Talk:History of Nigeria

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Start of article

The start of this article is confused, no sources cited.--Dicdoc 21:51, 3 February 2006 (UTC)

Statue

The picture of the statue holding it's penis is not Nigeria's History. Can anyone find a replacement? (Neutrall 19:49, 28 June 2006 (UTC))

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Search You have no notifications. History of Nigeria Article Talk Language Download PDF Watch History Edit The History of Nigeria can be traced to settlers trading across the middle East and Africa as early as 1100 BC. Numerous ancient African civilisations settled in the region that is known today as Nigeria, such as the Kingdom of Nri, the Benin Empire, and the Oyo Empire. Islam reached Nigeria through the Borno Empire between (1068 AD) and Hausa States around (1385 AD) during the 11th century,[1][2][3][4] while Christianity came to Nigeria in the 15th century through Augustinian and Capuchin monks from Portugal. The Songhai Empire also occupied part of the region.[5] The history of Nigeria has been crucially affected by the transatlantic slave trade,[6] which started in Nigeria in the late 15th century. The first slave-trading post used by the British and Portuguese was Badagry, a coastal harbour.[7] Local brokers provided them with slaves, escalating conflicts among the ethnic groups in the region and disrupting older trade patterns through the Trans-Saharan route.[8]

Lagos was invaded by British forces in 1851 and formally annexed in 1865.[9] Nigeria became a British protectorate in 1901. The period of colonisation lasted until 1960, when an independence movement succeeded.[10] Nigeria first became a republic in 1963, but succumbed to military rule three years later, 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.[11] Nigeria became a republic once again after a new constitution was written in 1979. However, the republic was short-lived, as the military seized power again and ruled for ten years. A new republic was planned to be established in 1993, but was aborted by General Sani Abacha. Abacha died in 1998 and a fourth republic was later established the following year, which ended three decades of intermittent military rule.[12][13]

Photo Showing States in Nigeria by Geography Photo Showing States in Nigeria by Geography Early history Edit Hausa Kingdoms Edit Yoruba Edit Igbo Kingdom Edit Main articles: Awka, Onitsha, Owerri, Aro Confederacy, and Abiriba Nri Kingdom Edit

A bronze ceremonial vessel made around the 9th century found at Igbo-Ukwu. Main article: Kingdom of Nri The Kingdom of Nri is considered to be the foundation of Igbo culture and the oldest Kingdom in Nigeria.[36] Nri and Aguleri, where the Igbo creation myth originates, are in the territory of the Umueri clan, who trace their lineages back to the patriarchal king-figure, Eri.[37] Eri's origins are unclear, though he has been described as a "sky being" sent by Chukwu (God).[37][38] He has been characterized as having first given societal order to the people of Anambra.[38]

Archaeological evidence suggests that Nri hegemony in Igboland may go back as far as the 9th century,[39] and royal burials have been unearthed dating to at least the 10th century. Eri, the god-like founder of Nri, is believed to have settled in the region around 948 with other related Igbo cultures following in the 13th century.[40] The first Eze Nri (King of Nri), Ìfikuánim, followed directly after him. According to Igbo oral tradition, his reign started in 1043.[41] At least one historian puts Ìfikuánim's reign much later, around 1225.[42]

Each king traces his origin back to the founding ancestor, Eri. Each king is a ritual reproduction of Eri. 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.

— E. Elochukwu Uzukwu[38] Nri and Aguleri and part of the Umueri clan, a cluster of Igbo village groups which traces its origins to a sky being called Eri and significantly, includes (from the viewpoint of its Igbo members) the neighbouring kingdom of Igala.

— Elizabeth Allo Isichei[43] The Kingdom of Nri was a religio-polity, a sort of theocratic state, that developed in the central heartland of the Igbo region.[40] The Nri had a taboo symbolic code with six types. These included human (such as the birth of twins), animal (such as killing or eating of pythons),[44] object, temporal, behavioral, speech and place taboos.[45] The rules regarding these taboos were used to educate and govern Nri's subjects. This meant that, while certain Igbo may have lived under different formal administrations, all followers of the Igbo religion had to abide by the rules of the faith and obey its representative on earth, the Eze Nri.[44][45]

Decline of Nri kingdom Edit With the decline of Nri kingdom in the 15th to 17th centuries, several states once under their influence, became powerful economic oracular oligarchies and large commercial states that dominated Igboland. The neighboring Awka city-state rose in power as a result of their powerful Agbala oracle and metalworking expertise. The Onitsha Kingdom, which was originally inhabited by Igbos from east of the Niger, was founded in the 16th century by migrants from Anioma (Western Igboland). Later groups like the Igala traders from the hinterland settled in Onitsha in the 18th century. Western Igbo kingdoms like Aboh, dominated trade in the lower Niger area from the 17th century until European penetration. The Umunoha state in the Owerri area used the Igwe ka Ala oracle at their advantage. However, the Cross River Igbo state like the Aro had the greatest influence in Igboland and adjacent areas after the decline of Nri.

The Arochukwu kingdom emerged after the Aro-Ibibio Wars from 1630 to 1720, and went on to form the Aro Confederacy which economically dominated Eastern Nigerian hinterland. The source of the Aro Confederacy's economic dominance was based on the judicial oracle of Ibini Ukpabi ("Long Juju") and their military forces which included powerful allies such as Ohafia, Abam, Ezza, and other related neighboring states. The Abiriba and Aro are Brothers whose migration is traced to the Ekpa Kingdom, East of Cross River, their exact take of location was at Ekpa (Mkpa) east of the Cross River. They crossed the river to Urupkam (Usukpam) west of the Cross River and founded two settlements: Ena Uda and Ena Ofia in present-day Erai. Aro and Abiriba cooperated to become a powerful economic force.

Igbo gods, like those of the Yoruba, were numerous, but their relationship to one another and human beings was essentially egalitarian, reflecting Igbo society as a whole. A number of oracles and local cults attracted devotees while the central deity, the earth mother and fertility figure Ala, was venerated at shrines throughout Igboland.

The weakness of a popular theory that Igbos were stateless rests on the paucity of historical evidence of pre-colonial Igbo society. 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. Benin exercised considerable influence on the western Igbo, who adopted many of the political structures familiar to the Yoruba-Benin region, but Asaba and its immediate neighbours, such as Ibusa, Ogwashi-Ukwu, Okpanam, Issele-Azagba and Issele-Ukwu, were much closer to the Kingdom of Nri. Ofega was the queen for the Onitsha Igbo.Igbo imabana

Early states before 1500 Edit Main article: History of Nigeria before 1500 The early independent kingdoms and states that make up present-day British colonialised Nigeria are (in alphabetical order):

Benin Kingdom Borgu Kingdom Fulani Empire Hausa Kingdoms Kanem Bornu Empire Kwararafa Kingdom Ibibio Kingdom Nri Kingdom Nupe Kingdom Oyo Empire Songhai Empire Warri Kingdom Oyo and Benin Edit Main article: Oyo Empire During the 15th century Oyo and Benin surpassed Ife as political and economic powers, although Ife preserved its status as a religious center. Respect for the priestly functions of the oni of Ife was a crucial factor in the evolution of Yoruba culture. The Ife model of government was adapted at Oyo, where a member of its ruling dynasty controlled several smaller city-states. A state council (the Oyo Mesi) named the Alaafin (king) and acted as a check on his authority. Their capital city was situated about 100 km north of present-day Oyo. 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.

The Benin Empire (1440–1897; called Bini by locals) was a pre-colonial African state in what is now modern Nigeria. It should not be confused with the modern-day country called Benin, formerly called Dahomey.

Main article: Benin Empire Northern kingdoms of the Sahel Edit

The Songhai Empire, c. 1500 Trade is the key to the emergence of organised communities in the sahelian portions of Nigeria. Prehistoric inhabitants adjusting to the encroaching desert were widely scattered by the third millennium BC, when the desiccation of the Sahara began. Trans-Saharan trade routes linked the western Sudan with the Mediterranean since the time of Carthage and with the Upper Nile from a much earlier date, establishing avenues of communication and cultural influence that remained open until the end of the 19th century. By these same routes, Islam made its way south into West Africa after the 9th century.

By then a string of dynastic states, including the earliest Hausa states, stretched into western and central Sudan. The most powerful of these states were Ghana, Gao, and Kanem, which were not within the boundaries of modern Nigeria but which influenced the history of the Nigerian savanna. Ghana declined in the 11th century but was succeeded by the Mali Empire which consolidated much of western Sudan in the 13th century.

Following the breakup of Mali, a local leader named Sonni Ali (1464–1492) founded the Songhai Empire in the region of middle Niger and western Sudan and took control of the trans-Saharan trade. Sonni Ali seized Timbuktu in 1468 and Djenné in 1473, building his regime on trade revenues and the cooperation of Muslim merchants. His successor Askia Muhammad Ture (1493–1528) made Islam the official religion, built mosques, and brought Muslim scholars, including al-Maghili (d.1504), the founder of an important tradition of Sudanic African Muslim scholarship, to Gao.[46]

Although these western empires had little political influence on the Nigerian savanna before 1500 they had a strong cultural and economic impact that became more pronounced in the 16th century, especially because these states became associated with the spread of Islam and trade. Throughout the 16th-century much of northern Nigeria paid homage to Songhai in the west or to Borno, a rival empire in the east.

Kanem-Bornu Empire Edit Pre-colonial states, 1800–1948 Edit Akwa Akpa Edit A British sphere of influence Edit Main article: Colonial Nigeria

Stamp of Southern Nigeria, 1901

Colonial Flag of Nigeria Following the Napoleonic wars, 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 was chartered under the leadership of Sir George Taubman Goldie. On the 31st of December 1899 the charter for the Royal Niger Company was revoked by the British Government, and the sum of £865.000 was paid to the company as compensation. The entire territory of the Royal Niger Company came into the hands of the British government.[54] On 1 January 1900, the British Empire created the Southern Nigeria Protectorate and the Northern Nigeria Protectorate.

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. Following World War II, in response to the growth of Nigerian nationalism and demands for independence, successive constitutions legislated by the British Government moved Nigeria toward self-government on a representative and increasingly federal basis. On 1 October 1954, the colony became the autonomous Federation of Nigeria. By the middle of the 20th century, the great wave for independence was sweeping across Africa. On 27 October 1958 Britain agreed that Nigeria would become an independent state on 1 October 1960.

Independence Edit First Republic Edit Second Republic Edit The Abortive Third Republic Edit Fourth Republic Edit Yar'Adua's sickness and Jonathan's successions Edit Democracy Day Edit Historiography Edit See also Edit References Edit Further reading Edit External links Edit Last edited 7 days ago by 68.100.34.54 RELATED ARTICLES History of Nigeria before 1500 History of Nigeria before 1500

History of Nigeria (1500–1800) Timeline of Nigerian history

Content is available under CC BY-SA 3.0 unless otherwise noted. Privacy policy Terms of UseDesktop William Brooke (talk) 16:37, 11 May 2021 (UTC)

Holding it penis William Brooke (talk) 16:38, 11 May 2021 (UTC)

Early history

There really isn't ANYTHING about what was going on in Nigeria from 1800 to 1885. Surely something was going on? I came here looking for information about that period, and I found nothing.--KEVP 12/31/06 they had rocket boosters and pizza!!!!! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 50.195.222.86 (talk) 13:03, 24 March 2014 (UTC) Italic textwe all know nigeria is a beautiful state or country, but we should respect nigeria my country or state like I said before. You see nigeria is good but we should stop all the kidnapping and everything,please let nigeria be a good country or state. Jullian,24/1/15.← — Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.250.230.237 (talk) 18:51, 24 January 2015 (UTC)

that is right,Nigeria need to stop corruption,kidnapping,so that nigeria would be good again Silver baby (talk) 08:55, 21 October 2017 (UTC)

Following the historical development of Nigeria, I think the basic problem with Nigeria as a country is what I tag"Old age" Kadirijohnson627 (talk) 16:29, 24 May 2019 (UTC)

The History of Nigeria can be traced to settlers trading across the middle East and Africa as early as 1100 BC. Numerous ancient African civilisations settled in the region that is known today as Nigeria, such as the Kingdom of Nri, the Benin Empire, and the Oyo Empire. Islam reached Nigeria through the Borno Empire between (1068 AD) and Hausa States around (1385 AD) during the 11th century,[1][2][3][4] while Christianity came to Nigeria in the 15th century through Augustinian and Capuchin monks from Portugal. The Songhai Empire also occupied part of the region.[5] The history of Nigeria has been crucially affected by the transatlantic slave trade,[6] which started in Nigeria in the late 15th century. The first slave-trading post used by the British and Portuguese was Badagry, a coastal harbour.[7] Local brokers provided them with slaves, escalating conflicts among the ethnic groups in the region and disrupting older trade patterns through the Trans-Saharan route.[8]

Lagos was invaded by British forces in 1851 and formally annexed in 1865.[9] Nigeria became a British protectorate in 1901. The period of colonisation lasted until 1960, when an independence movement succeeded.[10] Nigeria first became a republic in 1963, but succumbed to military rule three years later, 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.[11] Nigeria became a republic once again after a new constitution was written in 1979. However, the republic was short-lived, as the military seized power again and ruled for ten years. A new republic was planned to be established in 1993, but was aborted by General Sani Abacha. Abacha died in 1998 and a fourth republic was later established the following year, which ended three decades of intermittent military rule.[12][13]

William Brooke (talk) 16:48, 11 May 2021 (UTC)

Information

Im here lookin fo info but all im gettin is nonfo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

too much writin you all should make info more obvious..

abi o people need info very much

Silver baby (talk) 08:50, 21 October 2017 (UTC)

Open main menu

Search You have no notifications. History of Nigeria Article Talk Language Download PDF Watch History Edit The History of Nigeria can be traced to settlers trading across the middle East and Africa as early as 1100 BC. Numerous ancient African civilisations settled in the region that is known today as Nigeria, such as the Kingdom of Nri, the Benin Empire, and the Oyo Empire. Islam reached Nigeria through the Borno Empire between (1068 AD) and Hausa States around (1385 AD) during the 11th century,[1][2][3][4] while Christianity came to Nigeria in the 15th century through Augustinian and Capuchin monks from Portugal. The Songhai Empire also occupied part of the region.[5] The history of Nigeria has been crucially affected by the transatlantic slave trade,[6] which started in Nigeria in the late 15th century. The first slave-trading post used by the British and Portuguese was Badagry, a coastal harbour.[7] Local brokers provided them with slaves, escalating conflicts among the ethnic groups in the region and disrupting older trade patterns through the Trans-Saharan route.[8]

Lagos was invaded by British forces in 1851 and formally annexed in 1865.[9] Nigeria became a British protectorate in 1901. The period of colonisation lasted until 1960, when an independence movement succeeded.[10] Nigeria first became a republic in 1963, but succumbed to military rule three years later, 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.[11] Nigeria became a republic once again after a new constitution was written in 1979. However, the republic was short-lived, as the military seized power again and ruled for ten years. A new republic was planned to be established in 1993, but was aborted by General Sani Abacha. Abacha died in 1998 and a fourth republic was later established the following year, which ended three decades of intermittent military rule.[12][13]

Photo Showing States in Nigeria by Geography Photo Showing States in Nigeria by Geography Early history Edit Hausa Kingdoms Edit Yoruba Edit Igbo Kingdom Edit Main articles: Awka, Onitsha, Owerri, Aro Confederacy, and Abiriba Nri Kingdom Edit

A bronze ceremonial vessel made around the 9th century found at Igbo-Ukwu. Main article: Kingdom of Nri The Kingdom of Nri is considered to be the foundation of Igbo culture and the oldest Kingdom in Nigeria.[36] Nri and Aguleri, where the Igbo creation myth originates, are in the territory of the Umueri clan, who trace their lineages back to the patriarchal king-figure, Eri.[37] Eri's origins are unclear, though he has been described as a "sky being" sent by Chukwu (God).[37][38] He has been characterized as having first given societal order to the people of Anambra.[38]

Archaeological evidence suggests that Nri hegemony in Igboland may go back as far as the 9th century,[39] and royal burials have been unearthed dating to at least the 10th century. Eri, the god-like founder of Nri, is believed to have settled in the region around 948 with other related Igbo cultures following in the 13th century.[40] The first Eze Nri (King of Nri), Ìfikuánim, followed directly after him. According to Igbo oral tradition, his reign started in 1043.[41] At least one historian puts Ìfikuánim's reign much later, around 1225.[42]

Each king traces his origin back to the founding ancestor, Eri. Each king is a ritual reproduction of Eri. 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.

— E. Elochukwu Uzukwu[38] Nri and Aguleri and part of the Umueri clan, a cluster of Igbo village groups which traces its origins to a sky being called Eri and significantly, includes (from the viewpoint of its Igbo members) the neighbouring kingdom of Igala.

— Elizabeth Allo Isichei[43] The Kingdom of Nri was a religio-polity, a sort of theocratic state, that developed in the central heartland of the Igbo region.[40] The Nri had a taboo symbolic code with six types. These included human (such as the birth of twins), animal (such as killing or eating of pythons),[44] object, temporal, behavioral, speech and place taboos.[45] The rules regarding these taboos were used to educate and govern Nri's subjects. This meant that, while certain Igbo may have lived under different formal administrations, all followers of the Igbo religion had to abide by the rules of the faith and obey its representative on earth, the Eze Nri.[44][45]

Decline of Nri kingdom Edit With the decline of Nri kingdom in the 15th to 17th centuries, several states once under their influence, became powerful economic oracular oligarchies and large commercial states that dominated Igboland. The neighboring Awka city-state rose in power as a result of their powerful Agbala oracle and metalworking expertise. The Onitsha Kingdom, which was originally inhabited by Igbos from east of the Niger, was founded in the 16th century by migrants from Anioma (Western Igboland). Later groups like the Igala traders from the hinterland settled in Onitsha in the 18th century. Western Igbo kingdoms like Aboh, dominated trade in the lower Niger area from the 17th century until European penetration. The Umunoha state in the Owerri area used the Igwe ka Ala oracle at their advantage. However, the Cross River Igbo state like the Aro had the greatest influence in Igboland and adjacent areas after the decline of Nri.

The Arochukwu kingdom emerged after the Aro-Ibibio Wars from 1630 to 1720, and went on to form the Aro Confederacy which economically dominated Eastern Nigerian hinterland. The source of the Aro Confederacy's economic dominance was based on the judicial oracle of Ibini Ukpabi ("Long Juju") and their military forces which included powerful allies such as Ohafia, Abam, Ezza, and other related neighboring states. The Abiriba and Aro are Brothers whose migration is traced to the Ekpa Kingdom, East of Cross River, their exact take of location was at Ekpa (Mkpa) east of the Cross River. They crossed the river to Urupkam (Usukpam) west of the Cross River and founded two settlements: Ena Uda and Ena Ofia in present-day Erai. Aro and Abiriba cooperated to become a powerful economic force.

Igbo gods, like those of the Yoruba, were numerous, but their relationship to one another and human beings was essentially egalitarian, reflecting Igbo society as a whole. A number of oracles and local cults attracted devotees while the central deity, the earth mother and fertility figure Ala, was venerated at shrines throughout Igboland.

The weakness of a popular theory that Igbos were stateless rests on the paucity of historical evidence of pre-colonial Igbo society. 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. Benin exercised considerable influence on the western Igbo, who adopted many of the political structures familiar to the Yoruba-Benin region, but Asaba and its immediate neighbours, such as Ibusa, Ogwashi-Ukwu, Okpanam, Issele-Azagba and Issele-Ukwu, were much closer to the Kingdom of Nri. Ofega was the queen for the Onitsha Igbo.Igbo imabana

Early states before 1500 Edit Main article: History of Nigeria before 1500 The early independent kingdoms and states that make up present-day British colonialised Nigeria are (in alphabetical order):

Benin Kingdom Borgu Kingdom Fulani Empire Hausa Kingdoms Kanem Bornu Empire Kwararafa Kingdom Ibibio Kingdom Nri Kingdom Nupe Kingdom Oyo Empire Songhai Empire Warri Kingdom Oyo and Benin Edit Main article: Oyo Empire During the 15th century Oyo and Benin surpassed Ife as political and economic powers, although Ife preserved its status as a religious center. Respect for the priestly functions of the oni of Ife was a crucial factor in the evolution of Yoruba culture. The Ife model of government was adapted at Oyo, where a member of its ruling dynasty controlled several smaller city-states. A state council (the Oyo Mesi) named the Alaafin (king) and acted as a check on his authority. Their capital city was situated about 100 km north of present-day Oyo. 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.

The Benin Empire (1440–1897; called Bini by locals) was a pre-colonial African state in what is now modern Nigeria. It should not be confused with the modern-day country called Benin, formerly called Dahomey.

Main article: Benin Empire Northern kingdoms of the Sahel Edit

The Songhai Empire, c. 1500 Trade is the key to the emergence of organised communities in the sahelian portions of Nigeria. Prehistoric inhabitants adjusting to the encroaching desert were widely scattered by the third millennium BC, when the desiccation of the Sahara began. Trans-Saharan trade routes linked the western Sudan with the Mediterranean since the time of Carthage and with the Upper Nile from a much earlier date, establishing avenues of communication and cultural influence that remained open until the end of the 19th century. By these same routes, Islam made its way south into West Africa after the 9th century.

By then a string of dynastic states, including the earliest Hausa states, stretched into western and central Sudan. The most powerful of these states were Ghana, Gao, and Kanem, which were not within the boundaries of modern Nigeria but which influenced the history of the Nigerian savanna. Ghana declined in the 11th century but was succeeded by the Mali Empire which consolidated much of western Sudan in the 13th century.

Following the breakup of Mali, a local leader named Sonni Ali (1464–1492) founded the Songhai Empire in the region of middle Niger and western Sudan and took control of the trans-Saharan trade. Sonni Ali seized Timbuktu in 1468 and Djenné in 1473, building his regime on trade revenues and the cooperation of Muslim merchants. His successor Askia Muhammad Ture (1493–1528) made Islam the official religion, built mosques, and brought Muslim scholars, including al-Maghili (d.1504), the founder of an important tradition of Sudanic African Muslim scholarship, to Gao.[46]

Although these western empires had little political influence on the Nigerian savanna before 1500 they had a strong cultural and economic impact that became more pronounced in the 16th century, especially because these states became associated with the spread of Islam and trade. Throughout the 16th-century much of northern Nigeria paid homage to Songhai in the west or to Borno, a rival empire in the east.

Kanem-Bornu Empire Edit Pre-colonial states, 1800–1948 Edit Akwa Akpa Edit A British sphere of influence Edit Main article: Colonial Nigeria

Stamp of Southern Nigeria, 1901

Colonial Flag of Nigeria Following the Napoleonic wars, 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 was chartered under the leadership of Sir George Taubman Goldie. On the 31st of December 1899 the charter for the Royal Niger Company was revoked by the British Government, and the sum of £865.000 was paid to the company as compensation. The entire territory of the Royal Niger Company came into the hands of the British government.[54] On 1 January 1900, the British Empire created the Southern Nigeria Protectorate and the Northern Nigeria Protectorate.

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. Following World War II, in response to the growth of Nigerian nationalism and demands for independence, successive constitutions legislated by the British Government moved Nigeria toward self-government on a representative and increasingly federal basis. On 1 October 1954, the colony became the autonomous Federation of Nigeria. By the middle of the 20th century, the great wave for independence was sweeping across Africa. On 27 October 1958 Britain agreed that Nigeria would become an independent state on 1 October 1960.

Independence Edit First Republic Edit Second Republic Edit The Abortive Third Republic Edit Fourth Republic Edit Yar'Adua's sickness and Jonathan's successions Edit Democracy Day Edit Historiography Edit See also Edit References Edit Further reading Edit External links Edit Last edited 7 days ago by 68.100.34.54 RELATED ARTICLES History of Nigeria before 1500 History of Nigeria before 1500

History of Nigeria (1500–1800) Timeline of Nigerian history

Content is available under CC BY-SA 3.0 unless otherwise noted. Privacy policy Terms of UseDesktop William Brooke (talk) 16:37, 11 May 2021 (UTC)

Boo who for you!

haha

So many manyItalic text —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 65.7.162.25 (talk) 19:24, 15 April 2007 (UTC).

The History of Nigeria can be traced to settlers trading across the middle East and Africa as early as 1100 BC. Numerous ancient African civilisations settled in the region that is known today as Nigeria, such as the Kingdom of Nri, the Benin Empire, and the Oyo Empire. Islam reached Nigeria through the Borno Empire between (1068 AD) and Hausa States around (1385 AD) during the 11th century,[1][2][3][4] while Christianity came to Nigeria in the 15th century through Augustinian and Capuchin monks from Portugal. The Songhai Empire also occupied part of the region.[5] The history of Nigeria has been crucially affected by the transatlantic slave trade,[6] which started in Nigeria in the late 15th century. The first slave-trading post used by the British and Portuguese was Badagry, a coastal harbour.[7] Local brokers provided them with slaves, escalating conflicts among the ethnic groups in the region and disrupting older trade patterns through the Trans-Saharan route.[8]

Lagos was invaded by British forces in 1851 and formally annexed in 1865.[9] Nigeria became a British protectorate in 1901. The period of colonisation lasted until 1960, when an independence movement succeeded.[10] Nigeria first became a republic in 1963, but succumbed to military rule three years later, 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.[11] Nigeria became a republic once again after a new constitution was written in 1979. However, the republic was short-lived, as the military seized power again and ruled for ten years. A new republic was planned to be established in 1993, but was aborted by General Sani Abacha. Abacha died in 1998 and a fourth republic was later established the following year, which ended three decades of intermittent military rule.[12][13]

William Brooke (talk) 16:49, 11 May 2021 (UTC)

Call for editors to join African history Wikiproject

Any editors with a specific interest in African history are welcome to check out a new project proposal: African history. This is not meant as a substitute for the Africa Wikiproject. Instead it would rank 'Africa' as a parent project. But it would concentrate on history. Click here for more details: African history. Ackees (talk) 15:05, 11 August 2009 (UTC)

August 2A00:23EE:11C0:766D:94DB:C05F:7355:3D9B (talk) 20:55, 17 October 2023 (UTC)

(3 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 216.109.11.194 (talk) 14:07, 14 September 2009 (UTC) Come join us if you love nigeria <¤&|÷»\ Jullian 12/13/12 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.250.230.237 (talk) 18:55, 24 January 2015 (UTC)

Literal copying from a reference

Near "The earliest known example of a fossil skeleton" the whole sentence is copied from the reference, http://www.workmall.com/wfb2001/nigeria/nigeria_history_early_history.html. Is that all right? --Mortense (talk) 21:36, 8 March 2011 (UTC)

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Okay William Brooke (talk) 16:40, 11 May 2021 (UTC)

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Search You have no notifications. History of Nigeria Article Talk Language Download PDF Watch History Edit The History of Nigeria can be traced to settlers trading across the middle East and Africa as early as 1100 BC. Numerous ancient African civilisations settled in the region that is known today as Nigeria, such as the Kingdom of Nri, the Benin Empire, and the Oyo Empire. Islam reached Nigeria through the Borno Empire between (1068 AD) and Hausa States around (1385 AD) during the 11th century,[1][2][3][4] while Christianity came to Nigeria in the 15th century through Augustinian and Capuchin monks from Portugal. The Songhai Empire also occupied part of the region.[5] The history of Nigeria has been crucially affected by the transatlantic slave trade,[6] which started in Nigeria in the late 15th century. The first slave-trading post used by the British and Portuguese was Badagry, a coastal harbour.[7] Local brokers provided them with slaves, escalating conflicts among the ethnic groups in the region and disrupting older trade patterns through the Trans-Saharan route.[8]

Lagos was invaded by British forces in 1851 and formally annexed in 1865.[9] Nigeria became a British protectorate in 1901. The period of colonisation lasted until 1960, when an independence movement succeeded.[10] Nigeria first became a republic in 1963, but succumbed to military rule three years later, 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.[11] Nigeria became a republic once again after a new constitution was written in 1979. However, the republic was short-lived, as the military seized power again and ruled for ten years. A new republic was planned to be established in 1993, but was aborted by General Sani Abacha. Abacha died in 1998 and a fourth republic was later established the following year, which ended three decades of intermittent military rule.[12][13]

Photo Showing States in Nigeria by Geography Photo Showing States in Nigeria by Geography Early history Edit Hausa Kingdoms Edit Yoruba Edit Igbo Kingdom Edit Main articles: Awka, Onitsha, Owerri, Aro Confederacy, and Abiriba Nri Kingdom Edit

A bronze ceremonial vessel made around the 9th century found at Igbo-Ukwu. Main article: Kingdom of Nri The Kingdom of Nri is considered to be the foundation of Igbo culture and the oldest Kingdom in Nigeria.[36] Nri and Aguleri, where the Igbo creation myth originates, are in the territory of the Umueri clan, who trace their lineages back to the patriarchal king-figure, Eri.[37] Eri's origins are unclear, though he has been described as a "sky being" sent by Chukwu (God).[37][38] He has been characterized as having first given societal order to the people of Anambra.[38]

Archaeological evidence suggests that Nri hegemony in Igboland may go back as far as the 9th century,[39] and royal burials have been unearthed dating to at least the 10th century. Eri, the god-like founder of Nri, is believed to have settled in the region around 948 with other related Igbo cultures following in the 13th century.[40] The first Eze Nri (King of Nri), Ìfikuánim, followed directly after him. According to Igbo oral tradition, his reign started in 1043.[41] At least one historian puts Ìfikuánim's reign much later, around 1225.[42]

Each king traces his origin back to the founding ancestor, Eri. Each king is a ritual reproduction of Eri. 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.

— E. Elochukwu Uzukwu[38] Nri and Aguleri and part of the Umueri clan, a cluster of Igbo village groups which traces its origins to a sky being called Eri and significantly, includes (from the viewpoint of its Igbo members) the neighbouring kingdom of Igala.

— Elizabeth Allo Isichei[43] The Kingdom of Nri was a religio-polity, a sort of theocratic state, that developed in the central heartland of the Igbo region.[40] The Nri had a taboo symbolic code with six types. These included human (such as the birth of twins), animal (such as killing or eating of pythons),[44] object, temporal, behavioral, speech and place taboos.[45] The rules regarding these taboos were used to educate and govern Nri's subjects. This meant that, while certain Igbo may have lived under different formal administrations, all followers of the Igbo religion had to abide by the rules of the faith and obey its representative on earth, the Eze Nri.[44][45]

Decline of Nri kingdom Edit With the decline of Nri kingdom in the 15th to 17th centuries, several states once under their influence, became powerful economic oracular oligarchies and large commercial states that dominated Igboland. The neighboring Awka city-state rose in power as a result of their powerful Agbala oracle and metalworking expertise. The Onitsha Kingdom, which was originally inhabited by Igbos from east of the Niger, was founded in the 16th century by migrants from Anioma (Western Igboland). Later groups like the Igala traders from the hinterland settled in Onitsha in the 18th century. Western Igbo kingdoms like Aboh, dominated trade in the lower Niger area from the 17th century until European penetration. The Umunoha state in the Owerri area used the Igwe ka Ala oracle at their advantage. However, the Cross River Igbo state like the Aro had the greatest influence in Igboland and adjacent areas after the decline of Nri.

The Arochukwu kingdom emerged after the Aro-Ibibio Wars from 1630 to 1720, and went on to form the Aro Confederacy which economically dominated Eastern Nigerian hinterland. The source of the Aro Confederacy's economic dominance was based on the judicial oracle of Ibini Ukpabi ("Long Juju") and their military forces which included powerful allies such as Ohafia, Abam, Ezza, and other related neighboring states. The Abiriba and Aro are Brothers whose migration is traced to the Ekpa Kingdom, East of Cross River, their exact take of location was at Ekpa (Mkpa) east of the Cross River. They crossed the river to Urupkam (Usukpam) west of the Cross River and founded two settlements: Ena Uda and Ena Ofia in present-day Erai. Aro and Abiriba cooperated to become a powerful economic force.

Igbo gods, like those of the Yoruba, were numerous, but their relationship to one another and human beings was essentially egalitarian, reflecting Igbo society as a whole. A number of oracles and local cults attracted devotees while the central deity, the earth mother and fertility figure Ala, was venerated at shrines throughout Igboland.

The weakness of a popular theory that Igbos were stateless rests on the paucity of historical evidence of pre-colonial Igbo society. 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. Benin exercised considerable influence on the western Igbo, who adopted many of the political structures familiar to the Yoruba-Benin region, but Asaba and its immediate neighbours, such as Ibusa, Ogwashi-Ukwu, Okpanam, Issele-Azagba and Issele-Ukwu, were much closer to the Kingdom of Nri. Ofega was the queen for the Onitsha Igbo.Igbo imabana

Early states before 1500 Edit Main article: History of Nigeria before 1500 The early independent kingdoms and states that make up present-day British colonialised Nigeria are (in alphabetical order):

Benin Kingdom Borgu Kingdom Fulani Empire Hausa Kingdoms Kanem Bornu Empire Kwararafa Kingdom Ibibio Kingdom Nri Kingdom Nupe Kingdom Oyo Empire Songhai Empire Warri Kingdom Oyo and Benin Edit Main article: Oyo Empire During the 15th century Oyo and Benin surpassed Ife as political and economic powers, although Ife preserved its status as a religious center. Respect for the priestly functions of the oni of Ife was a crucial factor in the evolution of Yoruba culture. The Ife model of government was adapted at Oyo, where a member of its ruling dynasty controlled several smaller city-states. A state council (the Oyo Mesi) named the Alaafin (king) and acted as a check on his authority. Their capital city was situated about 100 km north of present-day Oyo. 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.

The Benin Empire (1440–1897; called Bini by locals) was a pre-colonial African state in what is now modern Nigeria. It should not be confused with the modern-day country called Benin, formerly called Dahomey.

Main article: Benin Empire Northern kingdoms of the Sahel Edit

The Songhai Empire, c. 1500 Trade is the key to the emergence of organised communities in the sahelian portions of Nigeria. Prehistoric inhabitants adjusting to the encroaching desert were widely scattered by the third millennium BC, when the desiccation of the Sahara began. Trans-Saharan trade routes linked the western Sudan with the Mediterranean since the time of Carthage and with the Upper Nile from a much earlier date, establishing avenues of communication and cultural influence that remained open until the end of the 19th century. By these same routes, Islam made its way south into West Africa after the 9th century.

By then a string of dynastic states, including the earliest Hausa states, stretched into western and central Sudan. The most powerful of these states were Ghana, Gao, and Kanem, which were not within the boundaries of modern Nigeria but which influenced the history of the Nigerian savanna. Ghana declined in the 11th century but was succeeded by the Mali Empire which consolidated much of western Sudan in the 13th century.

Following the breakup of Mali, a local leader named Sonni Ali (1464–1492) founded the Songhai Empire in the region of middle Niger and western Sudan and took control of the trans-Saharan trade. Sonni Ali seized Timbuktu in 1468 and Djenné in 1473, building his regime on trade revenues and the cooperation of Muslim merchants. His successor Askia Muhammad Ture (1493–1528) made Islam the official religion, built mosques, and brought Muslim scholars, including al-Maghili (d.1504), the founder of an important tradition of Sudanic African Muslim scholarship, to Gao.[46]

Although these western empires had little political influence on the Nigerian savanna before 1500 they had a strong cultural and economic impact that became more pronounced in the 16th century, especially because these states became associated with the spread of Islam and trade. Throughout the 16th-century much of northern Nigeria paid homage to Songhai in the west or to Borno, a rival empire in the east.

Kanem-Bornu Empire Edit Pre-colonial states, 1800–1948 Edit Akwa Akpa Edit A British sphere of influence Edit Main article: Colonial Nigeria

Stamp of Southern Nigeria, 1901

Colonial Flag of Nigeria Following the Napoleonic wars, 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 was chartered under the leadership of Sir George Taubman Goldie. On the 31st of December 1899 the charter for the Royal Niger Company was revoked by the British Government, and the sum of £865.000 was paid to the company as compensation. The entire territory of the Royal Niger Company came into the hands of the British government.[54] On 1 January 1900, the British Empire created the Southern Nigeria Protectorate and the Northern Nigeria Protectorate.

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. Following World War II, in response to the growth of Nigerian nationalism and demands for independence, successive constitutions legislated by the British Government moved Nigeria toward self-government on a representative and increasingly federal basis. On 1 October 1954, the colony became the autonomous Federation of Nigeria. By the middle of the 20th century, the great wave for independence was sweeping across Africa. On 27 October 1958 Britain agreed that Nigeria would become an independent state on 1 October 1960.

Independence Edit First Republic Edit Second Republic Edit The Abortive Third Republic Edit Fourth Republic Edit Yar'Adua's sickness and Jonathan's successions Edit Democracy Day Edit Historiography Edit See also Edit References Edit Further reading Edit External links Edit Last edited 7 days ago by 68.100.34.54 RELATED ARTICLES History of Nigeria before 1500 History of Nigeria before 1500

History of Nigeria (1500–1800) Timeline of Nigerian history

Content is available under CC BY-SA 3.0 unless otherwise noted. Privacy policy Terms of UseDesktop William Brooke (talk) 16:43, 11 May 2021 (UTC)

Pre-Colonial History?

New article, Pre-Colonial, not sure how it fits in with the history of Nigeria articles.--NortyNort (Holla) 20:40, 29 June 2014 (UTC)

Renamed Pre-colonial history of Northern Nigeria. Biscuittin (talk) 10:59, 14 July 2014 (UTC)

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Contradiction Observed:

In the "Yar'Adua's sickness and Jonathan's successions" section, the rule of Sani Abacha is described as "economically stagnant".

This however, is in stark opposition to the information provided on Sani Abacha's Wikipedia page:

"The Abacha administration became the first to record unprecedented economic achievements:[7] he oversaw an increase in the country's foreign exchange reserves from $494 million in 1993 to $9.6 billion by the middle of 1997, reduced the external debt of Nigeria from $36 billion in 1993 to $27 billion by 1997..."

Both pages appear to present severely conflicting economic perspectives on Sani Abacha's regime. And so to resolve this conflict, what perspective should be taken as superordinate? R dfawn (talk) 17:38, 12 December 2017 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion

The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion:

• Igbo Ukwu vessel.jpg

Participate in the deletion discussion at the nomination page. —Community Tech bot (talk) 01:37, 2 August 2020 (UTC)

Can someone fix the thing with the 2020 #endsars protests? -

It seems to be badly written and in the wrong place. 92.16.23.39 (talk) 00:56, 26 October 2020 (UTC)

Historical development of Nigeria

Open main menu

Search You have no notifications. History of Nigeria Article Talk Language Download PDF Watch History Edit The History of Nigeria can be traced to settlers trading across the middle East and Africa as early as 1100 BC. Numerous ancient African civilisations settled in the region that is known today as Nigeria, such as the Kingdom of Nri, the Benin Empire, and the Oyo Empire. Islam reached Nigeria through the Borno Empire between (1068 AD) and Hausa States around (1385 AD) during the 11th century,[1][2][3][4] while Christianity came to Nigeria in the 15th century through Augustinian and Capuchin monks from Portugal. The Songhai Empire also occupied part of the region.[5] The history of Nigeria has been crucially affected by the transatlantic slave trade,[6] which started in Nigeria in the late 15th century. The first slave-trading post used by the British and Portuguese was Badagry, a coastal harbour.[7] Local brokers provided them with slaves, escalating conflicts among the ethnic groups in the region and disrupting older trade patterns through the Trans-Saharan route.[8]

Lagos was invaded by British forces in 1851 and formally annexed in 1865.[9] Nigeria became a British protectorate in 1901. The period of colonisation lasted until 1960, when an independence movement succeeded.[10] Nigeria first became a republic in 1963, but succumbed to military rule three years later, 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.[11] Nigeria became a republic once again after a new constitution was written in 1979. However, the republic was short-lived, as the military seized power again and ruled for ten years. A new republic was planned to be established in 1993, but was aborted by General Sani Abacha. Abacha died in 1998 and a fourth republic was later established the following year, which ended three decades of intermittent military rule.[12][13]

Photo Showing States in Nigeria by Geography Photo Showing States in Nigeria by Geography Early history Edit Hausa Kingdoms Edit Yoruba Edit Igbo Kingdom Edit Main articles: Awka, Onitsha, Owerri, Aro Confederacy, and Abiriba Nri Kingdom Edit

A bronze ceremonial vessel made around the 9th century found at Igbo-Ukwu. Main article: Kingdom of Nri The Kingdom of Nri is considered to be the foundation of Igbo culture and the oldest Kingdom in Nigeria.[36] Nri and Aguleri, where the Igbo creation myth originates, are in the territory of the Umueri clan, who trace their lineages back to the patriarchal king-figure, Eri.[37] Eri's origins are unclear, though he has been described as a "sky being" sent by Chukwu (God).[37][38] He has been characterized as having first given societal order to the people of Anambra.[38]

Archaeological evidence suggests that Nri hegemony in Igboland may go back as far as the 9th century,[39] and royal burials have been unearthed dating to at least the 10th century. Eri, the god-like founder of Nri, is believed to have settled in the region around 948 with other related Igbo cultures following in the 13th century.[40] The first Eze Nri (King of Nri), Ìfikuánim, followed directly after him. According to Igbo oral tradition, his reign started in 1043.[41] At least one historian puts Ìfikuánim's reign much later, around 1225.[42]

Each king traces his origin back to the founding ancestor, Eri. Each king is a ritual reproduction of Eri. 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.

— E. Elochukwu Uzukwu[38] Nri and Aguleri and part of the Umueri clan, a cluster of Igbo village groups which traces its origins to a sky being called Eri and significantly, includes (from the viewpoint of its Igbo members) the neighbouring kingdom of Igala.

— Elizabeth Allo Isichei[43] The Kingdom of Nri was a religio-polity, a sort of theocratic state, that developed in the central heartland of the Igbo region.[40] The Nri had a taboo symbolic code with six types. These included human (such as the birth of twins), animal (such as killing or eating of pythons),[44] object, temporal, behavioral, speech and place taboos.[45] The rules regarding these taboos were used to educate and govern Nri's subjects. This meant that, while certain Igbo may have lived under different formal administrations, all followers of the Igbo religion had to abide by the rules of the faith and obey its representative on earth, the Eze Nri.[44][45]

Decline of Nri kingdom Edit With the decline of Nri kingdom in the 15th to 17th centuries, several states once under their influence, became powerful economic oracular oligarchies and large commercial states that dominated Igboland. The neighboring Awka city-state rose in power as a result of their powerful Agbala oracle and metalworking expertise. The Onitsha Kingdom, which was originally inhabited by Igbos from east of the Niger, was founded in the 16th century by migrants from Anioma (Western Igboland). Later groups like the Igala traders from the hinterland settled in Onitsha in the 18th century. Western Igbo kingdoms like Aboh, dominated trade in the lower Niger area from the 17th century until European penetration. The Umunoha state in the Owerri area used the Igwe ka Ala oracle at their advantage. However, the Cross River Igbo state like the Aro had the greatest influence in Igboland and adjacent areas after the decline of Nri.

The Arochukwu kingdom emerged after the Aro-Ibibio Wars from 1630 to 1720, and went on to form the Aro Confederacy which economically dominated Eastern Nigerian hinterland. The source of the Aro Confederacy's economic dominance was based on the judicial oracle of Ibini Ukpabi ("Long Juju") and their military forces which included powerful allies such as Ohafia, Abam, Ezza, and other related neighboring states. The Abiriba and Aro are Brothers whose migration is traced to the Ekpa Kingdom, East of Cross River, their exact take of location was at Ekpa (Mkpa) east of the Cross River. They crossed the river to Urupkam (Usukpam) west of the Cross River and founded two settlements: Ena Uda and Ena Ofia in present-day Erai. Aro and Abiriba cooperated to become a powerful economic force.

Igbo gods, like those of the Yoruba, were numerous, but their relationship to one another and human beings was essentially egalitarian, reflecting Igbo society as a whole. A number of oracles and local cults attracted devotees while the central deity, the earth mother and fertility figure Ala, was venerated at shrines throughout Igboland.

The weakness of a popular theory that Igbos were stateless rests on the paucity of historical evidence of pre-colonial Igbo society. 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. Benin exercised considerable influence on the western Igbo, who adopted many of the political structures familiar to the Yoruba-Benin region, but Asaba and its immediate neighbours, such as Ibusa, Ogwashi-Ukwu, Okpanam, Issele-Azagba and Issele-Ukwu, were much closer to the Kingdom of Nri. Ofega was the queen for the Onitsha Igbo.Igbo imabana

Early states before 1500 Edit Main article: History of Nigeria before 1500 The early independent kingdoms and states that make up present-day British colonialised Nigeria are (in alphabetical order):

Benin Kingdom Borgu Kingdom Fulani Empire Hausa Kingdoms Kanem Bornu Empire Kwararafa Kingdom Ibibio Kingdom Nri Kingdom Nupe Kingdom Oyo Empire Songhai Empire Warri Kingdom Oyo and Benin Edit Main article: Oyo Empire During the 15th century Oyo and Benin surpassed Ife as political and economic powers, although Ife preserved its status as a religious center. Respect for the priestly functions of the oni of Ife was a crucial factor in the evolution of Yoruba culture. The Ife model of government was adapted at Oyo, where a member of its ruling dynasty controlled several smaller city-states. A state council (the Oyo Mesi) named the Alaafin (king) and acted as a check on his authority. Their capital city was situated about 100 km north of present-day Oyo. 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.

The Benin Empire (1440–1897; called Bini by locals) was a pre-colonial African state in what is now modern Nigeria. It should not be confused with the modern-day country called Benin, formerly called Dahomey.

Main article: Benin Empire Northern kingdoms of the Sahel Edit

The Songhai Empire, c. 1500 Trade is the key to the emergence of organised communities in the sahelian portions of Nigeria. Prehistoric inhabitants adjusting to the encroaching desert were widely scattered by the third millennium BC, when the desiccation of the Sahara began. Trans-Saharan trade routes linked the western Sudan with the Mediterranean since the time of Carthage and with the Upper Nile from a much earlier date, establishing avenues of communication and cultural influence that remained open until the end of the 19th century. By these same routes, Islam made its way south into West Africa after the 9th century.

By then a string of dynastic states, including the earliest Hausa states, stretched into western and central Sudan. The most powerful of these states were Ghana, Gao, and Kanem, which were not within the boundaries of modern Nigeria but which influenced the history of the Nigerian savanna. Ghana declined in the 11th century but was succeeded by the Mali Empire which consolidated much of western Sudan in the 13th century.

Following the breakup of Mali, a local leader named Sonni Ali (1464–1492) founded the Songhai Empire in the region of middle Niger and western Sudan and took control of the trans-Saharan trade. Sonni Ali seized Timbuktu in 1468 and Djenné in 1473, building his regime on trade revenues and the cooperation of Muslim merchants. His successor Askia Muhammad Ture (1493–1528) made Islam the official religion, built mosques, and brought Muslim scholars, including al-Maghili (d.1504), the founder of an important tradition of Sudanic African Muslim scholarship, to Gao.[46]

Although these western empires had little political influence on the Nigerian savanna before 1500 they had a strong cultural and economic impact that became more pronounced in the 16th century, especially because these states became associated with the spread of Islam and trade. Throughout the 16th-century much of northern Nigeria paid homage to Songhai in the west or to Borno, a rival empire in the east.

Kanem-Bornu Empire Edit Pre-colonial states, 1800–1948 Edit Akwa Akpa Edit A British sphere of influence Edit Main article: Colonial Nigeria

Stamp of Southern Nigeria, 1901

Colonial Flag of Nigeria Following the Napoleonic wars, 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 was chartered under the leadership of Sir George Taubman Goldie. On the 31st of December 1899 the charter for the Royal Niger Company was revoked by the British Government, and the sum of £865.000 was paid to the company as compensation. The entire territory of the Royal Niger Company came into the hands of the British government.[54] On 1 January 1900, the British Empire created the Southern Nigeria Protectorate and the Northern Nigeria Protectorate.

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. Following World War II, in response to the growth of Nigerian nationalism and demands for independence, successive constitutions legislated by the British Government moved Nigeria toward self-government on a representative and increasingly federal basis. On 1 October 1954, the colony became the autonomous Federation of Nigeria. By the middle of the 20th century, the great wave for independence was sweeping across Africa. On 27 October 1958 Britain agreed that Nigeria would become an independent state on 1 October 1960.

Independence Edit First Republic Edit Second Republic Edit The Abortive Third Republic Edit Fourth Republic Edit Yar'Adua's sickness and Jonathan's successions Edit Democracy Day Edit Historiography Edit See also Edit References Edit Further reading Edit External links Edit Last edited 7 days ago by 68.100.34.54 RELATED ARTICLES History of Nigeria before 1500 History of Nigeria before 1500

History of Nigeria (1500–1800) Timeline of Nigerian history

Content is available under CC BY-SA 3.0 unless otherwise noted. Privacy policy Terms of UseDesktop William Brooke (talk) 16:36, 11 May 2021 (UTC)

History of Nigeria

The History of Nigeria can be traced to settlers trading across the middle East and Africa as early as 1100 BC. Numerous ancient African civilisations settled in the region that is known today as Nigeria, such as the Kingdom of Nri, the Benin Empire, and the Oyo Empire. Islam reached Nigeria through the Borno Empire between (1068 AD) and Hausa States around (1385 AD) during the 11th century,[1][2][3][4] while Christianity came to Nigeria in the 15th century through Augustinian and Capuchin monks from Portugal. The Songhai Empire also occupied part of the region.[5] The history of Nigeria has been crucially affected by the transatlantic slave trade,[6] which started in Nigeria in the late 15th century. The first slave-trading post used by the British and Portuguese was Badagry, a coastal harbour.[7] Local brokers provided them with slaves, escalating conflicts among the ethnic groups in the region and disrupting older trade patterns through the Trans-Saharan route.[8]

Lagos was invaded by British forces in 1851 and formally annexed in 1865.[9] Nigeria became a British protectorate in 1901. The period of colonisation lasted until 1960, when an independence movement succeeded.[10] Nigeria first became a republic in 1963, but succumbed to military rule three years later, 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.[11] Nigeria became a republic once again after a new constitution was written in 1979. However, the republic was short-lived, as the military seized power again and ruled for ten years. A new republic was planned to be established in 1993, but was aborted by General Sani Abacha. Abacha died in 1998 and a fourth republic was later established the following year, which ended three decades of intermittent military rule.[12][13] William Brooke (talk) 16:47, 11 May 2021 (UTC)

how did "Nigerian state" come to existence

Write on how Nigeria became 102.91.30.53 (talk) 08:05, 3 January 2023 (UTC)

Timeline of Nigerian history Article Talk Language Download PDF Watch Edit This is a timeline of Nigerian history, comprising important legal and territorial changes and political events in Nigeria and tis predecessor states. To read about the background to these events, see History of Nigeria. See also the list of heads of state of Nigeria. This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources. Early history Rise of Igbo, Yoruba, Edo, and Muslim civilizations 17th century 18th CENTURY 19th century 20th century 21st century 2011 upward See also References Further reading Last edited 4 days ago by 68.186.176.139 RELATED ARTICLES History of Nigeria Toyin Falola Nigerian historian (born 1953) Timeline of Rwandan history Wikipedia Content is available under CC BY-SA 3.0 unless otherwise noted. Privacy policy Terms of UseDesktop

The history of Nigeria on the predecessors who ruled Nigeria from 1961 to today 2023 Bashirgoniari (talk) 10:01, 10 February 2023 (UTC)

The history of Nigeria is the history of eropean domination of Nigeria nation discuss the following.colonialism

105.112.60.130 (talk) 07:01, 6 July 2023 (UTC)

Updating "Fourth Republic" section

The first part of the "Fourth Republic" section was written in 2003 and hasn't been touched since then — still treating 2003 as today. It's full of sentences like "The new president [Obasanjo] faces the daunting task of ..." I was going to just change the verb tenses to be consistently past, but some of the sentences seem like they're relevant to the entire Fourth Republic period up to today, and I don't know enough to be sure which ones.

It would be great if somebody with more knowledge could update this part of the article, and maybe trim some of the POV-ish Obasanjo boosterism and generally make it so that the problems of the year 2003 don't get more screen space than everything about the next 20 years put together. 2604:3D09:A984:A600:85B6:5EBE:83A2:C3EB (talk) 15:13, 25 August 2023 (UTC)