[img]http://mccoy.lib.siu.edu/jmccall/otherafricas/img/oppressor2.jpg[/img]

THE OPPRESSOR

This popular calendar entitled "The Oppressor," is explicit commentary on wealth and inequality in Nigeria. Here, a very large man dressed in European style clothing (which is indicative of his wealth and status) rests his feet on the very backs of Nigeria’s poor and unfortunate. Although they carry his large platter of food, he offers them nothing even as they are starving. One of the biggest criticisms that Nigerians have of the elite is their failure to share this wealth with others, even by investing in Nigerian businesses. Thus, they are often depicted as greedy and selfish.
[img]http://mccoy.lib.siu.edu/jmccall/otherafricas/img/War-against-corrupt.jpg[/img]
[img]http://mccoy.lib.siu.edu/jmccall/otherafricas/img/police(corruption).jpg[/img]
[img]http://mccoy.lib.siu.edu/jmccall/otherafricas/img/obit(corruption).jpg[/img]

WAR AGAINST CORRUPTION

Nigeria's government, police, civil services, and businesses are plagued by extortion, bribery, and other forms of corruption. While many point to a failure of leadership, corruption is largely a byproduct of an economy fueled almost exclusively by petroleum exports. With no vested interest in developing Nigeria's infrastructure and manufacturing sectors, the wealthy simply profit from oil while the nation falls ever deeper into economic chaos. Recently elected President Obasanjo has vowed to crack down on corruption and bribery.

In the center of this poster we see Obasanjo attempting to lasso corruption in the form of a bull which is, in turn, trampling on Nigeria’s economy. Surrounding this image are small details showing the extent to which corruption pervades Nigerian life. Enlargements of some of these details are included below.

[img]http://mccoy.lib.siu.edu/jmccall/otherafricas/img/coach(corruption).jpg[/img]
[img]http://mccoy.lib.siu.edu/jmccall/otherafricas/img/exam(corruption).jpg[/img]
[img]http://mccoy.lib.siu.edu/jmccall/otherafricas/img/immigration(corruption).jpg[/img]

[img]http://mccoy.lib.siu.edu/jmccall/otherafricas/img/death-no-bribe.jpg[/img]

DEATH DOES NOT TAKE BRIBE

The late General Sani Abacha was one of the nation’s most ruthless military dictators. He and his family have been accused of systematically plundering the nation's treasury during his five-year reign. The new democratically elected Nigerian government is currently attempting to reclaim some of these funds but are finding British banks and foreign institutions uncooperative. Abacha is always depicted in sunglasses with boxes of money. Here we find him attempting to bribe death. Although the poster ironically mourns Abacha’s death (seen on the right at his funeral), it offers a scathing criticism of Abacha’s misuse of power. In the bottom we see him standing before Christ on judgment day, still holding his box of looted money. To the left are many of Nigeria’s previous leaders already in heaven. To the right is the devil waiting in hell for his next victim.

[img]http://mccoy.lib.siu.edu/jmccall/otherafricas/img/bribe1.jpg[/img]



Abacha
[img]http://mccoy.lib.siu.edu/jmccall/otherafricas/img/bribe2.jpg[/img]

[img]http://mccoy.lib.siu.edu/jmccall/otherafricas/img/death-no-fear.jpg[/img]
[img]http://mccoy.lib.siu.edu/jmccall/otherafricas/img/abacha.jpg[/img]

DEATH DOES NOT FEAR ANYBODY

Another reminder that worldly wealth and power are no match for death. Again we see Sani Abacha with his sunglasses and boxes of money in the upper right. Also featured are other prominent Nigerians who have recently died. The poster carefully features wealthy members of each of the three dominant ethnic groups—Hausa, Yoruba, and Igbo. Moshood Abiola, whose election as president in 1993 was annulled by the military, is also shown surrounded by money. Abiola, a Yoruba, won a popular election and was then imprisoned by a military regime that was led by Abacha. Both the incumbent Abacha and the imprisoned contender Abiola died within weeks of each other in 1998, shortly before the parties selected their presidential candidates. The circumstances of both deaths were, needless to say, considered suspect. The poster reminds us that though both men had spectacular wealth and political influence, neither were safe from death, represented here as a skeletal cherub.


[img]http://mccoy.lib.siu.edu/jmccall/otherafricas/img/abiola.jpg[/img]

[img]http://mccoy.lib.siu.edu/jmccall/otherafricas/img/blood-of-jesus.jpg[/img]

I AM COVERED WITH THE BLOOD OF JESUS

Some of the most popular posters have themes of religious proselytization. One of the first posters we came across depicted Jesus and the Devil looking much as they do here, except they were wearing shorts and fighting it out in a boxing ring. Being in southern Nigeria, which is predominantly Christian (as a result of early missionary enterprise in the mid 19th century), we saw a lot of this kind of imagery on posters. The devil is almost always depicted in this manner—hoarding a refrigerator and cauldron of human body parts, which he cooks and consumes. This motif of collecting human body parts for evil purposes featured in other posters as well. For instance, see "Where is my Eyes?"


[img]http://mccoy.lib.siu.edu/jmccall/otherafricas/img/jesus(devil).jpg[/img]

Sharia Law
[img]http://mccoy.lib.siu.edu/jmccall/otherafricas/img/sharia.jpg[/img]
[img]http://mccoy.lib.siu.edu/jmccall/otherafricas/img/sharia1.jpg[/img]

THE SHARIA LAW

While Southern Nigeria is largely Christian, The Northern states are predominantly Muslim. In October of 1999, the governor of the northwestern state of Zamfara, Alhaji Ahmed Sani adopted Sharia law. He banned prostitution and the selling and drinking of alcohol. He also encouraged men to grow beards and demanded the segregation of men and women in public transportation system. In this poster, the rules and of Sharia law are laid out on the left hand side and on the right are the consequences for breaking these rules.

[img]http://mccoy.lib.siu.edu/jmccall/otherafricas/img/sharia2.jpg[/img]
[img]http://mccoy.lib.siu.edu/jmccall/otherafricas/img/sharia3.jpg[/img]

[img]http://mccoy.lib.siu.edu/jmccall/otherafricas/img/baba-bello.jpg[/img]
[img]http://mccoy.lib.siu.edu/jmccall/otherafricas/img/baba-bello(detail).jpg[/img]


A COW THIEF IN ZAMFARA STATE

In March of 2000, just two months before we traveled to Nigeria, a man, known as a notorious cow thief in Zamfara state became the first amputee since the state government formally introduced Islamic Sharia law in January of that year. Buba Bello Kare Garhie Jangebe was convicted by the Sharia court for stealing a cow. This poster documents that event, showing Bello’s crime, his sentencing in a Muslim court, and his subsequent punishment.

[img]http://mccoy.lib.siu.edu/jmccall/otherafricas/img/peace.jpg[/img]

LET THERE BE PEACE NIGERIANS

In February of 2000, Kaduna, another Northern state began considering the implementation of Islamic Sharia law. Members of the Christian Association of Nigeria began a peaceful demonstration in the state against the implementation of Sharia. Riots soon began after Muslims began attacking members of the crowd. A strategic business area in the state was demolished and several churches and mosques were destroyed. Over 1000 people were reported killed. This was then followed by a mass exodus of southerners from the north, bringing their dead with them. When southern residents saw the dead and wounded arrive in the south, tempers flared and youths began hunting down and killing northerners living in the south. This poster documents that event in detail, showing the violence and bloodshed that took place in both regions while calling for peace between all Nigerians.

[img]http://mccoy.lib.siu.edu/jmccall/otherafricas/img/cult.jpg[/img]

SECRET CULT IS DEATH

Another area of anxiety and violence in Nigerian can be found on University campuses. Secret cults are primarily male fraternities that often use violence against other students and teachers in order to achieve status within their group and to subvert the University’s authority. They are a matter of great concern in Nigeria and a common theme of newspaper editorials and popular books.

Some argue that the first campus cult was created by the Nobel prize winner Wole Soyinka in 1952 at the University college of Ibadan. This cult was originally created to put pressure on British colonialists, shake off colonial mentality and establish an identity of independence for its members. After independence in 1960 things began to change.

By the 1980’s and 90’s the infastructure of Nigerian Universities began to crumble. Library books became out of date, the universities experienced frequent power outages throughout the day, and teachers and civil service workers were continuously on strike for better wages. Nigeria’s youth soon became disenchanted with the empty promises of late captalism. By this time Soyinka’s secret cult had segmented into a number of others branches, which began using violence as a means of recruiting members and cheating the education system. This poster carries a message by President Obasanjo (backed by Jesus) warning of the dangers of secret cults in schools.

[img]http://mccoy.lib.siu.edu/jmccall/otherafricas/img/my-eyes.jpg[/img]

WHERE IS MY EYES?

Another popular theme in Nigerian posters and calendars is the trade in human body parts for ritual purposes. Although these stories are sensational and often based in folklore, they represent a criticism of certain members of Nigerian society. Stories of persons who consume and/or sell the very bodies of Nigerian citizens in order to accumulate fast wealth offer yet another commentary on greed and the inequalities of wealth and power that have become all too obvious for Nigerians. The grisley reality is that human body parts are used ritually in Nigeria. Some of the stories claim that these individuals harvest human body parts and sell them to Western countries for organ transplants. These images demonstrate how these stories are situated in the context of Nigeria’s political economy, especially Nigeria’s place in the global system.

[img]http://mccoy.lib.siu.edu/jmccall/otherafricas/img/eyes(detail).jpg[/img]

"Eyes for rituals"—an elite (Alhaji) sells human body parts to a "white man."

White man: "Okay, But I need fresh eye now."

Alhaji: "That one will cast you money o like $200,000."

[img]http://mccoy.lib.siu.edu/jmccall/otherafricas/img/antenna.jpg[/img]

THATCH WITH ANTENNA

Photograph by J. C. McCall

An antenna reveals a television in the older section of the village of Akanu, Ohafia. Televisions are common in Nigerian homes. One often sees antennas even in remote rural areas where, due to poverty, thatch roofs persist even though metal roofing has replace them in most areas. Every state in Nigeria has its own broadcast station and some have more than one. In the southern part of Nigeria where states are small, it is possible in some locales to receive up to eight broadcast channels. The rapidly growing production of locally made video movies is now establishing the television as an increasingly significant medium of Nigerian popular culture.

[img]http://mccoy.lib.siu.edu/jmccall/otherafricas/img/witchanimals.jpg[/img]
[img]http://mccoy.lib.siu.edu/jmccall/otherafricas/img/shape1.jpg[/img]

WITCH BEINGS TURN TO ANIMALS

Unlike the other posters that have calendars across the bottom, this poster teaches the alphabet and numerals. The real pedogogical presentation, however, is a compendium of shape-shifting lore, this poster chronicals tales of human to animal transformations—some old, some new. Shape-shifting is virually always considered to be evidence of witchcraft and evil-doings. It is a favorite theme in Nigerian popular movies which employ digital morphing technology to good effect. Examples of this can be found among the movie trailers available in our video lounge.
[img]http://mccoy.lib.siu.edu/jmccall/otherafricas/img/shape2.jpg[/img]

[img]http://mccoy.lib.siu.edu/jmccall/otherafricas/img/vulture.jpg[/img]

VULTURE TURNS MAN

A recent example of a shape-shifting story covered in many newspapers is chronicled in this poster. In brief, the story begins when a young boy spots a vulture hanging around the government house in Port Harcourt—one of the first colonial settlements in the southeast. The boy threw a rock at the bird and it fell from the tree on which it was perched. Suddenly the vulture began to transform into a human to the astonishment of many witnesses. After the transformation, the man was quickly taken away by the police who denied the incident to journalists, saying that the man was of "unsound mind." A general distrust of police and a presumption that they are in league with witches and the official location of the incident left many Nigerians assuming the police were covering up a darker truth.

[img]http://mccoy.lib.siu.edu/jmccall/otherafricas/img/vulture(detail).jpg[/img]

[img]http://mccoy.lib.siu.edu/jmccall/otherafricas/img/cagedtv.jpg[/img]
CAGED TELEVISION

Photograph by J. C. McCall

The economic decline of Nigeria after the oil boom of the 1970s has bred a culture of political corruption so extensive that attempts at reform have been largely futile. Nigeria has become a nation plagued by thieves at every level. Given this environment, televisions in public spaces are often caged. The economic crisis in Nigeria is the product of a global economic arrangement that assures the extraction of petroleum for consumption in America and Europe but does little to contribute to the development of a productive Nigerian economy. Nigerian modernity is constrained by these economic conditions just as surely as this television is constrained by the iron cage that surrounds it.

[img]http://mccoy.lib.siu.edu/jmccall/otherafricas/img/videoent.jpg[/img]

VIDEO ENTREPRENEUR

Photograph by J. C. McCall

This young man carries a video camera to record a traditional Ikoro Agwu ceremony in Akanu, Ohafia. Young video entrepreneurs virtually always record funerals, chieftaincy installations, weddings, and other important rites of passage. The tapes are sold to celebrants and others, some of whom maintain extensive archives of these amateur documentaries.

See also: Camcorder Cloth


Pictures narrated by :

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From the website above your comment.

Nna Emeka,4 which achive u get all dos pics.Abeg comot niger trouble 4 ur head.No dey bother yaself