People lived in what is now Nigeria thousands of years ago. In parts of Nigeria, archaeologists have found some tools that are 40,000 years old. Human skeletons, and paintings, and other remains of prehistoric settlements have also been found.

The Nok civilization flourished in what is now central Nigeria from about 500 B.C to A.D 200. The clay figures produced by this civilization are among the oldest shown examples of African sculpture.

Early kingdoms. The kingdom of Kanem developed of what is now Chad during the A.D. 700’s. By the 1300’s Banu (now called Borno), in what is now northerneastern Nigeria, had become the political centre of the kingdom. The Kanem-Bornu kingdom traded with countries in Africa. Asia, and Europe.

After about A.D. 1000, a number of Hausa states grew in the region west of Bornu. Some of these states, such as Kano and Katsina, traded with other countries in North Africa and in the Middle East. Kano, Kebbi, and and other Hausa states that flourished during the 500’s and 1500’s. During the early 500’s, Usuman dan Fodio (also called Uthman ibn Fudi), Fulani who was a Muslim religious leader, declared war on the Hausa states. His forces gained control of almost all northern Nigeria except Bornu. He formed the area into a Muslim empire called the Sokoto Caliphate.

In the south, the Yoruba people had established an important culture centre at Ife as early as A.D. 1000. Yorubas from Ife later founded states in various parts of the surrounding territory. The most important of these was the kingdom of Oyo, which extended into what is near the country of Benin during the 1700’s.

The kingdom of Benin flourished from the 1400’s to 1600’s. It developed between Lagos and the Niger Delta and grew into a prosperous trade centre. The kingdom also became famous for its sculptures of brass, bronze, and ivory.

The coming of the Europeans. The Portuguese were the first Europeans to reach Nigeria. They established a trade centre near Benin in the late 1400’s and developed a trade in slaves with the African chiefs. British, Dutch, and other European traders later competed for control of the trade. By 1700’s, the leading slave traders on the Nigerian coast were from Britain (now the United Kingdom.)

In 1807, the British government outlawed the slave trade. Britain signed treaties with other European countries and with local African rulers in an attempt to end the trade. British ships traveled along the Nigerian coast and captured ships that carries slaves. The British then set the slaves free at Freetown, in Sierra Leone. British missionaries converted many of the freed slaves to Christianity. Some of the freed slaves later returned to Nigeria and helped the British spread Christianity along the coastal areas and in the southwest.

British rule. After 1807, British traders began to deal in palm oil and other agricultural products of the Nigerian coastal region. They explored the Niger River and other waterways in search of valuable natural resources.

In 1851, Britain seized the port of Lagos. It became a British colony in 1861.

During the late 1800’s, Britain established protectorates in parts of southern Nigeria. A British trading firm called the Royal Niger Company ruled most of northern Nigeria until 1900. That year, the British government made the region the Protectorate of Southern Nigeria. Nigerians in many areas, especially in the north, fought against the establishment of British rule. But the British defeated them. In 2914, Britain joined the northern and southern regions into the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria.

Independence. During the 1920’s, Nigerians began to demand representation in the British colonial government. At the same time, rivalries between the various peoples of Nigeria caused disunity in the country.

In 1946, Britain divided Nigeria into three regions north, west, and east. Each region had an assembly composed of Nigerian and British members. The assemblis acted as advisory bodies to the central government in Lagos. A Constitution adopted in 1954



gave the assemblies increased powers and established Nigeria as a federation. Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, a northern leader, became the federation’s first prime minister in 1957. On Oct. 1, 1960, Britain granted Nigeria independence. Balewa remained prime minister.

In 1961, the United Nations (UN) organized a referendum in western Cameroon, a UN trust territory that bordered Nigeria on the east. As a result of the referendum, the northern part of the territory joined Nigeria, and the southern part joined Cameroon.

During the early 1960’s, various ethnic groups competed for political power within Nigeria’s three regions. In 1963, a Mid-Western Region was created out of the Western Region. People in the Northern and Eastern regions also demanded separate political units.

At the same time, different groups for control of the central government. The people of southern Nigeria, especially the Igbo, resented the power of the Hausa people of the north. The northerners controlled the central government because the north had more people than the other regions. Charges of dishonesty in a 1964 federal election and a 1965 regional election led to violent riots and added to the turmoil.

Civil war. In January 1966, a group of army officers, mainly Igbo, overthrew the central and regional governments. They killed Prime Minister Balewa and the prime ministers of the Northern and Western regions. General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, commander of the army and an Igbo, took control of the government.

In May 1966, Aguiyi-Ironsi abolished the federal system of government. He set up a strong central government and appointed many Igbo as advisers. Many northerners feared that these actions would give the Igbo control over the entire country. Riots broke out in the north, and thousands of Igbo were killed.

In July 1966, a group of northern army officers revolted against the governmet and killed Aguiyi-Ironsi. Yakubu Gowon, the army of staff, became head of a new military government. But Colonel Odumegwu Ojukwu, the military governor of the Eastern Region, refused to accept Gowon as head of state.

In 1967, Gowon replaced the country’s 4 political regions with 12 states, in order to give some of the smaller ethnic groups more political power. Ojukwu refuse to accept the division of the Eastern Region into three states. On May 30, 1967, he declared the Eastern Region an independent republic called Biafra. Civil war between Biafra and the rest of Nigeria broke out in June 1067. Biafra surrender in January 1970.

Recent developments. The civil war caused widespread death and destruction in southeastern Nigeria. Beginning in 1970, the government sponsored reconstruction and relief programmes to overcome the effects of the war. Many Igbo, including some who had fought with rebel forces, were given government positions.

During the early 1970’s, Nigeria’s growing oil industry provided the country with an important source of wealth. Oil profits enable the government to plan development programmes to improve the standard of living of all Nigerians. But political problems continued in Nigeria. In 1975, military leaders overthrew General Gowon. General Murtala Ramat Mohammed became head of state and commander in chief of Nigeria’s armed forces. In 1976, a group of military officers tried to overthrow the government. They failed, but killed General Mohammed. Lieutenant General Olusegun Obasanjo succeeded him. Also in 1976, Nigeria increased its number of states form 12 to 19. Military rule ended in 1979. The people elected a new civilian government to replace the military government. Shehu Shagari became president. He was reelected in 1983.

The wealth that Nigeria gained from its oil exports in the 1970’s attracted many people from neighboruing lands. These people came to Nigeria to find work. But in the early 1980’s, declining oil prices began to hurt Nigeria’s economy. In 1983 and agin in 1985, the government ordered foreigners who were living in Nigeria illegally to leave the country.

In December 1093, the military overthrew the civilian government. Major General Mohammed Buhari became head of a new military government. In 1985, he was overthrown by other military leaders. Major General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida replaced him as head of the military government. Elections for a new National Assembly took place in 1992. Elections for a civilian president were held in June 1993. Babangida cancelled the presidential election results, however, charging that, the voting had been dishonest. Many Nigerians rioted is protest against the cancellation. Nigerian workers went on strike to emphasize their demand for democracy. In August 1993, Ernest Shonekan was appointed president of an interim government.