Gst 201 course guide



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GST 201 NIGERIAN PEOPLES AND CULTURE
SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE

Discuss the relationship between religion and economy in precolonial
Nigeria.

3.4
Religion and Politics

In traditional African society religion and politics were interwoven. At that period, according to Basil Davidson, every African lived in an age of faith like the Europe of the Middle Ages (AD 800-1350). Traditional


GST201
MODULE 3

79
Africans believed that political authority was an act of God and the Spirits. It was beyond human reach. This is evident when you look at the so-called well established kingdoms and empires which can be regarded as nation states such as Oyo, Benin, Nupe, Jukun, Kanem-Bornu and the Hausa. Rulers who combined priestly functions with political power headed all these Nation States. The priest-kings were regarded as representatives of God on earth. They made their people believe that they were supernatural This is true of the Oba of Benin. There was the belief that the Oba descended from the sky and therefore was divinely ordained to rule the world. This was also the case with the Alafin of
Oyo, Aku of Jukun and Etsu of Nupe.


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