Profile: Professor A. E. Afigbo at 70

[Toyin Falola]

        Professor Afigbo turns 70 in November. His reputation as the leader in the study of Nigerian history is without question. On various subjects such as the Igbo, colonial history, nation-building and others, his publications define the fields and have been cited in thousands of works by others. Some years ago, the Nigerian federal government conferred on him the Nigerian National Merit Award, the highest academic honor in Nigeria.With numerous books and essays, notably on eastern Nigeria, Professor Afigbo is a first-rate historian who has published in the leading journals, contributed to major books, evaluated manuscripts for publication, and shaped the direction both of African studies and the academy at large. He has been invited by many institutions in different parts of the world to lead seminars, participate in conferences and give public lectures.

From serving as a head of department to a commissioner of education in a state government, he has been active in promoting education and African studies for well over thirty years. Professor Afigbo is an excellent communicator and facilitator of research. He has led many research teams, organized important  projects in Africa, and interacted with local communities. As an historian, Professor Afigbo has done fieldwork in different parts of Africa. With solid achievements in ethnography, history and other disciplines, Professor Afigbo's work is truly interdisciplinary. He is a creative thinker, whose opinions are valued by publishers, journal editors, and graduate students in search of directors and committee members. 

In recent years, I have edited his life-long essays into three accessible volumes. In a concluding statement to one of the Intro's, his contribution to the field of Nigerian studies is summarized as follows:

 

By breaking free of the rigid approach to history based on European conceptions and adopted by most historians of Nigeria, Afigbo believes the first step can be taken towards an Africa more in tune with its own needs and capable of contributing to the dialogues of world civilization.  But Afigbo does more than abstract theorizing on the steps needed to advance the study of history in Nigeria in order to improve its local and global position.  He has also spent much of his academic life practicing what he preaches.  Those who wish to see the volume of work that Afigbo has dedicated to issues in local history as well as the social, economic and cultural history of Nigeria or parts of Nigeria and its link to national unity and interdisciplinarity can consult the other two volumes in this series.    However, a sampling of Afigbo's application of his own recommendations can also be found in several places in this volume. 

Afigbo's passion for local history can be found in "The Idea of Igbo History" in which he gives an up-to-date account of the historiography of the Igbo of Southeastern Nigeria and explains his personal involvement in the development of the field of Igbo Studies.  He speaks further on this point in "Of Men and War, Women and History," a personal reflection on his own life and work delivered as a valedictory address to the University of Nsukka in 1992.  In this piece, Afigbo discusses what brought him to the study of Igbo speaking peoples and his desire to write about them "in their own right and not necessarily in the context of European activity and response to it." 

 At the same time, however, he was concerned that his works promote the national unity he espouses.  In the same article, he speaks of his "concern that the Igbo should see themselves in the wider social, geographical and social context in which they have always lived their lives so that historical research does not end up pandering to a narrow and destructive nationalism."   Another example of promoting national unity through historical analysis can be found in Afigbo's "Southeastern Nigeria, The Niger-Benue Confluence and the Benue in the Pre-Colonial Period: Some Issues of Historiography," in which he explains in depth the extent to which social and political ties had formed a large-scale community in Southeastern Nigeria long before the imposition of European dominance.  Afigbo also pushes for the establishment of a history curriculum that emphasizes pan-Nigerian history in "Myth, History and National Orientation in Nigeria".

Perhaps the best example in this volume of Afigbo's focus on the social, economic and cultural history of the masses comes in "Textile Art, Culture and History in Southeastern Nigeria."  This piece is also an excellent example of Afigbo's creative use of sources to develop historical interpretations.  He discovered through an analysis of the weaving process and social use of textiles that Southeastern Nigerian society was:

(i) very ancient in respect of their origin and evolution;

(ii) dynamic, receptive to change and variegated;

(iii) stratified and class conscious even among the so-called egalitarian Igbo and Ibibio;

(iv) gender sensitive with regard to profession;

(v) finely integrated horizontally and vertically in the economic sector;

(vi) conscious of moral and psychological imperatives in their use of textiles as wearing apparel

Thus, he does more than suggest that this kind of history should be done for its own sake.  He also proves that valuable information can be gleaned from locally-centered social and economic histories of Nigerian peoples; information that could be used in development projects in that region.

        While we can see examples of Afigbo's attempts to improve conditions within Nigeria through the understanding of its national history, we can also see examples of his attempts to improve the image of Nigeria in the wider world through pieces that attempt to make a Nigerian contribution to the understanding of world civilization.  In "Ancestral Igbo Religion and Cosmos and the Idea of World Religion," he takes issue with the established definition of what qualifies as a "world" religion and which religions have been classified as such.  He lists the criteria of a world religion as having a population of adherents, a geographical base, an organizational structure, a written canon of doctrine, a body of symbols, rituals and ceremonies and an historical role in the rise of a civilization.  Afigbo notes one other criterion as integral to classification as a world religion: degree of familiarity to Western civilization.  So, for instance, Afigbo notes that the number of religions technically qualified as "world" religions has increased over time as the West has become more familiar with religions heretofore poorly understood.  Unfortunately, even under most recent attempts at classification, no African religion has become recognized as a legitimate "world" religion.  Afigbo denounces this on the basis that the West does not constitute "the world" and therefore should not be the sole decider of what is and is not a "world" religion. 

        Afigbo spends the rest of the piece explaining why, based on the other criteria, the traditional Igbo religion ought to be considered a world religion akin to Christianity, Islam or Buddhism.  He argues this is the case because the Igbo religion "explained to the Igbo their world or cosmos just as the religions evolved in the Middle East, India and China explained to the peoples concerned their own worlds thereby helping them to cope with the challenges posed by those worlds or cosmoses.  That is what religion is about and why each religion is a World Religion to those amongst whom it evolved."   In this way Afigbo breaks down the assumptions of the Euro-centric worldview that he criticizes in all his work and helps to place an African people in their proper, respected global context. 

        Few historians have such an expansive body of work as Adiele Afigbo.  Fewer still have such a consistent and comprehensive approach to the method and purpose of historical study as he does.  Though Afigbo has many problems with the historiography of his field, his criticisms are never without basis or with mal intent.  His main purpose is to improve the study of African and Nigerian history and ensure that it remains as relevant to the future of Nigeria as it has been in its past.  In order for this to be the case, historians of Nigeria must change the way they approach history, just as historical circumstances have changed Nigeria itself.  History is a dynamic and progressive field, and Afigbo aims to keep it that way in both his suggestion and his example.         

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Toyin Falola
Department of History
The University of Texas at Austin
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