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Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It borders Niger in the north, Chad in the northeast, Cameroon in the east, and Benin in the west. Its southern coast is on the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean. Nigeria is a federal republic comprising 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, where the capital, Abuja, is located. Lagos, one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world, is the largest city in Nigeria and the continent of Africa.
The History of Nigeria can be traced to settlers trading across the middle East and Africa as early as 1100 BC. Numerous ancient African civilisations settled in the region that is known today as Nigeria, such as the Kingdom of Nri, the Benin Empire, and the Oyo Empire. Islam reached Nigeria through the Borno Empire between and Hausa States around during the 11th century, while Christianity came to Nigeria in the 15th century through Augustinian and Capuchin monks from Portugal. The Songhai Empire also occupied part of the region. The history of Nigeria has been crucially affected by the transatlantic slave trade, which started in Nigeria in the late 15th century. The first slave-trading post used by the British and Portuguese was Badagry, a coastal harbour. Local brokers provided them with slaves, escalating conflicts among the ethnic groups in the region and disrupting older trade patterns through the Trans-Saharan route.
The federal government of Nigeria is composed of three distinct branches: legislative, executive, and judicial, whose powers are vested by the Constitution of Nigeria in the National Assembly, the President, and the federal courts, including the Supreme Court, respectively. The Constitution provides a separation and balance of powers among the three branches and aims to prevent the repetition of past mistakes made by the government.
Nigeria is a federation of 36 states and 1 Federal Capital Territory. Each of the 36 states is a semi-autonomous political unit that shares powers with the Federal Government as enumerated under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The Federal Capital Territory, also known as FCT, is the capital of Nigeria and located in the city of Abuja. FCT is not a state but is administered by elected officials who are supervised by the Federal Government. Each state is sub-divided into Local Government Areas (LGAs). There are currently a total of 774 Local Government Areas in Nigeria. Under the Constitution, the 36 states are co-equal but not supreme because sovereignty resides with the Federal Government. The constitution can be amended by the National Assembly, but each amendment must be ratified by two-thirds of the 36 states of the federation.
Nnamdi Benjamin Azikiwe, PC, usually referred to as "Zik", was a Nigerian statesman and political leader who served as the first President of Nigeria from 1963 to 1966. Considered a driving force behind the nation's independence, he came to be known as the "father of Nigerian Nationalism".
Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti was a Nigerian multi-instrumentalist, bandleader, composer, political activist, and Pan-Africanist. He is regarded as the pioneer of Afrobeat, an African music genre that combines traditional Yoruba with funk and jazz. At the height of his popularity, he was referred to as one of Africa's most "challenging and charismatic music performers". AllMusic described him as a "musical and sociopolitical voice" of international significance.
Sani Abacha GCFR was a Nigerian military general who served as the military head of state of Nigeria from 1993 until his death in 1998. He was also Chief of Army Staff between 1985 to 1990; Chief of Defence Staff between 1990 to 1993; and Minister of Defence. In 1993, Abacha became the first Nigerian Army officer to attain the rank of a full military general without skipping a single rank.
The Peoples Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in Nigeria, along with its main rival, the All Progressives Congress.
Muhammadu Buhari is a Nigerian politician who has been president of Nigeria since 2015. Buhari is a retired Major General of the Nigerian Army and served as military head of state from 1983 to 1985, after taking power in a military coup d'état.
Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida GCFR popularly known as IBB; nicknamed, "Maradona" or "The Evil Genius", is a retired Nigerian Army general who ruled the Federal Republic of Nigeria from 27 August 1985 until his resignation in August 1993. He served as Chairman of the Armed Forces Ruling Council from 1985 to 1993 and Chief of Army Staff from 1984 to 1985; going on to orchestrate his seizure of power in a palace coup d'ètat against Muhammadu Buhari. He rose through the ranks of the Nigerian Army fighting in the Nigerian Civil War and at various times being involved in all the military coups in Nigeria, before advancing to the full-rank of a General and ultimately as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces; and as an unelected President and military strongman from 1985 to 1993, ruling for an uninterrupted period of eight years. His years in power, colloquially known as the Babangida Era, are considered one of the most controversial in the military history of the country, and characterized by a burgeoning political culture of corruption in Nigeria, with Babangida and his regime estimated at least 12 billion dollars.
The Nigerian Civil War was a civil war in Nigeria fought between the government of Nigeria headed by General Yakubu Gowon and the secessionist state of Biafra led by Lt. Colonel Odumegwu Ojukwu from 6 July 1967 to 15 January 1970. Biafra represented nationalist aspirations of the Igbo people, whose leadership felt they could no longer coexist with the Northern-dominated federal government. The conflict resulted from political, economic, ethnic, cultural and religious tensions which preceded Britain's formal decolonization of Nigeria from 1960 to 1963. Immediate causes of the war in 1966 included ethno-religious violence and anti-Igbo pogroms in Northern Nigeria, a military coup, a counter-coup and persecution of Igbo living in Northern Nigeria. Control over the lucrative oil production in the Niger Delta also played a vital strategic role.
Borno, also known as Borno State, is a state in north-eastern Nigeria. Its capital and largest city is Maiduguri. The state was formed in 1976 from the split of the North-Eastern State. Until 1991 it contained what is now Yobe State. The motto or slogan of the state is "Home of Peace". Borno is the homeland of the Kanuri people in Nigeria and several other ethnic groups.
The Vice President of Nigeria is the second-in-command to the President of Nigeria in the Government of Nigeria. Officially styled Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Vice President is elected alongside the President in national elections. The office is currently held by Yemi Osinbajo.
Colonial Nigeria was the era in the History of Nigeria when the region of West Africa was ruled by the United Kingdom from the mid-nineteenth century until 1960 when Nigeria achieved independence. British influence in the region began with the prohibition of slave trade to British subjects in 1807. Britain annexed Lagos in 1861 and established the Oil River Protectorate in 1884. British influence in the Niger area increased gradually over the 19th century, but Britain did not effectively occupy the area until 1885. Other European powers acknowledged Britain's dominance over the area in the 1885 Berlin Conference.
This is a timeline of Nigerian history, comprising important legal and territorial changes and political events in Nigeria and tis predecessor states. To read about the background to these events, see History of Nigeria. See also the list of heads of state of Nigeria.
Nigerians or the Nigerian people, are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. Nigeria is composed of various ethnic groups and cultures and the term Nigerian refers to a citizenship-based civic nationality. Nigerians derive from over 250 ethnic groups and languages. Though there are multiple ethnic groups in Nigeria, economic factors result in significant mobility of Nigerians of multiple ethnic and religious backgrounds to reside in territories in Nigeria that are outside their ethnic or religious background, resulting in the mixing of the various ethnic and religious groups, especially in Nigeria's cities. The English language is the lingua franca of Nigerians. 50.6% of Nigerians are Muslims and about 47.9% are Christians. Considering the ever increase in the population of the country, it is now believed that the two major religions will soon be contending for figure supremacy in years to come.
Diplomatic relations at the legation level were established in 1960 and then to the rank of ambassador in 1958. Turkey opened an embassy in Lagos, then capital of Nigeria in 1962. Turkish embassy moved to Abuja in 2001 after Nigeria’s proclamation of Abuja as the new capital.
The All Progressives Congress is one of the two major contemporary political parties in Nigeria, along with its main rival, the People's Democratic Party. It was founded on 6 February 2013.
References
- Robin Cohen; Labour and Politics in Nigeria, 1945-71
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