The Anini Saga: Armed Robbery and the Reproduction of Ideology in Nigeria

bibliographic database
Line

Periodical article

Title:	The Anini Saga: Armed Robbery and the Reproduction of Ideology in Nigeria
Author:	Marenin, Otwin
Year:	1987
Periodical:	Journal of Modern African Studies
Volume:	25
Issue:	2
Period:	June
Pages:	259-281
Language:	English
Geographic term:	Nigeria
Subjects:	political ideologies offenders biographies (form) Law, Human Rights and Violence
External link:	https://www.jstor.org/stable/161014
Abstract:	Lawrence Nomanyagbon Anini, born around 1960 in a village near the capital of Benin State, Nigeria, dominated much of the public's consciousness, the interests of the media and the intelligentsia, and the concerns of the Government during the latter half of 1986. Reviewing Anini's criminal, as well as his ideological career, this article argues that Anini's rise to stardom as the 'Outlaw King of Benin' had more to do with the dynamics of how ideology and political culture in Nigeria are reproduced, and specifically the role played by the mass media and the intelligentsia, than with anything done or said by this criminal. The Anini saga proved a very useful and adaptable vehicle for capturing and expressing the fears and hopes of various groups, as well as their misconceptions and self-mystifications. It combined an hegemonic and antihegemonic struggle for control over the making and meaning of the evolving Nigerian political culture. Notes, ref.