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Those armbands are a religious thing, a sort of charm, typically they're intended to protect the wearer from something particular. Different ones have different purposes, so you'd have to ask those guys to know what they're for. Maybe they're supposed to protect them from the animals! They can be seen across West Africa, they're not a "tribal" thing as they're not related to a particular tribe. These days in Muslim areas they typically contain verses from the Koran written on a little piece of paper, folded up small and tucked into the puch. That's a repackaging of an older, pre-Islamic tradition where they use other things (I don't know what). Nigeria does not have a Muslim majority, although the north is mostly Muslim, so it's hard to even guess what's in these without more information. Also, unlike most (any?) of you, I actually have been to Africa.
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