Cultural Dynamics in the Third World: A Focus on Nigeria

Since my early encounters with the Third World during the late 1950s and early 1960s, I have been captivated by the unique cultural landscapes that emerge from the interplay between imported and indigenous influences. These evolving cultures can be seen in everyday life, from bustling market places and crowded shantytowns to beer halls, nightclubs, bookstores, railway stations, and media outlets. In Nigeria, where I have had intermittent contact over the years, the vast size of the country provides a fertile ground for such cultural developments. Nigeria boasts several large cities and hundreds of towns of varying sizes, each contributing to the country’s vibrant cultural scene.

The country is home to a dynamic and, at times, unpredictable press, a popular music industry that has seen waves of genres such as highlife, juju, and Afro-beat, as well as numerous universities and literary figures. With an education system that extends to almost every village and a vast fleet of intercity taxis, the landscape is marked by a blend of modern and traditional influences. These elements interact to form a distinct Nigerian identity, shaped by both global and local forces.

Creolization: Understanding Cultural Transformations in the Third World

The study of contemporary Third World cultures, particularly in Africa, still needs to account for the reorganization and transformation of meaningful structures as they are integrated into a global system. Focusing specifically on examples from Nigeria, it becomes apparent that the conventional view of a mosaic of ethnic cultures—dominant in both anthropological studies and journalism—fails to capture the complexity of cultural evolution in the modern world. The diversity of cultures today should be understood within a broader framework of center-periphery relations, where national cultures emerge historically through an interaction of transnational cultural flows and local and regional traditions.

In this context, fields such as education, popular culture, and media are highlighted as key areas where transnational cultural influences play a significant role in shaping new national identities. The suggestion is made that the study of cultural transformations in the Third World, within a global context, would greatly benefit from a creolization perspective. This approach allows for a more accurate recognition of the creative cultural responses of Third World societies to metropolitan influences, offering a deeper understanding of how local cultures adapt and innovate in response to global forces.