Minority Identities in Nigeria: Contesting and Claiming Citizenship in the Twentieth Century

by Oghenetoja Okoh

Overview

Ethnic majorities and minorities are produced over time by the same processes that define national borders and create national institutions. Minority Identities in Nigeria traces how western Niger Δ communities became political minorities first, through colonial administrative policies in the 1930s; and second, by embracing their minority status to make claims for resources and representation from the British government in the 1940s and 50s. This minority consciousness has deepened in the post-independence era, especially under the pressures of the crude oil economy. Blending discussion of local and regional politics in the Niger Δ with the wider literature on developmental colonialism, decolonization, and nationalism, Oghenetoja Okoh offers a detailed historical analysis of these communities. This study moves beyond a singular focus on the experience of crude oil extraction, exploring a longer history of state manipulation and exploitation in which minorities are construed as governable citizens.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781108488471
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	09/30/2025
Series:	African Identities: Past and Present
Pages:	209
Product dimensions:	6.50(w) x 1.50(h) x 9.50(d)

About the Author

Oghenetoja Okoh is an Assistant Professor of African History at Loyola University Maryland. Her research interests include minority identity formation, citizenship, gender relations, and migration in the post-independence period. She currently sits on the editorial board of the Contemporary Journal of African Studies and is a member of the African Studies Association.

Table of Contents

Introduction: setting the context: the western Niger Δ; 1. 'Active methods of showing dislike': colonial resistance in Warri province, 1927; 2. The consolidation of ethnicity in the Niger Δ: colonial reorganization, development, and taxation in Warri, 1928–38; 3. Postwar minority politics: reform and the limits of nationalism, 1939-52; 4. The mid-west region: minority claims and shifting local alliances, 1950–57; 5. Defining minorities on the eve of Nigerian independence: the minorities commission, 1957–58; Epilogue; Bibliography; Index.