ANTHROPOLOGICAL AND ETHNOGRAPHICAL WORKS ON BASSA AND HER NEIGHBOURS IN THE NIGER-BENUE VALLEY: A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT OF HISTORICAL RECONSTRUCTION

Following the conquest and subordination of the different polities in the Benue Valley, the British imperialists ensured total control of the area by establishing effective colonial administration. In this direction, the colonial government undertook extensive studies in the area covering many aspects of the peoples' life, including social organisations, economic activities and political systems. The information collected during these studies by the anthropologists, ethnographers and government officials were stored at the National Archives. This paper takes a critical look at these studies, with respect to their reliability or otherwise for reconstructing the history of Bassa and her neighbours in the Niger-Benue Valley. Findings of this study showed that there were series of misrepresentations of facts on the histories of the various polities in the area. This has hugely contributed to the ethnic contestation being witnessed today between and among the polities in the area. Since other disciplines are invaluable to the degree that they provide ancillary data, which help to sharpen historical fact, this study concludes that the histories of the Bassa and their neighbours could best be reconstructed through the combined use of insights from other disciplines.