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Nigeria

Nigeria

Overview
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal
Federation
A federation , also known as a federal state, is a type of sovereign state characterized by a union of partially self-governing states or regions united by a central government...

 constitutional republic
Constitutional republic
A constitutional republic is a state where the head of state and other officials are elected as representatives of the people, and must govern according to existing constitutional law that limits the government's power over citizens....

 comprising thirty-six states
States of Nigeria
Nigeria is currently divided into 36 states and Abuja, the federal capital territory. The states are further divided into 774 Local Government Areas...

 and one Federal Capital Territory
Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria
The Federal Capital Territory is the home of Abuja, the capital of Nigeria. The Territory was formed in 1976 from parts of former Nasarawa, Niger, and Kogi States. It is in the central region of the country.-Geography:...

. The country is located in West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries distributed over an area of approximately 5 million square km:*Benin...

 and shares land border
Border
Borders define geographic boundaries of political entities or legal jurisdictions, such as governments, states or subnational administrative divisions. They may foster the setting up of buffer zones...

s with the Republic of Benin
Benin
Benin , officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north; its short coastline to the south leads to the Bight of Benin....

 in the west, Chad
Chad
Chad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west...

 and Cameroon
Cameroon
The Republic of Cameroon is a unitary republic of central and western Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the Bight of...

 in the east, and Niger
Niger
Niger , officially the Republic of Niger is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east...

 in the north. Its coast lies on the Gulf of Guinea
Gulf of Guinea
The Gulf of Guinea is the part of the Atlantic Ocean southwest of Africa. The intersection of the Equator and Prime Meridian is in the gulf...

, a part of the Atlantic Ocean, in the south. The capital city is Abuja
Abuja
Abuja is the capital city of Nigeria. It is located in the centre of Nigeria in the Federal Capital Territory . Abuja is a planned city, which was built mainly in the 1980s and officially became Nigeria's capital on 12 December 1991, replacing the role of the previous capital Lagos...

. The three largest and most influential ethnic groups in Nigeria are the Hausa
Hausa people
The Hausa are a Sahelian people chiefly located in the West African regions of northern Nigeria and southeastern Niger. There are also significant numbers found in regions of Sudan, Cameroon, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, and Chad and smaller communities scattered throughout West Africa and on the...

, Igbo
Igbo people
Igbo people, also referred to as the Ibo, Ebo, Eboans or Heebo are an ethnic group living chiefly in southeastern and south Nigeria. They speak Igbo, which includes various Igboid languages and dialects; today, a majority of them speak English alongside Igbo as a result of British colonialism...

 and Yoruba
Yoruba people
Yoruba people are one of the largest ethno-linguistic or ethnic groups in west Africa. The majority of the Yoruba speak the Yoruba language...

.

The people of Nigeria have an extensive history
History of Nigeria
-Early history:Recent archaeological research has shown that people were already living in southwestern Nigeria as early as 9000 BC and perhaps earlier at Ugwuelle-Uturu in southeastern Nigeria. Smelting furnaces at Taruga dating from the 4th century BC provide the oldest evidence of metalworking...

, and archaeological
Archaeology
Archaeology or archeology is the science that studies human cultures through the recovery, documentation, analysis, and interpretation of material culture and environmental data, including architecture, artifacts, biofacts, and landscapes...

 evidence shows that human habitation of the area dates back to at least 9000 BC.
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Timeline

1862   Britain annexes Lagos island in modern-day Nigeria

1892   British troops defeat Ijebu infantry at the battle of Yemoja river, in modern-day Nigeria, using a maxim gun

1892   British conquest of Ijebu-Ode marks major extension of colonial power into Nigerian interior.

1900   Nigeria becomes a British Protectorate

1901   Nigeria becomes a British protectorate

1947   Nigeria gains limited autonomy

1960   October 1

1966   A conference about the situation in Rhodesia begins in Lagos, Nigeria.

1966   A violent military coup is staged in Nigeria.

1966   The military government of Nigeria announces that ex-prime minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa was killed during the coup.

 
Encyclopedia
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal
Federation
A federation , also known as a federal state, is a type of sovereign state characterized by a union of partially self-governing states or regions united by a central government...

 constitutional republic
Constitutional republic
A constitutional republic is a state where the head of state and other officials are elected as representatives of the people, and must govern according to existing constitutional law that limits the government's power over citizens....

 comprising thirty-six states
States of Nigeria
Nigeria is currently divided into 36 states and Abuja, the federal capital territory. The states are further divided into 774 Local Government Areas...

 and one Federal Capital Territory
Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria
The Federal Capital Territory is the home of Abuja, the capital of Nigeria. The Territory was formed in 1976 from parts of former Nasarawa, Niger, and Kogi States. It is in the central region of the country.-Geography:...

. The country is located in West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries distributed over an area of approximately 5 million square km:*Benin...

 and shares land border
Border
Borders define geographic boundaries of political entities or legal jurisdictions, such as governments, states or subnational administrative divisions. They may foster the setting up of buffer zones...

s with the Republic of Benin
Benin
Benin , officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north; its short coastline to the south leads to the Bight of Benin....

 in the west, Chad
Chad
Chad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west...

 and Cameroon
Cameroon
The Republic of Cameroon is a unitary republic of central and western Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the Bight of...

 in the east, and Niger
Niger
Niger , officially the Republic of Niger is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east...

 in the north. Its coast lies on the Gulf of Guinea
Gulf of Guinea
The Gulf of Guinea is the part of the Atlantic Ocean southwest of Africa. The intersection of the Equator and Prime Meridian is in the gulf...

, a part of the Atlantic Ocean, in the south. The capital city is Abuja
Abuja
Abuja is the capital city of Nigeria. It is located in the centre of Nigeria in the Federal Capital Territory . Abuja is a planned city, which was built mainly in the 1980s and officially became Nigeria's capital on 12 December 1991, replacing the role of the previous capital Lagos...

. The three largest and most influential ethnic groups in Nigeria are the Hausa
Hausa people
The Hausa are a Sahelian people chiefly located in the West African regions of northern Nigeria and southeastern Niger. There are also significant numbers found in regions of Sudan, Cameroon, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, and Chad and smaller communities scattered throughout West Africa and on the...

, Igbo
Igbo people
Igbo people, also referred to as the Ibo, Ebo, Eboans or Heebo are an ethnic group living chiefly in southeastern and south Nigeria. They speak Igbo, which includes various Igboid languages and dialects; today, a majority of them speak English alongside Igbo as a result of British colonialism...

 and Yoruba
Yoruba people
Yoruba people are one of the largest ethno-linguistic or ethnic groups in west Africa. The majority of the Yoruba speak the Yoruba language...

.

The people of Nigeria have an extensive history
History of Nigeria
-Early history:Recent archaeological research has shown that people were already living in southwestern Nigeria as early as 9000 BC and perhaps earlier at Ugwuelle-Uturu in southeastern Nigeria. Smelting furnaces at Taruga dating from the 4th century BC provide the oldest evidence of metalworking...

, and archaeological
Archaeology
Archaeology or archeology is the science that studies human cultures through the recovery, documentation, analysis, and interpretation of material culture and environmental data, including architecture, artifacts, biofacts, and landscapes...

 evidence shows that human habitation of the area dates back to at least 9000 BC. The Benue-Cross River
Benue River
The Benue River is the major tributary of the Niger River. The river is approximately 1,400 km long and is almost entirely navigable during the summer months...

 area is thought to be the original homeland of the Bantu migrants who spread across most of central and southern Africa in waves between the 1st millennium BC
1st millennium BC
The 1st millennium BC encompasses the Iron Age and sees the rise of many successive empires.The Neo-Assyrian Empire, followed by the Achaemenids. In Greece, Classical Antiquity begins with the colonization of Magna Graecia and peaks with the rise of Hellenism. The close of the millennium sees the...

 and the 2nd millennium
2nd millennium
Beethoven|Te Kooti|- align="left"!20th Century|Nelson Mandela
Paul Rusesabagina|Martin Luther King, Jr.
Franklin D...

.

The name Nigeria was taken from the River Niger running through Nigeria. This name was coined by Flora Shaw
Flora Shaw
Dame Flora Louisa Shaw, Lady Lugard, DBE , the daughter of an English father, Captain George Shaw and a French mother, Marie Desfontaines, was a British journalist and writer.-Career:Flora Louisa Shaw was born in Woolwich where her father was stationed...

, the future wife of Baron Lugard
Frederick Lugard
Frederick John Dealtry Lugard, 1st Baron Lugard, GCMG, CB, DSO, PC was a British soldier, explorer of Africa and colonial administrator, who was Governor of Hong Kong and Governor-General of Nigeria ....

, a British colonial administrator, in the late 19th century.

Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa, the eighth most populous country in the world, and the most populous country in the world in which the majority of the population is black
Black people
The term black people usually refers to a racial group of humans with skin colors that range from light brown to nearly black. It also has been used to categorize a number of diverse populations into a common group. Some definitions of the term include only people of relatively recent Sub Saharan...

. It is a regional power
Regional power
In international relations, a regional power is a state that has power within a geographic region. They define the polarity of any given regional security complex...

, is listed among the "Next Eleven
Next Eleven
The Next Eleven are eleven countries—Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, South Korea, Turkey, and Vietnam—identified by Goldman Sachs investment bank as having a high potential of becoming the world's largest economies in the 21st century along with the...

" economies, and is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the Commonwealth and previously as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-three independent member states. Most of them were formerly part of the British Empire. They co-operate within a framework of common values...

. The economy of Nigeria
Economy of Nigeria
The petroleum-based economy of Nigeria, long hobbled by political instability, corruption, and poor macroeconomic management, is undergoing substantial economic reform under the new civilian administration. Nigeria's former military rulers failed to diversify the economy...

 is one of the fastest growing in the world
Emerging markets
The term emerging markets is used to describe a nation's social or business activity in the process of rapid growth and industrialization. Currently, there are approximately 28 emerging markets in the world, with the economies of India and China considered to be by far the two largest...

, with the International Monetary Fund
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an international organization that oversees the global financial system by following the macroeconomic policies of its member countries, in particular those with an impact on exchange rates and the balance of payments...

 projecting a growth of 9% in 2008 and 8.3% in 2009.

Early history


The Nok
Nok
The Nok civilization appeared in Nigeria around 1000 B.C. and mysteriously vanished around 200 AD. The civilization’s social system is thought to have been highly advanced. The Nok civilization was considered to be the earliest sub-Saharan producer of life-sized Terracotta...

 people in central Nigeria produced terracotta sculptures that have been discovered by archaeologists. A Nok sculpture resident at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, portrays a sitting dignitary wearing a "Shepherds Crook" on the right arm, and a "hinged flail" on the left. These are symbols of authority associated with ancient Egyptian pharaohs, and the god Osiris, and suggests that an ancient Egyptian style of social structure, and perhaps religion, existed in the area of modern Nigeria during the late Pharonic period. In the northern part of the country, Kano
Kano
Kano is the state capital of Kano State in northern Nigeria. Kano is the largest city in Nigeria - with an estimated population in 2007 of 9,848,885. The principal inhabitants of the city are the Hausa people...

 and Katsina
Katsina
Katsina is a city, formerly a city-state, in northern Nigeria, and is the capital of Katsina State. Katsina is located some 160 miles East of the city of Sokoto, and 84 miles Northwest of Kano, close to the border with Niger at approximately .As of 2007, Katsina's estimated population was 459,022...

 has recorded history which dates back to around 999. Hausa
Hausa people
The Hausa are a Sahelian people chiefly located in the West African regions of northern Nigeria and southeastern Niger. There are also significant numbers found in regions of Sudan, Cameroon, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, and Chad and smaller communities scattered throughout West Africa and on the...

 kingdoms and the Kanem-Bornu Empire
Kanem Empire
The Kanem Empire was located in the present countries of Chad and Libya. At its height it encompassed an area covering not only much of Chad, but also parts of southern Libya and eastern Niger...

 prospered as trade posts between North and West Africa. At the beginning of the 19th century under Usman dan Fodio
Usman dan Fodio
Shaihu Usman dan Fodio , born Usuman ɓii Foduye, was the founder of the Sokoto Caliphate in 1809, a religious teacher, writer and Islamic reformer. Dan Fodio was one of a class of urbanized ethnic Fulani living in the Hausa States in what is today northern Nigeria...

 the Fulani
Fula people
Fula or Fulani or Fulbe are an ethnic group of people spread over many countries, predominantly in West Africa, but found also in Central Africa and Sudanese North Africa...

 became the leaders of a centralized Fulani Empire
Fulani Empire
The Sokoto Caliphate is an Islamic spiritual community in Nigeria, led by the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’adu Abubakar. Founded during the Fulani Jihad in the early 1800s, it was one of the most powerful empires in sub-Saharan Africa prior to European conquest and colonization...

 which continued until 1903 when the Fulani were divided up among European colonizers. Between 1750 and 1900, between one- to two-thirds of the entire population of the Fulani jihad
Fulani War
The Fulani War of 1804-1810, also known as the Fulani Jihad or Jihad of Usman dan Fodio, was a military conquest in present day Nigeria and Cameroon. Expelled from Gobir by his former student Yunfa in 1802, Islamic reformer Usman dan Fodio assembled a Fulani army to lead in jihad against the Hausa...

 states consisted of slaves.

The Yoruba
Yoruba
Yoruba may refer to:* Yoruba name, name of a Yoruba person* Yoruba Culture, culture of the Yoruba tribe* Yoruba people, a West African ethnic group* Yoruba language, the language spoken by the Yoruba people...

 people date their presence in the area of modern republics of Nigeria, Benin and Togo to about 8500 BC. The kingdoms of Ifẹ
Ife
Ife is an ancient Yoruba city in south-western Nigeria. Evidence of urbanization at the site has been discovered to date back to roughly 500 AD. It is located in present day Osun State, with a population of 501,952.-About:...

 and Oyo
Oyo
- Places :In Nigeria* The Oyo Empire or Kingdom, a former West-African empire that covered parts of modern-day Nigeria and Benin* Oyo State, a present-day state of Nigeria named after the Oyo Empire...

 in the western block of Nigeria became prominent about 700–900 and 1400 respectively. However, the Yoruba mythology believes that Ile-Ife is the source of the human race and that it predates any other civilization. Ifẹ produced the terra cotta and bronze heads, the Ọyọ extended as far as modern Togo
Togo
Togo is a country in West Africa bordering Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, on which the capital Lomé is located...

. Another prominent kingdom in south western Nigeria was the Kingdom of Benin whose power lasted between the 15th and 19th century. Their dominance reached as far as the well known city of Eko, later named Lagos
Lagos
Lagos is the most populous conurbation in Nigeria with 7,937,932 inhabitants at the 2006 census...

 by the Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east...

.

In southeastern Nigeria the Kingdom of Nri of the Igbo people
Igbo people
Igbo people, also referred to as the Ibo, Ebo, Eboans or Heebo are an ethnic group living chiefly in southeastern and south Nigeria. They speak Igbo, which includes various Igboid languages and dialects; today, a majority of them speak English alongside Igbo as a result of British colonialism...

 flourished from the controversial date of around the 10th century until 1911. The Nri Kingdom was ruled by the Eze Nri. The city of Nri is considered to be the foundation of Igbo culture. Nri and Aguleri, where the Igbo creation myth originates, are in the territory of the Umeuri clan, who trace their lineages back to the patriarchal king-figure, Eri
Eri (divine king)
Eri is said to be the original legendary cultural head of the Nri-Igbo, a subgroup of the Igbo people. From oral and recorded accounts, he is said to some down from the sky, having been sent by God . Eri settled and established in the middle of Anambra river valley where he married two wives. The...

.

Colonial era


Portuguese explorers
Portuguese Empire
The Portuguese Empire was the first global empire in history, with territories in South America, Africa, India and South East Asia...

 were the first Europeans to begin trade in Nigeria, and called the port Lagos
Lagos
Lagos is the most populous conurbation in Nigeria with 7,937,932 inhabitants at the 2006 census...

 after the Portuguese town of Lagos
Lagos, Portugal
Lagos is a city and a municipality at the mouth of the river Bensafrim and along the Atlantic Ocean,in the region of Algarve, in Algarve's Barlavento , Southern Portugal....

, in Algarve
Algarve
The Algarve from the Arabic word meaning "the west" is the southernmost region of mainland Portugal. It has an area of 5,412 square kilometres with approximately 410,000 permanent inhabitants, and incorporates 16 municipalities...

. This name stuck on with more European trade with the region. The Europeans traded with the ethnicities of the coast and also established a trade in slaves
Atlantic slave trade
The Atlantic slave trade, also known as the transatlantic slave trade, was the trading, primarily of African people, to the colonies of the New World that occurred in and around the Atlantic Ocean. It lasted from the 16th to the 19th centuries...

 which affected many Nigerian ethnicities. Following the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of conflicts declared against Napoleon's French Empire and changing sets of European allies by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionized European armies and played...

, the British expanded trade with the Nigerian interior. In 1885 British claims to a West African sphere of influence received international recognition and in the following year the Royal Niger Company
Royal Niger Company
The Royal Niger Company was a mercantile company chartered by the British government in the nineteenth century. It formed a basis of the modern state of Nigeria....

 was chartered under the leadership of Sir George Taubman Goldie
George Taubman Goldie
Sir George Dashwood Taubman Goldie was a Manx administrator who played a major role in the founding of Nigeria...

. In 1900 the company's territory came under the control of the British government, which moved to consolidate its hold over the area of modern Nigeria. On January 1, 1901 Nigeria became a British protectorate
Protectorate
A protectorate, in international law, is an autonomous territory that is protected diplomatically or militarily against third parties by a stronger state or entity. In exchange for this, the protectorate usually accepts specified obligations, which may vary greatly, depending on the real nature of...

, part of the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom, that had originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height it was...

, the foremost world power at the time.

In 1914, the area was formally united as the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria. Administratively, Nigeria remained divided into the northern and southern provinces and Lagos colony. Western education and the development of a modern economy proceeded more rapidly in the south than in the north, with consequences felt in Nigeria's political life ever since. Slavery
African slave trade
The slave trade in Africa existed for thousands of years. The first main route passed through the Sahara, tying in to the Arab slave trade. After the European Age of Exploration, African slaves became part of the Atlantic slave trade, from which comes the modern, Western conception of slavery as...

 was not finally outlawed in northern Nigeria until 1936. Following World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, in response to the growth of Nigerian nationalism
Nationalism
Nationalism is an ideology, a sentiment, a form of culture, or a social movement that focuses on the nation. It is a type of collectivism emphasizing the collective of a specific nation...

 and demands for independence, successive constitutions legislated by the British Government moved Nigeria toward self-government on a representative and increasingly federal basis. By the middle of the 20th century, the great wave for independence was sweeping across Africa.

Post-independence


On October 1, 1960, Nigeria gained its independence from the United Kingdom. The new republic incorporated a number of people with aspirations of their own sovereign nations. Newly independent Nigeria's government was a coalition of conservative parties: the Nigerian People's Congress
National Party of Nigeria
The National Party of Nigeria was the dominant political party in Nigeria during the Second Republic .-Formation:The party's beginning could be traced to private and sometimes secret meetings among key Northern Nigerian leaders after the proscription of political parties in 1966 by the military...

 (NPC), a party dominated by Northerners and those of the Islamic faith, and the Igbo
Igbo people
Igbo people, also referred to as the Ibo, Ebo, Eboans or Heebo are an ethnic group living chiefly in southeastern and south Nigeria. They speak Igbo, which includes various Igboid languages and dialects; today, a majority of them speak English alongside Igbo as a result of British colonialism...

 and Christian dominated National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons
National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons
National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons , was a Nigerian political party from 1944 to 1966. The name included 'Cameroons' because Cameroon had become an administrative part of Nigeria in 1945. Cameroon had been a colonial territory of Germany...

 (NCNC) led by Nnamdi Azikiwe
Nnamdi Azikiwe
Benjamin Nnamdi Azikiwe , usually referred to as Nnamdi Azikiwe, or, informally and popularly, as "Zik", was one of the leading figures of modern Nigerian nationalism and the first President of Nigeria, holding the position throughout the Nigerian First Republic.-Early life:Azikiwe was born on...

, who became Nigeria's maiden Governor-General
Governor-General
A governor-general, also known as governor general, is a vice-regal representative of a monarch in an independent realm or a major colonial circonscription...

 in 1960. Forming the opposition was the comparatively liberal Action Group
Action group
In sociology and anthropology, an action group or task group is a group of people joined temporarily to accomplish some task or take part in some organized collective action....

 (AG), which was largely dominated by Yoruba people
Yoruba people
Yoruba people are one of the largest ethno-linguistic or ethnic groups in west Africa. The majority of the Yoruba speak the Yoruba language...

 and led by Obafemi Awolowo
Obafemi Awolowo
Jeremiah Obafemi Awolowo was a Nigerian politician and leader, a Yoruba and native of Ikenne in Ogun State of Nigeria, who started as a regional political leader like most of his pre-independence contemporaries. He founded many organizations, including Egbe Omo Oduduwa, the Trade Unions Congress...

.

An imbalance was created in the polity by the result of the 1961 plebiscite. Southern Cameroon
Southern Cameroons
Southern Cameroons was the southern part of the British Mandate territory of Cameroons in West Africa. Since 1961 it is part of the Republic of Cameroun, where it makes up the Northwest Province and Southwest Province...

 opted to join the Republic of Cameroon while northern Cameroon chose to remain in Nigeria. The northern part of the country was now far larger than the southern part. The nation parted with its British legacy in 1963 by declaring itself a Federal Republic
Federal republic
A federal republic is a federation of states with a republican form of government. A federation is the central government. The states in a federation also maintain the federation...

, with Azikiwe as the first president
President of Nigeria
The President of Nigeria is the elected head of government and head of state of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Officially styled President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces...

. When elections came about in 1965, the AG was outmanoeuvered for control of Nigeria's Western Region by the Nigerian National Democratic Party
Nigerian National Democratic Party
The Nigerian National Democratic Party , was Nigeria's first political party.Formed in 1923 by Herbert Macaulay to take advantage of the new Clifford Constitution, the NNDP successfully organized various Yoruba interest groups into a single group that was able to compete politically...

, an amalgamation of conservative Yoruba elements backed heavily by the Federal Government amid dubious electoral circumstances.

Nigerian-Biafran War



This disequilibrium and perceived corruption of the electoral and political process led in 1966 to several back-to-back military coups. The first was in January and led by a collection of young leftists under Major Emmanuel Ifeajuna and Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu. It was partially successful – the coupists murdered the Prime Minister, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, the Premier of the Northern Region, Sir Ahmadu Bello, and the Premier of the Western Region, Sir Ladoke Akintola. Despite this, the coupists could not set up a central government because of logistic reasons. Sir Nwafor Orizu, the acting President was then pressured to hand over government to the Nigeria Army, under the Command of General JTU Aguyi-Ironsi. This coup was counter-acted by another successful plot, supported primarily by Northern military officers and Northerners who favoured the NPC, it was engineered by Northern officers, which allowed Lt Colonel Yakubu Gowon
Yakubu Gowon
General Yakubu "Jack" Dan-Yumma Gowon was the head of state of Nigeria from 1966 to 1975. He took power after one military coup d'etat and was overthrown in another...

 to become head of state. This sequence of events led to an increase in ethnic tension and violence. The Northern coup, which was mostly motivated by ethnic and religious reasons was a bloodbath of both military officers and civilians, especially those of Igbo extraction.

The violence against the Igbo increased their desire for autonomy and protection from the military's wrath. By May 1967, the Eastern Region had declared itself an independent state called the Republic of Biafra under the leadership of Lt Colonel Emeka Ojukwu in line with the wishes of the people. The Nigerian Civil War
Nigerian Civil War
The Nigerian Civil War, also known as the Nigerian-Biafran War, 6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970, was a political conflict caused by the attempted secession of the southeastern provinces of Nigeria as the self-proclaimed Republic of Biafra....

 began as the Nigerian (Western and Northern) side attacked Biafra (South-eastern) on July 6, 1967 at Garkem signalling the beginning of the 30 month war that ended in January 1970. More than one million people died in the three-year civil war. Following the war, Nigeria became to an extent even more mired in ethnic strife, as the defeated southeast and indeed southern Nigeria was now conquered territory for the federal military regime, which changed heads of state twice as army officers staged a bloodless coup against Gowon and enthroned Murtala Mohammed; Olusegun Obansanjo succeeded the former after an assassination
Buka Suka Dimka
Buka Suka Dimka, a Lieutenant Colonel in the Nigerian army , led the February 13 1976 abortive military coup against the government of General Murtala Ramat Mohammed...

.

Military era


During the oil boom of the 1970s, Nigeria joined OPEC
OPEC
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is a cartel of twelve countries made up of Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela. OPEC has maintained its headquarters in Vienna since 1965, and hosts regular...

 and billions of dollars generated by production in the oil-rich Niger Delta
Niger Delta
The Niger Delta, the delta of the Niger River in Nigeria, is a densely populated region sometimes called the Oil Rivers because it was once a major producer of palm oil...

 flowed into the coffers of the Nigerian state. However, increasing corruption
Political corruption
Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...

 and graft at all levels of government squandered most of these earnings. The northern military clique benefited immensely from the oil boom to the detriment of the Nigerian people and economy. As oil revenues fuelled the rise of federal subventions to states and precariously to individuals, the Federal Government soon became the centre of political struggle and the centre became the threshold of power in the country. As oil production and revenue rose, the Nigerian government created a dangerous situation as it became increasingly dependent on oil revenues and the international commodity markets for budgetary and economic concerns eschewing economic stability. That spelled doom to federalism in Nigeria.
Beginning in 1979, Nigerians participated in a brief return to democracy when Obasanjo transferred power to the civilian regime of Shehu Shagari
Shehu Shagari
Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari, Turakin Sakkwato served as the President of Nigeria's Second Republic , after the handover of power by General Olusegun Obasanjo's Military government....

. The Shagari government was viewed as corrupt and incompetent by virtually all sectors of Nigerian society, so when the regime was overthrown by the military coup of Mohammadu Buhari shortly after the regime's fraudulent re-election in 1984, it was generally viewed as a positive development by most of the population. Buhari promised major reforms but his government fared little better than its predecessor, and his regime was overthrown by yet another military coup in 1985.

The new head of state, Ibrahim Babangida
Ibrahim Babangida
Major General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida , popularly known as IBB, was the military ruler of Nigeria from his coup against Muhammadu Buhari in August 1985 until his departure from office under heavy popular pressure in 1993 after his annulment of elections held that year...

, promptly declared himself President
President
President is a title held by many leaders of organizations, companies, trade unions, universities, and countries. Etymologically, a "president" is one who presides, who sits in leadership...

 and Commander in chief of the Armed Forces and the ruling Supreme Military Council
Supreme Military Council
Supreme Military Council may refer to:* Supreme Military Council * Supreme Military Council * Supreme Military Council...

 and also set 1990 as the official deadline for a return to democratic governance. Babangida's tenure was marked by a flurry of political activity: he instituted the International Monetary Fund's
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an international organization that oversees the global financial system by following the macroeconomic policies of its member countries, in particular those with an impact on exchange rates and the balance of payments...

 Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) to aid in the repayment of the country's crushing international debt, which most federal revenue was dedicated to servicing. He also inflamed religious tensions in the nation and particularly the south by enrolling Nigeria in the Organization of the Islamic Conference
Organization of the Islamic Conference
The Organisation of the Islamic Conference is an international organisation with a permanent delegation to the United Nations. It groups 57 member states, from the Middle East, Africa, Central Asia, Caucasus, Balkans, Southeast Asia and South Asia...

.
After Babangida survived an abortive coup, he pushed back the promised return to democracy to 1992. When free and fair elections were finally held on the 12th of June, 1993, Babangida declared that the results showing a presidential victory for Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola
Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola
Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola , often referred to as M. K. O. Abiola, was a popular Nigerian Yoruba Egba businessman, publisher and politician...

 null and void, sparking mass civilian violence in protest which effectively shut down the country for weeks and forced Babangida to keep his shaky promise to relinquish office to a civilian run government. Babangida's regime is adjudged to be at the apogee of corruption in the history of the nation as it was during his time that corruption became officially diluted in Nigeria.

Babangida's caretaker regime headed by Ernest Shonekan
Ernest Shonekan
Ernest Adegunle Oladeinde Shonekan is a British trained Nigerian lawyer, industrialist and politician. He was appointed as interim president of Nigeria by General Ibrahim Babangida on 26 August 1993. Babangida resigned under pressure to cede control to a democratic government...

 survived only until late 1993 when General Sani Abacha
Sani Abacha
General Sani Abacha was a Nigerian military leader and politician. He was the de facto President of Nigeria from 1993 to 1998.-Political life:...

 took power in another military coup. Abacha proved to be perhaps Nigeria's most brutal ruler and employed violence on a wide scale to suppress the continuing pandemic of civilian unrest. Money had been found in various western European countries banks traced to him. He avoided coup plots by bribing army generals. Several hundred millions dollars in accounts traced to him were unearthed in 1999. The regime would come to an end in 1998 when the dictator was found dead amid dubious circumstances. Abacha's death yielded an opportunity for return to civilian rule.

Recent history


Nigeria re-achieved democracy in 1999 when it elected Olusegun Obasanjo, a Yoruba
Yoruba people
Yoruba people are one of the largest ethno-linguistic or ethnic groups in west Africa. The majority of the Yoruba speak the Yoruba language...

 and former military head of state, as the new President
President of Nigeria
The President of Nigeria is the elected head of government and head of state of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Officially styled President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces...

 ending almost thirty three-years of military rule (from 1966 until 1999) excluding the short-lived second republic
Shehu Shagari
Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari, Turakin Sakkwato served as the President of Nigeria's Second Republic , after the handover of power by General Olusegun Obasanjo's Military government....

 (between 1979 and 1983) by military dictators who seized power in coups d'état
Coup d'état
A coup d'état , or coup for short, is the sudden unconstitutional deposition of a legitimate government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another, either civil or military...

 and counter-coups during the Nigerian military juntas of 1966-1979 and 1983-1998
Nigerian military juntas of 1966-1979 and 1983-1998
The two Nigerian Military Juntas of 1966-1979 and 1983-1998 were a pair of military dictatorships in the African country of Nigeria that were led by the Nigerian Military, having a chairman or president in charge.- See also :* Nigerian First Republic...

.

Although the elections which brought Obasanjo to power in 1999 and again in 2003 were condemned as unfree and unfair, Nigeria has shown marked improvements in attempts to tackle government corruption and to hasten development. While Obasanjo showed willingness to fight corruption, he was accused by others of the same.

Umaru Yar'Adua, of the People's Democratic Party
People's Democratic Party (Nigeria)
The People's Democratic Party is a centrist political party in Nigeria. It won the Presidential elections of 1999, 2003, and 2007, and is the dominant party in the Fourth Republic.-History:...

, came into power in the general election of 2007
Nigerian general election, 2007
The Nigerian general elections of 2007 were held on 14 April and 21 April 2007. Governorship and state assembly elections were held on 14 April, while the presidential and national assembly elections were held a week later on 21 April...

 – an election that was witnessed and condemned by the international community as being massively flawed.

Ethnic violence over the oil producing Niger Delta
Niger Delta
The Niger Delta, the delta of the Niger River in Nigeria, is a densely populated region sometimes called the Oil Rivers because it was once a major producer of palm oil...

 region (see Conflict in the Niger Delta
Conflict in the Niger Delta
The current conflict in the Niger Delta arose in the early 1990s due to tensions between the foreign oil corporations and a number of the Niger Delta's minority ethnic groups who felt they were being exploited, particularly the Ogoni and the Ijaw...

) and inadequate infrastructures are some of the current issues in the country.

Government


Nigeria is a Federal Republic
Federal republic
A federal republic is a federation of states with a republican form of government. A federation is the central government. The states in a federation also maintain the federation...

 modelled after the United States, with executive power
Executive Power
Executive Power is Vince Flynn's fifth novel, and the fourth to feature Mitch Rapp, an American agent that works for the CIA as an operative for a covert counterterrorism unit called the "Orion Team."-Plot summary:...

 exercised by the president
President
President is a title held by many leaders of organizations, companies, trade unions, universities, and countries. Etymologically, a "president" is one who presides, who sits in leadership...

 and with overtones of the Westminster System
Westminster System
The Westminster system is a democratic parliamentary system of government modelled after the politics of the United Kingdom. This term comes from the Palace of Westminster, the seat of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....

 model in the composition and management of the upper and lower houses of the bicameral legislature.
The current president of Nigeria is Umaru Musa Yar'Adua who was elected in 2007. The president presides as both Chief of State and Head of Government
Head of government
Head of government is the chief officer of the executive branch of a government, often presiding over a cabinet. In a parliamentary system, the head of government is often styled Prime Minister, President of the Government, Premier, etc...

 and is elected by popular vote to a maximum of two four-year terms. The president's power is checked by a Senate and a House of Representatives
House of Representatives of Nigeria
The House of Representatives of Nigeria is the lower house of the country's bicameral National Assembly. The Senate of Nigeria is the upper house....

, which are combined in a bicameral body called the National Assembly. The Senate is a 109-seat body with three members from each state and one from the capital region of Abuja; members are elected by popular vote to four-year terms. The House contains 360 seats and the number of seats per state is determined by population.

Ethnocentricism, tribalism
Tribalism
The internal social structure of a tribe can vary greatly from case to case, but, due to the small size of tribes, it is always a relatively simple structure, with few significant social distinctions between individuals. Some tribes are particularly egalitarian, and most tribes have only a vague...

, sectarianism
Sectarianism
Sectarianism is bigotry, discrimination or hatred arising from attaching importance to perceived differences between subdivisions within a group, such as between different denominations of a religion or the factions of a political movement....

 (especially religious), and prebendalism
Prebendalism
Richard A. Joseph, director of The Program of African Studies at Northwestern University, is usually credited with first using the term prebendalism to describe patron-client or neopatrimonialism in Nigeria...

 have played a visible role in Nigerian politics both prior and subsequent to independence in 1960. Kin-selective altruism has made its way into Nigerian politics and has spurned various attempts by tribalists to concentrate Federal power to a particular region of their interests. Nationalism has also led to active secessionist movements such as MASSOB, Nationalist movements such as Oodua Peoples Congress
Oodua Peoples Congress
The Oodua Peoples Congress is a militant Yoruba nationalist organization situated in Nigeria. The Yoruba people, who live in the South Western part of Nigeria, as well as neighbouring countries such as Benin, are a large ethno-linguistic group; the majority of them speak the Yoruba language...

, Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta
Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta is one of the largest militant groups in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. The organization alleges exploitation and oppression of the people of the Niger Delta and devastation of the natural environment by the Federal Government of Nigeria and...

 and a civil war
Nigerian Civil War
The Nigerian Civil War, also known as the Nigerian-Biafran War, 6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970, was a political conflict caused by the attempted secession of the southeastern provinces of Nigeria as the self-proclaimed Republic of Biafra....

. Nigeria's three largest ethnic groups have maintained historical preeminence in Nigerian politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make decisions. The term is generally applied to behavior within civil governments, but politics has been observed in all human group interactions, including corporate, academic and religious institutions...

; competition amongst these three groups, the Hausa
Hausa people
The Hausa are a Sahelian people chiefly located in the West African regions of northern Nigeria and southeastern Niger. There are also significant numbers found in regions of Sudan, Cameroon, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, and Chad and smaller communities scattered throughout West Africa and on the...

, Yoruba
Yoruba people
Yoruba people are one of the largest ethno-linguistic or ethnic groups in west Africa. The majority of the Yoruba speak the Yoruba language...

, and Igbo
Igbo people
Igbo people, also referred to as the Ibo, Ebo, Eboans or Heebo are an ethnic group living chiefly in southeastern and south Nigeria. They speak Igbo, which includes various Igboid languages and dialects; today, a majority of them speak English alongside Igbo as a result of British colonialism...

, has fuelled corruption and graft.
Because of the above issues, Nigeria's current political parties are pan-national
Pan-nationalism
Pan-nationalism is a form of nationalism distinguished by the large scale of the claimed national territory, and because it often defines the nation on the basis of a ‘’cluster’’ of cultures and ethnic groups. It shares the general nationalist ideology, that the nation is a fundamental unit of...

 and irreligious in character (though this does not preclude the continuing preeminence of the dominant ethnicities). The major political parties at present include the ruling People's Democratic Party of Nigeria
People's Democratic Party (Nigeria)
The People's Democratic Party is a centrist political party in Nigeria. It won the Presidential elections of 1999, 2003, and 2007, and is the dominant party in the Fourth Republic.-History:...

 which maintains 223 seats in the House and 76 in the Senate (61.9% and 69.7% respectively) and is led by the current President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua
Umaru Musa Yar'Adua
Umaru Musa Yar'Adua , also known as Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar'adua, is the 2nd President of Nigeria's Fourth Republic . He served as governor of Katsina State in northern Nigeria from 29 May 1999 to 28 May 2007. He was declared the winner of the controversial Nigerian presidential election held on 21...

; the opposition All Nigeria People's Party
All Nigeria People's Party
The All Nigeria Peoples Party is a conservative political party in Nigeria. At the last legislative elections , the party won 27.0% of the popular vote and 92 out of 360 seats in the House of Representatives and 27 out of 109 seats in the Senate...

 under the leadership of Muhammadu Buhari
Muhammadu Buhari
Muhammadu Buhari was the military ruler of Nigeria and an unsuccessful candidate for president in the April 19, 2003 presidential election...

 has 96 House seats and 27 in the Senate (26.6% and 24.7%). There are also about twenty other minor opposition parties registered. The immediate past president, Olusegun Obasanjo, acknowledged fraud and other electoral "lapses" but said the result reflected opinion polls. In a national television address he added that if Nigerians did not like the victory of his handpicked successor they would have an opportunity to vote again in four years.
Like in many other African societies, prebendalism
Prebendalism
Richard A. Joseph, director of The Program of African Studies at Northwestern University, is usually credited with first using the term prebendalism to describe patron-client or neopatrimonialism in Nigeria...

 and extremely excessive corruption continue to constitute major challenges to Nigeria, as vote rigging and other means of coercion are practised by all major parties in order to remain competitive. In 1983, it was adjudged by the policy institute at Kuru that only the 1959 and 1979 elections witnessed minimal rigging.

Law


There are four distinct systems of law in Nigeria:
  • English law
    English law
    English law is the legal system of England and Wales, and is the basis of common law legal systems used in most Commonwealth countriesand the United States...

     which is derived from its colonial
    British Empire
    The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom, that had originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height it was...

     past with Britain;
  • Common law
    Common law
    Common law is law developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals , rather than through legislative statutes or executive action, and to corresponding legal systems that rely on precedential case law....

    , a development of its post colonial independence;
  • Customary law which is derived from indigenous traditional norms and practice, including the dispute resolution meetings of pre-colonial Yorubaland secret societies;
  • Sharia
    Sharia
    Sharia is an Arabic word meaning ‘way’ or ‘path’. In Arabic, the collocation ‘Šarīʿat Allāh’ is traditionally used not only by Muslims, but also Christians and Jews, sometimes translating expressions such as Torat Elōhīm [תורת אלוהים] or ‘ho nómos toû theoû' '’...

     law, used only in the predominantly Muslim north of the country. It is an Islamic legal system which had been used long before the colonial administration in Nigeria but recently politicised and spearheaded in Zamfara
    Zamfara State
    Zamfara State is a state in northwestern Nigeria. Its capital is Gusau and its Governor is Mahmud Shinkafi, a former member of the All Nigeria People's Party , now a member the People's Democratic Party . Until 1996 the area was part of Sokoto State.Zamfara is peopled by Hausa and Fulani peoples...

     in late 1999 and eleven other states followed suit. These states are Kano
    Kano State
    Kano State is a state located in North-Western Nigeria. Created on May 27 1967 from part of the Northern Region, Kano state borders Katsina State to the north-west, Jigawa State to the north-east, and Bauchi and Kaduna states to the south...

    , Katsina
    Katsina State
    Katsina State is a state in northern Nigeria. Its capital is Katsina, and its governor is Ibrahim Shema, a member of the People's Democratic Party...

    , Niger
    Niger State
    Niger State is a state in the western part of Nigeria and the largest state in the country. The state capital is Minna, and other major cities are Bida, Kontagora, and Suleja. It was formed in 1976 when the then North-Western State was bifurcated into Niger State and Sokoto State.The state is named...

    , Bauchi
    Bauchi State
    Bauchi State is a state in northern Nigeria. Its capital is Bauchi. The state was formed in 1976 when the former North-Eastern State was broken up...

    , Borno
    Borno State
    Borno State is a state in north-eastern Nigeria. Its capital 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.-Role of the emirs:...

    , Kaduna
    Kaduna State
    Kaduna State is a state in central northern Nigeria. Its capital is Kaduna.-History:The state is the successor to the old Northern Region of Nigeria, which had its capital at Kaduna. In 1967 this was split up into six states, one of which was the North-Central State, whose name was changed to...

    , Gombe
    Gombe State
    Gombe State, located in northeastern Nigeria, is one of the country's thirtysix states; its capital is Gombe.Gombe State, nicknamed the 'Jewel in the Savannah', was formed in October 1996 from part of the old Bauchi State by the Abacha military government. The state has an area of 20,265 km² and a...

    , Sokoto
    Sokoto State
    Sokoto State is a state in north-western Nigeria. The state is named after its capital Sokoto, a city with a long history and the seat of the Sokoto Caliphate.-History:...

    , Jigawa
    Jigawa State
    Jigawa State is a state in central northern Nigeria. Its capital is Dutse.-Location:Jigawa State is one of thirty-six States that constitute Federal Republic of Nigeria. It is situated in north-western part of the country between Latitudes 11.00oN to 13.00oN and Longitudes 8.00oE to 10.15oE...

    , Yobe
    Yobe State
    Yobe State, a mainly agricultural state, is located in Northern Nigeria. Created on August 27, 1991, Yobe state was carved out of present-day Borno State. The capital of Yobe state is Damaturu.-Geography:...

    , and Kebbi
    Kebbi State
    Kebbi State is a state in north-western Nigeria with its capital at Birnin Kebbi. The state was formed from part of Sokoto State in 1991. Kebbi State is bordered by Sokoto State, Niger State, Dosso Region in the Republic of Niger and the nation of Benin...

    .


The country has a judicial branch, the highest court of which is the Supreme Court of Nigeria
Supreme Court of Nigeria
The Supreme Court of Nigeria is the highest court in Nigeria, and is located in the Central District, Abuja, in what is known as the Three Arms Zone, so called due to the proximity of the offices of the Presidential Complex, the National Assembly, and the Supreme Court.-Overview:In 1963, the...

.

Foreign relations and military



Upon gaining independence in 1960, Nigeria made the liberation and restoration of the dignity of Africa the centrepiece of its foreign policy and played a leading role in the fight against the apartheid regime in South Africa. One notable exception to the African focus of Nigeria's foreign policy was the close relationship the country enjoyed with Israel
Israel
Israel officially the State of Israel , is a developed state in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its...

 throughout the 1960s, with the latter country sponsoring and overseeing the construction of Nigeria's parliament buildings.

Nigeria's foreign policy was soon tested in the 1970s after the country emerged united from its own civil war and quickly committed itself to the liberation struggles going on in the Southern Africa sub-region. Though Nigeria never sent an expeditionary force in that struggle, it offered more than rhetoric to the African National Congress
African National Congress
The African National Congress has been South Africa's governing party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a "disciplined...

 (ANC) by taking a committed tough line with regard to the racist regime and their incursions in southern Africa, in addition to expediting large sums to aid anti-colonial struggles. Nigeria was also a founding member of the Organization for African Unity (now the African Union
African Union
The African Union is an intergovernmental organization consisting of 52 African states. Established on July 9 2002, the AU was formed as a successor to the Organization of African Unity...

), and has tremendous influence in West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries distributed over an area of approximately 5 million square km:*Benin...

 and Africa on the whole. Nigeria has additionally founded regional cooperative efforts in West Africa, functioning as standard-bearer for ECOWAS and ECOMOG, economic and military organizations respectively.
With this African-centred stance, Nigeria readily sent troops to the Congo
Congo Crisis
The Congo Crisis was a period of turmoil in the First Republic of the Congo that began with national independence from Belgium and ended with the seizing of power by Joseph Mobutu...

 at the behest of the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and the achieving of world peace...

 shortly after independence (and has maintained membership since that time); Nigeria also supported several Pan African and pro-self government causes in the 1970s, including garnering support for Angola's
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean. The exclave province of Cabinda has a border with the Republic of the...

 MPLA
Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola
The Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola - Party of Labour is an Angolan political party that has ruled the country since independence of the then Portuguese Angola in 1975...

, SWAPO in Namibia
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in Southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana and Zimbabwe to the east, and South Africa to the south and east...

, and aiding anti-colonial struggles in Mozambique, and Zimbabwe
Rhodesian Bush War
The Rhodesian Bush War—also known as the Zimbabwe War of Liberation or the Second Chimurenga—was a civil war in the former country of Rhodesia fought from July 1964 to 1979...

 (then Rhodesia) military and economically.

Nigeria retains membership in the Non-Aligned Movement
Non-Aligned Movement
The Non-Aligned Movement is an international organisation of states considering themselves not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. The movement is largely the brainchild of India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, former president of Egypt Gamal Abdul Nasser and Yugoslav...

, and in late November 2006 organized an Africa-South America Summit in Abuja to promote what some attendees termed "South-South" linkages on a variety of fronts. Nigeria is also a member of the International Criminal Court
International Criminal Court
The International Criminal Court is a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression .The court came into being on 1 July 2002 — the...

, and the Commonwealth of Nations
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the Commonwealth and previously as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-three independent member states. Most of them were formerly part of the British Empire. They co-operate within a framework of common values...

, from which it was temporarily expelled in 1995 under the Abacha regime
Sani Abacha
General Sani Abacha was a Nigerian military leader and politician. He was the de facto President of Nigeria from 1993 to 1998.-Political life:...

.

Nigeria has remained a key player in the international oil industry
Petroleum industry
The petroleum industry includes the global processes of exploration, extraction, refining, transporting , and marketing petroleum products. The largest volume products of the industry are fuel oil and gasoline...

 since the 1970s, and maintains membership in Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries OPEC
OPEC
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is a cartel of twelve countries made up of Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela. OPEC has maintained its headquarters in Vienna since 1965, and hosts regular...

 which it joined in July, 1971. Its status as a major petroleum producer
Petroleum in Nigeria
The petroleum industry in Nigeria is the largest industry and main generator of GDP in the West African nation which is also the continent's most populous...

 figures prominently in its sometimes vicissitudinous international relations with both developed countries, notably the United States and more recently China and developing countries, notably Ghana, Jamaica and Kenya.

Millions of Nigerians have emigrated at times of economic hardship to Europe, North America and Australia among others. It is estimated that over a million Nigerians
Nigerian American
Nigerian Americans are citizens of the United States of America who are or descend from immigrants from Nigeria. Since the late 1960s and early 1970s, approximately one million Nigerians have immigrated to the United States....

 have emigrated to the United States and constitute the Nigerian American
Nigerian American
Nigerian Americans are citizens of the United States of America who are or descend from immigrants from Nigeria. Since the late 1960s and early 1970s, approximately one million Nigerians have immigrated to the United States....

 populace. Of such Diasporic communities include the "Egbe Omo Yoruba" society.

The Nigerian Military are charged with protecting The Federal Republic of Nigeria, promoting Nigeria's global security interests, and supporting peacekeeping efforts especially in West Africa.

The Nigerian Military consist of an Army, a Navy and an Air Force. The military in Nigeria have played a major role in the country's history since independence. Various juntas have seized control of the country and ruled it through most of its history. Its last period of rule ended in 1999 following the sudden death of former dictator Sani Abacha
Sani Abacha
General Sani Abacha was a Nigerian military leader and politician. He was the de facto President of Nigeria from 1993 to 1998.-Political life:...

 in 1998, with his successor, Abdulsalam Abubakar handing over to the democratically elected government of Olusegun Obasanjo in 1999.

Taking advantage of its role of Africa's most populated country, Nigeria has repositioned its military as an African peacekeeping force. Since 1995, the Nigerian military through ECOMOG mandates have been deployed as peacekeepers in Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the west coast of Africa, bordered by Sierra Leone, Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire, and the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2008 Census, the nation is home to 3,476,608 people and covers ....

 (1997), Ivory Coast (1997–1999), Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea in the north, Liberia in the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean in the southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has a population estimated at 6.4 million...

 1997–1999, and presently in Sudan
Sudan
Sudan is a country in northeastern Africa. It is the largest country in Africa and in the Arab World, and tenth largest in the world by area...

's Darfur
Darfur conflict
The Darfur Conflict refers to violence taking place in Darfur, Sudan.The conflict started in February 2003 when the Sudan Liberation Army and Justice and Equality Movement in Darfur took up arms, accusing the government of oppressing black Africans in favour of Arabs. There are various estimates...

 region under an African Union mandate.
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal
Federation
A federation , also known as a federal state, is a type of sovereign state characterized by a union of partially self-governing states or regions united by a central government...

 constitutional republic
Constitutional republic
A constitutional republic is a state where the head of state and other officials are elected as representatives of the people, and must govern according to existing constitutional law that limits the government's power over citizens....

 comprising thirty-six states
States of Nigeria
Nigeria is currently divided into 36 states and Abuja, the federal capital territory. The states are further divided into 774 Local Government Areas...

 and one Federal Capital Territory
Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria
The Federal Capital Territory is the home of Abuja, the capital of Nigeria. The Territory was formed in 1976 from parts of former Nasarawa, Niger, and Kogi States. It is in the central region of the country.-Geography:...

. The country is located in West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries distributed over an area of approximately 5 million square km:*Benin...

 and shares land border
Border
Borders define geographic boundaries of political entities or legal jurisdictions, such as governments, states or subnational administrative divisions. They may foster the setting up of buffer zones...

s with the Republic of Benin
Benin
Benin , officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north; its short coastline to the south leads to the Bight of Benin....

 in the west, Chad
Chad
Chad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west...

 and Cameroon
Cameroon
The Republic of Cameroon is a unitary republic of central and western Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the Bight of...

 in the east, and Niger
Niger
Niger , officially the Republic of Niger is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east...

 in the north. Its coast lies on the Gulf of Guinea
Gulf of Guinea
The Gulf of Guinea is the part of the Atlantic Ocean southwest of Africa. The intersection of the Equator and Prime Meridian is in the gulf...

, a part of the Atlantic Ocean, in the south. The capital city is Abuja
Abuja
Abuja is the capital city of Nigeria. It is located in the centre of Nigeria in the Federal Capital Territory . Abuja is a planned city, which was built mainly in the 1980s and officially became Nigeria's capital on 12 December 1991, replacing the role of the previous capital Lagos...

. The three largest and most influential ethnic groups in Nigeria are the Hausa
Hausa people
The Hausa are a Sahelian people chiefly located in the West African regions of northern Nigeria and southeastern Niger. There are also significant numbers found in regions of Sudan, Cameroon, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, and Chad and smaller communities scattered throughout West Africa and on the...

, Igbo
Igbo people
Igbo people, also referred to as the Ibo, Ebo, Eboans or Heebo are an ethnic group living chiefly in southeastern and south Nigeria. They speak Igbo, which includes various Igboid languages and dialects; today, a majority of them speak English alongside Igbo as a result of British colonialism...

 and Yoruba
Yoruba people
Yoruba people are one of the largest ethno-linguistic or ethnic groups in west Africa. The majority of the Yoruba speak the Yoruba language...

.

The people of Nigeria have an extensive history
History of Nigeria
-Early history:Recent archaeological research has shown that people were already living in southwestern Nigeria as early as 9000 BC and perhaps earlier at Ugwuelle-Uturu in southeastern Nigeria. Smelting furnaces at Taruga dating from the 4th century BC provide the oldest evidence of metalworking...

, and archaeological
Archaeology
Archaeology or archeology is the science that studies human cultures through the recovery, documentation, analysis, and interpretation of material culture and environmental data, including architecture, artifacts, biofacts, and landscapes...

 evidence shows that human habitation of the area dates back to at least 9000 BC. The Benue-Cross River
Benue River
The Benue River is the major tributary of the Niger River. The river is approximately 1,400 km long and is almost entirely navigable during the summer months...

 area is thought to be the original homeland of the Bantu migrants who spread across most of central and southern Africa in waves between the 1st millennium BC
1st millennium BC
The 1st millennium BC encompasses the Iron Age and sees the rise of many successive empires.The Neo-Assyrian Empire, followed by the Achaemenids. In Greece, Classical Antiquity begins with the colonization of Magna Graecia and peaks with the rise of Hellenism. The close of the millennium sees the...

 and the 2nd millennium
2nd millennium
Beethoven|Te Kooti|- align="left"!20th Century|Nelson Mandela
Paul Rusesabagina|Martin Luther King, Jr.
Franklin D...

.

The name Nigeria was taken from the River Niger running through Nigeria. This name was coined by Flora Shaw
Flora Shaw
Dame Flora Louisa Shaw, Lady Lugard, DBE , the daughter of an English father, Captain George Shaw and a French mother, Marie Desfontaines, was a British journalist and writer.-Career:Flora Louisa Shaw was born in Woolwich where her father was stationed...

, the future wife of Baron Lugard
Frederick Lugard
Frederick John Dealtry Lugard, 1st Baron Lugard, GCMG, CB, DSO, PC was a British soldier, explorer of Africa and colonial administrator, who was Governor of Hong Kong and Governor-General of Nigeria ....

, a British colonial administrator, in the late 19th century.

Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa, the eighth most populous country in the world, and the most populous country in the world in which the majority of the population is black
Black people
The term black people usually refers to a racial group of humans with skin colors that range from light brown to nearly black. It also has been used to categorize a number of diverse populations into a common group. Some definitions of the term include only people of relatively recent Sub Saharan...

. It is a regional power
Regional power
In international relations, a regional power is a state that has power within a geographic region. They define the polarity of any given regional security complex...

, is listed among the "Next Eleven
Next Eleven
The Next Eleven are eleven countries—Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, South Korea, Turkey, and Vietnam—identified by Goldman Sachs investment bank as having a high potential of becoming the world's largest economies in the 21st century along with the...

" economies, and is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the Commonwealth and previously as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-three independent member states. Most of them were formerly part of the British Empire. They co-operate within a framework of common values...

. The economy of Nigeria
Economy of Nigeria
The petroleum-based economy of Nigeria, long hobbled by political instability, corruption, and poor macroeconomic management, is undergoing substantial economic reform under the new civilian administration. Nigeria's former military rulers failed to diversify the economy...

 is one of the fastest growing in the world
Emerging markets
The term emerging markets is used to describe a nation's social or business activity in the process of rapid growth and industrialization. Currently, there are approximately 28 emerging markets in the world, with the economies of India and China considered to be by far the two largest...

, with the International Monetary Fund
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an international organization that oversees the global financial system by following the macroeconomic policies of its member countries, in particular those with an impact on exchange rates and the balance of payments...

 projecting a growth of 9% in 2008 and 8.3% in 2009.

Early history


The Nok
Nok
The Nok civilization appeared in Nigeria around 1000 B.C. and mysteriously vanished around 200 AD. The civilization’s social system is thought to have been highly advanced. The Nok civilization was considered to be the earliest sub-Saharan producer of life-sized Terracotta...

 people in central Nigeria produced terracotta sculptures that have been discovered by archaeologists. A Nok sculpture resident at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, portrays a sitting dignitary wearing a "Shepherds Crook" on the right arm, and a "hinged flail" on the left. These are symbols of authority associated with ancient Egyptian pharaohs, and the god Osiris, and suggests that an ancient Egyptian style of social structure, and perhaps religion, existed in the area of modern Nigeria during the late Pharonic period. In the northern part of the country, Kano
Kano
Kano is the state capital of Kano State in northern Nigeria. Kano is the largest city in Nigeria - with an estimated population in 2007 of 9,848,885. The principal inhabitants of the city are the Hausa people...

 and Katsina
Katsina
Katsina is a city, formerly a city-state, in northern Nigeria, and is the capital of Katsina State. Katsina is located some 160 miles East of the city of Sokoto, and 84 miles Northwest of Kano, close to the border with Niger at approximately .As of 2007, Katsina's estimated population was 459,022...

 has recorded history which dates back to around 999. Hausa
Hausa people
The Hausa are a Sahelian people chiefly located in the West African regions of northern Nigeria and southeastern Niger. There are also significant numbers found in regions of Sudan, Cameroon, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, and Chad and smaller communities scattered throughout West Africa and on the...

 kingdoms and the Kanem-Bornu Empire
Kanem Empire
The Kanem Empire was located in the present countries of Chad and Libya. At its height it encompassed an area covering not only much of Chad, but also parts of southern Libya and eastern Niger...

 prospered as trade posts between North and West Africa. At the beginning of the 19th century under Usman dan Fodio
Usman dan Fodio
Shaihu Usman dan Fodio , born Usuman ɓii Foduye, was the founder of the Sokoto Caliphate in 1809, a religious teacher, writer and Islamic reformer. Dan Fodio was one of a class of urbanized ethnic Fulani living in the Hausa States in what is today northern Nigeria...

 the Fulani
Fula people
Fula or Fulani or Fulbe are an ethnic group of people spread over many countries, predominantly in West Africa, but found also in Central Africa and Sudanese North Africa...

 became the leaders of a centralized Fulani Empire
Fulani Empire
The Sokoto Caliphate is an Islamic spiritual community in Nigeria, led by the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’adu Abubakar. Founded during the Fulani Jihad in the early 1800s, it was one of the most powerful empires in sub-Saharan Africa prior to European conquest and colonization...

 which continued until 1903 when the Fulani were divided up among European colonizers. Between 1750 and 1900, between one- to two-thirds of the entire population of the Fulani jihad
Fulani War
The Fulani War of 1804-1810, also known as the Fulani Jihad or Jihad of Usman dan Fodio, was a military conquest in present day Nigeria and Cameroon. Expelled from Gobir by his former student Yunfa in 1802, Islamic reformer Usman dan Fodio assembled a Fulani army to lead in jihad against the Hausa...

 states consisted of slaves.

The Yoruba
Yoruba
Yoruba may refer to:* Yoruba name, name of a Yoruba person* Yoruba Culture, culture of the Yoruba tribe* Yoruba people, a West African ethnic group* Yoruba language, the language spoken by the Yoruba people...

 people date their presence in the area of modern republics of Nigeria, Benin and Togo to about 8500 BC. The kingdoms of Ifẹ
Ife
Ife is an ancient Yoruba city in south-western Nigeria. Evidence of urbanization at the site has been discovered to date back to roughly 500 AD. It is located in present day Osun State, with a population of 501,952.-About:...

 and Oyo
Oyo
- Places :In Nigeria* The Oyo Empire or Kingdom, a former West-African empire that covered parts of modern-day Nigeria and Benin* Oyo State, a present-day state of Nigeria named after the Oyo Empire...

 in the western block of Nigeria became prominent about 700–900 and 1400 respectively. However, the Yoruba mythology believes that Ile-Ife is the source of the human race and that it predates any other civilization. Ifẹ produced the terra cotta and bronze heads, the Ọyọ extended as far as modern Togo
Togo
Togo is a country in West Africa bordering Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, on which the capital Lomé is located...

. Another prominent kingdom in south western Nigeria was the Kingdom of Benin whose power lasted between the 15th and 19th century. Their dominance reached as far as the well known city of Eko, later named Lagos
Lagos
Lagos is the most populous conurbation in Nigeria with 7,937,932 inhabitants at the 2006 census...

 by the Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east...

.

In southeastern Nigeria the Kingdom of Nri of the Igbo people
Igbo people
Igbo people, also referred to as the Ibo, Ebo, Eboans or Heebo are an ethnic group living chiefly in southeastern and south Nigeria. They speak Igbo, which includes various Igboid languages and dialects; today, a majority of them speak English alongside Igbo as a result of British colonialism...

 flourished from the controversial date of around the 10th century until 1911. The Nri Kingdom was ruled by the Eze Nri. The city of Nri is considered to be the foundation of Igbo culture. Nri and Aguleri, where the Igbo creation myth originates, are in the territory of the Umeuri clan, who trace their lineages back to the patriarchal king-figure, Eri
Eri (divine king)
Eri is said to be the original legendary cultural head of the Nri-Igbo, a subgroup of the Igbo people. From oral and recorded accounts, he is said to some down from the sky, having been sent by God . Eri settled and established in the middle of Anambra river valley where he married two wives. The...

.

Colonial era


Portuguese explorers
Portuguese Empire
The Portuguese Empire was the first global empire in history, with territories in South America, Africa, India and South East Asia...

 were the first Europeans to begin trade in Nigeria, and called the port Lagos
Lagos
Lagos is the most populous conurbation in Nigeria with 7,937,932 inhabitants at the 2006 census...

 after the Portuguese town of Lagos
Lagos, Portugal
Lagos is a city and a municipality at the mouth of the river Bensafrim and along the Atlantic Ocean,in the region of Algarve, in Algarve's Barlavento , Southern Portugal....

, in Algarve
Algarve
The Algarve from the Arabic word meaning "the west" is the southernmost region of mainland Portugal. It has an area of 5,412 square kilometres with approximately 410,000 permanent inhabitants, and incorporates 16 municipalities...

. This name stuck on with more European trade with the region. The Europeans traded with the ethnicities of the coast and also established a trade in slaves
Atlantic slave trade
The Atlantic slave trade, also known as the transatlantic slave trade, was the trading, primarily of African people, to the colonies of the New World that occurred in and around the Atlantic Ocean. It lasted from the 16th to the 19th centuries...

 which affected many Nigerian ethnicities. Following the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of conflicts declared against Napoleon's French Empire and changing sets of European allies by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionized European armies and played...

, the British expanded trade with the Nigerian interior. In 1885 British claims to a West African sphere of influence received international recognition and in the following year the Royal Niger Company
Royal Niger Company
The Royal Niger Company was a mercantile company chartered by the British government in the nineteenth century. It formed a basis of the modern state of Nigeria....

 was chartered under the leadership of Sir George Taubman Goldie
George Taubman Goldie
Sir George Dashwood Taubman Goldie was a Manx administrator who played a major role in the founding of Nigeria...

. In 1900 the company's territory came under the control of the British government, which moved to consolidate its hold over the area of modern Nigeria. On January 1, 1901 Nigeria became a British protectorate
Protectorate
A protectorate, in international law, is an autonomous territory that is protected diplomatically or militarily against third parties by a stronger state or entity. In exchange for this, the protectorate usually accepts specified obligations, which may vary greatly, depending on the real nature of...

, part of the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom, that had originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height it was...

, the foremost world power at the time.

In 1914, the area was formally united as the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria. Administratively, Nigeria remained divided into the northern and southern provinces and Lagos colony. Western education and the development of a modern economy proceeded more rapidly in the south than in the north, with consequences felt in Nigeria's political life ever since. Slavery
African slave trade
The slave trade in Africa existed for thousands of years. The first main route passed through the Sahara, tying in to the Arab slave trade. After the European Age of Exploration, African slaves became part of the Atlantic slave trade, from which comes the modern, Western conception of slavery as...

 was not finally outlawed in northern Nigeria until 1936. Following World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, in response to the growth of Nigerian nationalism
Nationalism
Nationalism is an ideology, a sentiment, a form of culture, or a social movement that focuses on the nation. It is a type of collectivism emphasizing the collective of a specific nation...

 and demands for independence, successive constitutions legislated by the British Government moved Nigeria toward self-government on a representative and increasingly federal basis. By the middle of the 20th century, the great wave for independence was sweeping across Africa.

Post-independence


On October 1, 1960, Nigeria gained its independence from the United Kingdom. The new republic incorporated a number of people with aspirations of their own sovereign nations. Newly independent Nigeria's government was a coalition of conservative parties: the Nigerian People's Congress
National Party of Nigeria
The National Party of Nigeria was the dominant political party in Nigeria during the Second Republic .-Formation:The party's beginning could be traced to private and sometimes secret meetings among key Northern Nigerian leaders after the proscription of political parties in 1966 by the military...

 (NPC), a party dominated by Northerners and those of the Islamic faith, and the Igbo
Igbo people
Igbo people, also referred to as the Ibo, Ebo, Eboans or Heebo are an ethnic group living chiefly in southeastern and south Nigeria. They speak Igbo, which includes various Igboid languages and dialects; today, a majority of them speak English alongside Igbo as a result of British colonialism...

 and Christian dominated National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons
National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons
National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons , was a Nigerian political party from 1944 to 1966. The name included 'Cameroons' because Cameroon had become an administrative part of Nigeria in 1945. Cameroon had been a colonial territory of Germany...

 (NCNC) led by Nnamdi Azikiwe
Nnamdi Azikiwe
Benjamin Nnamdi Azikiwe , usually referred to as Nnamdi Azikiwe, or, informally and popularly, as "Zik", was one of the leading figures of modern Nigerian nationalism and the first President of Nigeria, holding the position throughout the Nigerian First Republic.-Early life:Azikiwe was born on...

, who became Nigeria's maiden Governor-General
Governor-General
A governor-general, also known as governor general, is a vice-regal representative of a monarch in an independent realm or a major colonial circonscription...

 in 1960. Forming the opposition was the comparatively liberal Action Group
Action group
In sociology and anthropology, an action group or task group is a group of people joined temporarily to accomplish some task or take part in some organized collective action....

 (AG), which was largely dominated by Yoruba people
Yoruba people
Yoruba people are one of the largest ethno-linguistic or ethnic groups in west Africa. The majority of the Yoruba speak the Yoruba language...

 and led by Obafemi Awolowo
Obafemi Awolowo
Jeremiah Obafemi Awolowo was a Nigerian politician and leader, a Yoruba and native of Ikenne in Ogun State of Nigeria, who started as a regional political leader like most of his pre-independence contemporaries. He founded many organizations, including Egbe Omo Oduduwa, the Trade Unions Congress...

.

An imbalance was created in the polity by the result of the 1961 plebiscite. Southern Cameroon
Southern Cameroons
Southern Cameroons was the southern part of the British Mandate territory of Cameroons in West Africa. Since 1961 it is part of the Republic of Cameroun, where it makes up the Northwest Province and Southwest Province...

 opted to join the Republic of Cameroon while northern Cameroon chose to remain in Nigeria. The northern part of the country was now far larger than the southern part. The nation parted with its British legacy in 1963 by declaring itself a Federal Republic
Federal republic
A federal republic is a federation of states with a republican form of government. A federation is the central government. The states in a federation also maintain the federation...

, with Azikiwe as the first president
President of Nigeria
The President of Nigeria is the elected head of government and head of state of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Officially styled President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces...

. When elections came about in 1965, the AG was outmanoeuvered for control of Nigeria's Western Region by the Nigerian National Democratic Party
Nigerian National Democratic Party
The Nigerian National Democratic Party , was Nigeria's first political party.Formed in 1923 by Herbert Macaulay to take advantage of the new Clifford Constitution, the NNDP successfully organized various Yoruba interest groups into a single group that was able to compete politically...

, an amalgamation of conservative Yoruba elements backed heavily by the Federal Government amid dubious electoral circumstances.

Nigerian-Biafran War



This disequilibrium and perceived corruption of the electoral and political process led in 1966 to several back-to-back military coups. The first was in January and led by a collection of young leftists under Major Emmanuel Ifeajuna and Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu. It was partially successful – the coupists murdered the Prime Minister, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, the Premier of the Northern Region, Sir Ahmadu Bello, and the Premier of the Western Region, Sir Ladoke Akintola. Despite this, the coupists could not set up a central government because of logistic reasons. Sir Nwafor Orizu, the acting President was then pressured to hand over government to the Nigeria Army, under the Command of General JTU Aguyi-Ironsi. This coup was counter-acted by another successful plot, supported primarily by Northern military officers and Northerners who favoured the NPC, it was engineered by Northern officers, which allowed Lt Colonel Yakubu Gowon
Yakubu Gowon
General Yakubu "Jack" Dan-Yumma Gowon was the head of state of Nigeria from 1966 to 1975. He took power after one military coup d'etat and was overthrown in another...

 to become head of state. This sequence of events led to an increase in ethnic tension and violence. The Northern coup, which was mostly motivated by ethnic and religious reasons was a bloodbath of both military officers and civilians, especially those of Igbo extraction.

The violence against the Igbo increased their desire for autonomy and protection from the military's wrath. By May 1967, the Eastern Region had declared itself an independent state called the Republic of Biafra under the leadership of Lt Colonel Emeka Ojukwu in line with the wishes of the people. The Nigerian Civil War
Nigerian Civil War
The Nigerian Civil War, also known as the Nigerian-Biafran War, 6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970, was a political conflict caused by the attempted secession of the southeastern provinces of Nigeria as the self-proclaimed Republic of Biafra....

 began as the Nigerian (Western and Northern) side attacked Biafra (South-eastern) on July 6, 1967 at Garkem signalling the beginning of the 30 month war that ended in January 1970. More than one million people died in the three-year civil war. Following the war, Nigeria became to an extent even more mired in ethnic strife, as the defeated southeast and indeed southern Nigeria was now conquered territory for the federal military regime, which changed heads of state twice as army officers staged a bloodless coup against Gowon and enthroned Murtala Mohammed; Olusegun Obansanjo succeeded the former after an assassination
Buka Suka Dimka
Buka Suka Dimka, a Lieutenant Colonel in the Nigerian army , led the February 13 1976 abortive military coup against the government of General Murtala Ramat Mohammed...

.

Military era


During the oil boom of the 1970s, Nigeria joined OPEC
OPEC
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is a cartel of twelve countries made up of Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela. OPEC has maintained its headquarters in Vienna since 1965, and hosts regular...

 and billions of dollars generated by production in the oil-rich Niger Delta
Niger Delta
The Niger Delta, the delta of the Niger River in Nigeria, is a densely populated region sometimes called the Oil Rivers because it was once a major producer of palm oil...

 flowed into the coffers of the Nigerian state. However, increasing corruption
Political corruption
Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...

 and graft at all levels of government squandered most of these earnings. The northern military clique benefited immensely from the oil boom to the detriment of the Nigerian people and economy. As oil revenues fuelled the rise of federal subventions to states and precariously to individuals, the Federal Government soon became the centre of political struggle and the centre became the threshold of power in the country. As oil production and revenue rose, the Nigerian government created a dangerous situation as it became increasingly dependent on oil revenues and the international commodity markets for budgetary and economic concerns eschewing economic stability. That spelled doom to federalism in Nigeria.
Beginning in 1979, Nigerians participated in a brief return to democracy when Obasanjo transferred power to the civilian regime of Shehu Shagari
Shehu Shagari
Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari, Turakin Sakkwato served as the President of Nigeria's Second Republic , after the handover of power by General Olusegun Obasanjo's Military government....

. The Shagari government was viewed as corrupt and incompetent by virtually all sectors of Nigerian society, so when the regime was overthrown by the military coup of Mohammadu Buhari shortly after the regime's fraudulent re-election in 1984, it was generally viewed as a positive development by most of the population. Buhari promised major reforms but his government fared little better than its predecessor, and his regime was overthrown by yet another military coup in 1985.

The new head of state, Ibrahim Babangida
Ibrahim Babangida
Major General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida , popularly known as IBB, was the military ruler of Nigeria from his coup against Muhammadu Buhari in August 1985 until his departure from office under heavy popular pressure in 1993 after his annulment of elections held that year...

, promptly declared himself President
President
President is a title held by many leaders of organizations, companies, trade unions, universities, and countries. Etymologically, a "president" is one who presides, who sits in leadership...

 and Commander in chief of the Armed Forces and the ruling Supreme Military Council
Supreme Military Council
Supreme Military Council may refer to:* Supreme Military Council * Supreme Military Council * Supreme Military Council...

 and also set 1990 as the official deadline for a return to democratic governance. Babangida's tenure was marked by a flurry of political activity: he instituted the International Monetary Fund's
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an international organization that oversees the global financial system by following the macroeconomic policies of its member countries, in particular those with an impact on exchange rates and the balance of payments...

 Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) to aid in the repayment of the country's crushing international debt, which most federal revenue was dedicated to servicing. He also inflamed religious tensions in the nation and particularly the south by enrolling Nigeria in the Organization of the Islamic Conference
Organization of the Islamic Conference
The Organisation of the Islamic Conference is an international organisation with a permanent delegation to the United Nations. It groups 57 member states, from the Middle East, Africa, Central Asia, Caucasus, Balkans, Southeast Asia and South Asia...

.
After Babangida survived an abortive coup, he pushed back the promised return to democracy to 1992. When free and fair elections were finally held on the 12th of June, 1993, Babangida declared that the results showing a presidential victory for Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola
Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola
Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola , often referred to as M. K. O. Abiola, was a popular Nigerian Yoruba Egba businessman, publisher and politician...

 null and void, sparking mass civilian violence in protest which effectively shut down the country for weeks and forced Babangida to keep his shaky promise to relinquish office to a civilian run government. Babangida's regime is adjudged to be at the apogee of corruption in the history of the nation as it was during his time that corruption became officially diluted in Nigeria.

Babangida's caretaker regime headed by Ernest Shonekan
Ernest Shonekan
Ernest Adegunle Oladeinde Shonekan is a British trained Nigerian lawyer, industrialist and politician. He was appointed as interim president of Nigeria by General Ibrahim Babangida on 26 August 1993. Babangida resigned under pressure to cede control to a democratic government...

 survived only until late 1993 when General Sani Abacha
Sani Abacha
General Sani Abacha was a Nigerian military leader and politician. He was the de facto President of Nigeria from 1993 to 1998.-Political life:...

 took power in another military coup. Abacha proved to be perhaps Nigeria's most brutal ruler and employed violence on a wide scale to suppress the continuing pandemic of civilian unrest. Money had been found in various western European countries banks traced to him. He avoided coup plots by bribing army generals. Several hundred millions dollars in accounts traced to him were unearthed in 1999. The regime would come to an end in 1998 when the dictator was found dead amid dubious circumstances. Abacha's death yielded an opportunity for return to civilian rule.

Recent history


Nigeria re-achieved democracy in 1999 when it elected Olusegun Obasanjo, a Yoruba
Yoruba people
Yoruba people are one of the largest ethno-linguistic or ethnic groups in west Africa. The majority of the Yoruba speak the Yoruba language...

 and former military head of state, as the new President
President of Nigeria
The President of Nigeria is the elected head of government and head of state of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Officially styled President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces...

 ending almost thirty three-years of military rule (from 1966 until 1999) excluding the short-lived second republic
Shehu Shagari
Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari, Turakin Sakkwato served as the President of Nigeria's Second Republic , after the handover of power by General Olusegun Obasanjo's Military government....

 (between 1979 and 1983) by military dictators who seized power in coups d'état
Coup d'état
A coup d'état , or coup for short, is the sudden unconstitutional deposition of a legitimate government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another, either civil or military...

 and counter-coups during the Nigerian military juntas of 1966-1979 and 1983-1998
Nigerian military juntas of 1966-1979 and 1983-1998
The two Nigerian Military Juntas of 1966-1979 and 1983-1998 were a pair of military dictatorships in the African country of Nigeria that were led by the Nigerian Military, having a chairman or president in charge.- See also :* Nigerian First Republic...

.

Although the elections which brought Obasanjo to power in 1999 and again in 2003 were condemned as unfree and unfair, Nigeria has shown marked improvements in attempts to tackle government corruption and to hasten development. While Obasanjo showed willingness to fight corruption, he was accused by others of the same.

Umaru Yar'Adua, of the People's Democratic Party
People's Democratic Party (Nigeria)
The People's Democratic Party is a centrist political party in Nigeria. It won the Presidential elections of 1999, 2003, and 2007, and is the dominant party in the Fourth Republic.-History:...

, came into power in the general election of 2007
Nigerian general election, 2007
The Nigerian general elections of 2007 were held on 14 April and 21 April 2007. Governorship and state assembly elections were held on 14 April, while the presidential and national assembly elections were held a week later on 21 April...

 – an election that was witnessed and condemned by the international community as being massively flawed.

Ethnic violence over the oil producing Niger Delta
Niger Delta
The Niger Delta, the delta of the Niger River in Nigeria, is a densely populated region sometimes called the Oil Rivers because it was once a major producer of palm oil...

 region (see Conflict in the Niger Delta
Conflict in the Niger Delta
The current conflict in the Niger Delta arose in the early 1990s due to tensions between the foreign oil corporations and a number of the Niger Delta's minority ethnic groups who felt they were being exploited, particularly the Ogoni and the Ijaw...

) and inadequate infrastructures are some of the current issues in the country.

Government


Nigeria is a Federal Republic
Federal republic
A federal republic is a federation of states with a republican form of government. A federation is the central government. The states in a federation also maintain the federation...

 modelled after the United States, with executive power
Executive Power
Executive Power is Vince Flynn's fifth novel, and the fourth to feature Mitch Rapp, an American agent that works for the CIA as an operative for a covert counterterrorism unit called the "Orion Team."-Plot summary:...

 exercised by the president
President
President is a title held by many leaders of organizations, companies, trade unions, universities, and countries. Etymologically, a "president" is one who presides, who sits in leadership...

 and with overtones of the Westminster System
Westminster System
The Westminster system is a democratic parliamentary system of government modelled after the politics of the United Kingdom. This term comes from the Palace of Westminster, the seat of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....

 model in the composition and management of the upper and lower houses of the bicameral legislature.
The current president of Nigeria is Umaru Musa Yar'Adua who was elected in 2007. The president presides as both Chief of State and Head of Government
Head of government
Head of government is the chief officer of the executive branch of a government, often presiding over a cabinet. In a parliamentary system, the head of government is often styled Prime Minister, President of the Government, Premier, etc...

 and is elected by popular vote to a maximum of two four-year terms. The president's power is checked by a Senate and a House of Representatives
House of Representatives of Nigeria
The House of Representatives of Nigeria is the lower house of the country's bicameral National Assembly. The Senate of Nigeria is the upper house....

, which are combined in a bicameral body called the National Assembly. The Senate is a 109-seat body with three members from each state and one from the capital region of Abuja; members are elected by popular vote to four-year terms. The House contains 360 seats and the number of seats per state is determined by population.

Ethnocentricism, tribalism
Tribalism
The internal social structure of a tribe can vary greatly from case to case, but, due to the small size of tribes, it is always a relatively simple structure, with few significant social distinctions between individuals. Some tribes are particularly egalitarian, and most tribes have only a vague...

, sectarianism
Sectarianism
Sectarianism is bigotry, discrimination or hatred arising from attaching importance to perceived differences between subdivisions within a group, such as between different denominations of a religion or the factions of a political movement....

 (especially religious), and prebendalism
Prebendalism
Richard A. Joseph, director of The Program of African Studies at Northwestern University, is usually credited with first using the term prebendalism to describe patron-client or neopatrimonialism in Nigeria...

 have played a visible role in Nigerian politics both prior and subsequent to independence in 1960. Kin-selective altruism has made its way into Nigerian politics and has spurned various attempts by tribalists to concentrate Federal power to a particular region of their interests. Nationalism has also led to active secessionist movements such as MASSOB, Nationalist movements such as Oodua Peoples Congress
Oodua Peoples Congress
The Oodua Peoples Congress is a militant Yoruba nationalist organization situated in Nigeria. The Yoruba people, who live in the South Western part of Nigeria, as well as neighbouring countries such as Benin, are a large ethno-linguistic group; the majority of them speak the Yoruba language...

, Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta
Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta is one of the largest militant groups in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. The organization alleges exploitation and oppression of the people of the Niger Delta and devastation of the natural environment by the Federal Government of Nigeria and...

 and a civil war
Nigerian Civil War
The Nigerian Civil War, also known as the Nigerian-Biafran War, 6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970, was a political conflict caused by the attempted secession of the southeastern provinces of Nigeria as the self-proclaimed Republic of Biafra....

. Nigeria's three largest ethnic groups have maintained historical preeminence in Nigerian politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make decisions. The term is generally applied to behavior within civil governments, but politics has been observed in all human group interactions, including corporate, academic and religious institutions...

; competition amongst these three groups, the Hausa
Hausa people
The Hausa are a Sahelian people chiefly located in the West African regions of northern Nigeria and southeastern Niger. There are also significant numbers found in regions of Sudan, Cameroon, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, and Chad and smaller communities scattered throughout West Africa and on the...

, Yoruba
Yoruba people
Yoruba people are one of the largest ethno-linguistic or ethnic groups in west Africa. The majority of the Yoruba speak the Yoruba language...

, and Igbo
Igbo people
Igbo people, also referred to as the Ibo, Ebo, Eboans or Heebo are an ethnic group living chiefly in southeastern and south Nigeria. They speak Igbo, which includes various Igboid languages and dialects; today, a majority of them speak English alongside Igbo as a result of British colonialism...

, has fuelled corruption and graft.
Because of the above issues, Nigeria's current political parties are pan-national
Pan-nationalism
Pan-nationalism is a form of nationalism distinguished by the large scale of the claimed national territory, and because it often defines the nation on the basis of a ‘’cluster’’ of cultures and ethnic groups. It shares the general nationalist ideology, that the nation is a fundamental unit of...

 and irreligious in character (though this does not preclude the continuing preeminence of the dominant ethnicities). The major political parties at present include the ruling People's Democratic Party of Nigeria
People's Democratic Party (Nigeria)
The People's Democratic Party is a centrist political party in Nigeria. It won the Presidential elections of 1999, 2003, and 2007, and is the dominant party in the Fourth Republic.-History:...

 which maintains 223 seats in the House and 76 in the Senate (61.9% and 69.7% respectively) and is led by the current President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua
Umaru Musa Yar'Adua
Umaru Musa Yar'Adua , also known as Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar'adua, is the 2nd President of Nigeria's Fourth Republic . He served as governor of Katsina State in northern Nigeria from 29 May 1999 to 28 May 2007. He was declared the winner of the controversial Nigerian presidential election held on 21...

; the opposition All Nigeria People's Party
All Nigeria People's Party
The All Nigeria Peoples Party is a conservative political party in Nigeria. At the last legislative elections , the party won 27.0% of the popular vote and 92 out of 360 seats in the House of Representatives and 27 out of 109 seats in the Senate...

 under the leadership of Muhammadu Buhari
Muhammadu Buhari
Muhammadu Buhari was the military ruler of Nigeria and an unsuccessful candidate for president in the April 19, 2003 presidential election...

 has 96 House seats and 27 in the Senate (26.6% and 24.7%). There are also about twenty other minor opposition parties registered. The immediate past president, Olusegun Obasanjo, acknowledged fraud and other electoral "lapses" but said the result reflected opinion polls. In a national television address he added that if Nigerians did not like the victory of his handpicked successor they would have an opportunity to vote again in four years.
Like in many other African societies, prebendalism
Prebendalism
Richard A. Joseph, director of The Program of African Studies at Northwestern University, is usually credited with first using the term prebendalism to describe patron-client or neopatrimonialism in Nigeria...

 and extremely excessive corruption continue to constitute major challenges to Nigeria, as vote rigging and other means of coercion are practised by all major parties in order to remain competitive. In 1983, it was adjudged by the policy institute at Kuru that only the 1959 and 1979 elections witnessed minimal rigging.

Law


There are four distinct systems of law in Nigeria:
  • English law
    English law
    English law is the legal system of England and Wales, and is the basis of common law legal systems used in most Commonwealth countriesand the United States...

     which is derived from its colonial
    British Empire
    The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom, that had originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height it was...

     past with Britain;
  • Common law
    Common law
    Common law is law developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals , rather than through legislative statutes or executive action, and to corresponding legal systems that rely on precedential case law....

    , a development of its post colonial independence;
  • Customary law which is derived from indigenous traditional norms and practice, including the dispute resolution meetings of pre-colonial Yorubaland secret societies;
  • Sharia
    Sharia
    Sharia is an Arabic word meaning ‘way’ or ‘path’. In Arabic, the collocation ‘Šarīʿat Allāh’ is traditionally used not only by Muslims, but also Christians and Jews, sometimes translating expressions such as Torat Elōhīm [תורת אלוהים] or ‘ho nómos toû theoû' '’...

     law, used only in the predominantly Muslim north of the country. It is an Islamic legal system which had been used long before the colonial administration in Nigeria but recently politicised and spearheaded in Zamfara
    Zamfara State
    Zamfara State is a state in northwestern Nigeria. Its capital is Gusau and its Governor is Mahmud Shinkafi, a former member of the All Nigeria People's Party , now a member the People's Democratic Party . Until 1996 the area was part of Sokoto State.Zamfara is peopled by Hausa and Fulani peoples...

     in late 1999 and eleven other states followed suit. These states are Kano
    Kano State
    Kano State is a state located in North-Western Nigeria. Created on May 27 1967 from part of the Northern Region, Kano state borders Katsina State to the north-west, Jigawa State to the north-east, and Bauchi and Kaduna states to the south...

    , Katsina
    Katsina State
    Katsina State is a state in northern Nigeria. Its capital is Katsina, and its governor is Ibrahim Shema, a member of the People's Democratic Party...

    , Niger
    Niger State
    Niger State is a state in the western part of Nigeria and the largest state in the country. The state capital is Minna, and other major cities are Bida, Kontagora, and Suleja. It was formed in 1976 when the then North-Western State was bifurcated into Niger State and Sokoto State.The state is named...

    , Bauchi
    Bauchi State
    Bauchi State is a state in northern Nigeria. Its capital is Bauchi. The state was formed in 1976 when the former North-Eastern State was broken up...

    , Borno
    Borno State
    Borno State is a state in north-eastern Nigeria. Its capital 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.-Role of the emirs:...

    , Kaduna
    Kaduna State
    Kaduna State is a state in central northern Nigeria. Its capital is Kaduna.-History:The state is the successor to the old Northern Region of Nigeria, which had its capital at Kaduna. In 1967 this was split up into six states, one of which was the North-Central State, whose name was changed to...

    , Gombe
    Gombe State
    Gombe State, located in northeastern Nigeria, is one of the country's thirtysix states; its capital is Gombe.Gombe State, nicknamed the 'Jewel in the Savannah', was formed in October 1996 from part of the old Bauchi State by the Abacha military government. The state has an area of 20,265 km² and a...

    , Sokoto
    Sokoto State
    Sokoto State is a state in north-western Nigeria. The state is named after its capital Sokoto, a city with a long history and the seat of the Sokoto Caliphate.-History:...

    , Jigawa
    Jigawa State
    Jigawa State is a state in central northern Nigeria. Its capital is Dutse.-Location:Jigawa State is one of thirty-six States that constitute Federal Republic of Nigeria. It is situated in north-western part of the country between Latitudes 11.00oN to 13.00oN and Longitudes 8.00oE to 10.15oE...

    , Yobe
    Yobe State
    Yobe State, a mainly agricultural state, is located in Northern Nigeria. Created on August 27, 1991, Yobe state was carved out of present-day Borno State. The capital of Yobe state is Damaturu.-Geography:...

    , and Kebbi
    Kebbi State
    Kebbi State is a state in north-western Nigeria with its capital at Birnin Kebbi. The state was formed from part of Sokoto State in 1991. Kebbi State is bordered by Sokoto State, Niger State, Dosso Region in the Republic of Niger and the nation of Benin...

    .


The country has a judicial branch, the highest court of which is the Supreme Court of Nigeria
Supreme Court of Nigeria
The Supreme Court of Nigeria is the highest court in Nigeria, and is located in the Central District, Abuja, in what is known as the Three Arms Zone, so called due to the proximity of the offices of the Presidential Complex, the National Assembly, and the Supreme Court.-Overview:In 1963, the...

.

Foreign relations and military



Upon gaining independence in 1960, Nigeria made the liberation and restoration of the dignity of Africa the centrepiece of its foreign policy and played a leading role in the fight against the apartheid regime in South Africa. One notable exception to the African focus of Nigeria's foreign policy was the close relationship the country enjoyed with Israel
Israel
Israel officially the State of Israel , is a developed state in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its...

 throughout the 1960s, with the latter country sponsoring and overseeing the construction of Nigeria's parliament buildings.

Nigeria's foreign policy was soon tested in the 1970s after the country emerged united from its own civil war and quickly committed itself to the liberation struggles going on in the Southern Africa sub-region. Though Nigeria never sent an expeditionary force in that struggle, it offered more than rhetoric to the African National Congress
African National Congress
The African National Congress has been South Africa's governing party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a "disciplined...

 (ANC) by taking a committed tough line with regard to the racist regime and their incursions in southern Africa, in addition to expediting large sums to aid anti-colonial struggles. Nigeria was also a founding member of the Organization for African Unity (now the African Union
African Union
The African Union is an intergovernmental organization consisting of 52 African states. Established on July 9 2002, the AU was formed as a successor to the Organization of African Unity...

), and has tremendous influence in West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries distributed over an area of approximately 5 million square km:*Benin...

 and Africa on the whole. Nigeria has additionally founded regional cooperative efforts in West Africa, functioning as standard-bearer for ECOWAS and ECOMOG, economic and military organizations respectively.
With this African-centred stance, Nigeria readily sent troops to the Congo
Congo Crisis
The Congo Crisis was a period of turmoil in the First Republic of the Congo that began with national independence from Belgium and ended with the seizing of power by Joseph Mobutu...

 at the behest of the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and the achieving of world peace...

 shortly after independence (and has maintained membership since that time); Nigeria also supported several Pan African and pro-self government causes in the 1970s, including garnering support for Angola's
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean. The exclave province of Cabinda has a border with the Republic of the...

 MPLA
Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola
The Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola - Party of Labour is an Angolan political party that has ruled the country since independence of the then Portuguese Angola in 1975...

, SWAPO in Namibia
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in Southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana and Zimbabwe to the east, and South Africa to the south and east...

, and aiding anti-colonial struggles in Mozambique, and Zimbabwe
Rhodesian Bush War
The Rhodesian Bush War—also known as the Zimbabwe War of Liberation or the Second Chimurenga—was a civil war in the former country of Rhodesia fought from July 1964 to 1979...

 (then Rhodesia) military and economically.

Nigeria retains membership in the Non-Aligned Movement
Non-Aligned Movement
The Non-Aligned Movement is an international organisation of states considering themselves not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. The movement is largely the brainchild of India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, former president of Egypt Gamal Abdul Nasser and Yugoslav...

, and in late November 2006 organized an Africa-South America Summit in Abuja to promote what some attendees termed "South-South" linkages on a variety of fronts. Nigeria is also a member of the International Criminal Court
International Criminal Court
The International Criminal Court is a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression .The court came into being on 1 July 2002 — the...

, and the Commonwealth of Nations
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the Commonwealth and previously as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-three independent member states. Most of them were formerly part of the British Empire. They co-operate within a framework of common values...

, from which it was temporarily expelled in 1995 under the Abacha regime
Sani Abacha
General Sani Abacha was a Nigerian military leader and politician. He was the de facto President of Nigeria from 1993 to 1998.-Political life:...

.

Nigeria has remained a key player in the international oil industry
Petroleum industry
The petroleum industry includes the global processes of exploration, extraction, refining, transporting , and marketing petroleum products. The largest volume products of the industry are fuel oil and gasoline...

 since the 1970s, and maintains membership in Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries OPEC
OPEC
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is a cartel of twelve countries made up of Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela. OPEC has maintained its headquarters in Vienna since 1965, and hosts regular...

 which it joined in July, 1971. Its status as a major petroleum producer
Petroleum in Nigeria
The petroleum industry in Nigeria is the largest industry and main generator of GDP in the West African nation which is also the continent's most populous...

 figures prominently in its sometimes vicissitudinous international relations with both developed countries, notably the United States and more recently China and developing countries, notably Ghana, Jamaica and Kenya.

Millions of Nigerians have emigrated at times of economic hardship to Europe, North America and Australia among others. It is estimated that over a million Nigerians
Nigerian American
Nigerian Americans are citizens of the United States of America who are or descend from immigrants from Nigeria. Since the late 1960s and early 1970s, approximately one million Nigerians have immigrated to the United States....

 have emigrated to the United States and constitute the Nigerian American
Nigerian American
Nigerian Americans are citizens of the United States of America who are or descend from immigrants from Nigeria. Since the late 1960s and early 1970s, approximately one million Nigerians have immigrated to the United States....

 populace. Of such Diasporic communities include the "Egbe Omo Yoruba" society.

The Nigerian Military are charged with protecting The Federal Republic of Nigeria, promoting Nigeria's global security interests, and supporting peacekeeping efforts especially in West Africa.

The Nigerian Military consist of an Army, a Navy and an Air Force. The military in Nigeria have played a major role in the country's history since independence. Various juntas have seized control of the country and ruled it through most of its history. Its last period of rule ended in 1999 following the sudden death of former dictator Sani Abacha
Sani Abacha
General Sani Abacha was a Nigerian military leader and politician. He was the de facto President of Nigeria from 1993 to 1998.-Political life:...

 in 1998, with his successor, Abdulsalam Abubakar handing over to the democratically elected government of Olusegun Obasanjo in 1999.

Taking advantage of its role of Africa's most populated country, Nigeria has repositioned its military as an African peacekeeping force. Since 1995, the Nigerian military through ECOMOG mandates have been deployed as peacekeepers in Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the west coast of Africa, bordered by Sierra Leone, Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire, and the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2008 Census, the nation is home to 3,476,608 people and covers ....

 (1997), Ivory Coast (1997–1999), Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea in the north, Liberia in the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean in the southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has a population estimated at 6.4 million...

 1997–1999, and presently in Sudan
Sudan
Sudan is a country in northeastern Africa. It is the largest country in Africa and in the Arab World, and tenth largest in the world by area...

's Darfur
Darfur conflict
The Darfur Conflict refers to violence taking place in Darfur, Sudan.The conflict started in February 2003 when the Sudan Liberation Army and Justice and Equality Movement in Darfur took up arms, accusing the government of oppressing black Africans in favour of Arabs. There are various estimates...

 region under an African Union mandate.
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal
Federation
A federation , also known as a federal state, is a type of sovereign state characterized by a union of partially self-governing states or regions united by a central government...

 constitutional republic
Constitutional republic
A constitutional republic is a state where the head of state and other officials are elected as representatives of the people, and must govern according to existing constitutional law that limits the government's power over citizens....

 comprising thirty-six states
States of Nigeria
Nigeria is currently divided into 36 states and Abuja, the federal capital territory. The states are further divided into 774 Local Government Areas...

 and one Federal Capital Territory
Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria
The Federal Capital Territory is the home of Abuja, the capital of Nigeria. The Territory was formed in 1976 from parts of former Nasarawa, Niger, and Kogi States. It is in the central region of the country.-Geography:...

. The country is located in West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries distributed over an area of approximately 5 million square km:*Benin...

 and shares land border
Border
Borders define geographic boundaries of political entities or legal jurisdictions, such as governments, states or subnational administrative divisions. They may foster the setting up of buffer zones...

s with the Republic of Benin
Benin
Benin , officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north; its short coastline to the south leads to the Bight of Benin....

 in the west, Chad
Chad
Chad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west...

 and Cameroon
Cameroon
The Republic of Cameroon is a unitary republic of central and western Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the Bight of...

 in the east, and Niger
Niger
Niger , officially the Republic of Niger is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east...

 in the north. Its coast lies on the Gulf of Guinea
Gulf of Guinea
The Gulf of Guinea is the part of the Atlantic Ocean southwest of Africa. The intersection of the Equator and Prime Meridian is in the gulf...

, a part of the Atlantic Ocean, in the south. The capital city is Abuja
Abuja
Abuja is the capital city of Nigeria. It is located in the centre of Nigeria in the Federal Capital Territory . Abuja is a planned city, which was built mainly in the 1980s and officially became Nigeria's capital on 12 December 1991, replacing the role of the previous capital Lagos...

. The three largest and most influential ethnic groups in Nigeria are the Hausa
Hausa people
The Hausa are a Sahelian people chiefly located in the West African regions of northern Nigeria and southeastern Niger. There are also significant numbers found in regions of Sudan, Cameroon, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, and Chad and smaller communities scattered throughout West Africa and on the...

, Igbo
Igbo people
Igbo people, also referred to as the Ibo, Ebo, Eboans or Heebo are an ethnic group living chiefly in southeastern and south Nigeria. They speak Igbo, which includes various Igboid languages and dialects; today, a majority of them speak English alongside Igbo as a result of British colonialism...

 and Yoruba
Yoruba people
Yoruba people are one of the largest ethno-linguistic or ethnic groups in west Africa. The majority of the Yoruba speak the Yoruba language...

.

The people of Nigeria have an extensive history
History of Nigeria
-Early history:Recent archaeological research has shown that people were already living in southwestern Nigeria as early as 9000 BC and perhaps earlier at Ugwuelle-Uturu in southeastern Nigeria. Smelting furnaces at Taruga dating from the 4th century BC provide the oldest evidence of metalworking...

, and archaeological
Archaeology
Archaeology or archeology is the science that studies human cultures through the recovery, documentation, analysis, and interpretation of material culture and environmental data, including architecture, artifacts, biofacts, and landscapes...

 evidence shows that human habitation of the area dates back to at least 9000 BC. The Benue-Cross River
Benue River
The Benue River is the major tributary of the Niger River. The river is approximately 1,400 km long and is almost entirely navigable during the summer months...

 area is thought to be the original homeland of the Bantu migrants who spread across most of central and southern Africa in waves between the 1st millennium BC
1st millennium BC
The 1st millennium BC encompasses the Iron Age and sees the rise of many successive empires.The Neo-Assyrian Empire, followed by the Achaemenids. In Greece, Classical Antiquity begins with the colonization of Magna Graecia and peaks with the rise of Hellenism. The close of the millennium sees the...

 and the 2nd millennium
2nd millennium
Beethoven|Te Kooti|- align="left"!20th Century|Nelson Mandela
Paul Rusesabagina|Martin Luther King, Jr.
Franklin D...

.

The name Nigeria was taken from the River Niger running through Nigeria. This name was coined by Flora Shaw
Flora Shaw
Dame Flora Louisa Shaw, Lady Lugard, DBE , the daughter of an English father, Captain George Shaw and a French mother, Marie Desfontaines, was a British journalist and writer.-Career:Flora Louisa Shaw was born in Woolwich where her father was stationed...

, the future wife of Baron Lugard
Frederick Lugard
Frederick John Dealtry Lugard, 1st Baron Lugard, GCMG, CB, DSO, PC was a British soldier, explorer of Africa and colonial administrator, who was Governor of Hong Kong and Governor-General of Nigeria ....

, a British colonial administrator, in the late 19th century.

Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa, the eighth most populous country in the world, and the most populous country in the world in which the majority of the population is black
Black people
The term black people usually refers to a racial group of humans with skin colors that range from light brown to nearly black. It also has been used to categorize a number of diverse populations into a common group. Some definitions of the term include only people of relatively recent Sub Saharan...

. It is a regional power
Regional power
In international relations, a regional power is a state that has power within a geographic region. They define the polarity of any given regional security complex...

, is listed among the "Next Eleven
Next Eleven
The Next Eleven are eleven countries—Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, South Korea, Turkey, and Vietnam—identified by Goldman Sachs investment bank as having a high potential of becoming the world's largest economies in the 21st century along with the...

" economies, and is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the Commonwealth and previously as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-three independent member states. Most of them were formerly part of the British Empire. They co-operate within a framework of common values...

. The economy of Nigeria
Economy of Nigeria
The petroleum-based economy of Nigeria, long hobbled by political instability, corruption, and poor macroeconomic management, is undergoing substantial economic reform under the new civilian administration. Nigeria's former military rulers failed to diversify the economy...

 is one of the fastest growing in the world
Emerging markets
The term emerging markets is used to describe a nation's social or business activity in the process of rapid growth and industrialization. Currently, there are approximately 28 emerging markets in the world, with the economies of India and China considered to be by far the two largest...

, with the International Monetary Fund
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an international organization that oversees the global financial system by following the macroeconomic policies of its member countries, in particular those with an impact on exchange rates and the balance of payments...

 projecting a growth of 9% in 2008 and 8.3% in 2009.

Early history


The Nok
Nok
The Nok civilization appeared in Nigeria around 1000 B.C. and mysteriously vanished around 200 AD. The civilization’s social system is thought to have been highly advanced. The Nok civilization was considered to be the earliest sub-Saharan producer of life-sized Terracotta...

 people in central Nigeria produced terracotta sculptures that have been discovered by archaeologists. A Nok sculpture resident at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, portrays a sitting dignitary wearing a "Shepherds Crook" on the right arm, and a "hinged flail" on the left. These are symbols of authority associated with ancient Egyptian pharaohs, and the god Osiris, and suggests that an ancient Egyptian style of social structure, and perhaps religion, existed in the area of modern Nigeria during the late Pharonic period. In the northern part of the country, Kano
Kano
Kano is the state capital of Kano State in northern Nigeria. Kano is the largest city in Nigeria - with an estimated population in 2007 of 9,848,885. The principal inhabitants of the city are the Hausa people...

 and Katsina
Katsina
Katsina is a city, formerly a city-state, in northern Nigeria, and is the capital of Katsina State. Katsina is located some 160 miles East of the city of Sokoto, and 84 miles Northwest of Kano, close to the border with Niger at approximately .As of 2007, Katsina's estimated population was 459,022...

 has recorded history which dates back to around 999. Hausa
Hausa people
The Hausa are a Sahelian people chiefly located in the West African regions of northern Nigeria and southeastern Niger. There are also significant numbers found in regions of Sudan, Cameroon, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, and Chad and smaller communities scattered throughout West Africa and on the...

 kingdoms and the Kanem-Bornu Empire
Kanem Empire
The Kanem Empire was located in the present countries of Chad and Libya. At its height it encompassed an area covering not only much of Chad, but also parts of southern Libya and eastern Niger...

 prospered as trade posts between North and West Africa. At the beginning of the 19th century under Usman dan Fodio
Usman dan Fodio
Shaihu Usman dan Fodio , born Usuman ɓii Foduye, was the founder of the Sokoto Caliphate in 1809, a religious teacher, writer and Islamic reformer. Dan Fodio was one of a class of urbanized ethnic Fulani living in the Hausa States in what is today northern Nigeria...

 the Fulani
Fula people
Fula or Fulani or Fulbe are an ethnic group of people spread over many countries, predominantly in West Africa, but found also in Central Africa and Sudanese North Africa...

 became the leaders of a centralized Fulani Empire
Fulani Empire
The Sokoto Caliphate is an Islamic spiritual community in Nigeria, led by the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’adu Abubakar. Founded during the Fulani Jihad in the early 1800s, it was one of the most powerful empires in sub-Saharan Africa prior to European conquest and colonization...

 which continued until 1903 when the Fulani were divided up among European colonizers. Between 1750 and 1900, between one- to two-thirds of the entire population of the Fulani jihad
Fulani War
The Fulani War of 1804-1810, also known as the Fulani Jihad or Jihad of Usman dan Fodio, was a military conquest in present day Nigeria and Cameroon. Expelled from Gobir by his former student Yunfa in 1802, Islamic reformer Usman dan Fodio assembled a Fulani army to lead in jihad against the Hausa...

 states consisted of slaves.

The Yoruba
Yoruba
Yoruba may refer to:* Yoruba name, name of a Yoruba person* Yoruba Culture, culture of the Yoruba tribe* Yoruba people, a West African ethnic group* Yoruba language, the language spoken by the Yoruba people...

 people date their presence in the area of modern republics of Nigeria, Benin and Togo to about 8500 BC. The kingdoms of Ifẹ
Ife
Ife is an ancient Yoruba city in south-western Nigeria. Evidence of urbanization at the site has been discovered to date back to roughly 500 AD. It is located in present day Osun State, with a population of 501,952.-About:...

 and Oyo
Oyo
- Places :In Nigeria* The Oyo Empire or Kingdom, a former West-African empire that covered parts of modern-day Nigeria and Benin* Oyo State, a present-day state of Nigeria named after the Oyo Empire...

 in the western block of Nigeria became prominent about 700–900 and 1400 respectively. However, the Yoruba mythology believes that Ile-Ife is the source of the human race and that it predates any other civilization. Ifẹ produced the terra cotta and bronze heads, the Ọyọ extended as far as modern Togo
Togo
Togo is a country in West Africa bordering Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, on which the capital Lomé is located...

. Another prominent kingdom in south western Nigeria was the Kingdom of Benin whose power lasted between the 15th and 19th century. Their dominance reached as far as the well known city of Eko, later named Lagos
Lagos
Lagos is the most populous conurbation in Nigeria with 7,937,932 inhabitants at the 2006 census...

 by the Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east...

.

In southeastern Nigeria the Kingdom of Nri of the Igbo people
Igbo people
Igbo people, also referred to as the Ibo, Ebo, Eboans or Heebo are an ethnic group living chiefly in southeastern and south Nigeria. They speak Igbo, which includes various Igboid languages and dialects; today, a majority of them speak English alongside Igbo as a result of British colonialism...

 flourished from the controversial date of around the 10th century until 1911. The Nri Kingdom was ruled by the Eze Nri. The city of Nri is considered to be the foundation of Igbo culture. Nri and Aguleri, where the Igbo creation myth originates, are in the territory of the Umeuri clan, who trace their lineages back to the patriarchal king-figure, Eri
Eri (divine king)
Eri is said to be the original legendary cultural head of the Nri-Igbo, a subgroup of the Igbo people. From oral and recorded accounts, he is said to some down from the sky, having been sent by God . Eri settled and established in the middle of Anambra river valley where he married two wives. The...

.

Colonial era


Portuguese explorers
Portuguese Empire
The Portuguese Empire was the first global empire in history, with territories in South America, Africa, India and South East Asia...

 were the first Europeans to begin trade in Nigeria, and called the port Lagos
Lagos
Lagos is the most populous conurbation in Nigeria with 7,937,932 inhabitants at the 2006 census...

 after the Portuguese town of Lagos
Lagos, Portugal
Lagos is a city and a municipality at the mouth of the river Bensafrim and along the Atlantic Ocean,in the region of Algarve, in Algarve's Barlavento , Southern Portugal....

, in Algarve
Algarve
The Algarve from the Arabic word meaning "the west" is the southernmost region of mainland Portugal. It has an area of 5,412 square kilometres with approximately 410,000 permanent inhabitants, and incorporates 16 municipalities...

. This name stuck on with more European trade with the region. The Europeans traded with the ethnicities of the coast and also established a trade in slaves
Atlantic slave trade
The Atlantic slave trade, also known as the transatlantic slave trade, was the trading, primarily of African people, to the colonies of the New World that occurred in and around the Atlantic Ocean. It lasted from the 16th to the 19th centuries...

 which affected many Nigerian ethnicities. Following the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of conflicts declared against Napoleon's French Empire and changing sets of European allies by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionized European armies and played...

, the British expanded trade with the Nigerian interior. In 1885 British claims to a West African sphere of influence received international recognition and in the following year the Royal Niger Company
Royal Niger Company
The Royal Niger Company was a mercantile company chartered by the British government in the nineteenth century. It formed a basis of the modern state of Nigeria....

 was chartered under the leadership of Sir George Taubman Goldie
George Taubman Goldie
Sir George Dashwood Taubman Goldie was a Manx administrator who played a major role in the founding of Nigeria...

. In 1900 the company's territory came under the control of the British government, which moved to consolidate its hold over the area of modern Nigeria. On January 1, 1901 Nigeria became a British protectorate
Protectorate
A protectorate, in international law, is an autonomous territory that is protected diplomatically or militarily against third parties by a stronger state or entity. In exchange for this, the protectorate usually accepts specified obligations, which may vary greatly, depending on the real nature of...

, part of the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom, that had originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height it was...

, the foremost world power at the time.

In 1914, the area was formally united as the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria. Administratively, Nigeria remained divided into the northern and southern provinces and Lagos colony. Western education and the development of a modern economy proceeded more rapidly in the south than in the north, with consequences felt in Nigeria's political life ever since. Slavery
African slave trade
The slave trade in Africa existed for thousands of years. The first main route passed through the Sahara, tying in to the Arab slave trade. After the European Age of Exploration, African slaves became part of the Atlantic slave trade, from which comes the modern, Western conception of slavery as...

 was not finally outlawed in northern Nigeria until 1936. Following World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, in response to the growth of Nigerian nationalism
Nationalism
Nationalism is an ideology, a sentiment, a form of culture, or a social movement that focuses on the nation. It is a type of collectivism emphasizing the collective of a specific nation...

 and demands for independence, successive constitutions legislated by the British Government moved Nigeria toward self-government on a representative and increasingly federal basis. By the middle of the 20th century, the great wave for independence was sweeping across Africa.

Post-independence


On October 1, 1960, Nigeria gained its independence from the United Kingdom. The new republic incorporated a number of people with aspirations of their own sovereign nations. Newly independent Nigeria's government was a coalition of conservative parties: the Nigerian People's Congress
National Party of Nigeria
The National Party of Nigeria was the dominant political party in Nigeria during the Second Republic .-Formation:The party's beginning could be traced to private and sometimes secret meetings among key Northern Nigerian leaders after the proscription of political parties in 1966 by the military...

 (NPC), a party dominated by Northerners and those of the Islamic faith, and the Igbo
Igbo people
Igbo people, also referred to as the Ibo, Ebo, Eboans or Heebo are an ethnic group living chiefly in southeastern and south Nigeria. They speak Igbo, which includes various Igboid languages and dialects; today, a majority of them speak English alongside Igbo as a result of British colonialism...

 and Christian dominated National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons
National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons
National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons , was a Nigerian political party from 1944 to 1966. The name included 'Cameroons' because Cameroon had become an administrative part of Nigeria in 1945. Cameroon had been a colonial territory of Germany...

 (NCNC) led by Nnamdi Azikiwe
Nnamdi Azikiwe
Benjamin Nnamdi Azikiwe , usually referred to as Nnamdi Azikiwe, or, informally and popularly, as "Zik", was one of the leading figures of modern Nigerian nationalism and the first President of Nigeria, holding the position throughout the Nigerian First Republic.-Early life:Azikiwe was born on...

, who became Nigeria's maiden Governor-General
Governor-General
A governor-general, also known as governor general, is a vice-regal representative of a monarch in an independent realm or a major colonial circonscription...

 in 1960. Forming the opposition was the comparatively liberal Action Group
Action group
In sociology and anthropology, an action group or task group is a group of people joined temporarily to accomplish some task or take part in some organized collective action....

 (AG), which was largely dominated by Yoruba people
Yoruba people
Yoruba people are one of the largest ethno-linguistic or ethnic groups in west Africa. The majority of the Yoruba speak the Yoruba language...

 and led by Obafemi Awolowo
Obafemi Awolowo
Jeremiah Obafemi Awolowo was a Nigerian politician and leader, a Yoruba and native of Ikenne in Ogun State of Nigeria, who started as a regional political leader like most of his pre-independence contemporaries. He founded many organizations, including Egbe Omo Oduduwa, the Trade Unions Congress...

.

An imbalance was created in the polity by the result of the 1961 plebiscite. Southern Cameroon
Southern Cameroons
Southern Cameroons was the southern part of the British Mandate territory of Cameroons in West Africa. Since 1961 it is part of the Republic of Cameroun, where it makes up the Northwest Province and Southwest Province...

 opted to join the Republic of Cameroon while northern Cameroon chose to remain in Nigeria. The northern part of the country was now far larger than the southern part. The nation parted with its British legacy in 1963 by declaring itself a Federal Republic
Federal republic
A federal republic is a federation of states with a republican form of government. A federation is the central government. The states in a federation also maintain the federation...

, with Azikiwe as the first president
President of Nigeria
The President of Nigeria is the elected head of government and head of state of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Officially styled President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces...

. When elections came about in 1965, the AG was outmanoeuvered for control of Nigeria's Western Region by the Nigerian National Democratic Party
Nigerian National Democratic Party
The Nigerian National Democratic Party , was Nigeria's first political party.Formed in 1923 by Herbert Macaulay to take advantage of the new Clifford Constitution, the NNDP successfully organized various Yoruba interest groups into a single group that was able to compete politically...

, an amalgamation of conservative Yoruba elements backed heavily by the Federal Government amid dubious electoral circumstances.

Nigerian-Biafran War



This disequilibrium and perceived corruption of the electoral and political process led in 1966 to several back-to-back military coups. The first was in January and led by a collection of young leftists under Major Emmanuel Ifeajuna and Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu. It was partially successful – the coupists murdered the Prime Minister, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, the Premier of the Northern Region, Sir Ahmadu Bello, and the Premier of the Western Region, Sir Ladoke Akintola. Despite this, the coupists could not set up a central government because of logistic reasons. Sir Nwafor Orizu, the acting President was then pressured to hand over government to the Nigeria Army, under the Command of General JTU Aguyi-Ironsi. This coup was counter-acted by another successful plot, supported primarily by Northern military officers and Northerners who favoured the NPC, it was engineered by Northern officers, which allowed Lt Colonel Yakubu Gowon
Yakubu Gowon
General Yakubu "Jack" Dan-Yumma Gowon was the head of state of Nigeria from 1966 to 1975. He took power after one military coup d'etat and was overthrown in another...

 to become head of state. This sequence of events led to an increase in ethnic tension and violence. The Northern coup, which was mostly motivated by ethnic and religious reasons was a bloodbath of both military officers and civilians, especially those of Igbo extraction.

The violence against the Igbo increased their desire for autonomy and protection from the military's wrath. By May 1967, the Eastern Region had declared itself an independent state called the Republic of Biafra under the leadership of Lt Colonel Emeka Ojukwu in line with the wishes of the people. The Nigerian Civil War
Nigerian Civil War
The Nigerian Civil War, also known as the Nigerian-Biafran War, 6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970, was a political conflict caused by the attempted secession of the southeastern provinces of Nigeria as the self-proclaimed Republic of Biafra....

 began as the Nigerian (Western and Northern) side attacked Biafra (South-eastern) on July 6, 1967 at Garkem signalling the beginning of the 30 month war that ended in January 1970. More than one million people died in the three-year civil war. Following the war, Nigeria became to an extent even more mired in ethnic strife, as the defeated southeast and indeed southern Nigeria was now conquered territory for the federal military regime, which changed heads of state twice as army officers staged a bloodless coup against Gowon and enthroned Murtala Mohammed; Olusegun Obansanjo succeeded the former after an assassination
Buka Suka Dimka
Buka Suka Dimka, a Lieutenant Colonel in the Nigerian army , led the February 13 1976 abortive military coup against the government of General Murtala Ramat Mohammed...

.

Military era


During the oil boom of the 1970s, Nigeria joined OPEC
OPEC
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is a cartel of twelve countries made up of Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela. OPEC has maintained its headquarters in Vienna since 1965, and hosts regular...

 and billions of dollars generated by production in the oil-rich Niger Delta
Niger Delta
The Niger Delta, the delta of the Niger River in Nigeria, is a densely populated region sometimes called the Oil Rivers because it was once a major producer of palm oil...

 flowed into the coffers of the Nigerian state. However, increasing corruption
Political corruption
Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...

 and graft at all levels of government squandered most of these earnings. The northern military clique benefited immensely from the oil boom to the detriment of the Nigerian people and economy. As oil revenues fuelled the rise of federal subventions to states and precariously to individuals, the Federal Government soon became the centre of political struggle and the centre became the threshold of power in the country. As oil production and revenue rose, the Nigerian government created a dangerous situation as it became increasingly dependent on oil revenues and the international commodity markets for budgetary and economic concerns eschewing economic stability. That spelled doom to federalism in Nigeria.
Beginning in 1979, Nigerians participated in a brief return to democracy when Obasanjo transferred power to the civilian regime of Shehu Shagari
Shehu Shagari
Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari, Turakin Sakkwato served as the President of Nigeria's Second Republic , after the handover of power by General Olusegun Obasanjo's Military government....

. The Shagari government was viewed as corrupt and incompetent by virtually all sectors of Nigerian society, so when the regime was overthrown by the military coup of Mohammadu Buhari shortly after the regime's fraudulent re-election in 1984, it was generally viewed as a positive development by most of the population. Buhari promised major reforms but his government fared little better than its predecessor, and his regime was overthrown by yet another military coup in 1985.

The new head of state, Ibrahim Babangida
Ibrahim Babangida
Major General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida , popularly known as IBB, was the military ruler of Nigeria from his coup against Muhammadu Buhari in August 1985 until his departure from office under heavy popular pressure in 1993 after his annulment of elections held that year...

, promptly declared himself President
President
President is a title held by many leaders of organizations, companies, trade unions, universities, and countries. Etymologically, a "president" is one who presides, who sits in leadership...

 and Commander in chief of the Armed Forces and the ruling Supreme Military Council
Supreme Military Council
Supreme Military Council may refer to:* Supreme Military Council * Supreme Military Council * Supreme Military Council...

 and also set 1990 as the official deadline for a return to democratic governance. Babangida's tenure was marked by a flurry of political activity: he instituted the International Monetary Fund's
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an international organization that oversees the global financial system by following the macroeconomic policies of its member countries, in particular those with an impact on exchange rates and the balance of payments...

 Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) to aid in the repayment of the country's crushing international debt, which most federal revenue was dedicated to servicing. He also inflamed religious tensions in the nation and particularly the south by enrolling Nigeria in the Organization of the Islamic Conference
Organization of the Islamic Conference
The Organisation of the Islamic Conference is an international organisation with a permanent delegation to the United Nations. It groups 57 member states, from the Middle East, Africa, Central Asia, Caucasus, Balkans, Southeast Asia and South Asia...

.
After Babangida survived an abortive coup, he pushed back the promised return to democracy to 1992. When free and fair elections were finally held on the 12th of June, 1993, Babangida declared that the results showing a presidential victory for Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola
Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola
Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola , often referred to as M. K. O. Abiola, was a popular Nigerian Yoruba Egba businessman, publisher and politician...

 null and void, sparking mass civilian violence in protest which effectively shut down the country for weeks and forced Babangida to keep his shaky promise to relinquish office to a civilian run government. Babangida's regime is adjudged to be at the apogee of corruption in the history of the nation as it was during his time that corruption became officially diluted in Nigeria.

Babangida's caretaker regime headed by Ernest Shonekan
Ernest Shonekan
Ernest Adegunle Oladeinde Shonekan is a British trained Nigerian lawyer, industrialist and politician. He was appointed as interim president of Nigeria by General Ibrahim Babangida on 26 August 1993. Babangida resigned under pressure to cede control to a democratic government...

 survived only until late 1993 when General Sani Abacha
Sani Abacha
General Sani Abacha was a Nigerian military leader and politician. He was the de facto President of Nigeria from 1993 to 1998.-Political life:...

 took power in another military coup. Abacha proved to be perhaps Nigeria's most brutal ruler and employed violence on a wide scale to suppress the continuing pandemic of civilian unrest. Money had been found in various western European countries banks traced to him. He avoided coup plots by bribing army generals. Several hundred millions dollars in accounts traced to him were unearthed in 1999. The regime would come to an end in 1998 when the dictator was found dead amid dubious circumstances. Abacha's death yielded an opportunity for return to civilian rule.

Recent history


Nigeria re-achieved democracy in 1999 when it elected Olusegun Obasanjo, a Yoruba
Yoruba people
Yoruba people are one of the largest ethno-linguistic or ethnic groups in west Africa. The majority of the Yoruba speak the Yoruba language...

 and former military head of state, as the new President
President of Nigeria
The President of Nigeria is the elected head of government and head of state of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Officially styled President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces...

 ending almost thirty three-years of military rule (from 1966 until 1999) excluding the short-lived second republic
Shehu Shagari
Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari, Turakin Sakkwato served as the President of Nigeria's Second Republic , after the handover of power by General Olusegun Obasanjo's Military government....

 (between 1979 and 1983) by military dictators who seized power in coups d'état
Coup d'état
A coup d'état , or coup for short, is the sudden unconstitutional deposition of a legitimate government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another, either civil or military...

 and counter-coups during the Nigerian military juntas of 1966-1979 and 1983-1998
Nigerian military juntas of 1966-1979 and 1983-1998
The two Nigerian Military Juntas of 1966-1979 and 1983-1998 were a pair of military dictatorships in the African country of Nigeria that were led by the Nigerian Military, having a chairman or president in charge.- See also :* Nigerian First Republic...

.

Although the elections which brought Obasanjo to power in 1999 and again in 2003 were condemned as unfree and unfair, Nigeria has shown marked improvements in attempts to tackle government corruption and to hasten development. While Obasanjo showed willingness to fight corruption, he was accused by others of the same.

Umaru Yar'Adua, of the People's Democratic Party
People's Democratic Party (Nigeria)
The People's Democratic Party is a centrist political party in Nigeria. It won the Presidential elections of 1999, 2003, and 2007, and is the dominant party in the Fourth Republic.-History:...

, came into power in the general election of 2007
Nigerian general election, 2007
The Nigerian general elections of 2007 were held on 14 April and 21 April 2007. Governorship and state assembly elections were held on 14 April, while the presidential and national assembly elections were held a week later on 21 April...

 – an election that was witnessed and condemned by the international community as being massively flawed.

Ethnic violence over the oil producing Niger Delta
Niger Delta
The Niger Delta, the delta of the Niger River in Nigeria, is a densely populated region sometimes called the Oil Rivers because it was once a major producer of palm oil...

 region (see Conflict in the Niger Delta
Conflict in the Niger Delta
The current conflict in the Niger Delta arose in the early 1990s due to tensions between the foreign oil corporations and a number of the Niger Delta's minority ethnic groups who felt they were being exploited, particularly the Ogoni and the Ijaw...

) and inadequate infrastructures are some of the current issues in the country.

Government


Nigeria is a Federal Republic
Federal republic
A federal republic is a federation of states with a republican form of government. A federation is the central government. The states in a federation also maintain the federation...

 modelled after the United States, with executive power
Executive Power
Executive Power is Vince Flynn's fifth novel, and the fourth to feature Mitch Rapp, an American agent that works for the CIA as an operative for a covert counterterrorism unit called the "Orion Team."-Plot summary:...

 exercised by the president
President
President is a title held by many leaders of organizations, companies, trade unions, universities, and countries. Etymologically, a "president" is one who presides, who sits in leadership...

 and with overtones of the Westminster System
Westminster System
The Westminster system is a democratic parliamentary system of government modelled after the politics of the United Kingdom. This term comes from the Palace of Westminster, the seat of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....

 model in the composition and management of the upper and lower houses of the bicameral legislature.
The current president of Nigeria is Umaru Musa Yar'Adua who was elected in 2007. The president presides as both Chief of State and Head of Government
Head of government
Head of government is the chief officer of the executive branch of a government, often presiding over a cabinet. In a parliamentary system, the head of government is often styled Prime Minister, President of the Government, Premier, etc...

 and is elected by popular vote to a maximum of two four-year terms. The president's power is checked by a Senate and a House of Representatives
House of Representatives of Nigeria
The House of Representatives of Nigeria is the lower house of the country's bicameral National Assembly. The Senate of Nigeria is the upper house....

, which are combined in a bicameral body called the National Assembly. The Senate is a 109-seat body with three members from each state and one from the capital region of Abuja; members are elected by popular vote to four-year terms. The House contains 360 seats and the number of seats per state is determined by population.

Ethnocentricism, tribalism
Tribalism
The internal social structure of a tribe can vary greatly from case to case, but, due to the small size of tribes, it is always a relatively simple structure, with few significant social distinctions between individuals. Some tribes are particularly egalitarian, and most tribes have only a vague...

, sectarianism
Sectarianism
Sectarianism is bigotry, discrimination or hatred arising from attaching importance to perceived differences between subdivisions within a group, such as between different denominations of a religion or the factions of a political movement....

 (especially religious), and prebendalism
Prebendalism
Richard A. Joseph, director of The Program of African Studies at Northwestern University, is usually credited with first using the term prebendalism to describe patron-client or neopatrimonialism in Nigeria...

 have played a visible role in Nigerian politics both prior and subsequent to independence in 1960. Kin-selective altruism has made its way into Nigerian politics and has spurned various attempts by tribalists to concentrate Federal power to a particular region of their interests. Nationalism has also led to active secessionist movements such as MASSOB, Nationalist movements such as Oodua Peoples Congress
Oodua Peoples Congress
The Oodua Peoples Congress is a militant Yoruba nationalist organization situated in Nigeria. The Yoruba people, who live in the South Western part of Nigeria, as well as neighbouring countries such as Benin, are a large ethno-linguistic group; the majority of them speak the Yoruba language...

, Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta
Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta is one of the largest militant groups in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. The organization alleges exploitation and oppression of the people of the Niger Delta and devastation of the natural environment by the Federal Government of Nigeria and...

 and a civil war
Nigerian Civil War
The Nigerian Civil War, also known as the Nigerian-Biafran War, 6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970, was a political conflict caused by the attempted secession of the southeastern provinces of Nigeria as the self-proclaimed Republic of Biafra....

. Nigeria's three largest ethnic groups have maintained historical preeminence in Nigerian politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make decisions. The term is generally applied to behavior within civil governments, but politics has been observed in all human group interactions, including corporate, academic and religious institutions...

; competition amongst these three groups, the Hausa
Hausa people
The Hausa are a Sahelian people chiefly located in the West African regions of northern Nigeria and southeastern Niger. There are also significant numbers found in regions of Sudan, Cameroon, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, and Chad and smaller communities scattered throughout West Africa and on the...

, Yoruba
Yoruba people
Yoruba people are one of the largest ethno-linguistic or ethnic groups in west Africa. The majority of the Yoruba speak the Yoruba language...

, and Igbo
Igbo people
Igbo people, also referred to as the Ibo, Ebo, Eboans or Heebo are an ethnic group living chiefly in southeastern and south Nigeria. They speak Igbo, which includes various Igboid languages and dialects; today, a majority of them speak English alongside Igbo as a result of British colonialism...

, has fuelled corruption and graft.
Because of the above issues, Nigeria's current political parties are pan-national
Pan-nationalism
Pan-nationalism is a form of nationalism distinguished by the large scale of the claimed national territory, and because it often defines the nation on the basis of a ‘’cluster’’ of cultures and ethnic groups. It shares the general nationalist ideology, that the nation is a fundamental unit of...

 and irreligious in character (though this does not preclude the continuing preeminence of the dominant ethnicities). The major political parties at present include the ruling People's Democratic Party of Nigeria
People's Democratic Party (Nigeria)
The People's Democratic Party is a centrist political party in Nigeria. It won the Presidential elections of 1999, 2003, and 2007, and is the dominant party in the Fourth Republic.-History:...

 which maintains 223 seats in the House and 76 in the Senate (61.9% and 69.7% respectively) and is led by the current President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua
Umaru Musa Yar'Adua
Umaru Musa Yar'Adua , also known as Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar'adua, is the 2nd President of Nigeria's Fourth Republic . He served as governor of Katsina State in northern Nigeria from 29 May 1999 to 28 May 2007. He was declared the winner of the controversial Nigerian presidential election held on 21...

; the opposition All Nigeria People's Party
All Nigeria People's Party
The All Nigeria Peoples Party is a conservative political party in Nigeria. At the last legislative elections , the party won 27.0% of the popular vote and 92 out of 360 seats in the House of Representatives and 27 out of 109 seats in the Senate...

 under the leadership of Muhammadu Buhari
Muhammadu Buhari
Muhammadu Buhari was the military ruler of Nigeria and an unsuccessful candidate for president in the April 19, 2003 presidential election...

 has 96 House seats and 27 in the Senate (26.6% and 24.7%). There are also about twenty other minor opposition parties registered. The immediate past president, Olusegun Obasanjo, acknowledged fraud and other electoral "lapses" but said the result reflected opinion polls. In a national television address he added that if Nigerians did not like the victory of his handpicked successor they would have an opportunity to vote again in four years.
Like in many other African societies, prebendalism
Prebendalism
Richard A. Joseph, director of The Program of African Studies at Northwestern University, is usually credited with first using the term prebendalism to describe patron-client or neopatrimonialism in Nigeria...

 and extremely excessive corruption continue to constitute major challenges to Nigeria, as vote rigging and other means of coercion are practised by all major parties in order to remain competitive. In 1983, it was adjudged by the policy institute at Kuru that only the 1959 and 1979 elections witnessed minimal rigging.

Law


There are four distinct systems of law in Nigeria:
  • English law
    English law
    English law is the legal system of England and Wales, and is the basis of common law legal systems used in most Commonwealth countriesand the United States...

     which is derived from its colonial
    British Empire
    The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom, that had originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height it was...

     past with Britain;
  • Common law
    Common law
    Common law is law developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals , rather than through legislative statutes or executive action, and to corresponding legal systems that rely on precedential case law....

    , a development of its post colonial independence;
  • Customary law which is derived from indigenous traditional norms and practice, including the dispute resolution meetings of pre-colonial Yorubaland secret societies;
  • Sharia
    Sharia
    Sharia is an Arabic word meaning ‘way’ or ‘path’. In Arabic, the collocation ‘Šarīʿat Allāh’ is traditionally used not only by Muslims, but also Christians and Jews, sometimes translating expressions such as Torat Elōhīm [תורת אלוהים] or ‘ho nómos toû theoû' '’...

     law, used only in the predominantly Muslim north of the country. It is an Islamic legal system which had been used long before the colonial administration in Nigeria but recently politicised and spearheaded in Zamfara
    Zamfara State
    Zamfara State is a state in northwestern Nigeria. Its capital is Gusau and its Governor is Mahmud Shinkafi, a former member of the All Nigeria People's Party , now a member the People's Democratic Party . Until 1996 the area was part of Sokoto State.Zamfara is peopled by Hausa and Fulani peoples...

     in late 1999 and eleven other states followed suit. These states are Kano
    Kano State
    Kano State is a state located in North-Western Nigeria. Created on May 27 1967 from part of the Northern Region, Kano state borders Katsina State to the north-west, Jigawa State to the north-east, and Bauchi and Kaduna states to the south...

    , Katsina
    Katsina State
    Katsina State is a state in northern Nigeria. Its capital is Katsina, and its governor is Ibrahim Shema, a member of the People's Democratic Party...

    , Niger
    Niger State
    Niger State is a state in the western part of Nigeria and the largest state in the country. The state capital is Minna, and other major cities are Bida, Kontagora, and Suleja. It was formed in 1976 when the then North-Western State was bifurcated into Niger State and Sokoto State.The state is named...

    , Bauchi
    Bauchi State
    Bauchi State is a state in northern Nigeria. Its capital is Bauchi. The state was formed in 1976 when the former North-Eastern State was broken up...

    , Borno
    Borno State
    Borno State is a state in north-eastern Nigeria. Its capital 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.-Role of the emirs:...

    , Kaduna
    Kaduna State
    Kaduna State is a state in central northern Nigeria. Its capital is Kaduna.-History:The state is the successor to the old Northern Region of Nigeria, which had its capital at Kaduna. In 1967 this was split up into six states, one of which was the North-Central State, whose name was changed to...

    , Gombe
    Gombe State
    Gombe State, located in northeastern Nigeria, is one of the country's thirtysix states; its capital is Gombe.Gombe State, nicknamed the 'Jewel in the Savannah', was formed in October 1996 from part of the old Bauchi State by the Abacha military government. The state has an area of 20,265 km² and a...

    , Sokoto
    Sokoto State
    Sokoto State is a state in north-western Nigeria. The state is named after its capital Sokoto, a city with a long history and the seat of the Sokoto Caliphate.-History:...

    , Jigawa
    Jigawa State
    Jigawa State is a state in central northern Nigeria. Its capital is Dutse.-Location:Jigawa State is one of thirty-six States that constitute Federal Republic of Nigeria. It is situated in north-western part of the country between Latitudes 11.00oN to 13.00oN and Longitudes 8.00oE to 10.15oE...

    , Yobe
    Yobe State
    Yobe State, a mainly agricultural state, is located in Northern Nigeria. Created on August 27, 1991, Yobe state was carved out of present-day Borno State. The capital of Yobe state is Damaturu.-Geography:...

    , and Kebbi
    Kebbi State
    Kebbi State is a state in north-western Nigeria with its capital at Birnin Kebbi. The state was formed from part of Sokoto State in 1991. Kebbi State is bordered by Sokoto State, Niger State, Dosso Region in the Republic of Niger and the nation of Benin...

    .


The country has a judicial branch, the highest court of which is the Supreme Court of Nigeria
Supreme Court of Nigeria
The Supreme Court of Nigeria is the highest court in Nigeria, and is located in the Central District, Abuja, in what is known as the Three Arms Zone, so called due to the proximity of the offices of the Presidential Complex, the National Assembly, and the Supreme Court.-Overview:In 1963, the...

.

Foreign relations and military



Upon gaining independence in 1960, Nigeria made the liberation and restoration of the dignity of Africa the centrepiece of its foreign policy and played a leading role in the fight against the apartheid regime in South Africa. One notable exception to the African focus of Nigeria's foreign policy was the close relationship the country enjoyed with Israel
Israel
Israel officially the State of Israel , is a developed state in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its...

 throughout the 1960s, with the latter country sponsoring and overseeing the construction of Nigeria's parliament buildings.

Nigeria's foreign policy was soon tested in the 1970s after the country emerged united from its own civil war and quickly committed itself to the liberation struggles going on in the Southern Africa sub-region. Though Nigeria never sent an expeditionary force in that struggle, it offered more than rhetoric to the African National Congress
African National Congress
The African National Congress has been South Africa's governing party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a "disciplined...

 (ANC) by taking a committed tough line with regard to the racist regime and their incursions in southern Africa, in addition to expediting large sums to aid anti-colonial struggles. Nigeria was also a founding member of the Organization for African Unity (now the African Union
African Union
The African Union is an intergovernmental organization consisting of 52 African states. Established on July 9 2002, the AU was formed as a successor to the Organization of African Unity...

), and has tremendous influence in West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries distributed over an area of approximately 5 million square km:*Benin...

 and Africa on the whole. Nigeria has additionally founded regional cooperative efforts in West Africa, functioning as standard-bearer for ECOWAS and ECOMOG, economic and military organizations respectively.
With this African-centred stance, Nigeria readily sent troops to the Congo
Congo Crisis
The Congo Crisis was a period of turmoil in the First Republic of the Congo that began with national independence from Belgium and ended with the seizing of power by Joseph Mobutu...

 at the behest of the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and the achieving of world peace...

 shortly after independence (and has maintained membership since that time); Nigeria also supported several Pan African and pro-self government causes in the 1970s, including garnering support for Angola's
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean. The exclave province of Cabinda has a border with the Republic of the...

 MPLA
Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola
The Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola - Party of Labour is an Angolan political party that has ruled the country since independence of the then Portuguese Angola in 1975...

, SWAPO in Namibia
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in Southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana and Zimbabwe to the east, and South Africa to the south and east...

, and aiding anti-colonial struggles in Mozambique, and Zimbabwe
Rhodesian Bush War
The Rhodesian Bush War—also known as the Zimbabwe War of Liberation or the Second Chimurenga—was a civil war in the former country of Rhodesia fought from July 1964 to 1979...

 (then Rhodesia) military and economically.

Nigeria retains membership in the Non-Aligned Movement
Non-Aligned Movement
The Non-Aligned Movement is an international organisation of states considering themselves not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. The movement is largely the brainchild of India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, former president of Egypt Gamal Abdul Nasser and Yugoslav...

, and in late November 2006 organized an Africa-South America Summit in Abuja to promote what some attendees termed "South-South" linkages on a variety of fronts. Nigeria is also a member of the International Criminal Court
International Criminal Court
The International Criminal Court is a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression .The court came into being on 1 July 2002 — the...

, and the Commonwealth of Nations
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the Commonwealth and previously as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-three independent member states. Most of them were formerly part of the British Empire. They co-operate within a framework of common values...

, from which it was temporarily expelled in 1995 under the Abacha regime
Sani Abacha
General Sani Abacha was a Nigerian military leader and politician. He was the de facto President of Nigeria from 1993 to 1998.-Political life:...

.

Nigeria has remained a key player in the international oil industry
Petroleum industry
The petroleum industry includes the global processes of exploration, extraction, refining, transporting , and marketing petroleum products. The largest volume products of the industry are fuel oil and gasoline...

 since the 1970s, and maintains membership in Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries OPEC
OPEC
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is a cartel of twelve countries made up of Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela. OPEC has maintained its headquarters in Vienna since 1965, and hosts regular...

 which it joined in July, 1971. Its status as a major petroleum producer
Petroleum in Nigeria
The petroleum industry in Nigeria is the largest industry and main generator of GDP in the West African nation which is also the continent's most populous...

 figures prominently in its sometimes vicissitudinous international relations with both developed countries, notably the United States and more recently China and developing countries, notably Ghana, Jamaica and Kenya.

Millions of Nigerians have emigrated at times of economic hardship to Europe, North America and Australia among others. It is estimated that over a million Nigerians
Nigerian American
Nigerian Americans are citizens of the United States of America who are or descend from immigrants from Nigeria. Since the late 1960s and early 1970s, approximately one million Nigerians have immigrated to the United States....

 have emigrated to the United States and constitute the Nigerian American
Nigerian American
Nigerian Americans are citizens of the United States of America who are or descend from immigrants from Nigeria. Since the late 1960s and early 1970s, approximately one million Nigerians have immigrated to the United States....

 populace. Of such Diasporic communities include the "Egbe Omo Yoruba" society.

The Nigerian Military are charged with protecting The Federal Republic of Nigeria, promoting Nigeria's global security interests, and supporting peacekeeping efforts especially in West Africa.

The Nigerian Military consist of an Army, a Navy and an Air Force. The military in Nigeria have played a major role in the country's history since independence. Various juntas have seized control of the country and ruled it through most of its history. Its last period of rule ended in 1999 following the sudden death of former dictator Sani Abacha
Sani Abacha
General Sani Abacha was a Nigerian military leader and politician. He was the de facto President of Nigeria from 1993 to 1998.-Political life:...

 in 1998, with his successor, Abdulsalam Abubakar handing over to the democratically elected government of Olusegun Obasanjo in 1999.

Taking advantage of its role of Africa's most populated country, Nigeria has repositioned its military as an African peacekeeping force. Since 1995, the Nigerian military through ECOMOG mandates have been deployed as peacekeepers in Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the west coast of Africa, bordered by Sierra Leone, Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire, and the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2008 Census, the nation is home to 3,476,608 people and covers ....

 (1997), Ivory Coast (1997–1999), Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea in the north, Liberia in the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean in the southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has a population estimated at 6.4 million...

 1997–1999, and presently in Sudan
Sudan
Sudan is a country in northeastern Africa. It is the largest country in Africa and in the Arab World, and tenth largest in the world by area...

's Darfur
Darfur conflict
The Darfur Conflict refers to violence taking place in Darfur, Sudan.The conflict started in February 2003 when the Sudan Liberation Army and Justice and Equality Movement in Darfur took up arms, accusing the government of oppressing black Africans in favour of Arabs. There are various estimates...

 region under an African Union mandate.


Geography


Nigeria is located in western Africa on the Gulf of Guinea and has a total area of , making it the world's 32nd-largest country (after Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in central East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.The United...

). It is comparable in size to Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially titled Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It is a continental mainland with numerous islands located off its coastline in the Caribbean Sea...

, and is about twice the size of California
California
California is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...

. It shares a border with Benin (773 km), Niger (1497 km), Chad (87 km), Cameroon (1690 km), and has a coastline of at least 853 km.

Nigeria has a varied landscape. From the Obudu Hills in the southeast through the beaches in the south, the rainforest
Rainforest
Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions setting minimum normal annual rainfall between 1750–2000 mm . The monsoon trough, alternately known as the intertropical convergence zone, plays a significant role in creating Earth's tropical rain forests.From 40 to 75%...

, the Lagos estuary and savanna
Savanna
A savanna, or savannah, is a grassland ecosystem characterized by the trees being sufficiently small or widely spaced so that the canopy does not close...

h in the middle and southwest of the country and the Sahel
Sahel
The Sahel or Sahel Belt is a semi-arid tropical savanna and steppe ecoregion in Africa, which forms the transition between the Sahara to the north and the slightly less arid savanna belt to the south, known as the Sudan .-Geography:The Sahel runs 2,400...

 to the encroaching Sahara
Sahara
The Sahara , , "The Greatest Desert") is the world's largest hot desert. At over 9,000,000 square kilometres , it covers most of Northern Africa, making it almost as large as the United States or the continent of Europe. The desert stretches from the Red Sea, including parts of the Mediterranean...

 in the extreme north. The highest point in Nigeria is Chappal Waddi
Chappal Waddi
Chappal Waddi is a mountain in Nigeria and, at 2,419 meters, is the country's highest point. It is located in Taraba State, near the border with Cameroon, in the Gashaka Forest Reserve . Chappal Wadi is sometimes cited as the highest point in West Africa if the region is defined as excluding...

 at .

Nigeria's main rivers are the Niger
Niger River
The Niger River is the principal river of western Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in southeastern Guinea...

 and the Benue which converge and empty into the Niger Delta
Niger Delta
The Niger Delta, the delta of the Niger River in Nigeria, is a densely populated region sometimes called the Oil Rivers because it was once a major producer of palm oil...

, the world's largest river deltas.

Nigeria is also an important centre for biodiversity
Biodiversity
Biodiversity is the variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or for the entire Earth. Biodiversity is often used as a measure of the health of biological systems...

. It is widely believed that the areas surrounding Calabar
Calabar
Calabar is a city in Cross River State, southeastern Nigeria. The City is watered by the Calabar River and Great Qua Rivers and creeks of the Cross River...

, Cross River State, contain the world's largest diversity of butterflies. The drill monkey
Drill (mammal)
The Drill is a primate of the Cercopithecidae family, closely related to the baboons and even more closely to the Mandrill.The Drill is similar in appearance to the Mandrill, but lacks the colorful face...

 is only found in the wild in Southeast Nigeria and neighboring Cameroon
Cameroon
The Republic of Cameroon is a unitary republic of central and western Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the Bight of...

.

Nigeria's most expansive topographical region is that of the valleys of the Niger
Niger River
The Niger River is the principal river of western Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in southeastern Guinea...

 and Benue River
Benue River
The Benue River is the major tributary of the Niger River. The river is approximately 1,400 km long and is almost entirely navigable during the summer months...

 valleys (which merge into each other and form a "y" shape). Plains rise to the north of the valleys.

To the southwest of the Niger there is "rugged" highland
Highland (geography)
The term highland or upland is used to denote any mountainous region or elevated mountainous plateau.The Scottish Highlands refers to the mountainous region north and west of the Highland Boundary Fault...

, and to the southeast of the Benue hills and mountains are found all the way to the border with Cameroon
Cameroon
The Republic of Cameroon is a unitary republic of central and western Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the Bight of...

. Coastal plain
Coastal plain
A coastal plain is an area of flat, low-lying land adjacent to a seacoast and separated from the interior by other features. One of the world's longest coastal plains is located in western South America. The southwestern coastal plain of North America is notable for its species diversity...

s are found in both the southwest and the southeast.

When dividing Nigeria by climatic regions, three regions, the far south, the far north, and the rest of the country emerge. The far south is defined by its tropical rainforest
Tropical rainforest
A tropical rainforest is an ecosystem usually found around the equator. They are common in Asia, Australia, Africa, South America, Central America, Mexico and on many of the Pacific Islands...

 climate, where annual rainfall is a year. The far north is defined by its almost desert-like climate, where rain is less than per year. The rest of the country, everything in between the far south and the far north, is savannah
Savannah
Savannah or savanna is a type of grassland.It can also mean:-Software:* GNU Savannah, an aggregation of software development projects affiliated with the GNU project-Places in the USA:...

, and rainfall is between per year.

Nigeria is covered by three types of vegetation: forests (where there is significant tree cover), savannah (insignificant tree cover, with grasses and flowers located between trees), and montane
Montane
In biogeography, montane is the highland area located below the subalpine zone. Montane regions generally have cooler temperatures and often have higher rainfall than the adjacent lowland regions, and are frequently home to distinct communities of plants and animals.The term "montane" means "of the...

 land. The latter is the least common, is mainly found in the mountains near the Cameroonian border, and is part of the Cameroonian Highlands forests
Cameroonian Highlands forests
The Cameroonian Highlands forests are a montane tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion located on the range of mountains that runs inland from the Gulf of Guinea and forms the border between Cameroon and Nigeria...

 ecoregion
Ecoregion
An ecoregion , sometimes called a bioregion, is an ecologically and geographically defined area smaller than a "realm" or "ecozone". Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and contain characteristic, geographically distinct assemblages of natural communities and species...

.

Both the forest zone and the savannah zone are divided into three parts.

The forest zone's most southerly portion is defined as salt water swamp, also known as a mangrove swamp because of the large amount of mangrove
Mangrove
Mangroves are trees and shrubs that grow in saline coastal habitats in the tropics and subtropics – mainly between latitudes N and S. The saline conditions tolerated by various species range from brackish water, through pure seawater , to water of over twice the salinity of ocean seawater,...

s in the area. North of this is fresh water swamp, containing different vegetation from the salt water swamp, and north of that is rain forest. The area near the border with Cameroon close to the coast is rich rainforest and part of the Cross-Sanaga-Bioko coastal forests
Cross-Sanaga-Bioko coastal forests
The Cross-Sanaga-Bioko coastal forests are a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion of west-central Africa. This is lush forest rich in flora and birdlife.-Location and description:...

 ecoregion, an important centre for biodiversity
Biodiversity
Biodiversity is the variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or for the entire Earth. Biodiversity is often used as a measure of the health of biological systems...

 including the drill monkey
Drill (mammal)
The Drill is a primate of the Cercopithecidae family, closely related to the baboons and even more closely to the Mandrill.The Drill is similar in appearance to the Mandrill, but lacks the colorful face...

 which is only found in the wild in this area and across the border in Cameroon. It is widely believed that the areas surrounding Calabar
Calabar
Calabar is a city in Cross River State, southeastern Nigeria. The City is watered by the Calabar River and Great Qua Rivers and creeks of the Cross River...

, Cross River State, also in this forest, contain the world's largest diversity of butterflies.

The savannah zone's three categories are divided into "Guinea savannah," the most common across the country, "Sudan savannah," and "Sahel savannah." Guinea savannah is made up of plains of tall grass which are interrupted by trees; Sudan savannah is similar but with "shorter grasses and shorter trees." Sahel savannah is comprised patches of grass and sand, and is found in the northeast.. The area of southern Nigeria between the Niger and the Cross River
Cross River
Cross River is the main river in southeastern Nigeria and gives its name to Cross River State. Although not long by African standards its catchment has high rainfall and it becomes very wide...

s has seen its forest more or less disappear to be replaced by grassland (see Cross-Niger transition forests
Cross-Niger transition forests
The Cross-Niger transition forests are a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion of southeastern Nigeria, located between the Niger River on the west and the Cross River on the east...

).

Subdivisions



Nigeria is divided into thirty-six states and one Federal Capital Territory
Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria
The Federal Capital Territory is the home of Abuja, the capital of Nigeria. The Territory was formed in 1976 from parts of former Nasarawa, Niger, and Kogi States. It is in the central region of the country.-Geography:...

, which are further sub-divided into 774 Local Government Areas
Local Government Areas in Nigeria
||Nigeria has 774 Local Government Areas .Each local government area is administered by a Local Government Council consisting of a chairman who is the Chief Executive of the LGA, and other elected members who are referred to as Councillors....

 (LGAs). The plethora of states, of which there were only three at independence, reflect the country's tumultuous history and the difficulties of managing such a heterogeneous national entity at all levels of government.

Nigeria has six cities with a population of over 1 million people (from largest to smallest: Lagos
Lagos
Lagos is the most populous conurbation in Nigeria with 7,937,932 inhabitants at the 2006 census...

, Kano
Kano
Kano is the state capital of Kano State in northern Nigeria. Kano is the largest city in Nigeria - with an estimated population in 2007 of 9,848,885. The principal inhabitants of the city are the Hausa people...

, Ibadan
Ibadan
Ibadan , the capital of Oyo State, is the third largest city in Nigeria by population , and the largest in geographical area. At independence, Ibadan was the largest and the most populous city in Nigeria and the third in Africa after Cairo and Johannesburg...

, Kaduna
Kaduna
Kaduna is the state capital of Kaduna State in north-central Nigeria. The city, located on the Kaduna River, is a trade center and a major transportation hub for the surrounding agricultural areas with its rail and road junction. The population of Kaduna is at 1,652,844...

, Port Harcourt
Port Harcourt
Port Harcourt is the capital city of Rivers State, Nigeria. It lies along the Bonny River and is located in the Niger Delta. The population of Port Harcourt is estimated at 1,620,214 , the Port Harcourt Urban area is 2.7 million while the Greater Port Harcourt Area is almost 5.7 million in...

, and Benin City
Benin City
Benin City, a city and capital of Edo State, southern Nigeria, is a city approximately twenty-five miles North of the Benin River. It is situated 200 miles by road east of Lagos...

). Lagos is the largest city in sub-Saharan Africa, with a population of over 10 million in its urban area alone. Population of Nigeria's cities over a million include Lagos
Lagos
Lagos is the most populous conurbation in Nigeria with 7,937,932 inhabitants at the 2006 census...

 (7,937,932), Kano
Kano
Kano is the state capital of Kano State in northern Nigeria. Kano is the largest city in Nigeria - with an estimated population in 2007 of 9,848,885. The principal inhabitants of the city are the Hausa people...

 (3,848,885), Ibadan
Ibadan
Ibadan , the capital of Oyo State, is the third largest city in Nigeria by population , and the largest in geographical area. At independence, Ibadan was the largest and the most populous city in Nigeria and the third in Africa after Cairo and Johannesburg...

 (3,078,400), Kaduna
Kaduna
Kaduna is the state capital of Kaduna State in north-central Nigeria. The city, located on the Kaduna River, is a trade center and a major transportation hub for the surrounding agricultural areas with its rail and road junction. The population of Kaduna is at 1,652,844...

 (1,652,844), Port Harcourt
Port Harcourt
Port Harcourt is the capital city of Rivers State, Nigeria. It lies along the Bonny River and is located in the Niger Delta. The population of Port Harcourt is estimated at 1,620,214 , the Port Harcourt Urban area is 2.7 million while the Greater Port Harcourt Area is almost 5.7 million in...

 (1,320,214), Benin City
Benin City
Benin City, a city and capital of Edo State, southern Nigeria, is a city approximately twenty-five miles North of the Benin River. It is situated 200 miles by road east of Lagos...

 (1,051,600), Maiduguri
Maiduguri
Maiduguri or Yerwa is the capital of Borno State in Nigeria and sits along the Ngadda River. It was founded in 1907 as a military outpost by the British.-History:...

 (1,044,497) and Zaria
Zaria
Zaria may refer to:*Zaria, a city in Kaduna State, Nigeria*Zaria , or Zoria, the Slavic goddess of beauty*Countess Zaria of Orange-Nassau, Jonkvrouwe van Amsberg, a member of the Dutch royal family....

 (1,018,827)

Environment



Nigeria's Delta region, home of the large oil industry
Petroleum in Nigeria
The petroleum industry in Nigeria is the largest industry and main generator of GDP in the West African nation which is also the continent's most populous...

, experiences serious oil spills and other environmental problems. See Environmental issues in the Niger Delta for more details, and Conflict in the Niger Delta
Conflict in the Niger Delta
The current conflict in the Niger Delta arose in the early 1990s due to tensions between the foreign oil corporations and a number of the Niger Delta's minority ethnic groups who felt they were being exploited, particularly the Ogoni and the Ijaw...

 about strife which has arisen in connection with those issues.

Waste management
Waste management
Waste management is the collection, transport, processing, recycling or disposal, and monitoring of waste materials. The term usually relates to materials produced by human activity, and is generally undertaken to reduce their effect on health, the environment or aesthetics. Waste management is...

 including sewage treatment
Sewage treatment
Sewage treatment, or domestic wastewater treatment, is the process of removing contaminants from wastewater and household sewage, both runoff and domestic. It includes physical, chemical, and biological processes to remove physical, chemical and biological contaminants...

, the linked processes of deforestation
Deforestation
Deforestation is the clearance of naturally occurring forests by the processes of logging and/or burning of trees in a forested area. There are several reasons deforestation occurs: trees or derived charcoal can be sold as a commodity and used by humans, while cleared land is used as pasture,...

 and soil degradation, and climate change
Climate change
Climate change is a change in the statistical distribution of weather over periods of time that range from decades to millions of years. It can be a change in the average weather or a change in the distribution of weather events around an average...

 or global warming
Global warming
Global warming is the increase in the average temperature of the Earth's near-surface air and oceans since the mid-20th century and its projected continuation. Global surface temperature increased 0.74 ± 0.18 °C during the last century...

 are the major environmental problems in Nigeria.

Waste management presents problems in a mega city
Mega city
Mega City may refer to:* Megacity is a recognized metropolitan area with a total population in excess of 10 million people.* Mega City , or simply "The City", is the virtual city created within the reality of the Matrix series...

 like Lagos and other major Nigerian cities which are linked with economic development, population growth and the inability of municipal councils to manage the resulting rise in industrial and domestic waste.
Haphazard industrial planning, increased urbanization, poverty and lack of competence of the municipal government are seen as the major reasons for high levels of waste pollution
Pollution
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into an environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms . Pollution can take the form of chemical substances, or energy, such as noise, heat, or light...

 in major Nigerian cities. Some of the 'solutions' have been disastrous to the environment, resulting in untreated waste being dumped in places where it can pollute waterways and groundwater.

In terms of global warming
Global warming
Global warming is the increase in the average temperature of the Earth's near-surface air and oceans since the mid-20th century and its projected continuation. Global surface temperature increased 0.74 ± 0.18 °C during the last century...

, Africans contribute only about one metric ton of carbon dioxide per person per year. It is perceived by many climate change experts that food production and security in the northern sahel
Sahel
The Sahel or Sahel Belt is a semi-arid tropical savanna and steppe ecoregion in Africa, which forms the transition between the Sahara to the north and the slightly less arid savanna belt to the south, known as the Sudan .-Geography:The Sahel runs 2,400...

 region of the country will suffer as semi-arid areas will have more dry periods in the future.

Economy


Nigeria is classified as an emerging market
Emerging markets
The term emerging markets is used to describe a nation's social or business activity in the process of rapid growth and industrialization. Currently, there are approximately 28 emerging markets in the world, with the economies of India and China considered to be by far the two largest...

, and is rapidly approaching middle income status , with its abundant supply of resources, well-developed financial, legal, communications, transport sectors and stock exchange (the Nigerian Stock Exchange
Nigerian Stock Exchange
The Nigerian Stock Exchange was established in 1960. As of March 09, 2007, it has 283 listed companies with a total market capitalisation of about N15 trillion . All listings are included in the only index, the Nigerian Stock Exchange All Shares Index.-Operation:The Exchange has an Automated...

), which is the second largest in Africa. Nigeria is ranked 37th in the world in terms of GDP (PPP) as of 2007. Nigeria is the United States' largest trading partner in sub-Saharan Africa and supplies a fifth of its oil (11% of oil imports). It has the seventh-largest trade surplus with the U.S. of any country worldwide. Nigeria is currently the 50th-largest export market for U.S. goods and the 14th-largest exporter of goods to the U.S. The United States is the country's largest foreign investor. The bulk of economic activity is centred in 4 main cities: Lagos, Kaduna, Port Harcourt, and Abuja. Beyond these three economic centers, development is marginal.

Previously, economic development had been hindered by years of military rule
Military dictatorship
A military dictatorship is a form of government wherein the political power resides with the military. It is similar but not identical to a stratocracy, a state ruled directly by the military....

, corruption, and mismanagement, the restoration of democracy and subsequent economic reforms have successfully put Nigeria back on track towards achieving its full economic potential as one of the Major Economies in Africa.
According to the Economist Intelligence Unit
Economist Intelligence Unit
The Economist Intelligence Unit is part of the Economist Group.It is a research and advisory company providing country, industry and management analysis worldwide and incorporates the former Business International Corporation, a U.S. company acquired by the parent organization in 1986...

 and the World Bank
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides leveraged loans to poorer countries for capital programs, tied to neoliberal market restructurings...

, Nigerian GDP at purchasing power parity
Purchasing power parity
The purchasing power parity theory uses the long-term equilibrium exchange rate of two currencies to equalize their purchasing power...

 has nearly doubled from $170.7 billion in 2005 to 292.6 billion in 2007. The GDP per head has jumped from $692 per person in 2006 to $1,754 per person in 2007.

During the oil boom
OPEC
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is a cartel of twelve countries made up of Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela. OPEC has maintained its headquarters in Vienna since 1965, and hosts regular...

 of the 1970s, Nigeria accumulated a significant foreign debt to finance major infrastructural investments. With the fall of oil prices during the 1980s oil glut
1980s oil glut
The 1980s oil glut was a surplus of crude oil caused by falling demand following the 1973 and 1979 energy crises. The world price of oil, which had peaked in 1980 at over US$35 per barrel, fell in 1986 from $27 to below $10...

 Nigeria struggled to keep up with its loan payments and eventually defaulted on its principal debt repayments, limiting repayment to the interest portion of the loans. Arrears and penalty interest accumulated on the unpaid principal which increased the size of the debt. However, after negotiations by the Nigeria authorities, in October 2005 Nigeria and its Paris Club
Paris Club
The Paris Club is an informal group of financial officials from 19 of the world's richest countries, which provides financial services such as debt restructuring, debt relief, and debt cancellation to indebted countries and their creditors...

 creditors reached an agreement in which Nigeria repurchased its debt at a discount of approximately 60%. Nigeria used part of its oil profits to pay the residual 40%, freeing up at least $1.15 billion annually for poverty reduction programmes. Nigeria made history in April 2006 by becoming the first African Country to completely pay off its debt (estimated $30 billion) owed to the Paris Club
Paris Club
The Paris Club is an informal group of financial officials from 19 of the world's richest countries, which provides financial services such as debt restructuring, debt relief, and debt cancellation to indebted countries and their creditors...

.

Key sectors


Nigeria is the 12th largest producer of petroleum in the world and the 8th largest exporter, and has the 10th largest proven reserves. (The country joined OPEC
OPEC
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is a cartel of twelve countries made up of Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela. OPEC has maintained its headquarters in Vienna since 1965, and hosts regular...

 in 1971). Petroleum
Petroleum in Nigeria
The petroleum industry in Nigeria is the largest industry and main generator of GDP in the West African nation which is also the continent's most populous...

 plays a large role in the Nigerian economy, accounting for 40% of GDP and 80% of Government earnings. However, agitation for better resource control in the Niger Delta
Niger Delta
The Niger Delta, the delta of the Niger River in Nigeria, is a densely populated region sometimes called the Oil Rivers because it was once a major producer of palm oil...

, its main oil producing region, has led to disruptions in oil production and currently prevents the country from exporting at 100% capacity.

Nigeria has one of the fastest growing telecommunications markets in the world, major emerging market operators (like MTN, Etisalat, Zain and Globacom) basing their largest and most profitable centres in the country. The government has recently begun expanding this infrastructure to space based communications
National Space Research and Development Agency
The National Space Research and Development Agency is the national space agency of Nigeria. It is a part of the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology and it is overseen by the National Council on Space Science Technology.-History:...

. Nigeria has a space satellite which is monitored at the Nigerian National Space Research and Development Agency Headquarters in Abuja.

The country has a highly developed financial services sector, with a mix of local and international banks, asset management companies, brokerage houses, insurance companies and brokers, private equity funds and investment banks.

Nigeria also has a wide array of underexploited mineral resources which include natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a gas consisting primarily of methane. It is found associated with fossil fuels, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is created by methanogenic organisms in marshes, bogs, and landfills...

, coal
Coal
Coal is a readily combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock normally occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...

, bauxite
Bauxite
Bauxite is the most important aluminium ore. It consists largely of the minerals gibbsite Al3, boehmite γ-AlO, and diaspore α-AlO, together with the iron oxides goethite and hematite, the clay mineral kaolinite and small amounts of anatase TiO2...

, tantalite
Tantalite
Tantalite, [2O6], is a mineral that is close to columbite. In fact, the two are often grouped together as a semi-singular mineral called columbite-tantalite in many mineral guides. However, tantalite has a much greater specific gravity than columbite...

, gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. It has been a highly sought-after precious metal for coinage, jewelry, and other arts since the beginning of recorded history. The metal occurs as nuggets or grains in rocks, in veins and in alluvial deposits. Gold is...

, tin
Tin
Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn and atomic number 50. It is a main group metal in group 14 of the periodic table. Tin shows chemical similarity to both neighboring group 14 elements, germanium and lead, like the two possible oxidation states +2 and +4...

, iron ore
Iron ore
Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, deep purple, to rusty red. The iron itself is usually found in the form of magnetite , hematite , goethite, limonite or...

, limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the mineral calcite . The deposition of limestone strata is often a by-product and indicator of biological activity in the geologic record...

, niobium
Niobium
Niobium , or columbium , is the chemical element with the symbol Nb and the atomic number 41...

, lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element with symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal, also considered to be one of the heavy metals. Lead has a bluish-white color when freshly cut, but tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed to air...

 and zinc
Zinc
Zinc , also known as spelter, is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2...

. Despite huge deposits of these natural resources, the mining industry in Nigeria is still in it infancy.

Agriculture used to be the principal foreign exchange earner of Nigeria. At one time, Nigeria was the world's largest exporter of groundnut
Peanut
The peanut, or groundnut , is a species in the legume family native to South America, Mexico and Central America. It is an annual herbaceous plant growing 30 to 50 cm tall...

s, cocoa
Cocoa
Cocoa is the dried and fully fermented fatty seed of the cacao tree, from which chocolate is made. "Cocoa" can often also refer to the drink commonly known as hot chocolate; to cocoa powder, the dry powder made by grinding cocoa seeds and removing the cocoa butter from the dark, bitter cocoa...

, and palm oil
Palm oil
Palm oil is an edible plant oil derived from the pulp of the fruit of the oil palm Elaeis guineensis.Palm oil is naturally reddish because it contains a high amount of beta-carotene . Palm oil is one of the few vegetable oils relatively high in saturated fats...

 and a significant producer of coconut
Coconut
The Coconut Palm is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only species in the genus Cocos, and is a large palm, growing to 30 m tall, with pinnate leaves 4–6 m long, pinnae 60–90 cm long; old leaves break away cleanly leaving the trunk smooth. The term coconut refers to the seed of the...

s, citrus
Citrus
Citrus is a common term and genus of flowering plants in the family Rutaceae, originating in tropical and subtropical southeast regions of the world. The most well known examples are the orange, the lemon, the grapefruit, and the lime. The Latin word citrus was borrowed from ancient Greek kedros...

 fruits, maize
Maize
Maize , is a herbaceous plant domesticated in Mesoamerica and subsequently spread throughout the American continents...

, pearl millet
Pearl millet
Pearl millet is the most widely grown type of millet. Grown in Africa and the Indian subcontinent since prehistoric times, it is generally accepted that pearl millet originated in Africa and was subsequently introduced into India. The earliest archaeological records in India date to 2000 BC, so...

, cassava
Cassava
Cassava is a woody shrub of the Euphorbiaceae native to South America that is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates...

, yams
Yam (vegetable)
Yam is the common name for some species in the genus Dioscorea . These are perennial herbaceous vines cultivated for the consumption of their starchy tubers in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Oceania...

 and sugar cane. About 60% of Nigerians work in the agricultural sector, and Nigeria has vast areas of underutilized arable land.

It also has a manufacturing industry which includes leather and textiles (centred Kano, Abeokuta, Onitsha, and Lagos), car manufacturing (for the French car manufacturer Peugeot
Peugeot
Peugeot is a major French car brand, part of PSA Peugeot Citroën, the second largest European carmaker.Peugeot's roots go back to 19th-century coffee mill and bicycle manufacturing. The Peugeot company and family is originally from Sochaux, France. Peugeot retains a large manufacturing plant and...

 as well as for the English truck manufacturer Bedford
Bedford Vehicles
Bedford was a subsidiary of Vauxhall Motors, itself the British subsidiary of General Motors , established in 1930 and constructing commercial vehicles.-History:...

, now a subsidiary of General Motors
General Motors
General Motors Company, often known as simply GM, is a United States based automaker with headquarters in Detroit, Michigan. GM was the world's 18th largest corporate entity and third largest automaker as ranked by 2008 revenues on the Fortune Global 500. Ranked by global unit sales for 2008, it...

), t-shirts, plastics and processed food.

The country has recently made considerable amount of revenue from home made Nigerian Movies which are sold locally and Internationally. These movies are popular in other African countries and some parts of Europe.

Demographics



Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa but exactly how populous is a subject of speculation. The United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and the achieving of world peace...

 estimates that the population in 2009 was at 154,729,000, distributed as 51.7% rural and 48.3% urban, and with a population density of 167.5 people per square kilometer. National census results in the past few decades have been disputed. The results of the most recent census were released in December 2006 and gave a population of 140,003,542. The only breakdown available was by gender: males numbered 71,709,859, females numbered 68,293,08.

According to the United Nations, Nigeria has been undergoing explosive population growth and one of the highest growth and fertility rates in the world. By their projections, Nigeria will be one of the countries in the world that will account for most of the world's total population increase by 2050. According to current data, one out of every four Africans is Nigerian. Presently, Nigeria is the eighth most populous country in the world
World population
The term world population commonly refers to the total number of living humans on Earth at a given time. As of , the Earth's population is estimated by the United States Census Bureau to be billion. The world population has been growing continuously since the end of the Black Death around 1400...

, and even conservative estimates conclude that more than 20% of the world's black population lives in Nigeria. 2006 estimates claim 42.3% of the population is between 0–14 years of age, while 54.6% is between 15–65; the birth rate
Birth rate
Crude birth rate is the nativity or childbirths per 1,000 people per year.According to the United Nations' World Population Prospects: The 2008 Revision Population Database, crude birth rate is the Number of births over a given period divided by the person-years lived by the population over that...

 is significantly higher than the death rate, at 40.4 and 16.9 per 1000 people respectively.

Health, health care
Health care
Health care , is the treatment and management of illness, and the preservation of health through services offered by the medical, dental, complementary and alternative medicine, pharmaceutical, clinical laboratory sciences , nursing, and allied health professions...

, and general living conditions in Nigeria are poor. Life expectancy
Life expectancy
Life expectancy is the expected number of years of life remaining at a given age. It is denoted by ex, which means the average number of subsequent years of life for someone now aged x, according to a particular mortality experience...

 is 47 years (average male/female) and just over half the population has access to potable water and appropriate sanitation
Sanitation
Sanitation is the hygienic means of promoting health through prevention of human contact with the hazards of wastes. Hazards can be either physical, microbiological, biological or chemical agents of disease. Wastes that can cause health problems are human and animal feces, solid wastes, domestic...

; the percentage is of children under five has gone up rather than down between 1990 and 2003 and infant mortality is 97.1 deaths per 1000 live births. HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which the immune system begins to fail, leading to life-threatening opportunistic infections. Infection with HIV occurs by the transfer of blood, semen, vaginal fluid,...

/AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus ....

 rate in Nigeria is much lower compared to the other African nations such as Kenya
Kenya
The Republic of Kenya is a country in East Africa. Lying along the Indian Ocean, at the equator, Kenya is bordered by Ethiopia , Somalia , Tanzania , Uganda plus Lake Victoria , and Sudan . The capital city is Nairobi. Kenya spans an area about 85% the size of France or Texas...

 or South Africa whose prevalence (percentage) rates are in the double digits. In 2003, the HIV prevalence rate among 20 to 29 year-olds was 5.6%. About Nigeria, like many developing countries, suffers from a polio crisis as well as periodic outbreaks of cholera
Cholera
Cholera, sometimes known as Asiatic or epidemic cholera, is an infectious gastroenteritis caused by enterotoxin-producing strains of the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. Transmission to humans occurs through eating food or drinking water contaminated with Vibrio cholerae from other cholera patients...

, malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a vector-borne infectious disease caused by a eukaryotic protist of the genus Plasmodium. It is widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, including parts of the Americas, Asia, and Africa. Each year, there are approximately 350–500 million cases of malaria, killing between one and...

, and sleeping sickness. As of 2004, there has been a vaccination drive, spearheaded by the W.H.O.
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health...

, to combat polio and malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a vector-borne infectious disease caused by a eukaryotic protist of the genus Plasmodium. It is widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, including parts of the Americas, Asia, and Africa. Each year, there are approximately 350–500 million cases of malaria, killing between one and...

 that has been met with controversy in some regions.

Education
Education
Education in its broadest sense is any act or experience that has a formative effect on the mind, character or physical ability of an individual...

 is also in a state of neglect. After the 1970s oil boom, tertiary education was improved so that it would reach every subregion of Nigeria. Education is provided free by the government, but the attendance rate for secondary education is only 29% (32% for males, 27% for females). The education system has been described as "dysfunctional" largely because of decaying institutional infrastructure. 68% of the population is literate, and the rate for men (75.7%) is higher than that for women (60.6%).

Nigeria's largest city is Lagos
Lagos
Lagos is the most populous conurbation in Nigeria with 7,937,932 inhabitants at the 2006 census...

. Lagos has grown from 300,000 in 1950 to an estimated 15 million today, and the Nigerian government estimates that city will have expanded to 25 million residents by 2015.

Ethno-linguistic groups

|-
|
|
|
|-
|A Hausa
Hausa people
The Hausa are a Sahelian people chiefly located in the West African regions of northern Nigeria and southeastern Niger. There are also significant numbers found in regions of Sudan, Cameroon, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, and Chad and smaller communities scattered throughout West Africa and on the...

 harpist
|Igbo
Igbo people
Igbo people, also referred to as the Ibo, Ebo, Eboans or Heebo are an ethnic group living chiefly in southeastern and south Nigeria. They speak Igbo, which includes various Igboid languages and dialects; today, a majority of them speak English alongside Igbo as a result of British colonialism...

 men
|Yoruba
Yoruba people
Yoruba people are one of the largest ethno-linguistic or ethnic groups in west Africa. The majority of the Yoruba speak the Yoruba language...

 drummers>

Nigeria has more than 250 ethnic groups, with varying languages and customs, creating a country of rich ethnic diversity. The largest ethnic groups are the Fulani
Fula people
Fula or Fulani or Fulbe are an ethnic group of people spread over many countries, predominantly in West Africa, but found also in Central Africa and Sudanese North Africa...

/Hausa
Hausa people
The Hausa are a Sahelian people chiefly located in the West African regions of northern Nigeria and southeastern Niger. There are also significant numbers found in regions of Sudan, Cameroon, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, and Chad and smaller communities scattered throughout West Africa and on the...

, Yoruba
Yoruba
Yoruba may refer to:* Yoruba name, name of a Yoruba person* Yoruba Culture, culture of the Yoruba tribe* Yoruba people, a West African ethnic group* Yoruba language, the language spoken by the Yoruba people...

, Igbo
Igbo people
Igbo people, also referred to as the Ibo, Ebo, Eboans or Heebo are an ethnic group living chiefly in southeastern and south Nigeria. They speak Igbo, which includes various Igboid languages and dialects; today, a majority of them speak English alongside Igbo as a result of British colonialism...

, accounting for 68% of population, while the Edo, Ijaw
Ijaw
Ijaw are a collection of peoples indigenous mostly to the forest regions of the Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers States within the Niger Delta in Nigeria. Some are natives of Akwa-Ibom, Edo and Ondo states also in Nigeria...

, Kanuri
Kanuri
The Kanuri people are an African ethnic group living largely in the lands of the former Bornu Empire: Bornu state in northeastern Nigeria, southeast Niger, western Chad and northern Cameroon...

, Ibibio
Ibibio people
Ibibio people are an ethnic group in southeastern Nigeria. They are closely related to the Annang and the Efik peoples. "Ibibio" may also refer to those who speak the Ibibio language. Ibibio was an ancient state in the old Calabar Kingdom...

, Ebira Nupe
Nupe
The Nupe, tradititionally called the Tapa by the neighbouring Yoruba, are an ethnic group located primarily in the middle belt and northern Nigeria and are the dominant group in Niger and an important minority in Kwara State.-History:...

 and Tiv
Tiv
Tiv are an ethno-linguistic group or ethnic nation in West Africa. They constitute approximately 2.5% of Nigeria's total population, and number over 5.6 million individuals throughout Nigeria and Cameroon. The Tiv's traditional language is spoken by over 6 million people in Nigeria, with a few...

 comprise 27%; other minorities make up the remaining 7 percent. The middle belt of Nigeria is known for its diversity of ethnic groups, including the Pyem, Goemai, and Kofyar
Kofyar
The Kofyar are a population in central Nigeria numbering around 50,000. After several anthropological studies, they provide good illustrations of how colonial authorities become unwittingly enmeshed in local politics; of sustainable subsistence agricultural production in crowded areas; of...

.

There are small minorities of British
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, one of the Channel Islands, or of one of the British overseas territories, and their descendants. In a historical context, the term refers to the ancient Britons, the indigenous inhabitants of Great Britain south of the...

, Americans
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, East Indians, Chinese
Overseas Chinese
Overseas Chinese are people of Chinese birth or descent who live outside the territories administered by the rival governments of the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China...

 (est. 50,000), white Zimbabweans
Whites in Zimbabwe
A small number of people of European ethnic origin first came as settlers to the African country now known as Zimbabwe during the late nineteenth century...

, Japanese
Japanese people
The are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries are referred to as...

, Greeks, Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south and Israel to the southwest....

n, Lebanese
Lebanese people
The Lebanese people are an ethnic group or nation of Levantine people originating in what is today the country of Lebanon, including those who had inhabited Mount Lebanon prior to the creation of the modern Lebanese state...

 and refugees and immigrants from other West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries distributed over an area of approximately 5 million square km:*Benin...

n or East Africa
East Africa
East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...

n nations. These minorities mostly reside in major cities such as Lagos
Lagos
Lagos is the most populous conurbation in Nigeria with 7,937,932 inhabitants at the 2006 census...

 and Abuja
Abuja
Abuja is the capital city of Nigeria. It is located in the centre of Nigeria in the Federal Capital Territory . Abuja is a planned city, which was built mainly in the 1980s and officially became Nigeria's capital on 12 December 1991, replacing the role of the previous capital Lagos...

, or in the Niger Delta
Niger Delta
The Niger Delta, the delta of the Niger River in Nigeria, is a densely populated region sometimes called the Oil Rivers because it was once a major producer of palm oil...

 as employees for the major oil companies. A number of Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island country in the Caribbean. It consists of the island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city. Cuba is home to over 11 million people and is...

ns settled Nigeria as political refugees following the Cuban Revolution
Cuban Revolution
The Cuban Revolution was an armed revolt that led to the overthrow of U.S.-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista of Cuba on January 1, 1959 by the 26th of July Movement led by Fidel Castro....

.

In the middle of the nineteenth century, a number of ex-slaves of Afro-Cuban
Afro-Cuban
The term Afro-Cuban refers to Cubans of Sub Saharan African ancestry, and to historical or cultural elements in Cuba thought to emanate from this community...

 and Afro-Brazilian
Afro-Brazilian
Afro-Brazilian, African-Brazilian or Black Brazilian, is the term used to racially categorize Brazilian citizens who self-reported to be of black or brown skin colors to the official IBGE census...

 descent and emigrants from Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea in the north, Liberia in the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean in the southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has a population estimated at 6.4 million...

 established communities in Lagos
Lagos
Lagos is the most populous conurbation in Nigeria with 7,937,932 inhabitants at the 2006 census...

, Ibadan
Ibadan
Ibadan , the capital of Oyo State, is the third largest city in Nigeria by population , and the largest in geographical area. At independence, Ibadan was the largest and the most populous city in Nigeria and the third in Africa after Cairo and Johannesburg...

 and other regions of Nigeria. Many ex-slaves came to Nigeria following the emancipation
Emancipation
Emancipation means the act of setting an individual or social group free or making equal to citizens in a political society.Emancipation may also refer to:* Emancipation , a 1996 music album by Prince...

 of slaves in Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages  – particularly Spanish, Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,501 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...

. Many of the immigrants, sometimes called Saros (immigrants from Sierra Leone) and Amaro (ex-slaves from Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the fifth largest country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the fifth most populous country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean...

) later became prominent merchants and missionaries in Lagos
Lagos
Lagos is the most populous conurbation in Nigeria with 7,937,932 inhabitants at the 2006 census...

 and Abeokuta
Abeokuta
Abeokuta is a city in Ogun State in southwest Nigeria and is situated at , on the Ogun River; 64 miles north of Lagos by railway, or 81 miles by water. As of 2005, Abeokuta and the surrounding area had a population of 593,140.- Geography and agriculture :...

.

Language



The number of languages currently estimated and catalogued in Nigeria is 521. This number includes 510 living languages, two second languages without native speakers and nine extinct languages. In some areas of Nigeria, ethnic groups speak more than one language. The official language of Nigeria, English, was chosen to facilitate the cultural and linguistic unity of the country. The choice of English as the official language was partially related to the fact that a part of the Nigerian population spoke English as a result of British colonization that ended in 1960.

The major languages spoken in Nigeria represent three major families of African languages
African languages
There are an estimated 2,000 languages spoken in Africa. The American linguist Joseph Greenberg argued that they fall into six major linguistic families:*Afroasiatic stretches from North Africa to the Horn of Africa and Southwest Asia....

 – the majority are Niger-Congo languages, such as Yoruba
Yoruba language
Yoruba is a dialect continuum of West Africa with over 25 million speakers. The native tongue of the approximately 28 million Yoruba people, it is spoken, among other languages, in Nigeria, Benin, and Togo and traces of it are found among communities in Brazil, Sierra Leone , northern Ghana Yoruba...

, Igbo
Igbo language
Igbo is a language spoken by some 18 million mainly Igbo people in southeastern Nigeria, in the region once identified as Biafra and parts of the Niger Delta. The language was used by John Goldsmith as an example to justify deviating from the classical linear model of phonology as laid out in The...

, the Hausa language
Hausa language
Hausa is the Chadic language with the largest number of speakers, spoken as a first language by about 24 million people, and as a second language by about 15 million more.-Classification:...

 is Afro-Asiatic; and Kanuri
Kanuri language
Kanuri is a dialect continuum spoken by approximately four million people in Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon, as well as small minorities in southern Libya and by a diaspora in Sudan. It belongs to the Western Saharan subphylum of Nilo-Saharan...

, spoken in the northeast, primarily Borno State
Borno State
Borno State is a state in north-eastern Nigeria. Its capital 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.-Role of the emirs:...

, is a member of the Nilo-Saharan family. Even though most ethnic groups prefer to communicate in their own languages, English, being the official language, is widely used for education, business transactions and for official purposes. English as a first language, however, remains an exclusive preserve of a small minority of the country's urban elite, and it is not spoken at all in some rural areas. With the majority of Nigeria's populace in the rural areas, the major languages of communication in the country remain indigenous languages. Some of the largest of these, notably Yoruba and Ibo, have derived standardized languages from a number of different dialects and are widely spoken by those ethnic groups. Nigerian Pidgin English, often known simply as 'Pidgin
Pidgin
A pidgin language is a simplified language that develops as a means of communication between two or more groups that do not have a language in common, in situations such as trade, or where both groups speak languages different to the language of the country in which they reside...

' or 'Broken' (Broken English), is also a popular lingua franca, though with varying regional influences on dialect and slang
Slang
Slang is the use of highly informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's dialect or language. It is often used as a way to say words that are not appropriate, and is not often found in the standard dictionary for the language...

. The pidgin English or Nigerian English is widely spoken within the Niger Delta
Niger Delta
The Niger Delta, the delta of the Niger River in Nigeria, is a densely populated region sometimes called the Oil Rivers because it was once a major producer of palm oil...

 Regions, predominately in Warri, Sapele
Sapele
Sapele, Sapelli or Aboudikro is a large tree, up to 45 m high , native to tropical Africa. The leaves are deciduous in the dry season, alternately arranged, pinnate, with 5-9 pairs of leaflets, each leaflet about 10 cm long...

, Port Harcourt
Port Harcourt
Port Harcourt is the capital city of Rivers State, Nigeria. It lies along the Bonny River and is located in the Niger Delta. The population of Port Harcourt is estimated at 1,620,214 , the Port Harcourt Urban area is 2.7 million while the Greater Port Harcourt Area is almost 5.7 million in...

, Agenebode, and Benin City
Benin City
Benin City, a city and capital of Edo State, southern Nigeria, is a city approximately twenty-five miles North of the Benin River. It is situated 200 miles by road east of Lagos...

.

Literature



Nigeria has a rich literary history, and Nigerians have authored many influential works of post-colonial literature in the English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...

. Nigeria's best-known writers are Wole Soyinka
Wole Soyinka
Akinwande Oluwole "Wole" Soyinka is a Nigerian writer, poet and playwright. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1986, the first African to be so honoured...

, the first African Nobel Laureate in Literature, and Chinua Achebe
Chinua Achebe
Chinua Achebe , born Albert Chinụalụmọgụ Achebe on 16 November 1930, is a Nigerian novelist, poet, professor and critic. He is best known for his first novel, Things Fall Apart , which is the most widely read book in modern African literature.Raised by Christian parents in the Igbo village of Ogidi...

, best known for the novel, Things Fall Apart
Things Fall Apart
Things Fall Apartis a 1958 English-language novel by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe. It is a staple book in schools throughout Africa and widely read and studied in English-speaking countries around the world. It is seen as the archetypal modern African novel in English, and one of the first African...

and his controversial critique of Joseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad was a Polish-born British novelist, who in 1886 became a British subject....

. Other Nigerian writers and poets who are well known internationally include John Pepper Clark
John Pepper Clark
John Pepper Clark-Bekederemo is a Nigerian poet and playwright who originally published under the name of J.P. Clark.-Life:...

, Ben Okri
Ben Okri
Ben Okri OBE FRSL is a Nigerian poet and novelist. Having spent his early childhood in London, he and his family returned to Nigeria in 1968. He later came back to England, embarking on studies at the University of Essex...

, Buchi Emecheta
Buchi Emecheta
Dr. Buchi Emecheta is a PEPA African novelist who has published over 20 books, plays and shorts, including the seminal works, Second-Class Citizen , The Bride Price , The Slave Girl and The Joys of Motherhood...

, Helon Habila
Helon Habila
Helon Habila is a Nigerian novelist and poet. He won the Caine Prize for African fiction in 2001, and the Commonwealth Writers Prize in 2003....

, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is an acclaimed Nigerian writer. She comes from Abba in Anambra State, southeast Nigeria. Her family is of Igbo descent....

, and Ken Saro Wiwa, who was executed in 1995 by the military regime.

Nigeria has the second largest newspaper market in Africa (after Egypt) with an estimated circulation of several million copies daily in 2003.

Music and film



Nigeria (naija) has been called "the heart of African music
Music of Africa
Africa is a vast continent and its regions and nations have distinct musical traditions. Most importantly, the music of north Africa has a different history from that of Sub-Saharan African music....

" because of its role in the development of West African highlife
Highlife
Highlife is a musical genre that originated in Ghana in the 1900s and spread to Sierra Leone, Nigeria and other West African countries by 1920. It is very popular in Liberia and all of English-speaking West Africa, although little has been produced in other countries due to economic challenges...

 and palm-wine music
Palm-wine music
Palm-wine music is a West African musical genre. It evolved among the Kru people of Sierra Leone and Liberia, who used Portuguese guitars brought by sailors, combining local melodies and rhythms with Trinidadian calypso...

, which fuses native rhythms with techniques imported from the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a country located in Central Africa, with a small length of Atlantic coastline. It is the third largest country in Africa...

, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the fifth largest country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the fifth most populous country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean...

, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island country in the Caribbean. It consists of the island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city. Cuba is home to over 11 million people and is...

 and elsewhere.

Nigerian music includes many kinds of folk
Folk music
The term folk music originated in the 19th century as a term for musical folklore. It has been defined in several ways; as music transmitted by word of mouth, music of the lower classes, music with no known composer...

 and popular music
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres, and stands in contrast to art music, and traditional music which was disseminated orally...

, some of which are known worldwide. Styles of folk music are related to the multitudes of ethnic groups in the country, each with their own techniques, instruments and songs. As a result, there are many different types of music that come from Nigeria.

Many late 20th century musicians such as Fela Kuti
Fela Kuti
Fela Anikulapo Kuti , or simply Fela, was a Nigerian multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, pioneer of afrobeat music, human rights activist, and political maverick.-Biography:...

 have famously fused cultural elements of various indigenous music
Indigenous music
Indigenous music may refer to any of the musics of indigenous peoples, especially the folk, ceremonial or ritual, and religious traditions of those people*music of Africa, especially the non-European, Asian or Arab-derived traditions...

 with American Jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....

 and Soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...

 to form Afrobeat
Afrobeat
Afrobeat is a combination of Yoruba music, jazz, highlife, and funk rhythms, fused with percussion and vocal styles, popularized in Africa in the 1970s. Its main creator was the Nigerian multi-instrumentalist and bandleader Fela Kuti who used it to revolutionise musical structure as well as the...

 music. JuJu
Jùjú music
Jùjú is a style of Nigerian popular music, derived from traditional Yoruba percussion. The name comes from Juju, a form of magic and the use of magic objects or witchcraft common in West Africa. It evolved in the 1920s in urban clubs across the countries. The first jùjú recordings were by Tunde...

 music which is percussion
Percussion instrument
A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound by being hit with an implement, shaken, rubbed, scraped, or by any other action which sets the object into vibration...

 music fused with traditional music from the Yoruba
Yoruba people
Yoruba people are one of the largest ethno-linguistic or ethnic groups in west Africa. The majority of the Yoruba speak the Yoruba language...

 nation and made famous by King Sunny Adé
King Sunny Adé
King Sunny Adé is a popular performer of Yoruba Nigerian Jùjú music and a Pioneer of Modern world music.-Background:...

, is also from Nigeria. There is also fuji music
Fuji music
Fuji is a popular Nigerian musical genre. It arose from the improvisation Ajisari/were music tradition, which is a kind of Muslim music performed to wake believers before dawn during the Ramadan fasting season...

, a Yoruba
Yoruba
Yoruba may refer to:* Yoruba name, name of a Yoruba person* Yoruba Culture, culture of the Yoruba tribe* Yoruba people, a West African ethnic group* Yoruba language, the language spoken by the Yoruba people...

 percussion
Percussion instrument
A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound by being hit with an implement, shaken, rubbed, scraped, or by any other action which sets the object into vibration...

 style, created and popularized by the one and only Mr. Fuji
Mr. Fuji
Mr. Fuji may refer to:* Harry Fujiwara -- a former wrestling manager.* Alhaji Sikiru Ayinde Barrister -- the leading Nigerian musician, and fuji music creator.* Mr. Fuji -- a Pokémon professor...

, Alhaji Sikiru Ayinde Barrister
Alhaji Sikiru Ayinde Barrister
Alhaji Sikiru Ayinde Barrister, MON, a.k.a., "Fuji Creator," is a native of Ibadan, the largest city in both Nigeria and Africa. Born in 1948, he is appropriately and fondly referred to as "Mr. Fuji" by his worldwide fans. He started his music career as the lead singer of a popular were music or...

.

There is a budding hip hop movement in Nigeria. Kennis Music
Kennis Music
Kennis Music is a record label, specializing in R&B, pop and hip-hop music, founded by popular Nigerian radio DJ Kenny Ogungbe in the late 1990s. The company's slogan is "Africa's No 1 Record Label". The current CEOs are Kehinde "Keke" Ogungbe and Dayo "D1" Adeneye.-Former Artists:*Eedris...

, the self proclaimed "No 1 Record Label in Africa" and one of Nigeria's biggest record labels, has a roster almost entirely dominated by hip hop artists.

Some famous musicians that come from Nigeria are Fela Kuti
Fela Kuti
Fela Anikulapo Kuti , or simply Fela, was a Nigerian multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, pioneer of afrobeat music, human rights activist, and political maverick.-Biography:...

, Adewale Ayuba
Adewale Ayuba
Adewale Ayuba, with stage name Ayuba was born on May 6, 1966 in lkenne Remo, Ogun State, Nigeria. He grew up as a child singer. By the age of eight, he had started singing at local Musical competitions and fiestas in lkenne Remo, Ogun State, Nigeria. He is a distinct Fuji music artiste with a...

, Ezebuiro Obinna, Alhaji Sikiru Ayinde Barrister
Alhaji Sikiru Ayinde Barrister
Alhaji Sikiru Ayinde Barrister, MON, a.k.a., "Fuji Creator," is a native of Ibadan, the largest city in both Nigeria and Africa. Born in 1948, he is appropriately and fondly referred to as "Mr. Fuji" by his worldwide fans. He started his music career as the lead singer of a popular were music or...

, King Sunny Adé
King Sunny Adé
King Sunny Adé is a popular performer of Yoruba Nigerian Jùjú music and a Pioneer of Modern world music.-Background:...

, Ebenezer Obey
Ebenezer Obey
Ebenezer Obe , nicknamed the "Chief Commander," is a Nigerian pop musician.- Biography :Obey, whose real name is Ebenezer Remilekun Aremu Olasupo Fabiyi, was born in Idogo, Ogun State, Nigeria of Egba-Yoruba ethnic background. He is of the Owu subgroup of the Egba. He began his professional career...

, Femi Kuti
Femi Kuti
Olufela Olufemi Anikulapo Kuti popularly known as Femi Kuti, is an award-winning Nigerian musician and the oldest son of legendary afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti....

, Lagbaja
Lagbaja
Lagbaja is a Nigerian Afrobeat musician.-Name and mask:According to Lagbaja, his mask is used as an icon of man’s facelessness. Lagbaja is a Yoruba word that means somebody, nobody, anybody or everybody. It depicts the anonymity of the so-called “common man”...

, Dr. Alban
Dr. Alban
Dr. Alban is a Stockholm, Sweden-based musician and producer with his own record label dr-records...

, Sade Adu
Sade Adu
Helen Folasade Adu, OBE, , better known as Sade , is an English-Nigerian singer-songwriter, composer, and record producer. She first achieved success in the 1980s as the frontwoman and lead vocalist of the popular Brit and Grammy Award winning English group Sade.-Biography:Sade was born in Ibadan,...

, Wasiu Alabi, Bola Abimbola
Bola Abimbola
Bola Abimbola- a Nigerian singer/songwriter, born in 1966 in Lagos. Debuted professionally as a songwriter and producer for young Nigerian artists, including Daddy Showkey, Saheed Osupa and Pasuma....

 and Tuface Idibia.

In November 2008, Nigeria's music scene (and that of Africa) received international attention when MTV
MTV
MTV is a cable television network based in New York City and launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs...

 hosted the continent's first African music awards show in Abuja.

The Nigerian film industry is known as Nollywood. Many of the film studios are based in Lagos and Abuja and the industry is now a very lucrative income for these cities.

Religion



Nigeria is home to a variety of religions which tend to vary regionally. This situation accentuates regional and ethnic distinctions and has often been seen as a source of sectarian conflict amongst the population. The main religions are Islam
Islam
Islam Islam Islam ( al-’islām, There are ten pronunciations of Islam in English, differing in whether the first or second syllable has the stress, whether the s is or , and whether the a is pronounced as in father, as in cat, or (when the stress is on the i) as in the a of sofa...

 (see Islam in Nigeria
Islam in Nigeria
Fifty percent of the population of Nigeria adheres to Islam. Islam came to Northern Nigeria as early as the ninth century, and was well established in the Kanem-Bornu Empire during the reign of Humme Jilmi...

), Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented by the revelations in the New Testament....

 (see Christianity in Nigeria
Christianity in Nigeria
Christianity is the second largest religion in Nigeria, after Islam. The World Factbook and the World Almanac both list Christians as comprising 40% of the population, with Muslims as 50%. More than 50 million persons in Nigeria belong to the church....

), and indigenous religions, most notably Yoruba Orisha
Orisha
An Orisha is a spirit or deity that reflects one of the manifestations of Olodumare in the Yoruba spiritual or religious system...

 or Orisa veneration and Ifá
Ifá
In traditional Yoruba culture, Ifá refers to a system of divination and the verses of the literary corpus known as the Odú Ifá presented in the course of divination. Orunmila is the deity associated with Ifa diviniation. In some instances, the name Orunmila is used interchangeably with the word Ifa...

 and Igbo
Igbo people
Igbo people, also referred to as the Ibo, Ebo, Eboans or Heebo are an ethnic group living chiefly in southeastern and south Nigeria. They speak Igbo, which includes various Igboid languages and dialects; today, a majority of them speak English alongside Igbo as a result of British colonialism...

 Odinani. Christianity is concentrated in the south while Islam dominates in the north; central regions tend to be religiously divided.

The majority of Nigerian Muslims are Sunni (95%), but a significant Shia minority exists (see Shia in Nigeria
Shia in Nigeria
Though the majority of the Nigerian muslim population is Sunni , there is a significant Shia minority, particularly in the states of Kano and Sokoto....

). Some northern states have incorporated Sharia
Sharia
Sharia is an Arabic word meaning ‘way’ or ‘path’. In Arabic, the collocation ‘Šarīʿat Allāh’ is traditionally used not only by Muslims, but also Christians and Jews, sometimes translating expressions such as Torat Elōhīm [תורת אלוהים] or ‘ho nómos toû theoû' '’...

 law into their previously secular legal systems, which has brought about some controversy. Kano State
Kano State
Kano State is a state located in North-Western Nigeria. Created on May 27 1967 from part of the Northern Region, Kano state borders Katsina State to the north-west, Jigawa State to the north-east, and Bauchi and Kaduna states to the south...

 has sought to incorporate Sharia law into its constitution.

Christian Nigerians are about evenly split between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism
Protestantism
Protestantism is a branch within Christianity, containing many denominations with some differing practices and doctrines, that principally originated in the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation. It is considered to be one of the major divisions within Christianity, together with the Roman...

. Leading Protestant churches are the Church of Nigeria
Church of Nigeria
The Church of Nigeria is the Anglican Church in Nigeria. It is the second-largest Province in the Anglican Communion, as measured by baptized membership, after the Church of England. It gives as current membership "over 18 million", out of a total Nigerian population of 140 million.Since 2002 the...

, of the Anglican communion, and the Nigerian Baptist Convention
Nigerian Baptist Convention
The Nigerian Baptist Convention is the second largest Baptist convention affiliating with the Baptist World Alliance, and the third largest in the world after the Southern Baptist Convention, USA, and National Baptist Convention, USA...

. The Yoruba area contains a large Anglican population, while Igboland is predominantly Catholic.

Across Yorubaland (western Nigeria, Benin, Togo), many people are adherents to Yorubo/Irunmole spirituality with its philosophy of divine destiny that all can become Orisha
Orisha
An Orisha is a spirit or deity that reflects one of the manifestations of Olodumare in the Yoruba spiritual or religious system...

 (ori, spiritual head; sha, is chosen: to be one with Olodumare (oni odu, the God source of all energy; ma re, enlighthens / triumphs).

Other minority religious and spiritual groups in Nigeria include Hinduism
Hinduism in Nigeria
Hinduism spread to Nigeria mainly by immigration of Hindus from India and by way of Hare Krishna missionaries.Sindhis were the first to arrive in Nigeria in the early part of the nineteenth century. Initially, they were primarily engaged in trading...

, Judaism
Igbo Jews
The Igbo Jews are members of the Igbo people of Nigeria who practice Judaism and are said to be descended from North African or Egyptian Hebraic and later Israelite migrations into West Africa. Oral legends amongst the Igbo state that this migration started around 1,500 years ago.- History :The...

, The Bahá’í Faith, and Chrislam
Chrislam
Chrislam , or the The Will of God Mission or Ifeoluwa Mission , is a Nigerian syncretic religion which mixes elements of both Christianity and Islam....

 (a syncretic faith melding elements of Christianity and Islam). Further, Nigeria has become an African hub for the Grail Movement
Grail Movement
The Grail Movement is an organization which originated in Germany in the late 1940s, inspired by the work of Oskar Ernst Bernhardt , principally In the Light of Truth: The Grail Message...

, the Rosicrucian
Rosicrucian
Rosicrucianism is the theology of a secret society of mystics, allegedly formed in late medieval Germany, holding a doctrine "built on esoteric truths of the ancient past", which, "concealed from the average man, provide insight into nature, the physical universe and the spiritual realm."Between...

 order (AMORC), and the Hare Krishna
Hare Krishna
The Hare Krishna mantra, also referred to reverentially as the Maha Mantra , is a sixteen-word Vaishnava mantra which first appears in the Kali-Santarana Upanishad, and which from the 16th century rises to importance in the Bhakti movement following the teachings of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.According...

s.

Cuisine


Nigerian cuisine, like West African cuisine in general, is known for its richness and variety. Many different spice
Spice
A spice is a dried seed, fruit, root, bark, leaf, or vegetative substance used in nutritionally insignificant quantities as a food additive for the purpose of flavour, colour, or as a preservative that kills harmful bacteria or prevents their growth....

s, herb
Herb
A herb is a plant that is valued for flavor, scent, or other qualities. Herbs are used in cooking, as medicines, and for spiritual purposes....

s and flavourings are used in conjunction with palm oil
Palm oil
Palm oil is an edible plant oil derived from the pulp of the fruit of the oil palm Elaeis guineensis.Palm oil is naturally reddish because it contains a high amount of beta-carotene . Palm oil is one of the few vegetable oils relatively high in saturated fats...

 or groundnut
Peanut
The peanut, or groundnut , is a species in the legume family native to South America, Mexico and Central America. It is an annual herbaceous plant growing 30 to 50 cm tall...

 oil to create deeply flavoured sauces and soups often made very hot with chilli peppers. Nigerian feasts are colourful and lavish, while aromatic market and roadside snacks cooked on barbecues or fried in oil are plentiful and varied.

Sport



Like many nations, football is Nigeria's national sport. There is also a local Premier League
Nigerian Premier League
The Globacom Premier League is the official name of Nigerian Premier League, the highest level of domestic Nigerian football. It is fed into by the two First Division groups: the Nigerian Division 1-A and Nigerian Division 1-B. It is organised by the Nigeria Football Association. The NFL Chairman...

 of football. Nigeria's national football team, known as the Super Eagles, has made the World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, occasionally called the Football World Cup, but usually referred to simply as the World Cup, is an international football competition contested by the men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...

 on three occasions 1994
1994 FIFA World Cup
The 1994 FIFA World Cup, the 15th staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in the United States from 17 June to 17 July 1994. The United States was chosen as hosts by FIFA in July 1988...

, 1998
1998 FIFA World Cup
The 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 16th FIFA World Cup, was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. France was chosen as hosts by FIFA on 1 July 1992. The tournament was won by France, who beat Brazil 3-0 in the final...

, and 2002
2002 FIFA World Cup
The 2002 FIFA World Cup, the 17th staging of the World Cup, was held in South Korea and Japan from 31 May to 30 June. The two countries were chosen as hosts by FIFA in May 1996 and was the first tournament in its history to be hosted by two countries. It was also the first World Cup held in Asia...

, won the African Cup of Nations in 1980
1980 African Cup of Nations
The 1980 African Cup of Nations was the 12th edition of the African Cup of Nations, the soccer championship of Africa . It was hosted by Nigeria. Just like in 1978, the field of eight teams was split into two groups of four...

 and 1994
1994 African Cup of Nations
The 1994 African Cup of Nations was the 19th edition of the African Cup of Nations, the soccer championship of Africa . It was hosted by Tunisia, who replaced original hosts Zaire. Just as in 1992, the field of twelve teams was split into four groups of three...

, and also hosted the Junior World Cup. They won the gold medal for football in the 1996 Summer Olympics
1996 Summer Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....

 (in which they beat Argentina) and have reached the finals of the U-20 World Championship in 2005. In September 2007, Nigeria won the U-17 World cup for the third time, becoming the first African nation to have achieved that feat and the second nation (after Brazil) to do so. Nigeria had previously won the very first U-17 tournament in 1985 (China '85), 1993 (Japan '93) and in 2007 (Korea '07).

The nation's cadet team to Japan '93 produced some of the world's finest players notably Nwankwo Kanu
Nwankwo Kanu
Nwankwo Christian Nwosu Kanu , usually known simply as Kanu and nicknamed Papilo, is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a striker for English Premier League club Portsmouth and also for the Nigerian national team...

, a two-time African Footballer of the year who won the European Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe...

 with Ajax Amsterdam and later played with Inter Milan
F.C. Internazionale Milano
Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale and as just Inter in Italy, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy, founded in 1908...

 (Italy), Arsenal FC (London, UK), West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion F.C.
West Bromwich Albion Football Club , also known as West Brom, The Baggies, Albion, The Albion, The Throstles or WBA, are an English professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands...

 (UK) and Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey, sometimes called 'The Blues', with their fans known as 'The Blue Army'. They play in the Premier League...

 (UK). Other players that graduated from the Junior teams are Celestine Babayaro
Celestine Babayaro
Celestine Hycieth Babayaro is a Nigerian footballer who plays left-back and is currently a free agent. However as of Monday 19th October he has been invited on a two-week trial with Leeds United.-Chelsea:...

 (of Newcastle United, UK), Wilson Oruma
Wilson Oruma
Wilson Oruma is a football midfielder from Nigeria. He is currently playing at AO Kavala.He became the tournament top goalscorer when Nigeria won the 1993 FIFA U-17 World Championships...

 and Taye Taiwo (of Marseille, France).

According to the official September 2007 FIFA World Rankings
FIFA World Rankings
The FIFA World Rankings is a ranking system for men's national teams in Association football, currently led by Brazil. The teams of the member nations of FIFA , football's world governing body, are ranked based on their game results with the most successful teams being ranked highest...

, Nigeria was the top-ranked football nation in Africa and the 19th highest in the world. Nigeria is also involved in other sports such as basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of 5 players try to score points against one another by placing a ball through a 10 foot  high hoop under organized rules...

, cricket and track and field. Boxing is also an important sport in Nigeria; Dick Tiger
Dick Tiger
Dick Tiger CBE was a boxer from Umuduruoha village, Amaigbo, Nigeria, who emigrated to Liverpool and later to the United States of America). Tiger was a member of the Igbo ethnic group. Tiger was a talented boxer, commercial venturer, and Biafran rebel. Dick Tiger was one of the greatest fighters...

 and Samuel Peter
Samuel Peter
Samuel Okon Peter , nicknamed "The Nigerian Nightmare," is a heavyweight boxer and the former WBC heavyweight champion. Peter is the fourth boxer from the African continent to win a heavyweight title, after Gerrie Coetzee, Corrie Sanders, and Francois Botha.-Early years and amateur...

 are both former World Champions.

Societal issues


Despite its vast government revenue from the mining of petroleum, Nigeria is faced by a number of societal issues due primarily to a history of inefficiency in its governance.

Human rights



Nigeria's human rights record remains poor and government officials at all levels continue to commit serious abuses.

According to the U.S. Department of State, the most significant human rights problems are: extrajudicial killings and use of excessive force by security forces; impunity for abuses by security forces; arbitrary arrests; prolonged pretrial detention; judicial corruption and executive influence on the judiciary; rape, torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of prisoners, detainees and suspects; harsh and life‑threatening prison and detention center conditions; human trafficking for the purpose of prostitution and forced labor; societal violence and vigilante killings; child labor, child abuse and child sexual exploitation; female genital mutilation (FGM); domestic violence; discrimination based on sex, ethnicity, region and religion; restrictions on freedom of assembly, movement, press, speech and religion; infringement of privacy rights; and the abridgement of the right of citizens to change the government.

Under the Shari'a penal code that applies to Muslims in twelve northern states, offenses such as alcohol consumption, homosexuality, infidelity and theft carry harsh sentences, including amputation, lashing, stoning and long prison terms.

Strife and sectarian violence



Because of its multitude of diverse, sometimes competing ethno-linguistic groups, Nigeria prior to independence has been faced with sectarian tensions and violence. This is particularly a major issue in the oil-producing Niger Delta region, where both state and civilian forces employ varying methods of coercion in attempts gain control over regional petroleum resources. Some of the ethnic groups like the Ogoni
Ogoni people
Ogoni people are one of the many indigenous peoples in the Niger Delta region of southeast Nigeria. They number about a half million people and live in a homeland which they also refer to as Ogoni, or Ogoniland....

, have experienced severe environmental degradation due to petroleum extraction.

Since the end of the civil war in 1970, some ethnic violence has persisted. There has subsequently been a period of relative harmony since the Federal Government introduced tough new measures against religious violence in all affected parts of the country.

In 2002, organizers of the Miss World Pageant
Miss World
The Miss World pageant is the oldest surviving major international beauty pageant. It was created in the United Kingdom by Eric Morley in 1951. Since his death in 2000, Morley's wife, Julia Morley, co-chairs the pageant.....

 were forced to move the pageant from the Nigerian capital, Abuja
Abuja
Abuja is the capital city of Nigeria. It is located in the centre of Nigeria in the Federal Capital Territory . Abuja is a planned city, which was built mainly in the 1980s and officially became Nigeria's capital on 12 December 1991, replacing the role of the previous capital Lagos...

, to London in the wake of violent protests in the Northern part of the country that left more than 100 people dead and over 500 injured. The rioting erupted after Muslims in the country reacted in anger to comments made by a newspaper reporter. Rioters in Kaduna
Kaduna
Kaduna is the state capital of Kaduna State in north-central Nigeria. The city, located on the Kaduna River, is a trade center and a major transportation hub for the surrounding agricultural areas with its rail and road junction. The population of Kaduna is at 1,652,844...

 killed an estimated 105 men, women, and children with a further 521 injured taken to hospital.

Health issues



Nigeria has been reorganizing its health system since the Bamako Initiative
Bamako Initiative
The Bamako Initiative was a formal statement adopted by African health ministers in 1987 in Bamako, Mali, to implement strategies designed to increase the availability of essential drugs and other healthcare services for Sub-Saharan Africans.-Measures:...

 of 1987 formally promoted community-based methods of increasing accessibility of drugs and health care services to the population, in part by implementing user fees. The new strategy dramatically increased accessibility through community-based healthcare reform, resulting in more efficient and equitable provision of services.
A comprehensive approach strategy was extended to all areas of health care, with subsequent improvement in the health care indicators and improvement in health care efficiency and cost.

The Nigerian health care system is continuously faced with a shortage of doctors known as 'brain drain
Brain drain
Brain drain or human capital flight is a large emigration of individuals with technical skills or knowledge, normally due to conflict, lack of opportunity, political instability, or health risks. Brain drain is usually regarded as an economic cost, since emigrants usually take with them the...

' due to the fact that many highly skilled Nigerian doctors emigrate to North America and Europe. In 1995, It was estimated that 21,000 Nigerian doctors were practicing in the United States alone, which about the same as the number of doctors working in the Nigerian public service. Retaining these expensively trained professionals has been identified as one of the goals of the government.

Education


Nigeria provides free, government-supported education, but attendance is not compulsory at any level, and certain groups, such as nomads and the handicapped, are under-served. The education system consists of six years of primary school, three years of junior secondary school, three years of senior secondary school, and four years of university education leading to a bachelor’s degree. The rate of secondary school attendance is 32 percent for males and 27 percent for females. In 2004 the Nigerian National Planning Commission described the country’s education system as “disfunctional.” Reasons for this characterization included decaying institutions and ill-prepared graduates.

Happiness survey


In 2003, Nigerians were reported to be the happiest people in a scientific survey carried out in 65 nations in 1999–2001. The research was reported by one of the world's top science magazines, New Scientist
New Scientist
New Scientist is a weekly international science magazine and website covering recent developments in science and technology for a general English-speaking audience. Founded in 1956, it is published by Reed Business Information Ltd, a subsidiary of Reed Elsevier. New Scientist has maintained a...

, and was picked up by a number of news outlets. See Nigeria tops happiness survey. The report considered that the country's family life and culture were more important than its problems and material wealth in determining happiness.

Crime



A type of advance fee fraud
Advance fee fraud
An advance-fee fraud is a confidence trick in which the target is persuaded to advance sums of money in the hope of realizing a significantly larger gain...

 known as "419" (named after Section 419 of the Nigerian Penal Code) and the "Nigerian scam" is a form of confidence trick
Confidence trick
A confidence trick or confidence game is an attempt to defraud a person or group by gaining their confidence...

 practiced by individuals and criminal syndicates (organized crime
Organized crime
Organized crime or criminal organizations can be defined as a transnational grouping of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for the purpose of generating a monetary profit...

) that is commonly associated with Nigeria, though it is now used in other places. The confidence man persuades the target to advance relatively small sums of money (the advance fee) in the hope of realizing a much larger gain (usually touted as millions). In 2003, the Nigerian Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is a Nigerian law enforcement agency that investigates financial crimes such as advance fee fraud and money laundering...

 (or EFCC) was created to combat this and other forms of organized financial crime. It has succeeded in bringing several "419" crime boss
Crime boss
A crime boss or boss is a person in charge of a criminal organization. A boss typically has unquestioned command over his subordinates, is greatly feared by