History of Nigeria

Introduction to History of Nigeria

The most significant of the ancient Nigerian cultures known to archeologists is that of the Nok people, who flourished from the fourth century B.C. to the second century A.D. The Nok were the first West Africans to smelt iron.

The farthest back Nigerian history can be traced through oral tradition is the 9th century A.D. In the southwestern region, Yoruba city-states grew into powerful kingdoms, the first of which was Ife. In the 15th century Benin and Oyo emerged as the strongest of the Yoruba kingdoms.

In northern Nigeria, Hausa city-states emerged around the 11th century. Kano, one of the earliest, was followed by Gobir, Katzina, Zaria, and others. The Hausa city-states remained small and divided, and never developed into kingdoms. During the 14th and 15th centuries the Hausa were converted to Islam.

The Kanuri, in the Lake Chad area, founded the kingdom of Kanem in the 9th century and were converted to Islam in the 11th century. The kingdom in the 15th century grew into the powerful Kanem-Bornu empire. By the 18th century the empire was in decline.

In 1804, the Fulani, who had settled in the Hausa city-states during the 13th to 16th centuries, launched an Islamic holy war against the Hausa rulers, whom they saw as lax in their faith. Led by Usman dan Fodio, the Fulani conquered all the Hausa states by 1810 and formed the Sokoto caliphate. Sokoto was a confederacy of emirates, created from the former Hausa states and headed by Fodio, who ruled as caliph.

During the 1830's, following a series of conflicts among the Yoruba kingdoms called the Yoruba Wars, Ibadan emerged as the most powerful Yoruba kingdom.

British Colony

The first Europeans to come in contact with the people of Nigeria were the Portuguese, who developed a flourishing trade with Benin in the 15th century. The British began to trade in Nigeria in the mid-16th century. From the 17th through the early 19th century, Nigerian slave traders along the coast provided hundreds of thousands of slaves for the American colonies.

Europeans knew little of the interior until after 1800, when the British became active in exploration. Private commercial companies entered the region to carry on trade. In 1861, Lagos was made Great Britain's first Nigerian colony. The British gradually extended their control over the surrounding area and consolidated it into the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria in 1914.

During World War II Nigerian troops saw service on many fronts. The 1947 constitution gave the people some control over their government. In 1954 Nigeria became a federation under a governor general.

Independence

In 1960 Great Britain granted Nigeria independence. The following year, the northern part of British Cameroons, a United Nations trust territory, voted to become part of Nigeria. The nation became a republic in 1963.

From the time Nigeria received independence, ethnic and religious differences threatened to split the country. Friction between the Ibos in the east and the politically dominant Hausas in the north increased after the national elections of 1964. In 1966 a group of Ibo military officers overthrew the civilian government. They were in turn overthrown by Hausa military leaders.

In 1967 the southeastern region, the homeland of the Ibos, seceded, declaring itself the Republic of Biafra. Civil war followed. By the end of 1968 federal troops held most of Biafra. The Ibos held out for a year in a small, crowded sector where close to a million died of starvation. They surrendered in 1970, and the Nigerian government took steps to reunite the country. Military control of the government continued, however.

Recovery after the civil war was rapid. The economy was spurred by increases in both oil production and international oil prices during the 1970's.

In 1979, civilian rule was restored, but the new leaders mismanaged the country's economy, and wasteful spending and corruption became severe problems. The government was overthrown in 1983 by military leaders. The new regime abolished many basic freedoms, and in 1985 a coup led by Major General Ibrahim Babangida brought a more liberal military government to power.

Babangida became president and promised a return to civilian rule. Attempts to establish democratic rule foundered in 1989 due to conflict between Muslims and Christians. A new attempt failed in 1993 because of conflict between the political parties and Babangida. In August, 1993, Babangida stepped down and an interim government was formed. In November, General Sani Abacha seized power and established a dictatorship. In 1995 Ken Saro Wiwa, an internationally prominent writer and environmental activist, was arrested and hanged along with several others. In response, the members of the Commonwealth of Nations voted to expel Nigeria.

In 1998 Abacha died and General Abdulsalami Abubakar took power. He began negotiations with opposition leaders and freed most political prisoners. In 1999 civilian rule was restored and General Olusegun Obasanjo was elected president. Nigeria was readmitted to the Commonwealth in 1999. Free from military rule, Muslim majority states in the north adopted strict Islamic law in 2000, resulting in an escalation in violence between Christians and Muslims.

Nigerians voters elected the governor of the state of Katisina, Umaru Yar'Adua, as the country's president in April, 2007. However, opponents condemned the election. Protests ensued, resulting in about 200 deaths.