History of Nigeria

The history of Nigeria can be traced to prehistoric settlers living in the area as early as 11,000 BC. Numerous ancient African civilizations settled in the region that is today Nigeria. An example of one of the civilizations that settles in Nigeria is the Nri Kingdom. Islam reached Nigeria through the Hausa States during the 11th century. The Songhai Empire also occupied part of the region. Lagos was captured by British forces in 1851 and formally annexed in 1861. Nigeria became a British protectorate in 1901. Colonization lasted until 1960, when an independence movement succeeded in gaining Nigeria its independence.

Nigeria first became a republic in 1963, but succumbed to military rule in 1966 after a bloody coup d'état. A separatist movement later formed the Republic of Biafra in 1967, leading to the three-year Nigerian Civil War. Nigeria became a republic once again after a new constitution was written in 1979. However, the republic was short-lived, when the military led by Major General Muhammadu Buhari seize again four years later. Buhari was overthrown and a new republic was founded in August 1993, but was dissolved once again by General Sani Abacha in November that same year. Abacha died in 1998 and a fourth republic was later established the following year, ending three decades of intermittent military rule.

History of Nigeria (1500–1800)

The history of the territories which since ca. 1900 have been known under the name of Nigeria during the pre-colonial period (16th to 18th centuries) was dominated by a number of powerful West African kingdoms or empires, such as the Edo Benin Empire and the Islamic Songhai Empire in the north and west, and the Igbo kingdom of Onitsha in the southeast and various Hausa-Fulani kingdoms.

Past archaeological digs have uncovered the fairly advanced lifestyle of some of the Hausa civilizations. Some were able to work iron which helped with tool and weapon making. They also showed a vast advancement in cultural expression which was rare for civilizations in the area around that time. Many of the settlements also contained expertly coursed stone walls which showed the need for either protection from animals or other settlements. These various settlements would later clash, craving a rise in power which may explain these elements uncovered in the archaeological sites.

First Nigerian Republic

The First Republic was the republican government of Nigeria between 1963 and 1966 governed by the first republican constitution.

Founding (1963)

Although Nigeria gained partial independence from Britain on October 1, 1960, it was not totally independent until 1963 when the Declaration of Independence was signed.

The name “Nigeria” is derived from the word “Niger” – the name of the river that constitutes the most remarkable geographical feature of the country. Nigeria is a country of 923,768 square kilometers, bound to the west by Benin, to the north by the Niger and Chad Republic, east by the Republic of Cameroon, and south by the Gulf of Guinea. The country gained independence from the British government on Oct. first 1960, and became a republic in 1963. The journey to independence started with some constitutional developments in Nigeria, these constitutional developments saw the country attaining self-rule in some quarters in 1957 and total liberation on Oct. 1st 1960.

Nigeria

The Federal Republic of Nigeria, commonly referred to as Nigeria ⁱ/naɪˈdʒɪəriə/, is a federal constitutional republic in West Africa, bordering Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in the north. Its coast in the south lies on the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean. It comprises 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, where the capital, Abuja is located. Nigeria is officially a democratic secular country.

Modern-day Nigeria has been the site of numerous kingdoms and tribal states over the millennia. The modern state originated from British colonial rule beginning in the 19th century, and the merging of the Southern Nigeria Protectorate and Northern Nigeria Protectorate in 1914. The British set up administrative and legal structures whilst practising indirect rule through traditional chiefdoms. Nigeria became a formally independent federation in 1960, and plunged into a civil war from 1967 to 1970. It has since alternated between democratically-elected civilian governments and military dictatorships, until it achieved a stable democracy in 1999, with its 2011 presidential elections being viewed as the first to be conducted reasonably freely and fairly.

Nigeria (album)

Nigeria is an album by American jazz guitarist Grant Green featuring performances recorded in 1962 but not released on the Blue Note label until 1980. The tracks were also released in 1997 as part of The Complete Quartets with Sonny Clark.

Reception

The Allmusic review by Michael Erlewine awarded the album 4½ stars and stated "Just classic Green".

Track listing

Personnel

References

Nigeria (disambiguation)

Nigeria is a country in West Africa.

Nigeria or Nigerian may also refer to:

See also