Culture

Nigeria has over 250 ethnic groups but three stand out; the Hausa in the north, the Ibo (or Igbo) in the east and the Yoruba in the west. Religions tend to follow these ethnic lines with Muslims dominating the north, Catholics the east and animists the west. There are also countless numbers of smaller sects that are a mélange of two or more religions combining, for example, Christianity with local spirits and guardians. Animism has strong connections to ancestral spirits that protect the land and ensure tribal well-being, and many of the sacrificial rituals and juju ceremonies that use animal skulls, bones and dried insects are a way of contacting these spirits to ensure good fortune. Charms such as the ibej (twin dolls that are adorned with beads) are also an important part of Nigerian life and are worn to bring good luck and prosperity.

Nigerian art forms reflect their occult and animist origins. Yoruba masks are carved out of wood, representing the forces of nature and gods, and their use in ceremonies like the annual Gelede masquerades helps maintain a connection with the spirit of ancestors. The masks also appear at funerals in order to appease the spirits of the deceased. Of all the Yoruba masks, the large helmet masks of the Epa cult are the most spectacular. Occult influences can also be seen in the sculptures of bronze, terracotta and wood made by the Yoruba, Nupe, Igbira and Igala, and in the large Ife and Benin bronze casts.

Until his death in 1997, the world-renowned musician Fela Kuti was Nigeria's hottest ticket on the nightclub scene. His eclectic fusion of traditional Yoruba call-and-response chanting with freestyle jazz (Afrobeat) was always in demand. His music and memory live on at The Shrine, his old nightclub and home, in Ikeja. Other popular Nigerian musicians include the king of juju music Sonny Ade, the grandaddy of afro-reggae, Sonny Okosun, and the soul singer, Sade. Nigeria has as many writers as the rest of West Africa combined. Among their most famous is the Nobel Prize Winning author Wole Soyinka, the internationally acclaimed writer, Chinua Achebe and Ben Okri, a crowd-pulling favourite on the Western literary circuit. Ken Saro-Wiwa, Nigeria's other distinguished novelist and playwright, was hanged for political activism in 1995; an event that rightly incurred the anger and condemnation of the Commonwealth and other Western nations.

Generally speaking, the food in Nigeria is nothing to rave about. However, the best chance of a good feed is the roadside stalls, called Buka, where the best cooked local cuisine is found. Peppery stews are common in the southern states, while menus of grains and beef are common in the north. Much of Nigerian food is grain-based. Tuwo, made from maize, corn rice or millet, is popular as is Efo (vegetable soup), Egusi (a hot stew made with meat and red peppers) and Isi-ewu (goat head pepper soup). There's also lots of snack food including fried yam chips, meat pastries and fried plantain. Palm wine, a natural juice from palm trees, is a favoured drink all over Nigeria, especially in the south where these trees grow wild.