History of nigeria

From ancient times people inhabited the territory of Nigeria. In the south-west of Nigeria, Ivo Eleru cave is located, where fragments of the skull and skeleton of a man buried in a cramped position of 9.2-11.25 thousand liters were found. n (calibrated date ∼13 ln ^[1] ) ^[2] .

Around the middle of I millennium BC. e. in the central part of the country, the Nok civilization is being formed on the Jos plateau, marking the transition from the Stone to the Iron Age. A distinctive feature of this culture were terracotta figurines. Some cultural features (figures of horses, riders and wheeled carts) allow us to link the emergence of Nok with the influence of the Mediterranean ancient center of civilization.

After the mysterious disappearance of Nok civilization, the Yoruba peoples, who created the early state associations of Ife , Oyo and the Kingdom of Benin, preserved its traditions. The Benin Bronze , which adorned the palace of the Benin kings, is now represented in the collections of the largest museums in Europe, including most of them in the British Museum .

In the eighth century, the nomadic Nilots Zagawa in Central Sahara created the vast state of Kanem Borno , whose power extended from Libya to Nigeria.

In 1085, the rulers of Kanem-Borno under the influence of Arab merchants converted to Islam . The basis of the state’s economy was transit Sahara trade and tribute collection from conquered tribes.

In the XIV century, the loose nomadic empire Kanem-Borno disintegrated. On its ruins in northern Nigeria and the adjacent territories of Niger, the city-states of the house were formed .

In the 15th century, northwestern Nigeria became part of the Muslim empire of Songai (whose center was Tombouctou ), which soon broke up under the onslaught of Moroccan troops. House states regained their independence. At the beginning of the 19th century, they were united during the Fulani jihad into a single state of Sokoto .

Europeans appeared on the shores of the Gulf of Guinea in the 15th century . The first of these were the Portuguese. Unlike other regions of the world, Europeans did not try to gain a foothold in this territory, build their cities here or convert the local population to their faith. On the contrary, they helped strengthen the native kingdoms ( Hoyo , Benin ) by involving them in the world market. Exotic fruits and ivory were in demand in Europe, and slaves in its overseas colonies. And only the industrial revolution (dictating the exploitation of raw materials), as well as the ban on the slave trade in the 19th century, undermined the economy of the slave kingdoms, contributed to their decline and absorption by the British colonial empire.

Great Britain in 1852 after the bombing of Lagos signed an agreement with Lagos , which opened the British consular period for ten years ^[3] .

As a result of the " partition of Africa " at the Berlin Conference in 1885, Britain claimed its rights to part of the coast of Guinea, corresponding to modern southern Nigeria. The colonialists instilled in the local population ( Yoruba ) the Anglican form of Christianity , cocoa and peanut crops, built railways ( 1916 ), and drilled oil wells ( 1958 ). More bloody was the accession of the Muslim states of northern Nigeria.

In 1914, the British colonies in Nigeria were united into a single protectorate of Nigeria . A single Nigerian nation never formed. The country was divided into autonomous regions corresponding to the territories of Yoruba (in the west), Hausa (in the north) and because (in the east). On the basis of these nationalities, ethnoregional parties were formed.

First Nigerian Republic

October 1, 1960 Nigeria became an independent state. The first government of independent Nigeria was based on a coalition of parties of the NSC and SNK, and the representative of the SNK, Abubakar Tafava Baleva, became the prime minister. After the proclamation of Nigeria by the republic in 1963, Nnamdi Azikive (representative of the NISS) took over as president. The opposition was represented by the Action Group led by Obafemi Avolovo. Regional governments were headed by: in the North, SNK leader Ahmadu Bello, in the West, S. Akintola from the Action Group, and in the East, the representative of the NIS, M. Okpara. In 1963, a fourth region, Midwest, was formed in the eastern part of Western Nigeria. In the 1964 election in this region, the NSNG won.

In January 1966, a group of Igbo officers led a military coup . The short period of the "first republic" is over. The military tried to establish a unitary state in Nigeria, divided into provinces. North Nigerian Muslims considered the coup a threat to their interests, and ethnic clashes erupted across the country. At the end of July, military units consisting of northerners carried out a new military coup. The head of state was the lieutenant colonel (later general), Yakubu Govon (reigned from 1966 to 1975 ).

The Igbo persecution resumed in the north, thousands of people were killed, which led to the mass exodus of the Igbo to the east, their attempts to create the state of Biafra and the civil war of 1967-1970 . The country returned to the federal system.

Civil war 1967-1970

Political parties of the country were banned in the period 1966-1978, 1984-1989 and 1993-1998. In 1975, Gowon was overthrown by a group of officers led by Murtala Muhammad , who was known for his intolerant attitude towards corruption and lack of discipline; it is believed that the program he publicized and started to combat these phenomena in society could have achieved worthy results, but Muhammad himself was killed in February 1976 during another, this time unsuccessful, coup attempt organized by Lieutenant Colonel B.S. Dimka . His successor, Olusegun Obasanjo, transferred, as was originally assumed, power to the civilian government, which was headed by Sheha Shagari, who was elected to this post under very doubtful circumstances.

In 1979, a new constitution was adopted, which laid the foundation for the "second republic."

In 1983, the Shagari administration, steeped in corruption and despotism, was replaced by a new group of military men who then led the country almost without interruption for a decade and a half. Elections were held in 1993, but Moshud Abiola, the ethnic Yoruba who won them, the military, mostly representatives of northern ethnic groups, refused to transfer power.

The Fourth Republic

In 1998, during the preparation for the nomination of the country's military dictator Sani Abachi as president, Abacha died, and Abdusalam Abubakar, who replaced him, transferred power to the civilians. The presidential election was won by a retired general from the Christian community, Olusegun Obasanjo . An interfaith consensus was reached, according to which representatives of the Muslim and Christian communities should succeed each other as presidents. Obasanjo stayed at his post for two terms, and through various manipulations tried to achieve amendments to the constitution in order to run for a third term, but did not succeed. However, in 2007, his henchman, Muslim Umaru Yar-Adua , was elected the new president.

In 2003 there was an outbreak of unrest in the state of Plateau ^[4] .

In 2006, there were acts of intercommunal violence in Nigeria between Hausa Muslims and Christians. In February, over a hundred people died in skirmishes ^[5] . In September, interfaith clashes took place in the state of Jigawa ^[6] .

In November 2008, riots broke out between Muslims and Christians in the city of Jos , which killed some 300 people. The reason for the riots was the victory in the local elections of the Muslim party, representing the interests of the Haus people ^[7] .

On January 13, 2010, the Nigeria Federal Court transferred the president’s powers to Vice President Goodluck Jonathan , as the previously elected president, Umaru Yar Adua, was undergoing a long course of treatment in Saudi Arabia . On February 9, 2010, the Senate of Nigeria confirmed the transfer of authority.

In March 2010, Jonathan dismissed the cabinet, inherited from the previous president and proceeded to appoint new ministers, which caused discontent among supporters Umaru Yar-Adua ^[8] .

In March 2010, more than 500 people died as a result of bloody clashes between Christians and Muslims in the state of Plateau ^[9] .

On May 5, 2010, President Umaru Yar-Adua died at the age of 58 in his villa in the capital of Nigeria, where he returned in February after a course of treatment abroad ^[10] .

On May 6, 2010, Goodluck Jonathan took the oath of office as the new president of Nigeria. He will remain in office until the expiration of his deceased predecessor. Future elections are scheduled for January 2011. ^[11]

On April 16, 2011, Nigeria held a presidential election . Victory was won by incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan ^[12] .

In March 2015, he was outnumbered by Mohammad Bukhari in the elections, before that he had taken second place three times ^[13] . This is the first time in Nigeria’s history that the incumbent has lost an election to an opposition candidate. Bukhari had previously led Nigeria, taking power on December 31, 1983 as a result of a coup .

• Abubakar Tafava Baleva (1960-1966)
• Agui-Ironsey (January 1966 - July 1966) military
• Yakubu Govon (1966-1975) military
• Murtala Muhammad (July 1975 - February 1976) military
• Olusegun Obasanjo (1976-1979) military
• Shehu Shagari (1979-1983)
• Mohammad Bukhari (1983-1985) military
• Ibrahim Babangida (1985-1993) military
• Ernest Shonekan (1993)
• Sani Abacha (1993-1998) military
• Abdusalam Abubakar (1998-1999) military
• Olusegun Obasanjo (1999-2007)
• Umaru Yar-Adua (2007-2010)
• Goodluck Jonathan (2007—2015)
• Mohammad Bukhari (from May 29, 2015 to the present)

• Revolutionary Council (Nigeria)

• The history of Nigeria in modern and recent times / I.V.Sledzevsky , N. B. Kochakova , G. S. Kiselev and others; Ed. Yu. N. Zotova , I.V. Sledzevsky; Institute of Africa, USSR Academy of Sciences . - M .: Science . The main edition of oriental literature, 1981. - 356, [8] p. - (History of Africa). - 2500 copies.