religions in Nigeria transcends the country itself and extends into the diaspora. The institutional capacity, demographic mobility, and public visibility of these religions in Nigeria and in the Nigerian diaspora have integrated them into the global religious map.

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