The Yoruba are especially known for the Oyo Empire that dominated the region. [53], Archaeological evidence suggests that Nri hegemony in Igboland may go back as far as the 9th century,[54] and royal burials have been unearthed dating to at least the 10th century. A separatist movement later formed the Republic of Biafra in 1967, leading to the three-year Nigerian Civil War. Kingdoms west of the River Niger like Aboh (Abo), which was significantly populated by Igbos among other tribes, dominated trade along the lower River Niger area from the 17th century until European explorations into the Niger delta. The Niger has many rapids and waterfalls, but the Benue is not interrupted by either and is navigable throughout its length, except during the dry season. The neat protrusion from the chin represents a beard. Yar'Adua's Hausa-Fulani background gave him a political base in the northern regions of Nigeria, while Goodluck does not have the same ethnic and religious affiliations. Though those efforts have been hard to come by, as many violent ethnic and religious clashes occurred in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Nigeria has continued to face governmental, ethnic, religious, health related, educational, economic, and other issues ("Nigeria"). The initiation rite of a new king shows that the ritual process of becoming Ezenri (Nri priest-king) follows closely the path traced by the hero in establishing the Nri kingdom. [56] At least one historian puts fikunim's reign much later, around 1225.[57]. Other unions joined the strike, bringing economic life around Lagos and the southwest to a standstill. [29] The transition from Neolithic times to the Iron Age apparently was achieved indigenously without intermediate bronze production. Cotton grew readily in the great plains of these states, and they became the primary producers of cloth, weaving and dying it before sending it off in caravans to the other states within Hausaland and to extensive regions beyond. Katsina and Daura were the "Chiefs of the Market," as their geographical location accorded them direct access to the caravans coming across the desert from the north. However, when the Western Region parliament met to approve this change, Akintola supporters in the parliament started a riot in the chambers of the parliament. General Mohammed replaced thousands of civil servants and announced a timetable for the resumption of civilian rule by 1 October 1979. Upon independence, it was widely expected that Ahmadu Bello the Sardauna of Sokoto, the undisputed strong man in Nigeria[76] who controlled the North, would become Prime Minister of the new Federation Government. Gradually Borno's position weakened; its inability to check political rivalries between competing Hausa cities was one example of this decline. The Iron Age Nok civilization of northern Nigeria dates back to about 1,500 BC, with evidence of settled life in the environs of Kaduna. Although he had led Babangida's Transitional Council since 1993, Shonekan was unable to reverse Nigeria's economic problems or to defuse lingering political tension. Pin the Capital on the Country: Fact or Fiction? trace the origin of News Agency of Nigeria discuss the functions of NAN and the services rendered by the agency. Gradually they moved eastward, first into the centers of the Mali and Songhai empires and eventually into Hausaland and Borno. federal republic with two legislative houses (Senate [109]; House of Representatives [360]), Kingdoms and empires of precolonial Nigeria, Controversies surrounding the 2007 presidential election, Nigeria under Umaru Musa YarAdua and Goodluck Jonathan, The 2015 elections and electorate concerns, Recession, fight against corruption, and insecurity, Which Country Is Larger By Population? According to the Bayajidda legend, the Banza Bakwai states were founded by the seven sons of Karbagari ("Town-seizer"), the unique son of Bayajidda and the slave-maid, Bagwariya. Other eroded surfaces, such as the Udi-Nsukka escarpment (see Udi-Nsukka Plateau), rise abruptly above the plains at elevations of at least 1,000 feet (300 metres). [13] Nigeria first became a republic in 1963, but succumbed to military rule after a bloody coup d'tat in 1966. Olutayo C. Adesina, "Teaching History in Twentieth-Century Nigeria: the Challenges of Change,", Queen Elizabeth II was monarch of Nigeria and head of state, overthrew the NPC-NNDP government and assassinated the prime minister and the premiers of the northern and western regions, massacre of thousands of Ibo in the north, "The Nri Kingdom (900AD - Present): Rule by theocracy", "Historic regions from 5th century BC to 20th century", "Historical Legacies | Religious Literacy Project", "The Transatlantic Slave Trade | Religious Literacy Project", "When I Remember Nigeria, I Remember Democracy! Ecological and political instability provided the background for the jihad of Usman dan Fodio. [15][16][17] Shaw's excavations at Igbo-Ukwu revealed a 9th-century indigenous culture that created highly sophisticated work in bronze metalworking, independent of Arab or European influence and centuries before other sites that were better known at the time of discovery. The major cause of Borno's decline was a severe drought that struck the Sahel and savanna from in the middle of the 18th century. Flag. The emergence of democracy in Nigeria in May 1999 ended 16 years of consecutive military rule. Chairs were thrown and one member grabbed the parliamentary Mace and wielded it like a weapon to attack the Speaker and other members. [90] All of this meant that by 1979, Nigeria was the sixth largest producer of oil in the world with revenues from oil of $24 billion per year. On 29 May 1967, Lt. Col. Emeka Ojukwu, the military governor of the eastern region who emerged as the leader of increasing Igbo secessionist sentiment, declared the independence of the eastern region as the Republic of Biafra on 30 May 1967. The present crisis started" with Nigerian independence in 1960, but the federated parliament hid "serious internal strains. Archaeological research, pioneered by Charles Thurstan Shaw, has shown a long history of human settlement in Nigeria. [9][10] Local merchants provided them with slaves, escalating conflicts among the ethnic groups in the region and disrupting older trade patterns through the Trans-Saharan route.[11]. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Islam arrived at Hausaland along the caravan routes. In November 2009, he fell ill and was flown out of the country to Saudi Arabia for medical attention. The neighboring Awka city-state rose in power as a result of their powerful Agbala oracle and metalworking expertise. [20], The Nok culture thrived from approximately 1,500 BC to about 200 AD on the Jos Plateau in north and central Nigeria and produced life-sized terracotta figures that include human heads, human figures, and animals. Much of Nigeria is covered with plains and savannas. [107] On 29 May 2019, Muhammadu Buhari was sworn in for a second term as Nigeria's president, after winning the presidential election in February 2019. The vast country Kanem-Bornu reaching from Libya to Nigeria was created by the people of Zaghawa in nomadic Nilodic in the North-East of Nigeria by 700. The Hausa Kingdoms began as seven states founded according to the Bayajidda legend by the six sons of Bawo, the unique son of the hero and the queen Magajiya Daurama in addition to the hero's son, Biram or Ibrahim, of an earlier marriage. [42] Rather than relaxing colonial strictures in gratitude after the war, the European presence in Africa intensified. Each king traces his origin back to the founding ancestor, Eri. South of Kano the mixed soils contain locally derived granite and loess (wind-borne deposits). The primary exports were slaves, leather, gold, cloth, salt, kola nuts, and henna. The Young Majors went into hiding. There is a huge gap between the archaeological finds of Igbo Ukwu, which reveal a rich material culture in the heart of the Igbo region in the 8th century, and the oral traditions of the 20th century. The name Nigeria formulated by a British journalist Flora Shaw who later got married to Lord Frederick Lugard, the mastermind behind the creation of our beloved nation. However, on 23 June, Babangida, using several pending lawsuits as a pretence, annulled the election, throwing Nigeria into turmoil. Although promising restoration of civilian rule he refused to announce a transitional timetable until 1995. Others have suggested that the technology moved west from the Nile Valley, although the Iron Age in the Niger River valley and the forest region appears to predate the introduction of metallurgy in the upper savanna by more than 800 years. [38][39] Today the Hausa people now reside in the Northern part of Nigeria.[40]. [81] In the Northern Region, however, the Hausa and Fulani people demanded that the detainees be placed on trial for murder.[81]. Political parties, however, tended to reflect the makeup of the three main ethnic groups. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. In November 1999, the army destroyed the town of Odi, Bayelsa State and killed scores of civilians in retaliation for the murder of 12 policemen by a local gang. Yar'Adua's sickness and Jonathan's successions. The use of slave labour was extensive, especially in agriculture."[33]. Kano and Rano were known as the "Chiefs of Indigo." Akintola was appointed to head a coalition government in the Western Region. [citation needed] The Songhai Empire also occupied part of the region. Nigeria is bordered to the north by Niger, to the east by Chad and Cameroon, to the south by the Gulf of Guinea of the Atlantic Ocean, and to the west by Benin. [72] On 1 January 1900, the British Empire created the Southern Nigeria Protectorate and the Northern Nigeria Protectorate. [34], Borno's history is closely associated with Kanem, which had achieved imperial status in the Lake Chad basin by the 13th century. Pending the promulgation of the constitution written in 1995, the government observed some provisions of the 1979 and 1989 constitutions. [96], Most civil society leaders and Nigerians witnessed marked improvements in human rights and freedom of the press under Obasanjo. The middle two-thirds of the country, the savanna regions, contain reddish, laterite soils; they are somewhat less fertile than those of the north because they are not subject to as much seasonal drying, nor do they receive the greater rainfall that occurs in the more southerly regions. Their history is reflected in the Bayajidda legend,[37] which describes the adventures of the Baghdadi hero Bayajidda culminating in the killing of the snake in the well of Daura and the marriage with the local queen magajiya Daurama. Social, economic, and cultural history also began to grow in prominence. Nigeria is not only large in arealarger than the U.S. state of Texasbut also Africa 's most populous country. [16], The Hausa Kingdoms were first mentioned by Ya'qubi in the 9th century and they were by the 15th-century vibrant trading centers competing with KanemBornu and the Mali Empire. [12] Nigeria became a British protectorate in 1901. History. Many top minds were co-opted with plum jobs in the administration and left academia. Aviation workers in Nigeria have embarked on a two-day strike, leaving thousands of travelers stranded as airlines canceled or rescheduled flights in the country's major cities, A local official in Nigeria says that at least 33 people have been killed by gunmen in the country's northwest, From dressing as Roman soldiers in Antigua, Guatemala, to carrying palm fronds on the streets of Lagos, Nigeria, Christians around the world are celebrating Holy Week, State authorities said Tuesday at least 10 students were abducted by gunmen in northwest Nigeria, In a story published April 2, 2023, about police reforms in Grand Rapids, Michigan, a year after a Black man was shot and killed during a traffic stop, The Associated Press erroneously reported where the victim, Patrick Lyoya, was born. The neighbouring Republic of Niger takes its name from the same river. The Buhari government was peacefully overthrown by the SMC's third-ranking member General Ibrahim Babangida in August 1985. Unlike the forest-bound Yoruba kingdoms, Oyo was in the savanna and drew its military strength from its cavalry forces, which established hegemony over the adjacent Nupe and the Borgu kingdoms and thereby developed trade routes farther to the north. In August 1998 Abubakar appointed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct elections for local government councils, state legislatures and governors, the national assembly, and president. But the elections were marred by violence and allegations of widespread voter fraud included missing returns, polling places failing to open, and obvious rigging of results. Nok artwork; 5th century BC 5th century AD; length: 50cm (19.6in. Lugard. On 15 January 1966, a group of army officers (the Young Majors) mostly south-eastern Igbos, overthrew the NPC-NNDP government and assassinated the prime minister and the premiers of the northern and western regions. He was assassinated on 13 February 1976 in an abortive coup and his chief of staff Lt. Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo became head of state. Corrections? Obasanjo, a former general, was admired for his stand against the Abacha dictatorship, his record of returning the federal government to civilian rule in 1979, and his claim to represent all Nigerians regardless of religion. Later groups like the Igala traders from the hinterland settled in Onitsha in the 18th century. The coastal areas are drained by short rivers that flow into the Gulf of Guinea. Shonekan was to rule until elections scheduled for February 1994. Kanem expanded westward to include the area that became Borno. In August 1983, Shagari and the NPN were returned to power in a landslide with a majority of seats in the National Assembly and control of 12 state governments. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. 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