Ancient Nigeria

“Where you will sit when you are old shows where you stood in youth.” This is an old African proverb from the Yoruba tribe. I find this Yoruba proverb to be very true based on my upbringings and how I evolved into the young woman I am today. This African saying exemplifies how wise and discipline Africans were back in the day. This discipline definitely played a role in the advancement of human civilization. One country in Africa who played a key role in the advancement of civilization is Nigeria. To begin, One in every five African is Nigerian. This demonstrates how large and populated Nigeria is. It is not just Africa’s most populous nation, but also Africa’s most popular nation. To some people in the west, every African is a Nigerian, one can hardly fault them. Nigerians are all

Famous now for its sculpture, Ife flourishes from the 11th to 15th century. In the 16th century a larger Yoruba empire develops, based slightly further from the forest at Oyo. Using the profits of trade to develop a forceful cavalry, Oyo grows in strength during the 16th century. By the end of the 18th century the rulers of Oyo are control.” (Gascoigne., 2001)

Moreover, Nigeria also has history in the arts . The earliest known rock art preserved in the Saharan sands in Niger dates as far back as 6500 BC. They are carvings known as petroglyphs and depict animals like giraffes that no longer exist in that area. From these images we learn how ancient tribes and cultures viewed their universe around them. Observing the paintings may give us insight into their thoughts, their spiritual and physical worlds. There were major internal changes in Nigeria in the 19th century ,In 1804, Usuman dan Fodio a Fulani and a pious Muslim, began a holy war to reform the practice of Islam in the north. He soon conquered the Hausa city-states. This is where we began to see the trans-atlantic slave trade which destroyed many African