This book is a history of local communities in southeastern Nigeria since the late nineteenth century. It is about the processes that shaped, changed, and reproduced communities; about the meanings that people belonging to particular communities give to them, and the uses they make of them. This book is about the processes that make African communities work and continue to be relevant in a world dominated by the modern territorial state and by worldwide flows of people, goods, and ideas.

“Indigenity” matters in Nigeria. While not even a headword in the Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, the term is common in contemporary Nigerian English, reflecting the relevance of the principle in the everyday life of Nigerians. To be an “indigene” of a certain place means to have been born in, or “descend from,” a specific local community—a place that can be identified on an administrative map or in the official gazette. To be an indigene does not require residence; it usually means to be identified, by birth or link of ancestry, with a particular community of origin. This implies certain rights and entitlements, such as access to land or security in times of crisis. In Nigeria today, to be an indigene of a particular community (and of the federal state in which it is set) may also imply the right of access to government-administered resources, such as educational facilities, civil service jobs, and business contracts. For every Nigerian today, belonging to a particular local community by being its indigene has important implications for the individual's opportunities in numerous dimensions of life.

While the terms “indigene” and “indigenity” may be somewhat peculiar to Nigeria, the principle behind them is not. Although local and national boundaries are supposed to lose relevance in an era of globalization, the erection of new boundaries, or the strengthening of existing ones, is the order of the day. Belonging to a certain community—be it a local, ethnic, religious, or national one—defines much of an individual's identity. To some degree independent of an individual's wealth and resources, it may also define whether an individual may be able to achieve his or her socioeconomic aspirations: by providing access to schooling, to jobs, or to a visa enabling travel outside Nigeria. In situations of intercommunal warfare or “ethnic cleansing,” belonging to the “right” community may even determine the person's physical survival.