History Lesson Note JSS2 (Basic 8)

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HISTORY SCHEME OF WORK JSS TWO FIRST TERM

POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS IN NIGERIA

WEEKS 1-10 : Non- centralized states in pre-colonial Nigeria

1. Meaning of Non- centralized states

2. Characteristics of Non- centralized states

3. Examples of Non- centralized states in non-colonial Nigeria.

  • Tiv
  • Idoma
  • Igbo
  • Urhobo
  • Ijo (Ijaw)
  • Oro (ORON)
  • Ibibio
  • Anang

WEEK 1

TOPIC; NON CENTRALIZED STATES IN PRECOLONIAL NIGERIA (MEANING AND CHARACTERISTICS OF NON CENTRALIZED STATES)

MEANING OF A NON CENTRALISED STATE

A non-centralized state is the one in which political power is distributed among various units of government, power is not concentrated at the Centre, In this form of government, small governing authorities or bodies exist to share power in governance, it is also known as decentralized state. The Igbo society was a typical example of non centralized state during the pre-colonial era.

CHARACTERISTICS OF NON CENTRALISED STATES

  1. POWER DISTRIBUTION; Power is shared among the units of government, it is not concentrated on a particular unit,
  2.  SINGLE CONSTITUTION; only one constitution is used to govern all the units of government, they all derive their powers and functions from it.
  3. WRITTEN CONSTITUTION; The body of law governing the society is written in a single document, it can be referred to from time to time by leaders and citizens.
  4. RIGID CONSTITUTION; The constitution is difficult to change, this prevents from changing it for selfish reasons,
  5.  SINGLE JUDICIARY; The supreme court exist and has the final decision on any legal matter in the states that has been decided by lower courts,
  6. DIFFERENT EXECUTIVE BODIES; each units of government has its own executives but the one at central units is the most powerful,
  7. DIFFERENT LEGISLATIVE HOUSES; different units of government have its own body of legislature to make its laws.
  8.  FREEDOM TO MAKE POLITICS; the existing political units are free to make politics for the smooth running of their government.

CLASS WORK

  1. Explain non-centralized states
  2. identify three characteristics of non centralized state

ASSIGNMENT

Mention two characteristics of non centralized states in pre-colonial period

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WEEK 2

 NON-CENTRALIZED STATES

The following are some of the characteristics of non-centralized states in pre-colonial era in Nigeria.

  1. Different governing units existed in the states; there were different bodies that helped in the administration of these states, each state had its peculiar governing structure.
  2. Age grade systems were used in most of the state; This was very common in the Igbo and some Niger Delta –city states,
  3. decision making were in the hands of elders; The elders most often took major decisions in many of these states,
  4. power distribution; political powers were distributed among various units such as age grade, council of elders, secret societies, etc., in most cases the king did not have final say in decision making,
  5. Existence of secret societies and cults; In many of the pre-colonial states secret societies and cults played significant roles in political administration

ADVANTAGES OF NON CENTRALISED STATES

  1. It prevents misuse of power
  2. it encourages everyone to participate in government
  3. it brings government close to the people
  4. it gives people at the grassroots sense of belonging
  5. it grooms people at the grassroots for future leadership role.

DISADVANTAGES OF NON- CENTRALIZED STATES

  1. It increases cost of governance
  2. corrupt politicians at the grass roots may mismanage funds
  3. it may bring about tribalism and ethnicity
  4. it may retard growth of areas with immature and inexperienced political leaders
  5. The entire nation may become weak politically

EXAMPLES OF NON-CENTRALIZED STATES IN PRECOLONIAL NIGERIA

  1. TIV
  2. IDOMA
  3. EBIRA
  4. IGBO
  5. URHOBO,
  6. IJO(IJAW)
  7. ORO(ORON)IBIBIO
  8. ANAANG

CLASSWORK

  1. state three advantages of non-centralized states
  2. state two disadvantages of non-centralized states
  3.  mention six examples of non-centralized states in pre-colonial Nigeria

ASSIGNMENT

Identify the location of TIV on the map of Nigeria

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WEEK 3

TOPIC; TIV

TRADITIONS OF ORIGIN

According to history, their ancestor was a man named TIV. he had sons called ICHONGO and IPUSU. All TIVS were descendants of either of these two sons of the man TIV.

A similar version said TAKURUKU was the founding father of Tiv, Takuru had two sons, Ichongoa and ipusu ,

Ichongoa had seven two sons which were Gondo, ikyura, Nongo, Ihar,mase and turan,his brother had three children ,these were shitire ,kum, and kpar,

The Tiv people came from these ten children  ,all Tivs had just one language which gave room for unity.

Furthermore, the Tiv originated from Bantu-speaking people of the present day democratic republic of Congo , having moved through many places from the central Africa through savannah land of west Africa, they eventually came to Benue valley around 1750AD.

SOCIO-POLITICAL ORGANIZATION

Tiv like the Igbo, was a stateless society without strong centralized administraTive and judicial systems.

Three major factors determined leadership, these were age, influence and affluence,

leaders duties included settling of disputes among the people within their lineage, maintaining good behavior among them, sitting on kmoots and leading their people in internal and in precolonial days, Tiv society had segmentary lineages in which every Tiv was a member ,the smallest of these was Ityo,the pre-colonial administraTive system had the following components;

1)the Orya;; Orya means head, each compound was named after its head, senior male members of the compounds usually formed a council which looked into the administration of the compound,

The Oryas as the head of the council performed the following duties;

  1. ensuring the wellbeing of every member of the compound,
  2. ensuring peaceful co-existence among people in the compound,
  3. ensuring peaceful co-existence among people in the compound
  4. settling disputes

To carry out his functions the head was given powers to;

  1. administer justice within the compound,
  2. determine sites for new buildings,
  3. distributes farmlands,
  4. identify burial ground
  5. admit, entertain and expel visitors as the case may be,

2) The Ityo; This body was supreme and patrilineage,it discharge its duties according to tradition of the land ,it was made of representatives of difficult families ( sub lineage) that made up particular lineage, its decision was binding on every member of the group .

3) The kwav (age trade) here, there were different age grades or group or groups, the age groups assisted in fighting against witchcraft, helping each other in farming, the kur, he was the Tiv military head, his responsibilities were; to lead people in war, to defend people against external aggression,

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4) the drum  chief ( Tor-agbana) he was in charge of drum group ,he had no political or control,

5) Igba( maternal clan); this was the woman in charge of protecting young girls or ladies in times of sickness and death,

CLASSWORK

1) Locate the Tiv on Nigeria map

2) Trace the origin of the Tiv

3) Mention at least three main leaders in Tiv society in pre-colonial days.

Assignment

Narrate the story of IDIOM

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WEEK 4

Topic; IDIOM

The origin of idiom can be traced to Apa capital of kwararafa confederacy, the idiom people, according to history migrated from Apa along with Igala ,Ebira,and other people, this was necessary because of wars and insecurity in the kingdom, it eventually established itself in the present location at about 18th century

according to history ,iduah was the father of the Idoma,the names of his children were AMANAWOOGENO, OLINAOGWU, IDUM, AGABI, EJE, EBEIBI, EDEH and ODE.all these children established different areas of Idomaland,

SOCIO-POLITICAL STRUCTURE OF IDIOMA

1) FAMILY UNIT (OLE); this was the smallest unit in Idoma political structure ,the head of the family unit was called Adole. His major duty was to settle disputes among the family members.

2) OJILA; this was the highest organ of government and final authority in Idoma political system,

it was the general body of all adult men in Idoma land,but most often the elders used to dominate discussions and decisions making,

3) OCHE( The king) Oche in Idoma land acted as both the king and religious leader of the community ,he was usally chosen democratically through the central ojila, different lineages would present candidates and out of all these one person wouldeventually emerge as the king,

Oche was the highest officer in Idoma land ,he was the chief priest and president of all cults in the land, he was regarded as mediator between the people and their ancestors, the position of Oche used to be rotated among specific number of lineages, this method prevented monopoly of power by a particular lineage, besides, Oche was the custodian of the law of the land, he ensured the laws were enforced and obeyed, he also acted as the chief judge of court officer of appeal, Oche also used to perform executive functions and was equally the chief external officer,

4) Age group;;; The Idoma land also had age-group and age ste as important parts of its political structure,

CLASSWORK

  1. Locate the Idoma on Nigeria map
  2. trace the origin of Idoma
  3. mention any two major officers in the political structure of Idoma in pre-colonial days
  4. state any two function of the king in Idoma during pre-colonial days,

ASSIGNMENT

Explain the history of EBIRA

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WEEK 5

TOPIC; EBIRA

TRADITIONS OF ORIGIN;

According to oral tradition,Ebira origin can be traced to WUKARI which was part of kwararafa confederacy In 1680AD, the Ebira migrated from wukari due to chieftaincy dispute, they were together with the Igala for about 300 years before they parted ways,the father of the Ebira Tao was itaazi who had five sons and one daughter,he led the Ebira tao to the present Ebira land,

The five sons of Taazi later spread and founded the various districts in Ebira land,

SOCIO-POLITICAL STRUCTURE OF EBIRA

Ebira had no central administrative structure, the clan head was called Otaru, it consisted of community of kindred lineage

The clan head (Otaru) used to be conferred on the oldest male within the clan ,the clan had little political influence, he presided over meetings, he however, made judgments based on the consensus opinion of the elders in the clan he also also performed religious and disciplinary duties which were limited by his family, Otaru also had the responsibility of keeping the income from the clan, all the clan heads in the communities of Ebira land were under the control of the chief priest ,the elders and influential individuals

MILITARY

The Ebira had strong military force, they waged wars and resisted invaders form Nupe (1865-1900), The Nupe army was resisted and chased away under Ebira military leaders Attah Omadiri

CLASSWORK

  1. locate Ebira on Nigeria map
  2. trace the origin of the Ebira
  3. mention the major leaders in Ebira in the pre-colonial days

ASSIGNMENT

Briefly narrate the origin of the IGBOS

WEEK 6

TOPIC; THE IGBO

EARLY HISTORY

Even though not much was known of the Ibos speaking people, before the advent of Europeans into the west coast of Africa, history has revealed that they migrated into their present location hundreds of years ago, it has been suggested that they migrated with the Ibibio but soon became the dominant tribe in eastern Nigeria, due to their dogged industry, they overshadowed the Ibibio and others that arrived later.

The Igbo are close neighbours of the Ibibio who migrated with them to their present location, along with the Ijaw and the itsekiri of the NIGER delta,

THE POLITICAL AND SOCIAL STRUCTUIRES OF THE IGBO.

one of the developments that distinguished the Igbo in the pre-colonial era was that while states and empire already discussed had people who lived in large and urban communities ,the Igbo had scattered pattern of settlements( i.e. They lived in villages and villages groups)

also, unlike other states and empire, the Igbo had no traditional rulers or kings, this was why they were referred to as ‘stateless society’’

The political structure of the Igbo was regarded as subtle and complex, this is because it was based on the principle of village democracy, it is democratic because every male adult had the right to the decision making process, each village was architect of own fortune, members of each village were bound together in their strict belief in the common descendant or ancestor (i.e umunna)

The village council

 The actual organ of government at the village was level the village council consisting of leaders of the various families. These elders were their compound’s mouthpiece as well as the earthly representative of each family ancestor. The village council was responsible for voicing out laws already sanctioned by the ancestors. These included laws for misbehavior which were accompanied by the highest punishment in the land.

In the southern part of the Ibo land, there were villages and villages councils that comprised of heads of the different lineage and some wealthy individuals, for examples the okpara (the head of a lineage) kept the ofo title which represented the symbol of their common ancestor,

Age Group

The system of government recognized the institution of the age group social life, each age group was responsible for certain duties as stipulated by law, for example, the senior age group looked after the maintenance of peace and order as well as providing army commander off external aggressions. The junior age-group took care of the sanitation related matters, while the most junior age group catered for other issues not mentioned above,

CLASSWORK

  1. Locate the position of the Igbo on the map of Nigeria
  2. why were the Igbo regarded as a stateless society

ASSIGNMENT

NARRATE THE HISTORY OF URHOBO

WEEK 7

THE URHOBO

The Urhobo speaking people of Nigeria can be found in the present delta state of Nigeria ,stories about their origin have been linked to the ijo-speaking people of Niger delta in which five clans were identified,

The first, UGHELLI clan which was said to have been founded by one ogele,two of his brothers namely; ogo and Agbarha later founded settlements named after them ,The above three settlements of ughelli,ogo and Agbarha became the owha clan,

Other clans such as ughienvwe and Ewu were founded by both ughienvwe and ogobiri, these two brothers were said to have left ogobiri after a misunderstanding with their kinsmen,they moved through the creeks towards bomadi where they settled moved through the creeks towards bomadi where they settled for a while before they later established ughienvwe and ewu clans.

another tradition of origin identified benin as their ancestor,this traditionwhich claimed that a benin man was the father of uwherun with his two brothers who were the first to sttle in eastern part of niger delta,from here uwherun moved to established a settlement called Urhobo clan,

furthermore, other cans such as the Urhobo clan of effurun ( uvwie) founded by a mixed group,Evhro-oto founded by a GROUP of migrants from Agbon that traced their origin to Benin,

POLITICAL AND SOCIAL STRUCTURES OF THE URHOBO

  1. Like the Igbo,the political and social structures of the Urhobo were based on the structure of the village in which the compound was the smallest units,for examples,the father was the head of the compound who was responsible for the maintenance of law and order as well as the promotion of the welfare of each family,
  2. There were clans which exercised authority of ovie among the Urhobo

CLASSWORK

  1. Mention the various clans from which the Urhobo traced their origin
  2. lists the various activities of the age-grades among Urhobo

ASSIGNMENT

Narrate the history of the IJAW (IJO)

WEEK8

TOPIC; THE IJAW [IJO]

TRADITIONS OF ORIGIN

The Ijaw were one of the ethnic groups found today in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria.in the earliest time, the Ijaw were identified with three settlements of Bonny, Nembe and Kalabari.

According to history, the Ijaw like many other tribes, had many traditions of origin, The first being the one that claimed three men were involved, These were OLODIA,ONYO and OBOLO. They were said to have come from Benin,

The second set of immigrants were led by Ogidigba, who was a descendant of Ginuwa, the founder of the Itsekeri  kingdom, while the third group of immigrants founded the coastal ports of Akassa and Twon.

Another version of the origin of the Ijaw linked it to some Nemne  rulers,in which the mostly remembered was Kala-Ekule through which seven rulers were identified, The last ruler was Busua who after his death, succession disputes arose between his two sons; Ogbodo and Mingi, This later led to a civil war which resulted into two lines of kingship in Nembe (brass)

SOCIO POLITICAL STRUCTURE OF THE IJAW

The Ijaw speaking people developed a system of administration known as the house system as it was with other Niger Delta city states, This system made people to be grouped into households and ward. These were composed of families and village heads who became closer to their families in each house than any other groups, the government was mainly in the hands of a group of elders while the house heads had powers of life and death over the households,

Houses were based on localized groups that were homogenous in their composition, consisting of group members, their wives and children,

Moreover, different house heads saw to the welfare of its people by the 18th century, when trade in slaves took control of the economic activities of the Ijaw, the house system developed into ‘canoe house system’ under this situation, slaves and how status freemen could rise to the office of canoe house head in any of the Ijaw city states as long as they maintained their socio-economic status of being wealthy,

The Ijaw canoe houses were made up of organizations of kinsmen, slaves and strangers that came together for the purpose of participating in the Atlantic slave trade,

The number of canoe that a house had was a proof of its strength and prosperity.

CLASSWORK

  1. Locate the Ijaw on the map of Nigeria
  2. highlight the traditions of origin of Ijaw
  3. explain the house system administration of the Ijaw in pre-colonial period.

ASSIGNMENT;

Discuss the history of Ibibio

WEEK 9

THE IBIBIO

TRADITIONS OF ORIGIN

The Ibibio group of people that could be found mostly in Akwa-ibom state and also in some parts of Cross Rivers in the south-south geo-political zone of Nigeria

The traditions of origin of the Ibibio like that of some ethnic groups in Nigeria are not clear of reports of different versions.

The Ibibio said that they actually came from a place called Ibom, their legend story of origin stated that they first settled in a location between Arochukwu in the north, Ika in the west and Oron in the south,from this location, they later migrated to Uyo and Abak,

Another tradition of origin had it that old calabar was the home of early Ibibio settlers that settled at the mouth of calabar river, by the 13th century, the Ibibio spread out to establish other settlements,

Even though the Ibibio have affinity with the Efik in terms of language and culture, they have been able to maintain their tribal identity.

THE POLITICAL AND SOCIAL STRUCTURES OF THE IBIBIO

The Ibibio before colonial rule was one of the non-centralized states in Nigeria because politically, they practiced segmentary system of government, This means they were not united under a single authority in which there were no rules as in empires and kingdoms, in view of the above, the Ibibio had the following political and social arrangements,

  1. The Ibibio were formed and developed into village groups with each having an elder as the head ,the village was the political life of the Ibibio,
  2. The Ibibio had village councils where every members of the society played his role to contribute to the discussion that will lead to the overall developments of each village ,therefore, the village council was the decision making of each village,
  3. The elders who were regarded as the head of each village group provided leadership at the village councils, His symbol of authority rested on the title holder like the ‘OFO’ title holders among the Igbo. There was also a senior title holder whose position was more or less ceremonial

CLASSWORK

  1. Who are the Ibibio?
  2. How related are the Ibibio and the Anang speaking peole of Nigeria?
  3. Identify an area of similarity in the socio political life of the Ibibio and that of the Igbo.

ASSIGNMENT

Who are the Oron and Anang?

WEEK 10

ORON AND ANANG

TRADITIONS OF ORIGIN OF ORON

Unlike many Niger delta tribesmen did not have a dependable history to trace its origin,

It is believed that it had settled in the present location by 2370BC, after Noah’s deluge.

However, Oron folklore revealed that Abang a great wrestler in Oron was overpowered by slaves traders and was sent to Egypt,

He escaped from Egypt and found his way back to Oron having established his presence in Cameroon,

SOCIO POLITICAL STRUCTURE OF ORON

Oron had non-centralised political structure, the following were some of the major organs that featured in her political structure;

  1. The head was known as ‘Ahta oro,He ruled with other chiefs,
  2. council of priests; This also helped in the administration of the Oron society by making important decisions for the people.
  3. secret societies and association; These played the role of executing the decisions of council of priests,
  4. Age grade group; They also helped the council of priest in enforcing their decisions

TRADITION OF ORIGIN OF ANANG

Anang people were believed to have originated from Egypt,

Their movement from Egypt started in 7500BC, they first settled in Ghana before finally settling in their present place,

Another oral version of their history said their ancestors were Israelites of the Northern Kingdom who settled in Egypt. It is believed that the Anang were products of Marriages between the Egyptians and the Israelites, They later migrated to their present location Nigeria

SOCIO POLITICAL STRUCTURE OF ANANG

Like many Niger delta city states, Anang had non-centralised structure of administration in pre-colonial days,

The following featured in the political administration of Anang in the pre-colonial days;

  1. Obong; this was the head of the executive arm, He was the chief of the village or clan. He performed the role of the leader or ruler.
  2. Afe Isong;; These were the elderly men in the society, they performed legislative functions among the Anang.
  3. Association; In the pre-colonial days,Anang had societies and association for men and women,The women organizations were, ABIDE, ISONG IBANG, NYAAMA, ETC

CLASSWORK

  1. Locate Oron and Anang on Nigeria map
  2. trace the origins of Oron and Anang
  3. Name two major leaders in Oron political structure

ASSIGNMENT

Identify two major leaders in Anang political structure

HISTORY SCHEME OF WORK JSS TWO SECOND TERM

POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS IN NIGERIA

Weeks 1 -10:  Inter-relationships of some centres of Civilisation in pre-colonial Nigeria

1. Relationships between peoples from different centres of Civilization in pre-colonial Nigeria:

  • Ife/Benin Kanem
  • Borno/Hausa States
  • Igbo/Niger. Delta City State, etc.

2. Differences that existed between different centres of civilization in pre-colonial Nigeria:

  • Political structure
  • Culture and custom
  • Religious beliefs etc.

3. Areas of interaction among peoples of centres of Civilisation in pre-colonial Nigeria:

  • Trade and commerce
  • Marriage
  • Festivals
  • War

Weeks 11 -12:  REVISION AND EXAMINATION

WEEK 1

TOPIC; DIFFERENCES AND SIMILARITIES BETWEEN IFE AND BENIN KINGDOM

The differences between the two ethnic group include the following;

  1. Ife had no direct army to prosecute wars while Benin kingdom had a very strong army that fought her battles.
  2. Ife did not engage in so many wars but Benin empire engaged in so many wars and conquered so many territories,
  3. Ife people speak Yoruba language while people of Benin Empire speak Edo as their major language.
  4. Ife was ruled by oduduwa the father of the Yoruba while Benin kingdom had ogisos as their set of rulers
  5. Ife was known for bronze art works while Benin kingdom was known for bothe bronze and brass art works
  6. Ife was regarded as the cradle of human existence while Benin was not ,

SIMILARITIES BETWEEN IFE AND BENIN EMPIRE

The following are the similarities between Ife and Benin Empire;

  1. They both depended on myths and legends in tracing their origins, so there were controversies among historians about their origins
  2. Both had respected and popular work of arts
  3. both had established cultures that listed for centuries
  4. both had centralized system of government
  5. Artifacts of both Ife and Benin were very significant in Nigeria history,

CLASSWORK

  1. State the differences between Ife and Benin kingdom in the pre-colonial period
  2. state the similarities between Ife and Benin kingdom in the pre-colonial period,

ASSIGNMENT

Discuss the differences between Kanem –Borno

WEEK 2

TOPIC; DIFFERENCES BETWEEN Kanem-BORNO EMPIRE AND HAUSA STATES

The following are the differences between Kanem-Borno Empire and Hausa states;

  1. Kanem Borno origin can be traced to the Maghumi people while that of the Hausa states to bayajidda.
  2. Kanem-brono people speak kanuri language while people of hausa states speak hausa
  3. Islam was introduced to Kanem Borno around the 11th century while it was introduced to hausa states in the 15th century,
  4. kanem-Borno empire was located in the North-east of the present Nigeria while Hausa states were located in the North west of Nigeria

SIMILARITIES BETWEEN KANMEN-BORNO EMPIRE AND HAUSA STATES

  1. both practiced centralized system of government
  2. Islam became the state religion of both Kanem Borno Empire and Hausa states
  3. both had specific system of administering justice before the advent of Islam
  4. both engaged in trans-Saharan trade across the Sahara desert to booth their economy.

CLASSWORK

  1. State the differences between Kanem-Borno and Hausa states.
  2. mention the similarities between Kanem –Borno and Hausa states,

ASSIGNMENT

State two differences between Igbo and Niger delta

WEEK 3                      

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN IGBO AND NIGER DELTA CITY STATES

The following are the differences between Igbo and Niger Delta city states.

  1. They are in south-south on map of Nigeria.
  2. The Igbo had age groups as part of their administrative structure while not all Niger delta states had such structure.
  3. The Igbo people had Igbo as their language while Niger delta city states had different languages.
  4. The Igbo had similar culture but Niger delta states had different cultures.
  5. The Igbo geographically were in the forest region while Niger delta city states were in the coastal area.
  6.  The Igbo had purely non-centralized system of administration while some Niger delta city states had either centralized or non-centralized system of administration while some Niger Delta city states had either centralized or non-centralized structure.

SIMILARITIES BETWEEN IGBO AND NIGER DELTA CITY STATES

The following are the similarities between Igbo and Niger delta city states;

  1. both engaged in slave trade,
  2. both had trade relations with each other, for example sea foods among the Niger delta city states in exchange for food crop with the Igbo.
  3. They both worshipped different gods and deities before Christianity,
  4. both had the Europeans influencing their culture through Christianity

CLASSWORK

  1. State three difference between Igbo and Niger delta city states
  2. mention two similarities between Igbo and Niger Delta city states

WEEK 4

TOPIC; Differences and similarities between Oyo empire and Nupe kingdom

Differences between Oyo Empire and Nupe kingdom

  1. Oyo had its origin from oduduwa the father of Yoruba while Nupe had its origin from Bawo the son of Bayajidda
  2. Oyo people had Yoruba as their language while Nupe people had Nupe as their language
  3. Alaafin was the political head of oyo empire but Etsu was the political head of Nupe

SIMILARITIES BETWEEN OYO EMPIRE AND NUPE KINGDOM

  1. People from both Oyo empire and Nupe kingdom normally have tribal marks
  2. both had centralized mode of political structure.
  3. both had strong military that fought their wars of conquest
  4. both engaged in slave trade
  5. both had traditional mode of worship before Islam and Christianity came

CLASSWORK

  1. state three differences between Oyo empire and Nupe kingdom
  2. mention two similarities between Oyo Empire and Nupe kingdom

 ASSIGNMENT

Identify two differences in political structures

WEEK 5

TOPIC; differences in political structure of different centres of civilization in pre-colonial Nigeria

MEANING OF POLITICAL STRUCTURES

Political structure implies the mode or method of governance used by a society or a state,

The following are noticeable differences in the political structures of these pre-colonial centres.

  1. centralized and non-centralized system of government; centralized systems were used by empires and kingdoms, like Oyo empire, Nupe kingdom, Benin empire, Hausa states and so on, on the other hand,non centralized mode of governance was used  by Igbo, the idoma, and some Niger delta states like the Anang,Urhobo, etc
  2. Distribution of power; In a non centralized states like Igbo there was power sharing, the different groups had power to carry out their function, power was not concentrated at the centre but in centralized system such as Hausa states, Oyo empire, Benin empire, Nupe kingdom power was concentrated at the centre, The king or the ruler controlled other arms of government with little or no power for people assisting him in lower levels of government,
  3. Enthronement of rulers;; Different methods were used in installing kings on the throne in the pre-colonial states ,empire and kingdom, in Benin empire for instance, the Uzamas ahad the responsibility of installing the eldest son of the late Oba as the new king, the Oyo Mesi in Oyo empire had similar function of enthroning kings [the Alaafins] but also had power to deposed them whenever necessary, in some centres, the throne was inherited ,while in others it was rotated among selected royal families, some did not have clear rules for the enthronement of new leaders.
  4. Hierarchy in government; while some of these pre-colonial centres had good hierarchical structures particularly among the centralized stats,the hierarchy in most non-centralised states was not so clear
  5. degree of participation in government; In centralized centres,like Benin empire, Oyo empire, Nupe kingdom for instances, power was in the hands of few individuals but in non centralized states ,power was shared among individuals

CLASSWORK

Identify two major areas of differences in political structures of pre-colonial people of Nigeria.

ASSIGNMENT;

EXPLAIN culture and CUSTOMS

WEEK 6

DIFFERENCES IN CULTURE AND CUSTOMS OF DIFFERENT CENTRES OF CIVILIZATION

Meaning of culture and custom

Culture and customs are other major area where there were a lot of differences of civilization in Nigeria such difference were very clear in the following;;

  1. Marriage; Each major centres had different ways of contracting marriage or forming the new families, among the Hausa state, marriage process was conducted using traditional methods and much later Islamic ,but in Oyo Empire and some other centres the marriage process went according to the customs of the community.
  2. language; The languages of virtually all the centres were different. In hausa states,Hausa language was the dominant language while in the places like Oyo Empire and Ife ,Yoruba was dominant. The Niger delta city-states like Urhobo Anang,Ibibio and so on had their different languages, The Igbo had a common language called Ibo though not without slight difference but they could still understand themselves.
  3. Dressing; Each centre had different ways of dressing, this was applicable to the rulers, regalias, the regalia of an Oba of Benin was different from that of Etsu of Nupe, The same applied to Alaafin of Oyo Empire in Yoruba land and Obong of Calabar in the Niger Delta,  furthermore, the dressing of Yoruba men and women was different from that of men and women from Hausa states,
  4. Songs;Each centre had peculiar songs and music for different occasions like installation of kings, rulers, naming, marriage and burial ceremonies, etc
  5. musical instruments; centres of civilization in Nigeria had different musical instruments for different occasions; The musical instrument in the Hausa states included kakaki,goje and so on, The Oyo Empire also has musical instruments like ,Iya ilu, Omle, Dundu,etc, The Igbo had musical instruments such as udu, ogene, Ekwe, etc.
  6. Greetings; each centre had ways of greeting themselves, in old Oyo empire, the subjects used to prostate themselves, in old Oyo empire, the subjects used to prostrate for their king. And when the younger men were greeting their elders.

In Hausa states men would bend low to greet facing each other, shaking hands and touching chest particularly people of the same age, Among the Igbo, greeting was by handshake or bowing down

CLASSWORK

Identify two major areas of differences in culture and customs of pre-colonial people of Nigeria

ASSIGNMENT

State two differences in religious beliefs.

WEEK 7

Differences in trade and economy

  1. Differences in commodities sold; Each centre had different commodities they sold ,this depended majorly on their geographical locations,
  2. Differences in Exchange systems;; some of them used cowry shells and salt as means of exchange,
  3. Differences in market; most of the centres had market days ,some had daily market while some fixed theirs at intervals of specific days.
  4. difference in weights and measures; Each had different ways of measuring quantity of commodities to be exchanged for money or other goods ,some commodities were measure in bags.
  5. differences inforeign trade partners; The coastal city states traded mainly with the Portuguese and the British ,Benin empire also traded with the Europeans exchanging slaves for foreign goods like gun, mirrors,etc.

The Hausa states and Kanem Borno traded with the Arabs through trans-atlantic trade. They also traded with people from Libya, mali,etc.

CLASSWORK

Identify two major areas of differences in trade and economy of pre-colonial people of Nigeria.

ASSIGNMENT

State some areas of interaction among people of centres of civilization in pre-colonial Nigeria

WEEK 6

Difference in religious beliefs will be explained in the following areas

  1. Place of worship;;Almost all the pre-colonial centres of civilization had different places of worship. Those who worshipped river goddess did it near rivers, the three worshippers worshipped around the tree and son on kingdom conquered through Islamic jihad changed their worship centre to mosques, while Niger delta states and Benin empire which later embraced Christianity worshipped in churches or their houses.
  2. Deities; each centre of civilization had the gods they worshipped, The worship of Ogun, Sango, Obatala were common in old Oyo Empire,in Nupe, they worshipped Egungun and Igunnu at different places or shrines, Niger delta city states like Oron and Anang also had their different places of worship for their gods,
  3. Priest; As the worship of deities differed, so was the priest that conducted and led the worship, each deity had its own priest who was conducting and leading worshippers each time, it was time to worship the deity.so there were priests and chief priests of these deities in different centres of civilization.
  4. Consultation of oracles; In many centres of civilization, some critical decisions were taken by consulting oracles, each centre had a ways of doing this,  in old Oyo Empire ,sometimes ,the choice of the king from a royal family was based on result of consultation of Ifa Oracle, other communities in Nigeria in precolonial days also had different ways of making decisions through their deity,

CLASSWORK

Identify two major areas of differences in religious beliefs among pre-colonial people of Nigeria

ASSIGNMENT

STATE two differences in trade and economy

WEEK 8

AREAS IN INTERACTION AMONG PEOPLE OF CENTRES OF CIVILIZATION IN PRE-COLONIAL NIGERIA

It is clear fact that all people of pre-colonial major centres of civilization interacted with themselves in various areas, the following are the major areas of interaction of these cities,

TRADE AND COMMERCE;

1.  There were strong trade and commercial interactions among the people in pre-colonial period.

first, the Hausa brought their hides and skins, cows, horses and leather works to Oyo empire to get Kolanut and other agricultural produce,

second, the Igala and Igbo people also had strong trade interaction with the help of river Niger,

furthermore, people from Oyo Empire bough slaves from Nupe while people of Yoruba land exchanged their palm kernal, yam,etc,for Nupe brasswork, cereals, bangles,etc,moreover,the Igbo people exchanged agricultural produce for bonny,ijaw,and okrika’s fish and salt.

Trade relations made Hausa to settle in Yoruba land,Igala settled in Igbo,and so no

2.marriage; Intermarriage was so common among the people of pre-colonial Nigeria,

The marriage relationship served different purposes, to some of these people, they serve the purpose of seeking refuge while to others, they helped in reducing conflict and encouraging friendship among the tribes.

  • Festival; festivals created opportunities for people of precolonial days to interact, for instances, the Igunnu and Egungun festivals which came from Nupe people later became important festivals in the Yoruba land.
  • Religion;;; religion was a major avenue through which pre-colonial people interacted ,Islamic region brought strong interaction among the Hausa, etc.

CLASSWORK

  1. Explain how precolonial centres interacted through trade and commerce
  2. explain how pre-colonial centres interacted through marriage
  3. Explain how pre-colonial centres interacted festivals

ASSIGNMENT

State two areas of interaction among people of centres civilization pre-colonial in Nigeria

WEEK 9

AREAS OF INTERACTION AMONG PEOPLE OF CENTRES OF CIVILIZATION IN PRE-COLONIAL NIGERIA

  1. WAR; Pre-colonial people did not only interact peacefully but also through violent way like war. war was common in the pre-colonial days, This occurred due to the strong passion of some tribes to dominate, suppress and take over land and resources of other tribes due to benefits to be derived wars, though negative and violent, helped major tribes and ethnic groups to interact with one another ,the conquerors way of life.
  2. Slave trade; slaves trade also promoted and encouraged interaction among the precolonial Nigerian people,
  3. Diplomatic activities;; sometimes before some protracted wars ended ,warring parties needed to send emissaries to sign treaties, this happened in 1650 when Hausa states of keno and Katina signed a treaty to end series of wars,
  4.  migration; Migration of people in the precolonial days could be due to displacement by war ,disaster, famine ,and desire for greener pastures people of pre-colonial Nigeria migrated from one place to the other.,

CLASSWORK

  1. Explain how war helped interactions among centres of civilization

ASSIGNMENT;

Explain GHANA EMPIRE

HISTORY SCHEME OF WORK JSS TWO THIRD TERM

GEOGRAPHICAL ENVIRONMENT

Weeks 1 – 4: Ghana Empire

1. Location of Ghana Empire on the map of Africa

2. Socio-political structure of Ghana Empire

3. Factors that led to the rise of Ghana Empire.

4. Factors the led to the fall of Ghana Empire.

Weeks 5 – 7: Mali Empire

1. Location of Mali Empire on the map of Africa

 2. Socio-political structure of Mali Empire.

 3.  Factors that led to the rise of Mali Empire.

 4. Factors that led to the fall of Mali Empire.

Weeks 8 – 10: Songhai Empire

1. Location of Songhai Empire on the map of Africa

2. Socio-political structure of Songhai Empire

 3. Factors the led to the rise of Songhai Empire

 4. Factors that led to the fall of Songhai Empire.

Weeks 11 – 12: Songhai Empire

Revision and Examination

WEEK 1-4

TOPIC; GHANA EMPIRE

EARLY HISTORY OF GHANA EMPIRE

Ghana empire was one of the earliest known negro empires recorded by historians, it was first mention by an Arab geographer, Al-fazari, in Ad773 in his book Al-masudi, where he referred to it as a land of gold.

According to Al-bakri an Arab traveler in his writing in AD 1067,reveals that the name; Ghana was the title of the Soninke king called Auokar which means ;war chief,

It was not certain how and when Ghana was founded, but from Arab sources, particularly the Tariskh al Sudan, it appears to have been founded by a Soninke dynasty between AD 300-400.

Early history of Ghana empire also revealed that it was situated on the grasslands North of the rivers Senegal and Niger, its capital Kumbi Saleh is said to have ben founded by Kaya Maghan,who is credited to have over thrown the immigrant minority and Negro indigenes in about AD700 and established purely Soninke dynasty.

by AD1000,the sonnike kingdom had extended it territory, in the west to the river Senegal and south to  Bambuk town of Audoghast of the sahara desert, by the middle of the 11th control over area covering most of the modern states of Senegal,Mali and Territories of roughly 650,000 square kilometers.

FACTORS FOR THESE RISE OF GHANA EMPIRE

  1. Geographical location
  2. location around trade route
  3. expansion factors
  4. large army
  5. good government

SOCIO POLITICAL STRUCTURE OF GHANA EMPIRE

In expressing the socio political structure of Ghana empire, is a description of how it was organized and governed, These involved primarily describing the government at the centre, the provinces, the vassal states and the army

  1. The king
  2. council of Advisers and ministers
  3. provincial Governors
  4. District chiefs
  5. Trade
  6. The Army

FACTORS THAT LED TO THE FALL OF GHANA EMPIRE

The decline and fall of Ghana Empire were internal and external

  1. INTERNAL FACTORS
  2. The size of the Empire
  3. Political instability
  4. The social and culture heterogeneity of the empire;
  • EXTERNAL FACTORS;
  • Increasing pressures and Attacks
  • Revolts
  • Invasion of Kumbi saleh

CLASSWORK

  1. what were the factors responsible for the rise of Ghana  empire
  2. briefly describe the socio political structure of Ghana empire
  3. What role did trade play in rise of Ghana empire
  4.  explain the factors for the decline and fall of Ghana empire

ASSIGNMENT

Explain Mali EMPIRE

WEEK 5-7

TOPIC; MALI EMPIRE

EARLY HISTORY OF MALI EMPIRE

The empire which came to be known as Mali originated from the little Malinke Kingdom called Kangaba,Mali envolved from the unification of a number of small villages known as Dugu and ruled by local chieftains called Dugutigi.it is likely that the fusion of the villages were motivated by the desire of the people to present a united front against enemies and also to participate more in the trans-saharan trade

The early king of kangaba were not known to historians,however,according to one sheikh uthman,a muslim scholar and writer, the first king of kangaba to be converted to islam in the middle of the 11th centure was Baramendana 9i.e, AD 1050] unlike Ghana,Mali became a muslim state from very early stage of its existence as an empire.

FACTORS FOR THE RISE OF MALI EMPIRE

  1. political factors for the rise of Mali empire
  2.  Geographical location
  3. Good political environment
  4. Strong successors to sundiata;; In addition to the political role played by sundiata to the rise of mali empire were the caliber of kings that reigned after him, for examples ,kings such as Mansa Uli [1255-1270],Mansa Musa [1312-1337],who continued the expansionist policy started by sundiata and also made the empire to be known to the outside world.
  5. Islamic religion factor

FACTORS THAT LED TO THE FALL OF MALI EMPIRE

1. INTERNAL FACTORS

  1. overexpansion of Mali
  2. weak rulers
  3. inadequate communication

2. EXTERNAL FACTORS

Constant attack by enemies

CLASSWORK

State the factors that led to the rise of Mali Empire

Give reasons for the fall of Mali Empire

ASSIGNMENT

WRITE BRIEFLY ON SONGHAI EMPIRE

WEEK 8-10

HISTORY OF SONGHAI EMPIRE

Before the people of Songhai settled in Gao ,it is believed that their original home was around Dendi and Bassa,they later migrated to Gao from the above places when they discovered that Gao was an important cross roads in west Africa

According to oral tradition,Kossi took Gao from the sorko and established the Songhai empire, Also many historians had the opinion that Songhai had its organization beginning in the region of Dendi and that her civilization as it was in Ghana and Mali Empires

FACTORS FOR THE RISE OF SONGHAI EMPIRE

  1. Geographical factor
  2. political factors
  3. military prowess
  4. religious factors
  5. Economic factor

FACTORS FOR THE FALL OF SONGHAI EMPIRE

  1. The communication system was poor and inadequate, also there were no natural frontiers to protect the empire
  2. Ethnic diversity,religious differences and levels of civilization combined to make it difficult for the em pire to sustain its unity.
  3. The situation in Songhai became worst after the death of Askia Mohammed I in 1528 when the empire lost its stability owing to the rebellion put forward by the eldest son Askia.
  4. lack of good leadership, ineffective central government and the revolts by vassal states led to the weakness of Songhai army

CLASSWORK

  1. Briefly explain the early history of Songhai before the reign of sonni Ali
  2. Mention three factors that led to the rise of Songhai Empire

ASSIGNMENT

State the contribution of Askia Mohammed 1 to the greatness of songhai

28 minutes read

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