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Table of Contents What is a Clan? Clan System in Igboland Umunna-Umuada Structure In the article,  Nigeria's Diversity and the South-East/South-South Peripheral Inclusions: Biafra's raison d'etre,  Igbo people, and territory were briefly discussed as embodied in the notional term, Biafra. I will refer readers to that article if they want to find out more about Igboland and its territories. In this article, my main concern is to discuss the clan system in Igboland as a long-established and commanding phenomenon. What is a Clan? Before moving any further, it will be relevant to give a few understandings of what clan means. What is a clan? According to R.N Sharma, “clan is a collection of ‘unilateral’ families whose members believe themselves to be the common descendants of a real or mythical ancestor.” Then Majumdar and Madan defined clan as: a combination of a few lineages and descents that may be ultimately traced to a mythical ancestor, who may be a human or ...

Audio – The Aesir vs the Vanir – The gods at war Table of Contents Introduction Norse Mythology The different deities under the Aesir Family The different deities under the Vanir Family Other deities Ullr Loki Conclusion Introduction ‘The gods at war’ is a phrase or statement I have chosen as a theme that will help me understand the claim about the many conflicts between the Aesir and the Vanir gods and goddesses. The Aesir gods and goddesses are Odin, Frigg, Höðr, Thor, Baldr, and Tyr. Then, the Vanir gods and goddesses are Njörðr, Nerthus, Freyja, Freyr, Óðr, Hnoss, Gersemi, Skírnir, Kvasir, Gullveig. There is Jotnar, the giant gods who are constantly warring with the Aesir gods and goddesses and they are seen as chaotic and destructive. Then comes Kvasir. According to Norse mythology, Kvasir is a creation borne from the mixture of the saliva of the Aesir and Vanir gods and goddesses at the end of their wars. Kvasir is considered a wise god and he went up and down ...

Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain which has the status of nationality. Catalonia is comprised of four provinces, namely: Barcelona, which is the capital and largest city, and the second most populated municipality in Spain. Others include Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Geographically, Catalonia is located at the eastern farthest end of the Iberian Peninsula and shares boundaries with France and Andorra in the north, Valencia in the south, the Mediterranean Sea in the east and the communities of Aragon in the west. Historically, Catalonia appears to be a political fallout put together by the Frankish kingdom as feudal vassals which acted as a bulwark against Muslim invasions. By the 12th century, Catalonia and the Kingdom of Aragon forged a unity under the Crown of Aragon and latterly, around 1469 to 1516, the marriage between Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile meant that both jointly ruled their kingdoms together. However, the union established for the f...

Table of Contents Biafra - who are they?  Politics of ‘Cut and Paste’ Amorphous Amalgamation   The consideration that Southeast/South-South is marginally included in Nigeria's mainstream politics is debatable. This paper argues that the marginalization of the Southeast of Nigeria was the reason for the civil strife that led to the blown-out war.   Biafra - who are they?  Historically, the Republic of Biafra was an unrecognized country in West Africa from 1967 –1970. Territorially, it covers over 29,848 square miles of land. It shared boundaries with Nigeria in the north and west, and with Cameroon in the east, and its coast was on the Gulf of Guinea in the south. Today, former Biafra is made up of the following Nigerian states, namely: Abia, Anambra, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Ebonyi, Enugu, Imo, and Rivers. Delta state wasn’t included during the late Biafran’s leader Odumegwu Ojukwu's decree founding Biafra, however, the Igbo-speaking areas of today’s Del...

Table of Contents Why the Initiative of Self-determination? The Latin phrase  ‘ius cogens’  (meaning ‘compelling law’) is a fundamental principle of international law that is accepted as a norm by all member states of the United Nations (UN) and cannot be suppressed by any power. The principle of self-determination is a charter of the UN that states that a people, community, or nation has the right to choose its political identity, form of government, the exercise of sovereignty, and independent external relations with no interference.  The UN is charged with the burden of interpreting the charter’s principle. As such the principle of self-determination is one of those compelling laws. Why the Initiative of Self-determination? It was a response to curb the authoritarianism of the era and enthrone equality, liberty, and freedom. The idea began with the American and French revolutions in the 18th century. Shortly after WWI, Woodrow Wilson conceived the idea of self-determin...

Table of Contents Supreme Being (Worships and Venerations) Mulungu   Mumbi  Mwatuangi  Ngai  Asa  Ancestors Totems Here is a brief account of the religious beliefs of the Akamba. Spanning through Central Bantu, the Akamba ethnic group is estimated to be about 4.4 million people and occupies Southeastern Kenya in areas, such as Kangundo, Kibwezi, Kitui, Machakos, Makueni and Mwingi Districts and the Ukamba. A swathe of the Akamba population can also be found in the Mazeras and Kwale Districts of the Coast Province in Shiba Hills. The Akamba languages are Kikamba and Swahili. Globally, the Akamba are not exclusively a Kenyan or African tribe. They can be found in Uganda, Tanzania, and Paraguay, which makes it partly an indigenous group and partly an autochthonal group. Argument from migration theory suggests that Akamba came from Kilimanjaro (a word that means ‘mountain of whiteness’), basing their arguments on the similarity of certain cultural features with the...

Table of Contents The People of the Book Freedom of Worship – The Legal Tradition Jews and Christians and other Protected Communities under Muslim State Dhimmis The ringing of Church Bells Conclusion Understanding the term  dhimmi(s)  (i.e., the status and treatment of Jews, Christians, and other protected religious communities) and its usage in the Qur’an will help us understand the levels of tolerance, acceptance, and pluralism in the Qur’an especially when it comes to  Ahl al-Kitab  (that is, the people of the book). Arguably and theologically though, mere possession of sacred Books, practising monotheism, and claiming the faith of Abraham already mark them (Muslims, Jews, Christians) as people of (one) the book. Examining the term  dhimmis  and the Qur’anic stipulation will throw some light on the relationship between Muslims and other bodies of the people of the book. Some clarifications are required here, especially with the term, the people of the bo...