History of Communication in Nigeria

History of Communication in Nigeria is discussed in this article and we hope you find it informative and helpful for your research.

History of Communication in Nigeria

History of Communication in Nigeria
History of Communication in Nigeria – Photo Source: https://www.sparklebox.co.uk

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Have you wondered what methods of communication our ancestors used before technology came and changed the narratives? Well, this is what this article is about. To let history trace it to the beginning, and tell us how we got here.

Our forefathers used a variety of communication media to spread information before the intervention of science and technology together with its latest strain, Information, Communication Technology (ICT). The methods used then were limited and could not be used to spread information across a wide geographical area.

These communication media included the use of town-criers, drumbeats, symbols, tunes, fire, smoke, number of gunshots (often fired with gunpowder), and with this they did spread information, resolved conflicts, taught mores, and entertained themselves with oral literature, folk tales, among others.

History of Communication in Nigeria

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These communication methods are still in use in many of our rural areas. Below is a highlight of the earliest forms of communication in Nigeria:

1. Town-Criers

This is used to refer to the man who takes information from the local chiefs and elders and spreads it around in the early hours of the morning or in the evenings when the residents are at home.

This is because the people usually have businesses to attend to either on their farms or in the market and may not get the information being passed during the day.

2. Tunes

There are different tunes for different events. When the flute goes with a particular tune the people who have lived in certain communities know that this particular thing has happened or it is time for a certain ritual. What Biggles does at the NYSC orientation camp is a good example of this method of communication.

3. Symbols left on walls or large trees in strategic places in a certain community are also communication tools that were in use even before the era of posters, billboards, and fliers.

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4. social functions like towns-hall meetings and market days

Were used to diffuse information from one person to the other. “Have you heard? Have you heard?” All those gossips were communication media in time past and it was very effective. Only that, it could not have been used for too many people.

5. Fire and smoke

The fire was used to send messages to people in other villages, usually nearby villages. These fires are set on elevated landforms, such as hills, rocks, and nearby mountains. As the smoke ascends, they sent certain messages out and the people understood them.

6. Drumbeats and gunshots

In some communities, the gunpowder gun is what was used to announce the passing of an elder. For some others, a sorrowful drum beat conveys the sad event of the passing on of one of the rural dwellers.

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At the sound of such gunshots or drum beats, the villagers were, in some communities, required not to go to their farms that day, just to mourn with the bereaved and comfort them with condolence visits.

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