GLOSSARY: REFERENCES IN HALF OF A YELLOW SUN

Aba.  Enugu, the capital of Biafra was captured in October 1967 and the capital city was moved to Aba.  It was the second fall-back capital, so when it was taken they had to find a new capital and it was crushing to their spirits because it was like having the backup plan destroyed and having to come up with another. The capital was then pushed back to Umuahia for a while.  (Bouma)

Aburi, Ghana: Ojukwu and Gowon agreed to meet on neutral soil in Aburi.  The purpose was to resolve all standing conflicts and set up Nigeria as a confederation of regions, which resulted in the Aburi Accord.  (Solomon)

Agwu market, bombing at Gowon’s direction – Gowon, the leader of Nigeria, ordered his troops to bomb an open market at Agwu during the middle of the afternoon, killing many women who were buying and selling goods.  In destroying markets and refusing to allow the Red Cross into Biafra, Gowon hoped to starve the Biafran people into submission.  (Gehring) 

Algeria, nuclear tests, the French.  Even after Algeria declared independence from France, France continued nuclear tests in the Algerian Sahara.  Nigeria did not approve and broke off relations with France for nearly six years, ending in 1966. (Solomon)

Balewa, Abubakar Tafawa (Dec 1912-Jan 1966) was independent Nigeria's first prime minister. In his early days as a legislator, he advocated for the rights of northern Nigeria. During his term, he played an important role in the formation of the Organization of African Unity, or OAU. He served from Oct. 1, 1959 until Jan. 15, 1966, when he was overthrown and killed in an army coup. (Davies)

Benson, Bobby:  Considered by many as the undisputed pioneer of Highlife Music in Nigeria.  He toured Nigeria and major capitals throughout Europe with large audiences and many fans.  Bobby was the first Nigerian to own both a night club and a hotel.  His biggest hit was”Taxi Driver”, which is considered a classic in Western Africa. Link to “Taxi Driver” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUS_h0lEe0Y (Daniels)

Baptist Church bombed.  White people bomb Black Baptist church (U.S.) - Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. Sept 15, 1963, three members of the Ku Klux Klan planted 19 sticks of dynamite outside the basement of the church, which exploded at 10:22 a.m., killing four young girls (Addie Mae Collins, Carole Robertson, Cynthia Wesley, and Denise McNair) and injuring 22 others.  (Brookhart)

Biafra National Anthem: link to video (lyrics included) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bWtoFedu_s&feature=related    (Daniels)

Caritas people more generous to Catholics.  CARITAS was a relief agency that distributed food in Biafra. One source says that he does not know what Biafra would have done without CARITAS, but goes on to say that the officials distributing the food did not always distribute it fairly, and were known to keep some of the rations for themselves and their families, while people went hungry.  (Trail)

Cease-fire to celebrate Easter: As was somewhat common, the two sides negotiated a cease-fire to begin the Monday before Easter Sunday and to end the day after (Monday). During the cease-fire, the troops from both sides interacted, sharing food and drink and playing games with each other. (Skaggs)

Congo, 4^th Battalion. A southern part of Congo known as Katanga seceded from Congo with military support from Belgium on July 11, 1960.  On July 15 1960, the United Nations sent troops in at the request of the Congolese Prime Minister, but there was constant controversy over whether this was an internal conflict the UN should not be a part of.  Eventually (on August 9 1960) UN troops were allowed into Katanga, provided they did not interfere with any internal conflict.  (Solomon)

Coup #1: In January 1966, army officers, mostly Igbo, attempted to seize power in the government. Major General Ironsi, also Igbo, intervened. He formed a Federal Military Government, appointing military governors to each of Nigeria’s regions. When Ironsi took power, many Nigerians saw this as an attempt by the Igbo to control Nigeria. Fighting broke out between the troops of northern origin, who dominated the Nigerian infantry, and the Igbo troops from the south. These tensions were especially sharp in northern cities, where mobs, aided by local officials destroyed property and massacred several hundred Igbos.  (Vincent)

Coup #1/Nzeogwa: Occurred on January 15th, 1966. During the coup, Prime Minister Balewa was killed. It was led by Major Nzeogwa. He spoke over the radio, informing the public of the establishment of a “nation free from corruption and internal strife.” He was arrested by Nigerian military three days later. (Davies)

Coup #2:  The second Military coup occurred on July of 1966. Northern officers, angry at the Igbo’s seizure of the government, staged a countercoup. Ironsi, along with other Igbo officers, was killed and replaced as head of state by Lieuteneant Colonel Yakubu “Jack” Gowon. He named himself as the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces and head of the military government. Lieutenant Colonel Ojukwu, the military governor of the eastern region, rejected Gowon’s regime. This upheaval marks the beginning of the massacres of Easterners in the North and the ensuing exodus back to the Eastern Region.  (Vincent)

Coup #2/Killing Igbo Officers in Kaduna: A second coup that occurred six months after the original coup in 1966. The northern Nigerians saw the original as a southern uprising. They were especially offended by the killing of their senior northern officers. Rumors were also spreading through the North that the Igbo were planning a second stage in order to “finish the job” and kill all remaining northern soldiers. To prevent this, the Northern soldiers planned and carried out an action that involved the killing of all Igbo officers in high positions in the army. This resulted in complete Northern control of the army. (Beatty)

Currency Change - Biafra's official currency had been the Nigerian Pound until the Biafran Pound was released to the public on January 28, 1968. Originally only five shilling and one pound notes were released, but new notes were introduced in 1969. By the end of the War, it is estimated that between 115 and 140 million Biafran Pounds were in circulation. A small amount, considering that was only about 10 pounds per person. (Lenberg)

Dairo, I.K.  Known as the father of “juju”, which is what eventually surpassed highlife as the main Nigerian sound.  Dairo used a wide variety of instruments in his music, and, like Uwaifo, received recognition from many governments and organizations such as Queen Elizabeth.  Most of Dairo’s songs were sang in Yoruba, but a few used English and other local languages as well. (Daniels)

Dibia: Has no English equivalent. Dibias are traditional healers of the Igbo tribe in Nigeria, and are like shamans in the respect that it is an inherited position and they study divination and healing herbs. Dibias are very well respected, and a more literal translation of the term is “masters of knowledge.” (Beatty)

Ethnic balancing policy.  used to try and equalized power and social positions between different groups. However instead of bringing harmony these policies simply put more and more emphasis on the distinct groups instead of equalizing the individual. (Browning)

Goat bleating.  Couldn’t find specific song the novel was referencing.  Typically a goat bleats excessively when it is either hungry, thirst, during breeding season, or sick.  Link to goat bleating http://www.goats4h.com/lamancha.au  (Daniels)

Gowon, Yakuba, 1934-, Nigerian head of state. After entering the Nigerian army in 1954, he advanced (1966) to battalion commander. He was trained in Ghana and in England at Sandhurst and twice served in the Congo region as part of Nigeria’s peacekeeping force there in the early 1960s. After the coup of January 1966, he was appointed chief of staff by Major General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, the new leader. Northern officers staged a countercoup in July 1966, and Gowon emerged as the compromise head of the new government.

Gowon tried to resolve the ethnic tensions that threatened to fatally divide Nigeria. Although he was eventually successful in ending attacks against Igbo in the north, he was unable to affect a more lasting peace. In a final attempt to resolve the conflict, on May 27, 1967, Gowon declared a state of emergency and divided Nigeria’s four regions into 12 states. Three days later the Eastern region declared itself the independent state of Biafra with Odumegwu Ojukwu as its leader; armed conflict began in July.

Gowon directed government forces to remember that they were essentially fighting Nigerians, who were to be encouraged to rejoin the country. He also allowed a team of international observers to monitor the conduct of his troops. After the government victory in January 1970, a remarkable reconciliation took place between victors and vanquished, largely attributable to Gowon’s personal influence. (Truong)

Hausa.  The Hausa are an African people group located primarily in Nigeria and Niger, although they are also found in large numbers throughout the neighboring countries. The official religion of the Hausa people is islam. The Hausa rulers accepted Islam as early as possibly the 11th century, although the majority of the population originally stuck to their animalistic beliefs. This aristocracy used a mixture of Islam and animalism to validate their rule. The Hausa have been a force in Africa from as early as 800 BC. Kano, Nigeria is the center of Hausa culture and trade.  Hausa is also the language spoken by this culture. Hausa is part of the Afro-Asiatic, Chadic, and West Chadic language families. This language has 39 million speakers, some as a first and others as second. (Lenberg)

Hegel, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich. German philosopher who wrote "The Geographical Basis of History," which helped form modern anti-intellectual African racism.
The Africa portion of this work asserted that "Africa proper, as far as History goes back, has remained - for all purposes of connection with the rest of the World - shut up; it is the Gold-land compressed within itself, - the land of childhood, which lying beyond the day of self-conscious history, is enveloped in the dark mantle of Night. Its isolated character originates not merely in its tropical nature, but essentially in its geographical condition."
He claimed that black Africans not only constitute a unique and separate race, but that humanity lacks the scientific or intellectual tools with which to comprehend black Africans.
"In Negro life the characteristic point is the fact that consciousness has not yet attained to the realization of any substantial objective existence, -as for example, God, or Law, - in which the interest of man's volition is involved and in which he realizes his own being. This distinction between himself as an individual and the universality of his essential being, the African in the uniform, undeveloped oneness of his existence has not yet attained."
In this view of history, Africa-- referred to as 'the Uplands,' a sort of primitive Utopia-- remained trapped in "The Infancy of Humanity," while the rest of the world attained intellectual achievement.
Possibly partially responsible for the term "the Dark Continent" for the African interior. (Orwin)

High Life Music:  Starting in Lagos during the 1960’s, acoustic “Igbo blues” music transformed into guitar-based bands.  Pioneering the highlife music was E.T. Mensah, Bobby Benson, and Jim Rex Lawson.  Highlife music typically is composed of multiple guitars and jazzy horns.  Highlife music is Igbo music. (Daniels)

Hunt, Sir David.  It was well known that Britain agreed with Nigeria’s position, but Britain wanted their direct intervention kept secret. Sir David Hunt, British High Minister to Nigeria, was an active proponent of Britain’s support. In a June 12 memo to London, he stated that the “only way…of preserving unity [sic] of Nigeria is to remove Ojukwu by force.” He believed that supporting the FMG was in Britain’s best interest. This was the general consensus among British officials, however, they also agreed that they should maintain an appearance of non-interference. The British therefore refused to sent Nigerians aircraft, but did send them anti-aircraft guns, stressing their defensive use. Hunt was influential in Britain’s supplying of Nigerian forces. He was also insistent on their secrecy, suggesting the anti-aircraft guns be transported by inconspicuous civilian planes. However, by November of 1968, the British stepped up their supplying efforts to include more than 36 million rounds of ammunition in only a few months.  (Vincent)

Igbo (people who dispose gods)-  The Igbo are an ethnic group based in West Africa, mainly Nigeria, and are one of the three most influential groups of the area, including the Hausa and Yoruba people. Modern Igbo are primarily Christian; the older, ancient Igbo traditions are known as Odinani. “People who dispose gods” is a reference to Alusi—lesser gods of the Odinani tradition. There are many Alusi, and they are “discarded” (or disposed) periodically. Currently, the total population of the Igbo people number over 25 million.  (Klismith)

Igbo killed in Maiduguri: An extension of the counter-coup of 1966. In Maiduguri the counter-coup got out of control of the planners. This massacre saw the escalation of the coup from one that targeted high Igbo in authoritative positions to a racist act targeting any Igbo even if they had no power. (Beatty)

Igbo-Ukwu art.  -earliest signs of their art appeared around the 9^th century; -the Igbo-ukwu people are considered the first people of their kind to work with copper; -it was a long and elaborate process that involved pressing insects into the copper to imprint designs; famous for their bronze and copper designs; only people of their time to use bronze and copper for artistic purposes. (Perry)  Metropolitan Museum pictures: http://www.metmuseum.org/TOAH/HD/igbo/hd_igbo.htm

Ikoyi - an island suburb of Lagos developed as a residence for British expatriates.  (Brookhart)

“Infidels versus righteous thing”- The first Nigerian military coup in 1966 angered a number of Africans, in Nigeria and elsewhere; much of their resentment came from an Islam vs. Christianity mindset. The victims of the first coup were mostly northern Nigerians, associated with Islam. “Infidels versus righteous thing” is a reference to a belief held by some mainly Islamic Africans that the coup simply boiled down to an Islam vs. Christianity conflict. (Klismith)

Kano: The administrative capital in the Kano State, located in northern Nigeria. It is the second most populous city in the country after Lagos. It was founded in the 10th century AD by the Islamic Hausa tribe, and Islam is the major religion to this day. It is ruled by an Emir, which since 1963 has been Ado Bayero.  (Beatty)

Lagos.  Largest city in Nigeria and second largest city in Africa, began as a Yorbua settlement and was the capital of Nigeria until 1991.  See also Ikoyi and Yaba.  (Brookhart)

Lagos--Syrian & Lebanese merchants.  Investors and merchants from Syria and Lebanon owned many of the businesses in the commercial hub of Lagos. (Solomon)

Landmines.  There are two basic types of landmines: Anti-personnel and anti-tank landmines. The anti-tank landmines take a larger object to detonate them while the anti-personnel mines are easily triggered. The landmines being developed in the story are most likely anti-tank land mines.  (Daniels)

Lawson, Rex:  Rex Lawson was also known as “Cardinal Rex”.  He was also a pioneer of Highlife Music who was famous for weeping and shedding tears while performing.  His music is still popular today in Nigeria.  (Daniels)

Lumumba, Patrice: First prime minister of the Congo. He only led the government a short while before his government was removed from power and he was taken under arrest. He was supposedly then killed by a firing squad. To this day nobody knows for sure who killed him, but as "master" concludes it was the Americans.  (Bentz)

Nok art.  focuses on full length human sculptures; earliest signs of terracotta sculpture; found in northern Nigeria; common features include flared nostrils and distortions of facial features.  (Perry)  http://hum.lss.wisc.edu/hjdrewal/Nok.html

Nsukka:  town and Local Government Area in South-East Nigeria in Enugu State. Other towns that share common border with Nsukka, such as Enugu Ezike and Obollo-Afor (formerly centre of the palm oil trade), Ede-Oballa, Uzo Uwani and Mkpologwu, now also claim the name Nsukka, hence they all collectively fall into the political zoning system in Nigeria known as Senatorial Zone. Nsukka Town is presently known mostly as the site of the University of Nigeria. Slogan: The Pivotal Pillar.
Nsukka is home to the Igbo ethnic group. In July 1967, Nsukka was one of the first Biafran towns to be captured by the northern Nigerian forces during their so-called 'police action' at the outset of the Nigerian-Biafran War. This action created many refugees and contributed to the chaos and suffering inherent in this bloody conflict. Right now, the people of Nsukka are agitating for a state of their own. And for that reason, a website http://www.nsukkaland.com was created for it. (Bouma)

Nyerere, Juliusa: served as the first president of Tanganyika (later renamed Tanzania) from 1964 go 1985. He was the first Tanzanian to study at a British university, the University of Edinburgh. Upon his return, he was became involved in an important civil organization that later developed into the leading political group in the country, whose intention was to gain support for the movement towards independence. Primarily through his diplomatic and oratory skills, this was achieved without war. In 1961, Tanganyika was granted self-governance, and Nyerere was elected the first Prime Minister, and when it became a republic he was elected President. He was later able to combine the island of Zanzibar with Tanganyika to form Tanzania, the first country to recognize Biafra after the secession. (Skaggs)

Obosi - A town located in southeastern Nigeria. This town was hot area during the Nigerian Civil War. This was because Obosi was such a strategic battlefield. Most of the town's buildings were destroyed during the war by attacks from both sides. From Obosi's western border with Onitsha, Nigerian forces bombarded the city with artillery. In addition, the city was also shelled by the Biafran forces from both its Eastern and Northern Borders. (Lenberg)

Oil in Eastern Nigeria: Oil reserves were a recent discovery before the coup. Many easterners (Igbo) were concerned about the oil benefitting the North more than the East. Kainene, in the book, claims Nigeria is not letting Biafra secede peacefully because of the fear of losing the revenue from the oil.  (Davies)

Ojukwu, Odumegwu - Born in Nnewi, Nigeria November 4, 1933. Ojukwu was an educated man who graduated from Oxford in 1955. After graduation, he returned to Nigeria to be an administrative officer, but two years later he joined the Nigerian army where he moved through the ranks rapidly. In his life, he has been both a politician and military leader, but he will probably be most remembered for the role he played in the Nigerian civil war with Biafra. After the January 1966 coup, then lieutenant Colonel Ojukwu was made the military governor of the eastern territory. After the July countercoup, he was able to maintain control of the territory. Relations were poor between the largly Igbo East and the rest of Nigeria, this resulted in the East's separation from Nigeria. On May 30, 1967, Ojukwu declared the eastern territory to be its own indepednent nation, the Republic of Biafra. Ojukwu led the unsuccessful fight to retain Biafra until he fled to Côte d’Ivoire on the eve of Biafra's surrender. There he was granted asylum. In 1982, he was pardoned and returned to Nigeria. In the years since, Ojukwu has been involved with several political parties in his attempts to gain a foothold in politics.  He has ran for president twice in Nigeria, both times unsuccessfully. (Lenberg)

Ole Miss. Black American in Ole Miss - James Meredith, the first black student at the University of Mississippi in 1962. His enrollment sparked riots on the campus, killing two and requiring Federal troops and U.S. Marshals to calm. Inspired Bob Dylan's song "Oxford Town."  (Brookhart)

Owerri – Owerri is situated in southeastern Nigeria and served as the capital of the Republic of Biafra in 1969.  The city was taken by Nigerian troops in September 1968 as they advanced from the south.  The Biafran army retook Owerri through fierce fighting and helped to stall the progress of the Nigerian army for a time. (Gehring) 

Pan-Africanism is a sociopolitical world view, and philosophy, as well as a movement, which seeks to unify both native Africans and those of the African diaspora, as part of a "global African community".^[1]Pan-Africanism calls for a politically united Africa. (Browning)

Park, Mungo.  in reference to African History, I gathered Mungo Park was a Scottish Surgeon and a man with a thrill for exploration. Born in Scotland in 1771 Park trained to be a surgeon but he gained his fame from in 1795 after his solitary journey and return afoot from the wilds of Africa. Mungo Park headed out in 1795 with his two slaves and was adorned in finest gentlemanly attire with an umbrella and a top hat where he kept his field notes. (The perfect expedition wear)  Speaking no Arabic one of the books which accompanied him was a book on Arabic grammar and a journal from Houghton, a previous African explorer. Shortly after encountering Muslim inhabitants he was taken prisoner and four months later escaped and through the help and kindness of African villages along the way continued down the river to the current city of Segou, before returning to the coast and back to England. The subsequent novel he published, Travels in the Interior Districts of Africa, was a quick seller and with his royalties he settled and married, yet remained discontented in his pursuit of Africa.

Through affluent ties, fame and a thirst for exploration, in 1805 he was granted 40 men by the 'Association for Promoting the Discovery of the Interior of Africa’ to do just such. The main pursuit of this European Association was to explore the uncharted lands and rivers of Sub-Saharan Africa to ascertain the routes of sources of the River Niger.

In 1805 with 40 European men he set out against all odds to discover the River Niger. He left from Gambia during the rainy season and within days 10 of his men fell sick with dysentery and five weeks later one was dead and their supplies lost to fire.  When the group eventually reached Sandsanding only 11 of the original 40 were still alive. Two months later 5 remained. Park sent their native guide back up river to send what would be his final notes to England and continued downstream. When the guide reached the coast he received the news that Park and his remaining men had been killed/drowned after traveling a total of 1000 miles downstream.  It is said they in a vain attempt to avoid the Muslims on the shore traveled the center of the river and were mistaken to be Muslim raiders and shot out of their boats, where they then drowned in the Bussa rapids or died by gunfire. (Your choice)  The year of his death was 1806; he died at the age of 35.  (Boyd)

Pax Britannica – Latin for “the British Peace”.  This period marked relative peace in Europe when the British Empire held control over most of the key naval trade routes and maintained its status as the major sea power.  This was also the era of British imperialism when England expanded its colonial holdings and dominated many overseas markets.  It led to the spread of the English language and the British Imperial system of measures. (Gehring) 

police action becomes war (p. 267): This is referring to the time when the war was openly declared on the Biafrans. This happened on July 6 1967.  (Bentz)

Port Harcourt city (1991 est. pop. 362,000), SE Nigeria, a deepwater port on the Bonny River in the Niger delta. It is an industrial and commercial center where steel and aluminum products, pressed concrete, glass, tires, paint, footwear, furniture, and cigarettes are manufactured and bicycles and motor vehicles are assembled. Port Harcourt, the operational headquarters of the Nigerian petroleum industry, refines oil and pipes it mostly to Bonny for export. Palm oil and kernels, cacao, coal, tin, and peanuts are Port Harcourt's chief exports. The city is also a rail terminus and has an airport. Port Harcourt was founded by the British in 1912 and named for Lewis, Viscount Harcourt, secretary of state for the colonies (1910–15). (Truong)

Rockets.  First Biafran Rocket: The Biafrans were not capable of building jet fighters because of the cost and technology. As a alternative they developed planes called “Biafra Babies” that were equipped with rockets that Biafra was able to manufacture. (Daniels)

Britain was also urging that nobody should recognise Rhodesia, despite the regime's de facto control. Eventually Britain, who allowed this armed rebellion to continue, was forced to concede the independence of what had become Zimbabwe. Many comparisons have been made between Biafra and this conflict in Rhodesia. (Browning)

Sabon Gari:  Literally translated in Hausa, it means “new town.”  They were originally created in Hausa cities like Kano and Kaduna to house immigrants from Southern Nigeria, in order to keep the population segregated.  Over time the segregation would partially break down and Hausa would move in, but the majority of the Sabon Gari’s inhabitants usually remained people from other parts of Nigeria or West Africa. (Beatty)

Sharpeville.  Black people killed in Sharpeville - Sharpeville is a township in Gautend, South Africa. On March 21, 1960, the Pan Africanist Congress held a peaceful protest in which black Africans burnt the pass books which restricted them from going in certain areas. The protest became a violent massacre when South African police opened fire on the black civilians, killing 69 and wounding 178. (Brookhart)

Tiv people.  The Tiv people were a major tribe of the Middle belt, who openly rioted for almost three years (1962-1965).  (Trail)

Unitary decree, Western Igbo- After becoming Nigeria’s first military head of state as a result of the original Igbo-lead coup in 1966, Johnson Aguyyi-Ironsi soon instituted a military rule, claiming that the democratic process thus far had failed. While he supported eventual return to democracy, he believed that significant revision and clean-up was necessary. The, in essence, was the unitary decree—an instituted military hold on the country until Nigeria was ready for a return Democracy.  The Western Igbo are a subset of the Igbo people, separated geographically Niger River. The Western Igbo are significantly isolated from the other Igbo people, not just in location. (Klismith)

Universit of Zaria, British academics  The Ahmadu Bello University was founded on October 4, 1962 as the University of Northern Nigeria. During the time of the Biafran War, University of Zaria employed many British academics who were naturally supportive of the British position. They have been accused of encouraging and instigating aggression toward the Igbo, and contributing to the mass killings of Igbo people throughout Nigeria, especially in the north. “What is even more horrifying about the pogrom was the orchestrated and coordinated planning aided and abated by Northern leaders with the instigation of erstwhile colonial officials especially lecturers at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.”  -Tobe Nnamani  (Vincent)

Uwaifo, Victor.  Emerged in 1965 with his famous song, “Joromi”.  Uwaifo is a musician, teacher, sculptor, and philosopher.  Uwaifo has received numerous awards for his music from Nigeria’s government, and received personal recognition from many Nigerian Presidents. (Daniels)

Western House of Assembly, tear gas (141).  Chief S. L. Akintola was the Premier of the Western Region. When the Northern People’s Congress (NPC) decided to back him, he refused to resign. By mid-1962, the Action Group party had plans in place to impeach him. Without listening to calls for caution by other leaders, they moved to impeach Akintola. Even before the motion could be seconded, the Assembly erupted into violence. Men used chairs and any other objects they could find to beat each other until police arrived and poured tear gas in to separate the sides. The federal government declared a state of emergency in the Western Region and appointed an Administrator of the Western Region.  (Trail)

Wilson, Harold.  Harold Wilson served four terms as Prime Minister for the U.K., three from 1964-1970, and a final one from 1974-1976. His administration supported General Gowon when Biafra succeeded.  (Trail)

Yaba - suburb of Lagos with several universities and one of the busiest marketplaces in Nigeria, formally known as Tejuosho Market (Brookhart)

Yoruba - ethnic group comprising approximately twenty percent of Nigeria's population, located primarily in Southwest Nigeria.  (Brookhart)