Nigeria

Overview

Nigeria is a federal republic of 36 states plus the Federal Capital Territory (Abuja), covering about 924,000 km² between the Sahel and the Gulf of Guinea. With over 240 million people it is Africa's most populous country and one of its largest economies, a regional power and OPEC member.

History

The territory has deep roots: the Nok culture (c. 1500 BC–200 AD) produced some of Africa's earliest terracotta sculpture and iron smelting; later came the Hausa city-states, the Yoruba states of Ife and Oyo, the Edo Kingdom of Benin, the Igbo Kingdom of Nri, and the Kanem–Bornu Empire. In 1804 Usman dan Fodio's jihad created the Sokoto Caliphate, one of the largest pre-colonial African states. Britain annexed Lagos in 1861, chartered the Royal Niger Company in 1886, conquered Benin (1897) and Sokoto (1903), and in 1914 amalgamated the Northern and Southern Protectorates into the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria, ruled indirectly through traditional rulers. The name "Nigeria" itself was coined by journalist Flora Shaw in 1897.

Independence came on 1 October 1960 as a federation under Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, with Nnamdi Azikiwe becoming president when the republic was proclaimed in 1963. Northern dominance and electoral chaos led to two coups in 1966; pogroms against Igbos prompted the Eastern Region under Emeka Ojukwu to secede as Biafra in 1967, provoking a 30-month civil war (1967–70) that killed one to three million people, largely by famine. An oil boom followed, but military rule persisted (Gowon, Murtala Muhammed, Obasanjo), interrupted by the civilian Second Republic of Shehu Shagari (1979–83), overthrown by Muhammadu Buhari, who was himself ousted by Ibrahim Babangida (1985). Babangida's annulment of the 1993 election won by Moshood Abiola provoked crisis; Sani Abacha's brutal kleptocracy (1993–98) saw the hanging of Ken Saro-Wiwa and Commonwealth suspension.

Later history and present status

The Fourth Republic began in 1999 under Olusegun Obasanjo, followed by Umaru Yar'Adua, Goodluck Jonathan, Muhammadu Buhari (whose 2015 victory was the first opposition win) and Bola Tinubu (2023). The economy rests on oil and gas, agriculture, services and a booming tech/film ("Nollywood") sector. Society is split roughly between a Muslim north and Christian south across 250+ ethnic groups (Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo largest). Persistent challenges include the Boko Haram insurgency (since 2009), communal violence, corruption and inequality.