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| conventional_long_name = Federal Republic of Nigeria
| conventional_long_name = Federal Republic of Nigeria
| common_name = Nigeria
| common_name = Nigeria
| native_name = {{collapsible list
  | titlestyle = text-align:center;line-height:normal;font-size:86%;
  | title = Name in national languages
  | {{Infobox
    | subbox = yes
    | bodystyle = font-size:77%;font-weight:normal;
    | rowclass1 = mergedrow
    | label1 = [[Hausa language|Hausa]]:
    | data1 = {{lang|ha|Jamhuriyar Tarayyar Najeriya}}
    | rowclass2 = mergedrow
    | label2 = [[Igbo language|Igbo]]:
    | data2 = {{lang|ig|Ọ̀hàńjíkọ̀ Ọ̀hànézè Naìjíríyà}}
    | rowclass3 = mergedrow
    | label3 = [[Yoruba language|Yoruba]]:
    | data3 = {{lang|yo|Orílẹ̀-èdè Olómìniira Àpapọ̀ Nàìjíríà}}
    }}
  }}
| image_flag = Flag of Nigeria.svg
| image_flag = Flag of Nigeria.svg
| flag_size = 130
| image_coat = Coat of arms of Nigeria.svg
| image_coat = Coat of arms of Nigeria.svg
| coa_size = 90
| national_motto = "Unity and Faith, Peace and Progress"
| national_motto = "Unity and Faith, Peace and Progress"
| national_anthem = "[[Nigeria, We Hail Thee]]" <div style="padding-top:0.5em;"class="centre">[[File:Nigeria, We Hail Thee - Banda do Batalhão da Guarda Presidencial, 2025.ogg]]</div>
| national_anthem = "[[Nigeria, We Hail Thee]]"
| image_map = {{switcher|[[File:Nigeria (orthographic projection).svg|frameless]]|Show globe|[[File:Location Nigeria AU Africa.svg|upright=1.15|frameless]]|Show map of Africa|default=1}}
| image_map = Nigeria (orthographic projection).svg
| map_caption =
| image_map2 =
| capital = [[Abuja]]
| capital = [[Abuja]]
| coordinates = {{coord|9|4|N|7|29|E|type:city}}
| largest_city = [[Lagos]]
| largest_city = [[Lagos]]
| official_languages = [[Nigerian English|English]]
| official_languages = [[Nigerian English|English]]
| languages_type = [[Languages of Nigeria|Recognised languages]]
| languages = {{Collapsible list
  | title = {{nobold|'''List'''<ref name="nigeria.languages">{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Nigeria/Languages|title=Languages of Nigeria|website=Encyclopaedia Britannica}}</ref>{{efn|Nigeria recognises many indigenous languages, with Hausa, Yoruba, and Igbo among the most widely spoken across different regions.}}}}
  | [[Hausa language|Hausa]]
  | [[Yoruba language|Yoruba]]
  | [[Igbo language|Igbo]]
  }}
| languages2_type = [[Regional languages]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=ng |title=Languages of Nigeria |publisher=[[Ethnologue]] |access-date=12 September 2010 |archive-date=15 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080915183101/http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=NG |url-status=live }}</ref>
| languages2 = Over [[Languages of Nigeria|525 languages]]<ref>{{cite book|title=An Atlas Of Nigerian Languages|last=Blench|first=Roger|publisher=Kay Williamson Educational Foundation|year=2014|location=Oxford}}</ref>
| demonym = [[Nigerians|Nigerian]]
| demonym = [[Nigerians|Nigerian]]
| government_type = Federal [[presidential republic]]
| government_type = Federal [[presidential republic]]
Line 51: Line 20:
| leader_title2 = [[Vice President of Nigeria|Vice President]]
| leader_title2 = [[Vice President of Nigeria|Vice President]]
| leader_name2 = [[Kashim Shettima]]
| leader_name2 = [[Kashim Shettima]]
| leader_title3 = [[President of the Senate of Nigeria|Senate President]]
| leader_name3 = [[Godswill Akpabio]]
| leader_title4 = [[Speaker of the House of Representatives of Nigeria|House Speaker]]
| leader_name4 = [[Tajudeen Abbas]]
| leader_title5 = [[Chief Justice of Nigeria|Chief Justice]]
| leader_name5 = [[Kudirat Kekere-Ekun]]
| legislature = [[National Assembly (Nigeria)|National Assembly]]
| legislature = [[National Assembly (Nigeria)|National Assembly]]
| upper_house = [[Senate of Nigeria|Senate]]
| lower_house = [[House of Representatives (Nigeria)|House of Representatives]]
| sovereignty_type = [[History of Nigeria|Independence]]
| sovereignty_note = from the [[British Empire|United Kingdom]]
| established_event1 = [[Northern Nigeria Protectorate]]
| established_date1 = 1 January 1900
| established_event2 = [[Southern Nigeria Protectorate]]
| established_date2 = 1 January 1900
| established_event3 = [[Colonial Nigeria|Unification of Nigeria]]
| established_date3 = 1 January 1914
| established_event4 = [[Federation of Nigeria|Declared independent as a sovereign state]]
| established_date4 = 1 October 1960
| established_event5 = [[Nigerian First Republic|Became a republic]]
| established_date5 = 1 October 1963
| established_event6 = [[Constitution of Nigeria|Current constitution]]
| established_date6 = 29 May 1999
| area_km2 = 923,769
| area_km2 = 923,769
| area_rank = 31st
| population_estimate = 242,747,130
| area_sq_mi = 356,667 <!--Do not remove per [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Dates and numbers]]-->
| percent_water = 1.4
| population_estimate = {{IncreaseNeutral}} 242,747,130<ref>{{Cite CIA World Factbook|country=Nigeria|year=2025}}</ref>
| population_estimate_year = 2026
| population_estimate_year = 2026
| population_estimate_rank = 6th
| GDP_PPP = $2.424 trillion
| population_density_km2 = 249.8
| population_density_sq_mi = 647 <!--Do not remove per [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Dates and numbers]]-->
| population_density_rank = 57th
| GDP_PPP = {{increase}} $2.424 trillion<ref name="IMFWEO.NG">{{cite web |url=https://data.imf.org/en/Data-Explorer?datasetUrn=IMF.RES:WEO(9.0.0) |title=World Economic Outlook Database (April 2026 Edition) |publisher=[[International Monetary Fund]] |website=www.imf.org |date=14 April 2026}}</ref>
| GDP_PPP_year = 2026
| GDP_PPP_year = 2026
| GDP_PPP_rank = 19th
| GDP_nominal = $377.365 billion
| GDP_PPP_per_capita = {{increase}} $9,994<ref name="IMFWEO.NG" />
| GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 135th
| GDP_nominal = {{increase}} $377.365 billion<ref name="IMFWEO.NG" />
| GDP_nominal_year = 2026
| GDP_nominal_year = 2026
| GDP_nominal_rank = 46th
| GDP_nominal_per_capita = {{increase}} $1,556<ref name="IMFWEO.NG" />
| GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = 173rd
| Gini = 35.1 <!-- number only -->
| Gini_year = 2020
| Gini_change = decrease <!--increase/decrease/steady-->
| Gini_ref = <ref>{{cite web |title=Poverty and Inequality Index |url=https://www.nigerianstat.gov.ng/download/1092 |access-date=8 June 2020 |website=National Bureau of Statistics |archive-date=13 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413210925/https://www.nigerianstat.gov.ng/download/1092 |url-status=live }}</ref>
| Gini_rank =
| HDI = 0.560 <!-- number only -->
| HDI_year = 2023<!-- Please use the year to which the data refers, not the publication year-->
| HDI_change = increase <!--increase/decrease/steady-->
| HDI_ref = <ref name="HDI">{{cite web|url=https://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/2023-24_HDR/HDR23-24_Statistical_Annex_HDI_Table.xlsx|title=Human Development Report 2023/24|publisher=[[United Nations Development Programme]]|date=13 March 2024|access-date=22 March 2023|archive-date=19 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240319085123/https://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/2023-24_HDR/HDR23-24_Statistical_Annex_HDI_Table.xlsx|url-status=live}}</ref>
| HDI_rank = 164th
| currency = [[Nigerian naira|Naira]] (₦)
| currency = [[Nigerian naira|Naira]] (₦)
| currency_code = NGN
| currency_code = NGN
| time_zone = [[West Africa Time|WAT]]
| date_format = dd/mm/yyyy
| utc_offset = +01:00
| utc_offset_DST =
| time_zone_DST =
| drives_on = right<ref>{{cite web |author=Akinbode, Ayomide |title=Why Nigeria changed from Right-Hand Drive to Left-Hand Drive in 1972 |url=https://www.thehistoryville.com/nigeria-left-hand-drive-right-hand-drive/ |website=thehistoryville.com |quote=The terms 'right- and left-hand drive' refer to the position of the driver in the vehicle and are the reverse of the terms 'right- and left-hand traffic'. |date=2 April 2019 |access-date=9 July 2021 |archive-date=9 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709192243/https://www.thehistoryville.com/nigeria-left-hand-drive-right-hand-drive/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
| calling_code = [[Telephone numbers in Nigeria|+234]]
| cctld = [[.ng]]
| today =
| ethnic_groups_ref = <ref name="Africa: Nigeria">{{cite web |work=[[The World Factbook]] |publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]] |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/nigeria/ |access-date=21 June 2020 |title=Africa: Nigeria |archive-date=9 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210109223449/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/nigeria |url-status=dead}}</ref>
| ethnic_groups_year = 2018
| ethnic_groups = [[Hausa people|Hausa]] {{!}} [[Yoruba people|Yoruba]] {{!}} [[Igbo people|Igbo]] {{!}} [[Fula people|Fulani]] {{!}} [[Tiv people|Tiv]] {{!}} [[Kanuri people|Kanuri]] {{!}} [[Ibibio people|Ibibio]] {{!}}[[Ijaw people|Ijaw]] {{!}} [[List of ethnic groups in Nigeria|other]]
| religion = [[Islam in Nigeria|Islam]] {{!}} [[Christianity in Nigeria|Christianity]] {{!}} [[Religion in Nigeria|other]]
| religion_year = 2018
| religion_ref = <ref>{{Cite CIA World Factbook|country=Nigeria|section=People and Society}}</ref>
}}
}}


'''Nigeria''',{{efn|{{IPAc-en|audio=En-us-Nigeria.ogg|attribution=no|n|aɪ|ˈ|dʒ|ɪər|i|ə}} {{respell|ny|JEER|ee|ə}}; {{langx|ha|Najeriya}} {{IPA|ha|nàː.(d)ʒéː.rí.jàː}} {{audio|Ha-Najeriya.ogg|listen}}, {{langx|ig|Naìjíríyà}}, {{langx|yo|Nàìjíríà}}, {{langx|pcm|Naijá}} {{IPA|pcm|ˈnaɪ.dʒə|}}, {{langx|ff|Naajeeriya}}, {{langx|kcg|Naijeriya}}}} officially the '''Federal Republic of Nigeria''', is a country in [[West Africa]] between the [[Sahel]] to the north and the [[Gulf of Guinea]] in the [[Atlantic Ocean]] to the south. It covers an area of {{Convert|923769|km2|mi2}}. With [[Demographics of Nigeria|a population]] of more than 242 million, it is the [[List of African countries by population|most populous country]] in [[Africa]], and the [[List of countries and dependencies by population|world's sixth-most populous country]]. Nigeria borders [[Niger]] in [[Niger–Nigeria border|the north]], [[Chad]] in [[Chad–Nigeria border|the northeast]], [[Cameroon]] in [[Cameroon–Nigeria border|the east]], and [[Benin]] in [[Benin–Nigeria border|the west]]. Nigeria is a [[Federation|federal republic]] comprising 36 [[States of Nigeria|states]] and the [[Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria|Federal Capital Territory]], where its capital, [[Abuja]], is located. The [[List of Nigerian cities by population|largest city in Nigeria]] by population is [[Lagos]], one of the largest [[List of largest cities|metropolitan areas]] in the world and the [[List of cities in Africa by population|largest in Africa]].
'''Nigeria''', officially the '''Federal Republic of Nigeria''', is a country in [[West Africa]]. It is the [[List of African countries by population|most populous country]] in [[Africa]] and the [[List of countries and dependencies by population|world's sixth-most populous country]].


Nigeria has been home to several indigenous material cultures, [[Nigerian traditional rulers|pre-colonial states]] and [[Sahelian kingdoms|kingdoms]] since the second [[millennium]] BC. The [[Nok culture]], {{circa|1500 BC}}, marks one of the earliest known civilisations in the region. The [[Hausa Kingdoms]] inhabited the north, with the [[Edo people|Edo]] [[Kingdom of Benin]] in the south, [[Igbo people|Igbo]] [[Kingdom of Nri]] in the southeast and in the southwest, the [[Yoruba people|Yoruba]] [[Oyo Empire|Empire of Oyo]]. The present day territory of Nigeria was home to a vast array of [[city-state]]s. In the early 19th century the migrating Fulani Jihadis culminated in the [[Sokoto Caliphate]]. The modern state originated with [[Colonial Nigeria|British colonialization]] in the 19th century, taking its present territorial shape with the merging of the [[Southern Nigeria Protectorate]] and the [[Northern Nigeria Protectorate]] in 1914. The [[British Empire|British]] set up administrative and legal structures and [[Nigerian Chieftaincy|incorporated traditional monarchs]] as a form of [[indirect rule]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Achebe|first=Nwando|title=The female king of colonial Nigeria : Ahebi Ugbabe|isbn=978-0-253-00507-6|location=Bloomington|oclc=707092916}}</ref> Nigeria became a formally [[Federation of Nigeria|independent federation]] on 1 October 1960. It experienced a [[Nigerian Civil War|civil war]] from 1967 to 1970, followed by a succession of [[Nigerian military juntas of 1966–79 and 1983–99|military dictatorships]] and democratically elected civilian governments until achieving a stable government in the [[1999 Nigerian presidential election]].
{{Section|Etymology}}
{{:Nigeria/Etymology}}


Nigeria is a [[multinational state]] inhabited by more than [[Demographics of Nigeria|250 ethnic groups]] speaking [[Languages of Nigeria|500 distinct languages]], all identifying with a wide variety of cultures.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ethnicity in Nigeria|url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/arts/africa-jan-june07-ethnic_04-05|date=5 April 2007|publisher=PBS|access-date=9 May 2015|archive-date=6 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171006235712/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/africa-jan-june07-ethnic_04-05/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Nigeria|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/country/NG|website=Ethnologue|access-date=4 July 2019|archive-date=27 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227084603/https://www.ethnologue.com/country/NG|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Linguistic diversity in Africa and Europe – Languages Of The World|url=http://www.languagesoftheworld.info/geolinguistics/linguistic-diversity-in-africa-and-europe.html|date=16 June 2011|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120515155945/http://www.languagesoftheworld.info/geolinguistics/linguistic-diversity-in-africa-and-europe.html|archive-date=15 May 2012|access-date=4 July 2019|last=Pereltsvaig|first=Asya}}</ref> The three largest ethnic groups are the [[Hausa people|Hausa]], [[Yoruba people|Yoruba]], and [[Igbo people|Igbo]] together constituting over 60% of the total population.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/attachments/summaries/NI-summary.pdf|title=Nigeria – CIA World Factbook 2019|access-date=25 May 2020|archive-date=23 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200923163518/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/attachments/summaries/NI-summary.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[official language]] is [[Nigerian English|English]], chosen to facilitate linguistic unity at the national level.<ref>{{cite web|last=Mann|first=Charles C.|date=1990|title=Choosing an Indigenous Official Language for Nigeria|url=https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED397681.pdf|access-date=10 July 2020|archive-date=2 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201202033702/https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED397681.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Constitution of Nigeria|Nigeria's constitution]] ensures ''[[de jure]]'' [[freedom of religion]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Nigerian Constitution|url=http://www.nigeria-law.org/ConstitutionOfTheFederalRepublicOfNigeria.htm#Powers_of_Federal_Republic_of_Nigeria|work=Nigeria Law|access-date=17 July 2015|archive-date=25 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160525192058/http://www.nigeria-law.org/ConstitutionOfTheFederalRepublicOfNigeria.htm#Powers_of_Federal_Republic_of_Nigeria|url-status=live}}</ref> and it is home to some of the world's largest Muslim and Christian populations.<ref>{{cite web|title=The countries with the 10 largest Christian populations and the 10 largest Muslim populations|url=https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/04/01/the-countries-with-the-10-largest-christian-populations-and-the-10-largest-muslim-populations/|website=Pew Research Center|date=April 2019 |language=en-US|access-date=25 May 2020|archive-date=18 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210118120245/https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/04/01/the-countries-with-the-10-largest-christian-populations-and-the-10-largest-muslim-populations/|url-status=live}}</ref> Nigeria is divided roughly in half between [[Muslims]], who live mostly in the north part of the country, and [[Christians]], who live mostly in the south; [[Traditional African religions|indigenous religions]], such as those native to the [[Odinani|Igbo]] and [[Yoruba religion|Yoruba]] ethnicities, are in the minority.<ref name="USEN">{{cite web|title=Nigeria Fact Sheet|url=https://photos.state.gov/libraries/nigeria/487468/pdfs/Nigeria%20overview%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf|publisher=United States Embassy in Nigeria|access-date=23 September 2018|archive-date=18 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201018101915/https://photos.state.gov/libraries/nigeria/487468/pdfs/Nigeria%20overview%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>
{{Section|History}}
{{:Nigeria/History}}


Nigeria is a [[regional power]] in Africa and a [[middle power]] in international affairs. [[Economy of Nigeria|Nigeria's economy]] is the [[List of African countries by GDP (nominal)|fourth-largest in Africa]], the [[List of countries by GDP (nominal)|52nd-largest in the world]] by nominal [[Gross domestic product|GDP]], and [[List of countries by GDP (PPP)|19th-largest]] by [[Purchasing power parity|PPP]]. Nigeria is often referred to as the Giant of Africa by its citizens due to its large population and [[economy]],<ref>{{cite journal|year=1959|title=Nigeria: The African giant|journal=[[The Round Table (journal)|The Round Table]]|volume=50|issue=197|pages=55–63 |doi=10.1080/00358535908452221 }}</ref> and is considered to be an [[emerging market]] by the [[World Bank]]. Nigeria is a founding member of the [[African Union]] and a member of many international organisations, including the [[United Nations]], the [[Commonwealth of Nations]], [[Non-Aligned Movement|NAM]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nti.org/education-center/treaties-and-regimes/non-aligned-movement-nam |title=Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) – The Nuclear Threat Initiative |access-date=19 October 2021 |archive-date=19 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211019023811/https://www.nti.org/education-center/treaties-and-regimes/non-aligned-movement-nam/ |url-status=live }}</ref> the [[Economic Community of West African States]], [[Organisation of Islamic Cooperation]] and [[OPEC]]. It is one of the [[Next Eleven]] economies, and also a member, along with [[Mexico]], [[Indonesia]], and [[Turkey]], of the MINT group.
{{Section|Geography}}
{{:Nigeria/Geography}}


== Etymology ==
{{Section|Politics}}
{{:Nigeria/Politics}}


The name ''[[Wikt:Nigeria|Nigeria]]'' derives from the [[Niger River]] running through the country. This name was coined on 8 January 1897, by the British journalist [[Flora Shaw, Lady Lugard|Flora Shaw]]. The neighbouring [[Republic of Niger]] takes its name from the same river. The origin of the name ''[[Niger]]'', which originally applied to only the middle reaches of the Niger River, is uncertain. The word is likely an alteration of the [[Tuareg people|Tuareg]] name ''egerew <u>n-iger</u>ewen'' ("river of rivers") used by inhabitants along the middle reaches of the river around [[Timbuktu]] before 19th-century [[scramble for Africa|European colonialism]].<ref>The Arabic name ''nahr al-anhur'' is a direct translation of the Tuareg.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Niger |title=''Online Etymological Dictionary'' |publisher=Etymonline.com |access-date=28 July 2014 |archive-date=2 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170702152902/http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Niger |url-status=live }}</ref> Before Flora Shaw suggested the name ''Nigeria'', other proposed names included ''Royal Niger Company Territories'', ''Central Sudan'', ''Niger Empire'', ''Niger Sudan'', and ''Hausa Territories''.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kperogi |first1=Farooq A. |title=Natasha H. Akpoti's Wildly Inaccurate History of Nigeria |url=https://www.farooqkperogi.com/2019/04/natasha-h-akpotis-wildly-inaccurate.html?m=1 |website=Notes From Atlanta |access-date=11 August 2023 |archive-date=11 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230811040153/https://www.farooqkperogi.com/2019/04/natasha-h-akpotis-wildly-inaccurate.html?m=1 |url-status=live }}</ref>
{{Section|Economy}}
{{:Nigeria/Economy}}


== History ==
{{Section|Demographics}}
{{Main|History of Nigeria|Timeline of Nigerian history}}
{{:Nigeria/Demographics}}


=== Prehistory ===
{{Section|Culture}}
{{Main|Prehistory of Nigeria}}
{{:Nigeria/Culture}}


[[File:Nok sculpture Louvre 70-1998-11-1.jpg|thumb|upright=0.7|[[Nok]] sculpture, [[terracotta]]]]
== See also ==
[[Kainji Dam]] excavations showed ironworking by the 2nd century BC. The transition from [[Neolithic]] times to the [[Iron Age]] was accomplished without intermediate [[Bronze Age|bronze]] production. Some have suggested the technology moved west from the [[Nile Valley]]. But the [[Iron metallurgy in Africa|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, as well as predating it in the Nile Valley. More recent research suggests that iron metallurgy was developed independently in [[Africa]].<ref name="Tylecote 1975 see below">Tylecote 1975 (see below)</ref><ref name="Eggert 2014 51–59">{{cite book|title=Nok: African Sculpture in Archaeological Context|last=Eggert|first=Manfred|publisher=Africa Magna Verlag Press|year=2014|editor-last=Breunig|editor-first=P|location=Frankfurt, Germany|pages=51–59|chapter=Early iron in West and Central Africa}}</ref><ref name="Eggert 2014 53–54">{{cite book|title=Nok: African Sculpture in Archaeological Context|last=Eggert|first=Manfred|publisher=Africa Magna Verlag Press|year=2014|isbn=9783937248462|editor-last=Breunig|editor-first=P|location=Frankfurt, Germany|pages=53–54|chapter=Early iron in West and Central Africa|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BBn1BQAAQBAJ&q=Nok+Breunig&pg=PA38}}</ref><ref name="Holl-2020#2">{{cite book |last1=Holl |first1=Augustin F. C. |title=Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Anthropology |chapter=The Origins of African Metallurgies |date=2020 |doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780190854584.013.63 |isbn=978-0-19-085458-4 }}</ref>
* [[Outline of Nigeria]]


The [[Nok culture|Nok civilisation]] thrived between 1500&nbsp;BC and 200&nbsp;AD.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nigeria – Colonialism, Independence, Civil War |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Nigeria/History |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002112646/https://www.britannica.com/place/Nigeria/History |archive-date=2 October 2023 |access-date=8 September 2023 |website=Britannica |language=en}}</ref> It produced life-sized [[terracotta]] figures that are some of the earliest known sculptures in Africa<ref name="PB 2014">Breunig, Peter. 2014. Nok: African Sculpture in Archaeological Context: p. 21.</ref><ref>Nicole Rupp, Peter Breunig & Stefanie Kahlheber, "[http://www.antiquity.ac.uk/projgall/kahlheber/ Exploring the Nok Enigma] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304112232/http://www.antiquity.ac.uk/projgall/kahlheber/ |date=4 March 2016}}", ''Antiquity'' 82.316, June 2008.</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Fagg |first1=B. E. B. |title=The Nok Culture in Prehistory |journal=Journal of the Historical Society of Nigeria |date=1959 |volume=1 |issue=4 |pages=288–293 |jstor=41970639 }}</ref><ref name="archaeology">{{cite book|last1=Kleiner|first1=Fred S. |first2=Christin J. |last2=Mamiya |title=Gardner's Art Through the Ages: Non-Western Perspectives|publisher=[[Cengage Learning]]|edition=13, revised|year=2009|page=194|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TlVeuxIgjwQC&q=Nok+terracotta+earliest|isbn=978-0-495-57367-8}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/nok/hd_nok.htm |title=Nok Terracottas (500 B.C.–200 A.D.) &#124; Thematic Essay &#124; Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History &#124; The Metropolitan Museum of Art |publisher=Metmuseum.org |date=2 June 2014 |access-date=16 July 2014 |archive-date=24 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191024215836/http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/nok/hd_nok.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> and independently invented iron smelting by about 550&nbsp;BC and possibly a few centuries earlier.<ref name="Tylecote 1975 see below"/><ref name="Eggert 2014 51–59"/><ref name="Eggert 2014 53–54"/> Evidence of iron smelting has also been excavated at sites in the [[Nsukka]] region of southeast Nigeria: dating to 2000&nbsp;BC at the site of Lejja<ref name="Eze-Uzomaka">{{cite journal|title=Iron and its influence on the prehistoric site of Lejja|url=https://www.academia.edu/4103707|last1=Eze–Uzomaka|first1=Pamela|website=Academia.edu|publisher=University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria|access-date=12 December 2014|archive-date=6 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201206183226/https://www.academia.edu/4103707/Iron_and_its_influence_on_the_prehistoric_site_of_Lejja|url-status=live}}</ref> and to 750&nbsp;BC at the site of [[Opi (archaeological site)|Opi]].
== References ==
{{reflist}}


===Early history ===
[[Category:Nigeria]]
{{Main|History of Nigeria before 1500}}
 
The ''[[Kano Chronicle]]'' highlights an ancient history dating to around 999&nbsp;AD of the [[Hausa Kingdoms|Hausa]] city state of [[Kingdom of Kano|Kano]], with other major Hausa cities (or [[Hausa Bakwai]]) of [[Daura]], [[Hadejia|Biram]], [[Kingdom of Katsina|Katsina]], [[Kingdom of Zazzau]], [[Rano]], and [[Gobir]] all having recorded histories dating back to the 10th century.
 
The [[Kingdom of Nri]] of the Igbo people consolidated in the 10th century and continued until it lost its sovereignty to the British in 1911.<ref name="Juang3">{{cite book|last=Juang|first=Richard M.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wFrAOqfhuGYC&pg=PA597|title=Africa and the Americas: culture, politics, and history: a multidisciplinary encyclopedia, Volume 2|publisher=ABC-CLIO|year=2008|isbn=978-1-85109-441-7|page=597}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Hrbek|first=Ivan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qDFcD0BuekQC&pg=PA254|title=Africa from the seventh to the eleventh Century|publisher=James Currey Publishers|year=1992|isbn=978-0-85255-093-9|page=254}}</ref> Nri was ruled by the [[List of rulers of Nri|Eze Nri]], and 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. Members of the clan trace their lineages back to the patriarchal king-figure [[Eri (king)|Eri]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Uzukwu|first=E. Elochukwu|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9hhmzVrYPHAC|title=Worship as Body Language|publisher=Liturgical Press|year=1997|isbn=978-0-8146-6151-2|page=93|access-date=27 June 2024|archive-date=27 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240627040705/https://books.google.com/books?id=9hhmzVrYPHAC|url-status=live}}</ref> In West Africa, the oldest bronzes made using the [[lost wax process]] were from [[Igbo-Ukwu]], a city under Nri influence.<ref name="Juang3" />
 
[[File:Queen Mother Pendant Mask- Iyoba MET DP231460.jpg|thumb|upright=0.7|left|Royal [[Benin ivory mask]], one of Nigeria's most recognised artifacts. [[Benin Empire]], 16th century.]]
The [[Yoruba people|Yoruba]] had developed one of the earliest [[City-state|city-states]] in Africa by the 8th century known as [[Ifẹ|Ile Ife]], which would become the heart of the later [[Ife Empire]] while [[Oyo Empire|Oyo]] and other Yoruba states became more prominent in the 12th<ref name="Falola Heaton Early states and societies">{{cite book |last1=Falola |first1=Toyin |last2=Heaton |first2=Matthew M. |chapter=Early states and societies, 9000 BCE – 1500 CE |pages=16–38 |title=A History of Nigeria |date=2008 |doi=10.1017/CBO9780511819711 |isbn=978-0-521-86294-3 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Laitin|first=David D.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dHbrDvGQEbUC&pg=PA111|title=Hegemony and culture: politics and religious change among the Yoruba|publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]]|year=1986|isbn=978-0-226-46790-0|page=111}}</ref> and 14th<ref>{{cite book|last1=MacDonald|first1=Fiona|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=joh5yHfcF-8C&pg=PA385|title=Peoples of Africa, Volume 1|last2=Paren|first2=Elizabeth|last3=Shillington|first3=Kevin|author3-link=Kevin Shillington|last4=Stacey|first4=Gillian|last5=Steele|first5=Philip|publisher=Marshall Cavendish|year=2000|isbn=978-0-7614-7158-5|page=385}}</ref> centuries, respectively. The oldest signs of [[human]] settlement at Ife's current site date back to the 9th century,<ref name="Falola Heaton Early states and societies"/> and its material culture includes [[Terracotta]] and Bronze figures.
 
=== Pre-colonial era ===
{{Further|History of Nigeria (1500–1800)}}
In the 16th century, [[Portuguese discoveries|Portuguese explorers]] were the first [[Ethnic groups in Europe|Europeans]] to begin important, direct trade with the peoples of southern Nigeria, at the port they named [[Lagos]] (formerly Eko) in [[Yorubaland|Yoruba land]] and in [[Calabar]] along the region [[Slave Coast of West Africa|Slave Coast]]. Europeans traded goods with peoples at the coast; coastal trade with Europeans also marked the beginnings of the [[Atlantic slave trade]].<ref name="diverse-slavery">{{cite book|last=Gordon|first=April A.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H26pO3vwmHoC&pg=PA54|title=Nigeria's Diverse Peoples: A Reference Sourcebook|publisher=ABC-CLIO|year=2003|isbn=978-1-57607-682-8|pages=44–54|access-date=29 March 2015}}</ref> The port of Calabar on the historical [[Bight of Biafra]] (now commonly referred to as the Bight of Bonny) became one of the largest slave-trading posts in West Africa in this era. Other major slaving ports were located in [[Badagry]], Lagos on the [[Bight of Benin]], and [[Bonny Island]] on the Bight of Biafra.<ref name="diverse-slavery" /><ref name="slave-trade">{{cite book|last1=Falola|first1=Toyin|url=https://archive.org/details/historicaldictio0000falo|title=Historical Dictionary of Nigeria|last2=Genova|first2=Ann|publisher=Scarecrow Press|year=2009|isbn=978-0-8108-6316-3|page=[https://archive.org/details/historicaldictio0000falo/page/n373 328]|access-date=29 March 2015|url-access=registration}}</ref> The majority of those taken to these ports were captured in raids and wars.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Falola|first1=Toyin|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ANzFx1O95eAC&pg=PA78|title=Environment and Economics in Nigeria|last2=Paddock|first2=Adam|publisher=Routledge|year=2012|isbn=978-1-136-66247-8|page=78|access-date=29 March 2015}}</ref> Usually, the captives were taken back to the conquerors' territory as [[forced labour]]; they were sometimes gradually acculturated and absorbed into the conquerors' society. Slave routes were established throughout Nigeria linking the hinterland areas with the major coastal ports. Several kingdoms that directly or indirectly participated in the [[Atlantic slave trade]] were associated with the  [[Kingdom of Benin|Benin Empire]] in the south, [[Oyo Empire]] in the southwest, and the [[Aro Confederacy]] in the southeast. In contrast, the kingdoms associated with the [[Trans-Saharan slave trade]] were linked to the [[Hausa Kingdoms|Hausa states]] , as well as the [[Kanuri people|Kanuri]]-led [[Kanem-Bornu Empire]].<ref name="Savage1992">{{Cite conference |last=Savage |first=Elizabeth |date=1992 |title=The Human Commodity: Perspectives on the Trans-Saharan Slave Trade |url=https://www.africabib.org/rec.php?RID=091961157 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Wright |first=John |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZA46PBGp0tUC |title=The Trans-Saharan Slave Trade |date=2007-04-03 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-17987-9 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gellar |first=Sheldon |date=March 1972 |title=African Perspectives: Papers in the History, Politics, and Economics of Africa Presented to Thomas Hodgkin. Edited by Christopher Allen and R. W. Johnson. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1970. Pp. 439. $17.50.) |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-political-science-review/article/abs/african-perspectives-papers-in-the-history-politics-and-economics-of-africa-presented-to-thomas-hodgkin-edited-by-christopher-allen-and-r-w-johnson-cambridge-cambridge-university-press-1970-pp-439-1750/1E8E6963049D3EC4CD6FD7610637E149 |journal=American Political Science Review |language=en |volume=66 |issue=1 |pages=222–223 |doi=10.2307/1959313 |jstor=1959313 |issn=0003-0554}}</ref><ref name="diverse-slavery" /><ref name="slave-trade" /> Benin's power lasted between the 15th and 19th centuries.<ref>{{cite web|title=Nigeria: A Country Study – The Slave Trade|url=http://countrystudies.us/nigeria/7.htm|last=Metz|first=Helen Chapin|author-link=Helen Chapin Metz|year=1991|publisher=[[Library of Congress Country Studies]]|access-date=28 May 2011|archive-date=23 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110623172414/http://countrystudies.us/nigeria/7.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Oyo, at its territorial zenith in the late 17th to early 18th centuries, extended its influence from western Nigeria to modern-day [[Togo]].
 
[[File:Ancient_Benin_city.JPG|thumb|Depiction of [[Benin City]] by a Dutch illustrator in 1668. The wall-like structure in the centre probably represents the [[walls of Benin]], housing the [[Benin bronze]] decorated historic [[Royal Palace of the Oba of Benin|Benin City Palace]].]]
In the north, the incessant fighting amongst the Hausa city-states and the decline of the [[Kanem–Bornu Empire|Bornu Empire]] allowed the Fulani people to gain headway into the region. Until this point, the Fulani, a [[nomad]]ic foreign ethnic group, primarily traversed the semi-desert region with cattle. They largely avoided engaging in [[trade]], [[agriculture]], [[state-building]], and other activities common among other West African peoples. At the beginning of the 19th century, [[Usman dan Fodio]] led [[Fulani War|a successful jihad]] against the [[Hausa Kingdoms]], He accused the Hausa of not being true [[Muslims]] and subsequently established the [[Sokoto Caliphate]]<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Philips |first=John Edward |date=2017 |title=Causes of the Jihad of Usman Ɗan Fodio: a historiographical review |url=https://www.ajol.info/index.php/jis/article/view/176685 |journal=Journal for Islamic Studies |language=en |volume=36 |pages=18–58 |issn=0257-7062}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=Last |first=Murray |url=http://archive.org/details/sokotocaliphate0000last |title=The Sokoto Caliphate |date=1967 |publisher=[New York] Humanities Press |others=Internet Archive}}</ref>. The Sokoto Caliphate relied heavily on [[slavery]], with large-scale plantation slavery, concubinage, and domestic servitude. While the primary source of new slaves were the newly conquered Hausa peoples, raids on non-Muslim communities and other ethnic groups accused of not being true Muslims persisted.<ref name=":4" /><ref name="Murray2021">{{Cite journal |last=Last |first=Murray |date=April 26, 2021 |editor-last=Spear |editor-first=Thomas |title=Slavery and the Slave Trade in the Sokoto Caliphate |url=https://academic.oup.com/edited-volume/61663/chapter/553500140 |language=en |edition=1 |publisher=Oxford University Press |doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780190277734.013.882 |isbn=978-0-19-785172-2 |access-date=2026-05-20 |work=Oxford Research Encyclopedia of African History |place=New York City}}</ref> The caliphate as a whole became one of the largest slave societies in 19th-century Africa. This empire, grew rapidly under his rule and that of [[List of Sultans of Sokoto|his descendants]], who sent out [[Fula jihads|invading armies]] in every direction. The vast landlocked Sokoto Caliphate sought to link the eastern and western Sudan regions while attempting to push aggressively southward into the [[Yorubaland|Yoruba country]]. It conquered parts of the old [[Oyo Empire]] (modern-day [[Kwara State|Kwara]]), and attempted to penetrate towards deeper into the heart of Yoruba land. However, the Yoruba forces of [[Ibadan]] delivered a decisive defeat to the invaders at the [[Battle of Òsogbo|Battle of Osogbo]], halting their jihad and successfully protecting the sovereign integrity of Yoruba territory. The sultan sent out emirs to establish [[suzerainty]] over the previous conquered territories and promote Islamic civilisation; the emirs in turn became increasingly rich and powerful through trade and slavery. By the 1890s, the largest [[Slavery in Africa|slave population]], about two million, was concentrated in the territories of the Sokoto [[Caliphate]]. The use of slave labour was extensive, especially in agriculture.<ref>Shillington, Kevin, ''[[Encyclopedia of African History]]''. (U of Michigan Press, 2005) p. 1401.</ref> By the time of its break-up in 1903 into various European colonies, the Sokoto Caliphate was one of the largest pre-colonial African states.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Adam |first1=Abba Idris |title=Re-inventing Islamic Civilization in the Sudanic Belt: The Role of Sheikh Usman Dan Fodio |journal=Journal of Modern Education Review |date=20 June 2014 |volume=4 |issue=6 |pages=457–465 |doi=10.15341/jmer(2155-7993)/06.04.2014/007 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Falola |first1=Toyin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gQ5YEAAAQBAJ&dq=info:QQoBnb_okD4J:scholar.google.com/&pg=PA136 |title=The Oxford Handbook of Nigerian History |last2=Heaton |first2=Matthew M. |date=2022 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-005009-2 |language=en}}</ref>{{RP|page=136}}
 
A changing legal imperative (the outlawing of the [[Atlantic slave trade]] in 1807) and economic imperative (a desire for political and social stability) led most European powers to support the widespread cultivation of agricultural products, such as the palm, for use in European industry. The slave trade continued after the ban, as illegal smugglers purchased slaves along the coast from native slavers. Britain's [[West Africa Squadron]] sought to intercept the smugglers at sea. The [[Saro people|rescued slaves]] were taken to [[Freetown]], a colony in West Africa originally established for the resettlement of slaves freed by Britain.<ref>Roman Adrian Cybriwsky, ''Capital Cities around the World: An Encyclopedia of Geography, History, and Culture'', ABC-CLIO, USA, 2013, p. 109</ref>
 
=== British colonisation and independence ===
{{Main|Colonial Nigeria|3 = Federation of Nigeria}}
 
[[File:Flag of Lagos Colony (1888–1906).svg|thumb|Flag of the [[Lagos Colony]]]]
Britain intervened in the Lagos kingship power struggle by bombarding Lagos in 1851, deposing the slave-trade-friendly [[Kosoko|Oba Kosoko]], helping to install the amenable Oba [[Akitoye]] and signing the [[Treaty Between Great Britain and Lagos, 1 January 1852|Treaty between Great Britain and Lagos]] on 1{{nbsp}}January 1852. [[United Kingdom|Britain]] annexed Lagos as a [[crown colony]] in August 1861 with the [[Lagos Treaty of Cession]]. British missionaries expanded their operations and travelled further inland. In 1864, [[Samuel Ajayi Crowther]] became the first African [[Church of Nigeria|bishop of the Anglican Church]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Peterson |first1=Derek R. |title=Abolitionism and Imperialism in Britain, Africa, and the Atlantic |date=2010 |publisher=Ohio University Press |id={{Project MUSE|597}} |isbn=978-0-8214-4305-7 |oclc=1048753101 }}{{pn|date=January 2026}}</ref> In 1885, British claims to a West African [[sphere of influence]] received recognition from other European nations at the [[Berlin Conference]]. The following year, it chartered the [[Royal Niger Company]] under the leadership of Sir [[George Taubman Goldie]]. By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the company had vastly succeeded in subjugating the independent southern kingdoms along the [[Niger River]], the British conquered [[Benin Empire|Benin]] in 1897, and, in the [[Anglo-Aro War]] (1901–1902), defeated other opponents. The defeat of these states opened up the Niger area to British rule. In 1900, the company's territory came under the direct control of the British government and established the [[Southern Nigeria Protectorate]] as a British [[protectorate]] and part of the [[British Empire]].
 
[[File:Tcitp d012 frederick john dealtry lugard and wife.jpg|thumb|[[Frederick Lugard, 1st Baron Lugard|The Lord]] and [[Flora Shaw, Lady Lugard|Lady Lugard]], 1908|upright|left]]
By 1902, the British had begun plans to move north into the Sokoto Caliphate. British General Lord [[Frederick Lugard, 1st Baron Lugard|Frederick Lugard]] was tasked by the [[Colonial Office]] to implement the agenda. Lugard used rivalries between many of the emirs in the southern reach of the caliphate and the central Sokoto administration to prevent any defence as he worked towards the capital. As the British approached the city of [[Sokoto (city)|Sokoto]], Sultan [[Muhammadu Attahiru I]] organised a quick defence of the city and fought the advancing British-led forces. The British force quickly won, sending Attahiru I and thousands of followers on a [[Mahdi]]st ''[[Hegira|hijra]]''. In the northeast, the decline of the [[Kanem–Bornu Empire|Bornu Empire]] gave rise to the British-controlled [[Borno Emirate]], which established [[Abubakar Garbai of Borno]] as ruler.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Hiribarren |first=Vincent |date=2013 |title=A European and African Joint-Venture: Writing a Seamless History of Borno (1902-1960) |journal=History in Africa |volume=40 |pages=77–98 |doi=10.1017/hia.2013.6 |jstor=26362066 |issn=0361-5413 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26362066}}</ref>
 
[[File:Emir of Kano-1911.jpg|thumb|[[Muhammad Abbas (Emir of Kano)|Emir of Kano]] with cavalry, 1911]]
In 1903, the British victory in the [[Battle of Kano (1903)|Battle of Kano]] gave them a logistical edge in [[Battle of Kwatarkwashi|pacifying the heartland of the Sokoto Caliphate]] and parts of the former Bornu Empire. On 13 March 1903, at the grand market square of Sokoto, the last [[Sokoto Grand Vizier|vizier of the caliphate]] officially conceded to British rule. The British appointed [[Muhammadu Attahiru II]] as the new caliph. Lugard abolished the caliphate but retained the title ''sultan'' as a symbolic position in the newly organised [[Northern Nigeria Protectorate]]. This remnant became known as "[[Sokoto Sultanate Council]]". In June 1903, the British defeated the remaining northern forces of Attahiru. The caliphate forces in the south continued to resist the British and Germans in the [[Adamawa Wars]]. By 1907, resistance to European rule in the area had been quelled.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gomez-Perez |first1=Muriel |title=Islam politique au sud du Sahara - Identités, discours et enjeux |date=2005-06-01 |publisher=KARTHALA Editions |isbn=978-2-8111-3927-8 |pages=386, 387, 388, 389 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9U_pbcmLhgYC |language=fr}}</ref>
 
On 1 January 1914, the British formally united the [[Southern Nigeria Protectorate]] and the [[Northern Nigeria Protectorate]] into the [[Colonial Nigeria|Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria]]. Administratively, Nigeria remained divided into the Northern and Southern Protectorates and [[Lagos Colony]]. Inhabitants of the southern region sustained more interaction, economic and cultural, with the British and other Europeans owing to the coastal economy.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Falola |first1=Toyin |last2=Heaton |first2=Matthew M. |chapter=Transition to British Colonial Rule, 1850 – 1903 |pages=85–109 |title=A History of Nigeria |date=2008 |doi=10.1017/CBO9780511819711 |isbn=978-0-521-86294-3 }}</ref> Christian missions established Western educational institutions in the protectorates. Under Britain's policy of indirect rule and validation of Islamic legitimist tradition, the Crown did not encourage the operation of Christian missions in the northern, Islamic part of the country.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lovejoy |first1=Paul E. |last2=Hogendorn |first2=Jan S. |title=Slow Death for Slavery |date=1993 |doi=10.1017/CBO9780511563065 |isbn=978-0-521-37469-9 }}{{pn|date=January 2026}}</ref>
 
By the mid-20th century following [[World War II]], a [[Decolonisation of Africa|wave for independence]] was sweeping across Africa, 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. By the eve of independence in 1960, regional differences in modern educational access were marked. The legacy, though less pronounced, continues to the present day. The balance between north and south was also expressed in Nigeria's political life. For instance, northern Nigeria did not outlaw slavery until 1936 whilst in other parts of Nigeria, slavery was abolished soon after colonialism.<ref>{{cite web |title=The end of slavery |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/specials/1624_story_of_africa/page56.shtml |access-date=28 May 2011 |work=The Story of Africa |publisher=BBC News |archive-date=23 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200723083115/http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/specials/1624_story_of_africa/page56.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="slave-trade" />[[File:Stamp Cameroons 2d-600px.jpg|thumb|1953 postage stamp with portrait of Queen [[Elizabeth II]]]][[File:Nnamdi Azikiwe PC (cropped).jpg|thumb|[[Nnamdi Azikiwe]], first President of Nigeria (1963–1966)|upright]]
Nigeria gained a degree of self-rule in 1954, and full independence from the United Kingdom on [[Independence Day (Nigeria)|1 October 1960]], as the [[Federation of Nigeria]] with [[Abubakar Tafawa Balewa]] as its [[Prime Minister of Nigeria|Prime Minister]], while retaining the [[Monarchy of the United Kingdom|British monarch]], [[Elizabeth II]], as nominal head of state and [[Queen of Nigeria]]. [[Nnamdi Azikiwe]] replaced the colonial [[governor-general]] in November 1960. At independence, the cultural and political differences were sharp among Nigeria's dominant ethnic groups: the Hausa in the north, Igbo in the east, and Yoruba in the west.<ref name="JBS2">{{cite journal |author=Udofia, O.E. |year=1981 |title=Nigerian Political Parties: Their Role in Modernizing the Political System, 1920–1966 |journal=Journal of Black Studies |volume=11 |issue=4 |pages=435–447 |doi=10.1177/002193478101100404 |jstor=2784073 }}</ref> The [[Westminster system]] of government was retained, and thus the [[President of Nigeria|President]]'s powers were generally ceremonial.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dawodu.com/const63.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818121408/https://www.dawodu.com/const63.pdf |archive-date=18 August 2021 |title=The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria |date=1963}}</ref> The parliamentary system of government had Abubakar Tafawa Balewa as Prime Minister and Nnamdi Azikiwe as the ceremonial president. The founding government was a coalition of conservative parties: the [[Northern People's Congress]] led by Sir [[Ahmadu Bello]], a party dominated by Muslim northerners, and the Igbo and Christian-dominated [[National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons]] led by [[Nnamdi Azikiwe]]. The opposition consisted of the comparatively liberal [[Action Group (Nigeria)|Action Group]], which was largely dominated by the [[Yoruba people|Yoruba]] and led by [[Obafemi Awolowo]]. An imbalance was created in the polity as a result of the [[1961 British Cameroons referendum|1961 plebiscite]]. [[Southern Cameroons]] opted to join the [[Cameroon|Republic of Cameroon]] while [[British Cameroon|Northern Cameroons]] chose to join Nigeria. The northern part of the country became larger than the southern part.
[[File:Abubakar Tafawa Balewa (1962).jpg|alt=Abubakar Tafawa Balewa|thumb|221x221px|[[Abubakar Tafawa Balewa]], Nigeria's first Prime Minister during the 1st Republic |left]]
 
=== Early republic and civil war ===
{{Main|First Nigerian Republic|Nigerian Civil War|}}
 
At Nigeria's independence in 1960, the [[British Empire|British]] colonial authorities, distrustful of the [[Yoruba people|Yoruba]] and [[Igbo people|Igbo]] peoples, handed disproportionate power to the Northern elites <ref name=":6">{{Cite web |title=The British Colonial Legacy In Northern Nigeria Yusufu Turaki |url=https://wiki.rschooltoday.com/sites/uploaded-files/596/455/aN16K2/TheBritishColonialLegacyInNorthernNigeriaYusufuTuraki.pdf |access-date=2026-05-12 |website=wiki.rschooltoday.com}}</ref><ref name=":9">{{Cite book |last=Michael Crowder |url=http://archive.org/details/storyofnigeria0000mich |title=Story of Nigeria |date=1966-01-01 |publisher=Faber |others=Internet Archive}}</ref><ref name=":10">{{Cite journal |last=Ajayi |first=David Olayinka |date=June 2022 |title=British Colonial Policies and the Challenge of National Unity in Nigeria, 1914-2014 |url=https://journals.co.za/doi/10.18820/24150509/SJCH47.v1.3 |journal=Southern Journal for Contemporary History |volume=47 |issue=1 |pages=27–50 |doi=10.18820/24150509/SJCH47.v1.3}}</ref><ref name=":15">{{Cite book |last=Crowder |first=Michael |url=http://archive.org/details/westafricaunderc00crow |title=West Africa under colonial rule |date=1968 |publisher=Evanston [Ill.] Northwestern University Press |others=Internet Archive}}</ref><ref name=":16">{{Cite book |last=Falola |first=Toyin |url=http://archive.org/details/historyofnigeria0000falo |title=A history of Nigeria |date=2008 |publisher=Cambridge, UK ; New York : Cambridge University Press |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-521-86294-3}}</ref>. In large this was due to the fact that the British had enjoyed far greater cooperation through indirect rule with the Hausa-Fulani aristocracy, who had been far more submissive and offered significantly less resistance than the leaders of the [[Yoruba people|Yoruba]] and [[Igbo people|Igbo]] peoples collectively<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":9" /><ref name=":10" /><ref name=":15" /><ref name=":16" />. The [[Northern Region, Nigeria|Northern Region]] gained more seats in parliament than the southerner [[Eastern Region, Nigeria|Eastern]] and [[Western Region of Nigeria|Western]] regions combined—this would cement Northern dominance in Nigerian politics for years to come. Resentment among southern politicians precipitated into political chaos in the country. [[Obafemi Awolowo]], Premier of Western Region, was accused of attempting to overthrow the government. This followed a period of conflict between the AG regional government and the central government. In spite of the flimsiness of the evidence presented by the government's prosecutors, he was convicted. With incarceration of Awolowo, [[Samuel Akintola]] took over as the premier of Western Region. Because Akintola was an ally of Ahmadu Bello, the undisputed strong man of Nigeria, Akintola was criticised as being a tool of the North.<ref name="Jorre, p. 30"/> As premier of the West, Akintola presided over the most chaotic era in Western Region—one which earned it the nickname "[[Wild West|the Wild-Wild West]]". However, as late as Thursday, 13 January 1966, Balewa had announced that the federal government was not going to intervene in the West.<ref name="Jorre, p. 30"/> However, the very next day, Akintola, premier of the West met with his ally Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto, premier of the North and party boss of NPC party to which Balewa belonged.<ref name="Jorre, p. 30">{{cite book |last1=de St Jorre |first1=John |title=The Nigerian Civil War |date=1972 |publisher=Hodder and Stoughton |isbn=978-0-340-12640-0 |page=30 }}</ref> At the same time a top-level security conference in Lagos was taking place which was attended by most of the country's senior army officiers. All of this activity created rumours that the Balewa government would be forced to crack down on lawlessness in the West using military might.<ref name="Jorre, p. 30" />
 
The disequilibrium and perceived corruption of the electoral and political process led to two [[Coup d'état|military coups]] in 1966. The [[1966 Nigerian coup d'état|first coup was in January 1966]] and was led mostly by soldiers under Majors [[Emmanuel Ifeajuna]] (of the [[Igbo people|Igbo]] tribe), [[Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu]] ([[Northern Region, Nigeria|Northerner]] of [[Eastern Region, Nigeria|Eastern]] extraction) and [[Adewale Ademoyega]] (a Yoruba from the West). The coup plotters succeeded in assassinating Sir [[Ahmadu Bello]] and Sir [[Abubakar Tafawa Balewa]] alongside prominent leaders of the Northern Region and Premier [[Ladoke Akintola|Samuel Akintola]] of the [[Western State (Nigeria)|Western Region]], but the plotters struggled to form a central government. Senate President [[Nwafor Orizu]] handed over government control to the [[Nigerian Army|Army]], under the command of another Igbo officer, Major General<ref>{{Cite news|last=Irede|first=Akin|title=Aguiyi-Ironsi: The murder that birthed Nigeria's northern hegemony|work=The Africa Report|date=17 March 2022|url=https://www.theafricareport.com/182958/aguiyi-ironsi-the-murder-that-birthed-nigerias-northern-hegemony/amp/|access-date=23 February 2023|archive-date=23 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230223001544/https://www.theafricareport.com/182958/aguiyi-ironsi-the-murder-that-birthed-nigerias-northern-hegemony/amp/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi]]. Later, the [[1966 Nigerian counter-coup|counter-coup of 1966]], supported primarily by Northern military officers, facilitated the rise of [[Yakubu Gowon]] as military head of state. Tension rose between north and south; [[1966 anti-Igbo pogrom|Igbos in northern cities suffered persecution]] and many fled to the [[Eastern Region, Nigeria|Eastern Region]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Falola |first1=Toyin |last2=Heaton |first2=Matthew M. |chapter=Instability and civil war, 1960 – 1970 |pages=158–180 |title=A History of Nigeria |date=2008 |doi=10.1017/CBO9780511819711 |isbn=978-0-521-86294-3 }}</ref>[[File:Biafra independent state map-en.svg|thumb|The [[Biafra|Republic of Biafra]] in June 1967, when it declared its independence from the rest of Nigeria]]
 
In May 1967, Governor of the [[Eastern Region, Nigeria|Eastern Region]] Lt. Colonel [[C. Odumegwu Ojukwu|Emeka Ojukwu]] declared the region independent from the federation as a state called the [[Biafra|Republic of Biafra]], as a result of the continuous and systematically planned attacks against Igbos and those of [[Eastern Region, Nigeria|Eastern]] extraction popularly known as 1966 [[1966 anti-Igbo pogrom|pogroms]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Murray|first=Senan|title=Reopening Nigeria's civil war wounds|work=BBC News|date=30 May 2007|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/6657259.stm|access-date=28 May 2011|archive-date=5 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120305112039/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/6657259.stm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Daly |first1=Samuel Fury Childs |title=A History of the Republic of Biafra |date=2020 |doi=10.1017/9781108887748 |isbn=978-1-108-88774-8 }}</ref> This declaration precipitated the [[Nigerian Civil War]], which began as the official Nigerian government side attacked Biafra on 6 July 1967, at Garkem. The 30-month war, with a long [[blockade of Biafra]] and its isolation from trade and international relief, ended in January 1970.<ref name="DDRS">''"Background Paper on Nigeria and Biafra, Declassified Documents Reference System''.</ref> Estimates of the [[List of wars by death toll|number of dead]] in the former Eastern Region during the 30-month civil war range from one to three million.<ref>{{cite web|last=Metz|first=Helen Chapin|title=Nigeria: A Country Study – Civil War|publisher=[[Library of Congress Country Studies]]|year=1991|url=http://countrystudies.us/nigeria/23.htm|access-date=28 May 2011|archive-date=5 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605003652/http://countrystudies.us/nigeria/23.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Britain and the Soviet Union were the main military backers of the Nigerian government, with Nigeria utilising air support from Egyptian pilots provided by [[Gamal Abdel Nasser]],<ref>{{cite web|title=''The Biafra War and the Age of Pestilence''|url=http://www.litencyc.com/theliterarymagazine/biafra.php|access-date=28 July 2014|publisher=Litencyc.com|archive-date=20 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180820081648/https://www.litencyc.com/theliterarymagazine/biafra.php|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>Michael I. Draper, ''Shadows: Airlift and Airwar in Biafra and Nigeria 1967–1970''.</ref> while [[France]] and [[Israel]] aided the Biafrans. The [[Democratic Republic of the Congo|Congolese]] government, under President [[Mobutu Sese Seko|Joseph-Désiré Mobutu]], took an early stand on the Biafran secession, voicing strong support for the Nigerian federal government<ref>McDonald, Gordon C., ''Area Handbook for the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Congo Kinshasa)'' (1971), p. 263</ref> and deploying thousands of troops to fight against the [[Separatist movements of Nigeria|secessionists]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Stearns |first1=Jason K. |title=Dancing in the Glory of Monsters: The Collapse of the Congo and the Great War of Africa |title-link=Dancing in the Glory of Monsters |date=2012 |publisher=PublicAffairs |isbn=978-1-61039-159-7 |oclc=1329373863 |page=115 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Wrong |first1=Michela |title=In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz: Living on the Brink of Disaster in the Congo |date=2000 |publisher=Fourth Estate |isbn=978-1-84115-421-3 |page=266 }}</ref>
[[File:Ondervoede kinderen, Bestanddeelnr 921-5788 (cropped).jpg|thumb|The [[blockade of Biafra]] during the [[Nigerian Civil War]] (1967–1970) resulted in a famine that ultimately cost at least a million lives.]]
Following the war, Nigeria enjoyed an [[oil boom]] in the 1970s, during which the country joined [[OPEC]] and received huge oil revenues. Despite these revenues, the military government did little to improve the [[standard of living]], help small and medium businesses, or invest in infrastructure. As oil revenues fuelled the rise of federal subsidies to states, the federal government became the centre of political struggle and the threshold of power in the country. As oil production and revenue rose, the Nigerian government became increasingly dependent on oil revenues and international commodity markets for budgetary and economic concerns.<ref>Watts, Michael (1987) ''State, Oil and Agriculture in Nigeria'', Institute of International Studies, University of California, {{ISBN|0-87725-166-5}}.</ref>
The [[1975 Nigerian coup d'état|coup in July 1975]], led by Generals [[Shehu Musa Yar'Adua]] and [[Joseph Nanven Garba|Joseph Garba]], ousted Gowon,{{sfnm|1a1=Iliffe|1y=2011|1pp=42–43|2a1=Derfler|2y=2011|2p=81}} who fled to Britain.{{sfn|Derfler|2011|p=82}} The coup plotters wanted to replace Gowon's autocratic rule with a triumvirate of three brigadier generals whose decisions could be vetoed by a [[Supreme Military Council of Nigeria (1966–1979)|Supreme Military Council]]. For this triumvirate, they convinced General [[Murtala Muhammed]] to become military head of state, with General [[Olusegun Obasanjo]] as his second-in-command, and General [[Theophilus Danjuma]] as the third.{{sfnm|1a1=Iliffe|1y=2011|1p=43|2a1=Derfler|2y=2011|2p=81}} Together, the triumvirate introduced austerity measures to stem inflation, established a Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau, replaced all military governors with new officers, and launched "Operation Deadwood" through which they fired 11,000 officials from the civil service.{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|p=44}}
 
Colonel [[Buka Suka Dimka]] launched a [[1976 Nigerian coup d'état attempt|February 1976 coup attempt]],<ref>{{cite web |last=Joliba |date=13 February 2015 |title=Failed Coup Attempt of 1976 |url=https://joliba-africa.com/2015/02/13/failed-coup-attempt-of-1976/ |access-date=27 June 2023 |website=Joliba |archive-date=27 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230627112021/https://joliba-africa.com/2015/02/13/failed-coup-attempt-of-1976/ |url-status=live }}</ref> during which General Murtala Muhammed was assassinated. Dimka lacked widespread support among the military, and his coup failed, forcing him to flee.{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|p=48}} After the coup attempt, General Olusegun Obasanjo was appointed military head of state.{{sfnm|1a1=Iliffe|1y=2011|1pp=48–49|2a1=Derfler|2y=2011|2p=85}} Obasanjo vowed to continue Murtala's policies.{{sfnm|1a1=Iliffe|1y=2011|1p=50|2a1=Derfler|2y=2011|2p=85}} Aware of the danger of alienating northern Nigerians, Obasanjo brought General Shehu Yar'Adua as his replacement and second-in-command as [[Vice President of Nigeria|Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters]] completing the military triumvirate, with Obasanjo as head of state and General Theophilus Danjuma as [[Chief of Army Staff (Nigeria)|Chief of Army Staff]], the three went on to re-establish control over the [[Nigerian military juntas of 1966–79 and 1983–99|military regime]] and organised the military's transfer of power programme: [[States of Nigeria|states creation]] and [[Electoral boundary delimitation|national delimitation]], [[Local government areas of Nigeria|local government reforms]] and the [[Constitution of Nigeria#1979 constitution (Second Republic)|constitutional drafting committee]] for a new republic.<ref>African Concord (1990). The New Helmsmen. Concord Press, Ikeja, Lagos. 13 August 1990</ref>

Latest revision as of 19:21, 24 May 2026

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Federal Republic of Nigeria

Flag Coat of arms

Map
Motto: "Unity and Faith, Peace and Progress"
Anthem: "Nigeria, We Hail Thee"
Country details
Capital Abuja
Largest city Lagos
Official languages English
Demonym Nigerian
Government Federal presidential republic
President Bola Tinubu
Vice President Kashim Shettima
Legislature National Assembly
Area
• Total 923,769 km²
Population
• 2026estimate 242,747,130
Economy
GDP (PPP)
(2026)
 $2.424 trillion
GDP (nominal)
(2026)
 $377.365 billion
Currency Naira (₦)(NGN)


Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is the most populous country in Africa and the world's sixth-most populous country.

Template:Section Nigeria/Etymology

Template:Section Nigeria/History

Template:Section Nigeria/Geography

Template:Section Nigeria/Politics

Template:Section Nigeria/Economy

Template:Section Nigeria/Demographics

Template:Section Nigeria/Culture

See also

References

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