Questions about who we are, who we can be, and who is like and unlike us underpin a vast range of contemporary social discourses. Identity is produced and embedded in social relationships, and worked out in the practice of people's everyday lives. An investigation into the experiences of the Osu castes reveals these dynamics. This caste is hereditary; the offspring from marriages within the groups take the status of the lower caste, and the Osu have limited association with members of their societies. The article teases out how contestation of space, power, and representation of self and others shape the identity construction and reconstruction of the caste. The article demonstrates how power is deployed within government, church and indigenous communities, drawing attention to the need for an effective institutionalised mechanism that protect marginalised groups.

The missionary upsurge of the mid-nineteenth century resulted in the establishment of the Presbyterian Church of Nigeria (PCN) in 1846. The mission was undertaken through the sponsorship of the United Secession Church and later the United Presbyterian Church (UPC), which subsequently became part of the United Free Church of Scotland. In 1876, the ‘white African mother’ and ‘Queen’ of Calabar, Mary Slessor, arrived in Calabar as a missionary of the UPC. She served for thirty-nine years, died and was buried in Calabar. This paper presents a contextual background for understanding the missionary work of Miss Slessor. It critically surveys some of her legacies within Nigeria, and demonstrates how contemporary PCN and Nigerians are appropriating them. The paper further analyses the state of contemporary Nigerian-Scottish partnership and argues for new patterns of relationship between Nigeria and Scotland which draw on the model of Miss Slessor.

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