“Strangers to the City: Urban Man in Jos, Nigeria” was published in 1967. The book explores the topics of urbanization, detribalization and ethnology in Nigeria, with a specific focus on social life and customs in Jos. It’s a significant work for those interested in understanding the urbanization process and its effects on society in an emerging African city. By providing intimate biographies of several individuals from different ethnic groups who have moved to Jos to take advantage of opportunities presented by modernity, the author is able to give a complex picture of the process of moving from rural to urban areas in fast modernizing Africa.

[from the back cover]

For this study of man in the urban environment, Leonard Plotnicov devoted almost two years to extensive interviews with several residents in Jos, Nigeria, who had migrated to this modern city from traditional tribal life. He established relationships comparable to the rapport between analyst and patient, and was able to broach intimate topics, cross-check the statements of his informants, and observe their behavior. This “ego-oriented” approach yields insights and data that questionnaires and census surveys cannot uncover, and is thus a valuable supplement to conventional survey studies.

In their differences, the principal informants represent a wide range of significant social and cultural backgrounds. Isaac Olu Oyewumi is a successful, respected elder trader who almost realizes his dream of returning to his lineage home in dignity and wealth.
Isaac Cookey-Jaja, outwardly Europeanized but inwardly adhering to traditional customs and beliefs, is a skillful engineer and practic­ing Anglican and mystic. The eldest, Gande Ikowe, ill-prepared for a Westernized culture, finds life in Jos increasingly difficult and unrewarding. Peter Ekong, a mechanic, turns to fulfillment in ethnic leadership after being frustrated in his aspirations to modern elite status. These and others form a microcosm of man adjusting to new ways of life.

This study affords a reassessment of previous studies on African urbanization that stress the breakdown of familial and tribal relationships, social and cultural disorganization, and other social ills attributed to industrialization. Dr. Plotnicov finds that what has been described as confused behavior actually reflects reasonable and pragmatic responses to shifting social and cultural conditions.

Leonard Plotnicov teaches anthropology at the University of Pittsburgh. He has contributed extensively in professional journals to the growing literature on Africa, and is currently editing a book on social stratification in African societies.

UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH PRESS