12 



Peoples. 



The native inhabitants of NIGERIA are in general typical negroes, 

 but the tribal and intertribal divisions are so numerous that to give 

 a full and satisfactory description would be a task of exceptional 

 difficulty. Several important works * on the people of this region 

 have been published in recent years, and most writers on the 

 country have given some information about the natives with 

 whom they have come in contact, but these scattered references 

 require to be properly collated and a comprehensive survey to be 

 made of the nation as a whole. 



The superior races appear to occupy the interior of the country, 

 and as one passes inland from the delta of the Niger they gradually 

 improve. Some of the more prominent tribes in Southern 

 Nigeria are the Yorubas, extending to Ilorin in the Western 

 province ; the Jekris and Sobos in the Central province : 

 and the Ibos, Eifiks, Kwas and Akuna-Kunas in the Eastern 

 province. They are Pagans for the most part, but some few, 

 especially amongst the Eifiks, have embraced the Christian 

 religion. 



In Northern Nigeria, Hausa is the predominating native 

 race, more particularly in the northern states, and the Fulani the 

 predominating invading, and ruling race ; both of these races are 

 Mahommedans. Other prominent tribes are the Nupes and Yorubas 

 (of Ilorin), also more or less followers of Mahomet. In addition 

 there are numerous Pagan tribes. 



The Hausas and Yorubas are in general industrious, and are 

 traders and soldiers ; the native regiments are largely if not 

 entirely recruited from these two races. 



Language.— Only a few of the languages have been reduced to 

 writing and of these the Hausa language is the most important as it 

 is the commercial language of the country. The Rev. C. H. Robinson, 

 lately lecturer in Hausa at Cambridge University states,t that " it 

 is possibly, the most spoken language on the Continent of Africa. 

 Its only rivals in numbers are Swahili and Arabic. It has been 

 reduced to writing for at least a century and possibly much longer, 

 and according to history now existing in writing, Kano has been 

 occupied as a Hausa town for about 950 years." He further states 

 that four languages and four only will dominate the whole of the 

 continent of Africa : — kt Arabic in the north ; English in the south ; 

 Swahili in Eastern Tropical ; and Hausa in Western Tropical 

 Africa." 



Eifik in the Eastern province, or more particularly in Old 

 Calabar was reduced to writing by the earlier missionaries of the 

 United Presbyterian Mission at Old Calabar some fifty years ago. 



These two languages, and in addition, Ibo, Uziado, Yoruba and 

 Jekri, have now been made the subjects of written and colloquial 

 examination in the Colony. 



* See Appendix I. 



t Geog. Journ., Vol. viii.. 1'596, pp. 208, 209. 



