"Nigeria is likely to take a more active role in funding liberation movements in southern Africa." [87], Following the civil war, the country turned to the task of economic development. There are reports that civilization already existed in Ile-Ife (the citadel of Yoruba civilization), Nigeria by the 8th century, centuries before the arrival of the British colonial administration. Lagos, however, is not perceived as the "spiritual and bureaucratic capital of Africa"; Addis Ababa has that role.". It arose at the University of Ibadan in the 1950s and remained dominant until the 1970s. The emergence of democracy in Nigeria in May 1999 ended 16 years of consecutive military rule. Lord Lugard Created Nigeria 104 Years Ago. Head of State Babangida promised to return the country to civilian rule by 1990 which was later extended until January 1993. The school was quite traditional in its subject matter, being largely confined to the political history that colleagues in Europe and North America were then rejecting. His sudden removal would dim the prospects for Nigerian stability. Despite Borno's hegemony the Hausa states continued to wrestle for ascendancy. [8] From the 15th century, European slave traders arrived in the region to purchase enslaved Africans as part of the Atlantic slave trade, which started in the region of modern-day Nigeria; the first Nigerian port used by European slave traders was Badagry, a coastal harbour. Jaja Wachuku replaced Sir Frederick Metcalfe of Britain. These were cancelled due to fraud and subsequent primaries scheduled for September also were cancelled. [9][10] Local merchants provided them with slaves, escalating conflicts among the ethnic groups in the region and disrupting older trade patterns through the Trans-Saharan route.[11]. As a colony, it was initially divided into the Southern Nigeria Protectorate and Northern Nigeria Protectorate. Flora Shaw later Flora Lugard named the areas that fell within the Muurish Sokoto Emirate and Muurish Benin, Nigger area. Much use was made of oral history and throughout the school took a strongly interdisciplinary approach to gather information. ", This page was last edited on 10 April 2023, at 11:20. [60][61], With the decline of Nri kingdom in the 15th to 17th centuries, several states once under their influence, became powerful economic oracular oligarchies and large commercial states that dominated Igboland. River basin development projects have created many large man-made lakes, including Lake Kainji on the Niger and Lake Bakolori on the Rima River. Queen Elizabeth II was monarch of Nigeria and head of state, and Nigeria was a member of the British Commonwealth of Nations. The southwest has always been dominated by the Yoruba people, descendants of the Oyo Empire, while the southeast has always been dominated by the Igbo people . Large freshwater swamps give way to brackish mangrove thickets near the seacoast. The government also moved to recover millions of dollars in funds secreted to overseas accounts. [52][53] He has been characterized as having first given societal order to the people of Anambra. [25][26] Iron smelting furnaces at Taruga, a Nok site, date from around 600 BC. The Niger delta is a vast low-lying region through which the waters of the Niger River drain into the Gulf of Guinea. As of January 2010, he was still abroad. On 15 January 1966, a group of army officers (the Young Majors) mostly south-eastern Igbos, overthrew the NPC-NNDP government and assassinated the prime minister and the premiers of the northern and western regions. Prehistoric inhabitants adjusting to the encroaching desert were widely scattered by the third millennium BC, when the desiccation of the Sahara began. They can be found in Idah, Igalamela/Odolu, Ajaka, Ofu, Olamaboro, Dekina, Bassa, Ankpa, omala, Lokoja, Ibaji, Ajaokuta, Lokoja and kotonkarfe Local government all in Kogi state. Characteristic landforms in this region include oxbow lakes, river meander belts (see meander), and prominent levees. In response, petroleum workers called a strike demanding that Abacha release Abiola and hand over power to him. The famous Kano Chronicle records the conversion of Kano's ruling dynasty by clerics from Mali, demonstrating that the imperial influence of Mali extended far to the east. Lagos, the former capital, retains its standing as the countrys leading commercial and industrial city. However, the subsequent massacre of thousands of Ibo in the north prompted hundreds of thousands of them to return to the south-east where increasingly strong Igbo secessionist sentiment emerged. The Benin Empire (14401897; called Bini by locals) was a pre-colonial African state in what is now modern Nigeria. The name, "Nigeria", given us by Flora Shaw, wife of former colonial master, Frederick Lugard, bears a negative vibration. Only five political parties were approved by the regime and voter turnout for local elections in December 1997 was under 10%. The President moved quickly and retired hundreds of military officers holding political positions, established a blue-ribbon panel to investigate human rights violations, released scores of persons held without charge, and rescinded numerous questionable licenses and contracts left by the previous regimes. The use of slave labour was extensive, especially in agriculture."[33]. This was especially true after the founding of the Institute for African Studies that brought together experts from many disciplines. The Jos Plateau rises almost in the centre of the country; it consists of extensive lava surfaces dotted with numerous extinct volcanoes. In Kaduna in FebruaryMay 2000 over 1,000 people died in rioting over the introduction of criminal Shar'ia in the State. The party leadership under Awolowo disagreed and replaced Akintola as premier of the West with one of their own supporters. Their history is reflected in the Bayajidda legend,[37] which describes the adventures of the Baghdadi hero Bayajidda culminating in the killing of the snake in the well of Daura and the marriage with the local queen magajiya Daurama. Akintola was appointed to head a coalition government in the Western Region. Chairs were thrown and one member grabbed the parliamentary Mace and wielded it like a weapon to attack the Speaker and other members. The Sokoto Plains lie in the northwestern corner of the country, while the Borno Plains in the northeastern corner extend as far as the Lake Chad basin. There they constituted a devoutly religious, educated elite who made themselves indispensable to the Hausa kings as government advisers, Islamic judges, and teachers. In the early 15th century, white men came to Nigeria to explore. Although promising restoration of civilian rule he refused to announce a transitional timetable until 1995. By Hameed Ajibola Jimoh Esq", "Nigerian Diaspora and Remittances: Transparency and market development", https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/igbo/hd_igbo.htm, "Nigeria EARLY HISTORY Sourced from The Library of Congress Country Studies", "The architecture and chemistry of a dug-out: the Dufuna Canoe in ethno-archaeological perspective", "Nigeria: Dufuna Canoe: a Bridge Across 8,000 Years", "The Nok of Nigeria - Archaeology Magazine Archive", "Iron and its influence on the prehistoric site of Lejja", "Early West African Metallurgies: New Data and Old Orthodoxy", "Kanem-Bornu | historical empire, Africa | Britannica", "Islamic Schools, the Ulama, and the State in the Educational Development of Northern Nigeria", "Bayajidda HAUSA Historical Legend Myth or Reality", "The Evolution of the Aro Confederacy in Southeastern Nigeria, 1690-1720. The Nigerian Civil War led some to question whether Nigeria was, in fact, a unified nation with a national history. The name Nigeria formulated by a British journalist Flora Shaw who later got married to Lord Frederick Lugard, the mastermind behind the creation of our beloved nation. Notably, as First Speaker of the House, Jaja Wachuku received Nigeria's Instrument of Independence, also known as Freedom Charter, on 1 October 1960, from Princess Alexandra of Kent, the Queen's representative at the Nigerian independence ceremonies. The origin of the name Niger, which originally applied only to the middle reaches of the Niger River . The most powerful of these states were Ghana, Gao, and Kanem, which were not within the boundaries of modern Nigeria but which influenced the history of the Nigerian savanna. The Yorubaland now consists of different tribes from different states which are located in the Southwestern part of the country, states like Lagos State, Oyo State, Ondo State, Osun State, Ekiti State and Ogun State, among others. Shonekan was to rule until elections scheduled for February 1994. The PRC promulgated a new constitution based largely on the suspended 1979 constitution, before the 29 May 1999 inauguration of the new civilian president. Akintunde Akinleye/Reuters. A constituent assembly was elected in 1977 to draft a new constitution, which was published on 21 September 1978, when the ban on political activity was lifted. However, Bello chose to remain as premier of the North and as party boss of the NPC, selected Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, a Hausa, to become Nigeria's first Prime Minister. Lugard. However, over the centuries Nigerians have utilized agricultural techniques such as slash and burn, intercropping, and the use of shallow planting implements to cope with the shortcomings of the soil. [68], With the suppression of the slave trade,[69] palm oil and palm kernels became the main exports. Following the Napoleonic Wars, the British expanded trade with the Nigerian interior. Nigeria is not only large in arealarger than the U.S. state of Texasbut also Africa 's most populous country. [51] Nri and Aguleri, where the Igbo creation myth originates, are in the territory of the Umueri clan, who trace their lineages back to the patriarchal king-figure, Eri. The major drainage areas in Nigeria are the Niger-Benue basin, the Lake Chad basin, and the Gulf of Guinea basin. Here are 10 interesting facts about Nigeria: 1. Obasanjo, a former general, was admired for his stand against the Abacha dictatorship, his record of returning the federal government to civilian rule in 1979, and his claim to represent all Nigerians regardless of religion. [18][19], The earliest known example of a fossil human skeleton found anywhere in West Africa, which is 13,000 years old, was found at Iwo-Eleru in Isarun, western Nigeria, and attests to the antiquity of habitation in the region. Christopher Hart, "The Nigerian elections of 1983.". The capital is Idah in Kogi state. Islam arrived at Hausaland along the caravan routes. [100], Two militants of an unknown faction shot and killed Ustaz Ja'afar Adam, a northern Muslim religious leader and Kano State official, along with one of his disciples in a mosque in Kano during dawn prayers on 13 April 2007. They arrived at Lagos and Benin in 1485 and the Merchants were welcomed. Gently undulating plains, which become waterlogged during the rainy season, are found in these areas. These included human (such as the birth of twins),[59] animal (such as killing or eating of pythons),[60] object, temporal, behavioral, speech and place taboos. [3] Islam reached Nigeria through the Bornu Empire between (1068 AD) and Hausa States around (1385 AD) during the 11th century,[4][5][6][7] while Christianity came to Nigeria in the 15th century through Augustinian and Capuchin monks from Portugal. ), height: 54cm (21.2in. [84] The name Federal Republic of Nigeria was restored on 31 August 1966. Nigeria - the Origin, Meaning and Principality. Yar'Adua's presidency was fraught with uncertainty as media reports said he suffered from kidney and heart disease. Women, for example, continued to exercise considerable political influence. Obasanjo was reelected in 2003. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. However, the bloody nature of the Young Majors coup caused another coup to be carried out by General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi. Borno regained some of its former might in the succeeding decades, but another drought occurred in the 1790s, again weakening the state. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. But Benin's fame is based on factors other than power. Numerous ancient African civilizations settled in the region that is known today as Nigeria, such as the Kingdom of Nri,[1] the Benin Empire,[2] and the Oyo Empire. All announced candidates were disqualified from standing for president once a new election format was selected. The Sokoto Plains and the Borno Plains are located in the northwestern and northeastern corners of the country respectively. In general, the topography of Nigeria consists of plains in the north and south interrupted by plateaus and hills in the centre of the country. The Federal government was given exclusive powers in defence, foreign relations, and commercial and fiscal policy. [52] Eri's origins are unclear, though he has been described as a "sky being" sent by Chukwu (God). The Oyo Empire held supremacy over other Yoruba nations like the Egba Kingdom, Awori Kingdom, and the Egbado. These parties were the People's Democratic Party (PDP), the All People's Party (APP), and the predominantly Yoruba Alliance for Democracy (AD). Nigeria has a diverse geography, with climates ranging from arid to humid equatorial. Upon independence, it was widely expected that Ahmadu Bello the Sardauna of Sokoto, the undisputed strong man in Nigeria[76] who controlled the North, would become Prime Minister of the new Federation Government. [74], The Federation of Nigeria was granted full independence on 1 October 1960 under a constitution that provided for a parliamentary government and a substantial measure of self-government for the country's three regions. The Kingdom of Nri was a religio-polity, a sort of theocratic state, that developed in the central heartland of the Igbo region. [42] History of Nigeria Early Nigerian cultures The Nok culture Evidence of human occupation in Nigeria dates back thousands of years. Author of, Professor of Geography, University of Ibadan, Nigeria. km. Most fateful for the Ironsi government was the decision to issue Decree No. Nok: African Sculpture in Archaeological Context: p. 21. During the 16th century, the Songhai Empire reached its peak, stretching from the Senegal and Gambia rivers and incorporating part of Hausaland in the east. The NEC successfully held elections on 5 December 1998, 9 January 1999, 20 February, and 27 February 1999, respectively. Additional sanctions were imposed as a result of Nigeria's failure to gain full certification for its counter-narcotics efforts. [citation needed] The Songhai Empire also occupied part of the region. [41] They are called the Banza Bakwai meaning Bastard or Bogus Seven on account of their ancestress' slave status.[41]. [41] The new president faces the daunting task of rebuilding a petroleum-based economy, whose revenues have been squandered through corruption and mismanagement. [12] Nigeria became a British protectorate in 1901. [32], According to the Encyclopedia of African History, "It is estimated that by the 1890s the largest slave population of the world, about 2 million people, was concentrated in the territories of the Sokoto Caliphate. [109], Nigeria's Democracy day was originally celebrated on May 29, every year since General Olusegun Obasanjo emerged President in 1999. The greatest and the well-known empire that ruled the region before the British arrived was the Benin Empire whose ruler was known as Oba of Benin. Opposition leaders formed the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), which campaigned to reconvene the Senate and other disbanded democratic institutions. [104] In May 2010, the Nigerian government learned of Yar'Adua's death after a long battle with existing health problems and an undisclosed illness. Ghana declined in the 11th century but was succeeded by the Mali Empire which consolidated much of western Sudan in the 13th century. 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