Daily life and cultural practices
An overview of documented cultural practices — not an exhaustive list.
Nollywood, one of the world's top film industries by volume
Born in the 1990s from very low-cost direct-to-video production, Nollywood ranks, according to UNESCO, among the world's leading film industries by number of films, behind Bollywood. It has professionalised and exports across Africa and its diaspora.
From Fela Kuti's Afrobeat to global Afrobeats
Afrobeat, a fusion of jazz, funk and Yoruba rhythms, was popularised in the 1970s by Fela Kuti, an outspoken opponent of the military regimes. The country is today one of the birthplaces of Afrobeats, a distinct genre carried internationally by Burna Boy, Wizkid and Davido.
Wole Soyinka, Africa's first Nobel laureate in literature
Wole Soyinka received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1986, the first African laureate. Chinua Achebe's novel "Things Fall Apart" (1958), about the clash between Igbo society and colonisation, is one of the most widely read African works in the world.
Nok terracottas and the Benin Bronzes
The Nok culture, which emerged around 1500 BC, left the oldest known figurative sculptures in sub-Saharan Africa. The Kingdom of Benin (unrelated to the neighbouring state) produced bronzes from the 13th century onwards, largely looted by the British in 1897 and whose restitution remains debated.
Jollof rice, suya and egusi soup
Nigerian cuisine combines spiced rice (jollof rice, a dish disputed with Ghana), grilled skewers (suya) and soups made from melon seeds (egusi), served with pounded yam or fufu.