Social class in Nigeria

[2] Although the holders of this and other titles would therefore belong more to the Nigerian chieftaincy system than they would to a distinct upper middle class, their existence in the pre-colonial period nevertheless set the scene for the subsequent development of one.

They were formally educated, utilized a western style of dressing, owned race horses and organized waltzes, square dances and musical soirees where Molière was performed.

Outside of this community in particular, other people also engaged in trade on a large scale and joined it in becoming members of what was rapidly coalescing into a colonial nouveau riche class distinct from the traditional ruling chieftaincy.

Bourgeois individuals such as the Saro, the Amaro, and the educated natives were paternalistically supported by the British (particularly prior to 1900), even while the chiefs were utilized by them as partners in the indirect rule system that administered the country.

The middle class' links to the political elite have been strengthened, and advantageous policy changes on the part of the politicians have led to the generation of large amounts of wealth.

[8] Many members of the current proletariat have historic ties of descent to either the chieftaincy or the bourgeoisie, and therefore belong to families that can be said to have lost caste in the intervening decades due to a variety of factors.

Although upward social mobility has become more prevalent in independent Nigeria in theory, corruption, nepotism and cronyism have kept many people out of the upper and middle classes in a continuous cycle of deprivation despite the growth in the country's national wealth.

[9] Much like the ruling classes of other countries, the Nigerian upper and middle strata have continued to live in a way that most Nigerians can only imagine; their members have thrown lavish wedding parties, imported their food from abroad, visited or lived in global hotspots for extended periods, owned homes in areas of Nigeria that are amongst the most expensive in the world, and often used their helicopters instead where others are forced to endure traffic for hours.