The history of Nigeria

“Welcome in Nigeria!”, it is the first sign you see when you leave the airport. But, for how long is it already possible to visit this country? Nigeria was granted independence on October 1, 1960. What happened before? When you leave the airport and you start walking through the streets, there is one thing that immediately catches your attention: the density of this population. There are so many people out there and when you travel along the country, you start to wonder… What do these people have in common? The people in the North are so different from the people in the East, is it only the country name that bounds them?

First of all, you have to know the history of this population to understand its diversity. The first inhabitants, which are thought to be the Nok people (500 BC –c. AD 200), settled in the forest belt and in the Niger Delta region. When the Banu and SemiBanti migrated from southern and Central Africa, they intermingled with the Sudanese. Later other groups such as Shuwa-Arabs, the Tuarefs and the Fulanis entered the north of Nigeria. As the population started to grow, other ethnic groups entered the country as well. Today, there are assumed to be around 250 different ethnic groups in the country.

“How is a country with such a diversity lead?”, you may ask. Nigeria has been a colony of England from 1901 until it became independent in 1960. Nigeria was then formed into a federal republic, which means it is headed by a president. Since the elections of 2010, Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan is president. He is a member of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). And hopefully he can put an end to the numerous civil fights and make Nigeria blossom using its richness of natural resources.

Sources:

http://www.nigeriaembassyusa.org/index.php?page=test-sub

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_heads_of_state_of_Nigeria

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigeria

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/414840/Nigeria/55320/Independent-Nigeria

http://www.infoplease.com/country/nigeria.html

http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ad41