Fascinating history of Nigeria: Oil and Republics
-History of Nigeria before Independence
– The History Nigeria from 1914 till date:
– History of Nigeria Oil:
– The History of Nigeria from 1960 till date:
History of Nigeria before Independence
What are the fascinating history of Nigeria? The history of a geographical entity called Nigeria has had multiplicity of narrative slants and mixtures from various historians, sociologists and perhaps Africanists alike, each of which traces this set up to a particular tribe, movement in trade and some anthropological developments. Although one can see Nigeria’s history as a checkered one, it is interesting that the variations so berthed by these writers do not foreclose the established historical beliefs that every history is a chronicle of a people’s origin, journey and eventual development, most times, staccato.
For what is now known as Nigeria, the history is one intertwined with antiquity, trade, sculptures and many other cultural practices which were a major preoccupation of the early people. That one aspect of the fascinating history of Nigeria. These no doubt have given credence to the reason why Nigeria is culturally diverse, culturally oriented and culturally identified, and perhaps why Nigeria’s history too appears to have some believable ancientness like every other history the world over.
The history of Nigeria dates as far as 5th Century when the Nok people who lived within the Southern Jos plateau area began the practice of terracotta figures known as the Nok culture. This cultural practice later led them into producing sculptures that depicted their beliefs, individualism, commonality and ancestry. These sculptures later became commodities for trade and by this time, the Nok people had grown in lips and bounds in the making of the artifacts beyond their comprehension. That another fascinating history of Nigeria.
In 9th Century, the trade in sculptures was extended to the Lake Chad. From there, it was further taken, with little or no application of any business or economic principle, to Bornu on the Western side of the Lake Chad. As these people recorded boom in their businesses, they were equally experiencing exponential increase in number, growth in expansion and a bit of expertise. This apparently explains why the ruler of Kanem- Bornu was converted to Islam much later. What a fascinating history of Nigeria.
Along the Western part of Bornu was the Northern frontiers of Nigeria which was occupied by the Hausa people. These people later developed a number of small but stable kingdoms. These kingdoms were all strong walled city because of intimidation they were experiencing in the hands of their larger neighbours who were the Mali and Gao, occupying the West.
From 11the to 15th Century, the Yoruba people emerged from the Savannah grassland and the forest regions of West of the Niger, between the Hausa kingdoms and the coast. The Yoruba people later settled in Ife and were in business of sculptures as well.
In the 16th Century, a larger Yoruba empire was berthed, based slightly further from the forest of Oyo. This empire grew in strength and grace and by the end of the 18th Century, the rulers of Oyo were wielding influence and controlling a region from the Niger to the West of Dahomey.
Later in the 18th Century, the Benin kingdom was established. It fame was not principally power, but in cast-metal sculpture, a trade inherited from the Ife people. The kingdom which the Portuguese, being the first people to come in contact with the Benin kingdom through Trans-Atlantic trade when they reached the mouth of the Niger in 1470s was noted for its superb artifacts and the ceremonial events of the Oba.
At the end of the 20th Century, the Benin kingdom had established it original dynasty, although no political power was said to have been wielded. Interestingly, among Nigeria’s many historic kingdoms, Benin then was the most renowned, apparently due to its trade contact with the Portuguese. It is equally a fascinating history of Nigeria.
Before the beginning of the 20th Century, the Northern Region of Nigeria emerged a tribe known as the Fulanis, whose leader became almost unnecessary passionate about Islam. From 1804, Sheikh Usman Dan Fodio and his two sons had led the Fulanis in what was described as a holy war against the lax Muslims rulers of the Hausa kingdoms. This war became a religious move which gave the Fulanis some dominance over the Hausas who had been living in the North before the migration of the Fulanis to the same region.
At the end of the war, Sokoto was made the capital of the Fulanis. By this time, the British had started sojourning down to Nigeria and trading had intensified.
In 1821, the British government sponsored an expedition in the Southern part of Nigeria through the Sahara to reach the kingdom of Bornu. Its members were the first Europeans to reach the Lake Chad. One of the members, Hugh Clapperton, explored further West through Kano and the Hausa territory to reach Sokoto. Many other people later sojourned and came into Nigeria, thus by this time, the British had firmly held the land of what is now Nigeria.
After the British had taken hold of Nigeria and introduced Indirect Rule, efforts were strengthened in anti-slave policy which sought to abolish slave trade that had gone on when Portuguese were trading through the Trans-Sahara slave trade route. As a demonstration of its stronghold in Nigeria, Lagos was, in 1861, annexed as a British colony, thus affirming the conquest of Nigeria as a British territory.
By this time that the British had held Nigeria tight like infant, regions had already been formed and the British had their people in each of the regions to administer. Nigeria was gradually evolving like a morning flower and in 1897, Miss Flora Shaw who later became Lord Federick Lugard’s wife christened what was then a geographical set up Nigeria. The name, history has it, was conceptualised in consideration of the two major rivers in the country: River Niger and River Benue.
The History Nigeria from 1914 till date:
The history of what is now Nigeria cannot be complete without a chronicle of the major event of the 1914. This perhaps indicates that by this time, the British must have fully been in control of all existing protectorates which they created for administrative convenience and other reasons that necessitated such actions.
Precisely January 1st, 1914, Lord Frederick Lugard, the governor of the Northern protectorate and the protectorate of Southern Nigeria came together and signed a document to bring the two protectorates together. This became a milestone which formed the bedrock for the amalgamation of Nigeria. That the amalgamation was signed in Ikot Abasi, Akwa Ibom State, makes it a fascinating history of Nigeria.
In his attempt to justify the need for the amalgamation of the Southern and the Northern protectorates, Lugard said it was primarily to reduce the administrative burden and increase the economically low state of the North. This is what Lugard referred to as, in his infamous description of how a marriage between the “ rich wife of substance and means” (the South) and the “ poor husband” (the North) would lead to happy marriage for both. Some historians however believed that Lugard was indirectly referring to the political supremacy of the North over the South, making it a fascinating history of Nigeria.
What perhaps made the amalgamation a huge success was that before the Europeans arrived the territory of what is now Nigeria, there were a number of already existing civilizations in place which made their arrival less astonishing. For instance, Islam as a religion was flourishing in the Northern part, with two empires: the Sokoto Caliphate and the Bornu Empire. In the Southwest was a Yoruba group which occupied that particular part of Nigeria, while in the Southeast was an Igbo Kingdom, Nri and the collection of semi-autonomous communities and villages in the Niger River Delta. Interestingly, all of these groups were distinctively unique in their culture, language and religions.
Another fascinating history of Nigeria is that in 1861, the British formally occupied their first territory called Lagos colony. As they continued holding sway in Lagos, there arose the need for them to protect Christian converts, increase trading interests and further strengthen anti-slavery moves. So, in 1861, they decided to spread down to the Southern part which later was christened the Southern protectorate of Nigeria. All the protectorates were however administered as different administrative blocks up until the British left the shores of Nigeria following a concerted agitation by Nigerian nationalists for self- government.
History of Nigeria Oil:
The history of oil discovery in Nigeria began in 1908 when the NBC started oil exploration in search of crude oil. This company later left Nigeria before World War 1 broke out, apparently not making any breakthrough. Its successor, D’Arcy EC and Whitehall Petroleum came afterwards and spent some years still searching for crude oil, but there was nothing found in the Nigerian soil. This frustration led to the company’s exit of the region – the Niger Delta. That in itself is a fascinating history of Nigeria oil discovery.
In 1923, another company, the Shell D’Arcy BP Company of Nigeria hit the Nigerian soil for it own search for crude oil.
This oil company forged a union between Shell and the British Petroleum and in 1937, the oil firm launched it first oil exploration campaign, with a licence to set of operations all over the country.
In 1956, this persistent oil company broke record earlier companies that came and later left could see to break: oil was discovered in a small community of Oloibiri in what is now known as Bayelsa State. This signaled a breakthrough in the history of Nigerian oil exploration. What a fascinating history of Nigeria!
However, prior to the discovery, the first well known as Oloibiri 1 was created in 1955 with a total depth of 3365 meters. In the first of exploration, the average oil produced stood at five thousand barrels per day. As time progressed, more wells were built, and in 1964, up to 11 wells had been built. By this time, oil exploration had grown into a renowned level. Today, Oloibiri is a ghost of itself and that is a fascinating history of Nigeria oil exploitation.
In 1958, Nigeria embarked on its first crude oil export, pumping the black gold through pipelines built by Shell. At the end of 1960, a total of 187,000 tons of oil had been exported.
Before long, oil export in Nigeria had become a major economic concern to the government, as other companies came in and assisted in the widening of the embryonic business as it was then. With this assistance, Nigeria was able to produce over twenty million barrels before the end of 1978.
Shortly afterwards, 12 more oilfields were discovered in Afam and Bomu communities, thus joining the roll call of oil rich communities. Further exploration gave birth to more discoveries of oil wells and as this activity grew in capacity, the Niger Delta Region that was hitherto an unpopular area became the cynosure of all the oil companies around the world. The Nigerian government, realising this economic boom, turned it attention to this, abandoning the long-aged agriculture that fed the nation and other societies of the earth. Up until now, oil remains the mainstay of the Nigeria’s economy.
The History of Nigeria from 1960 till date:
After many years of struggle for self-government, the federation of Nigeria was formally granted independence on 1st October, 1960, under a constitution that provided for a parliamentary government and some level of self-government for the then three regions that existed.
Between 1959 and 1960, Jaja Wachuku was the first speaker of the Nigerian parliament who received the instrument of independence also known as Charter on the Independence Day from Princess Alexandra Kent who represented the queen of England, Queen Elizabeth 11. Queen Elizabeth 11 was the Monarch and Head of State of Nigeria, owing to the fact Nigeria was a member of the British Commonwealth of nations. Upon being granted self-government, the Nigerian government was given powers in fiscal policies, defence and others as part of what makes a country truly independent.
The Nigeria’s First Republic:
In October, 1963, Nigeria became a Federal Republic and the former Governor General, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe became the first President. By this time, ethnicity had started permeating the fabrics of Nigerian politics. This ethnic issue fuelled the disparity in economy and development between the North and the South. The Action Group party was manoeuvred out of control of the Western Region by the federal government, and a new pro- government Yoruba party known as the Nigerian National Democratic Party (NNDP) took over. Before long, the leader of the AG, Awolowo was arrested and imprisoned.
In 1965, an election was conducted. But the results of the election were in contention as a result of wild scale malpractices which questioned the whole process. From that moment, the nation of Nigeria began brewing crisis. The conservative NDP went into an alliance with the NNDP, leaving the Igbo NCNC to grapple with the AG. In the heat of all the alliances and realignments, riot erupted and many lives were lost in swoop.
The First Military Rule in Nigeria:
January 15, 1966, a group of army officers mostly from the Southern part overthrew the NPC- NNDP- led government and went further to assassinate the Prime Minister and the Premiers of the North and West in a coup that was a novel development in the country.
Consequently, Major -General Johnson Aguiyi Ironsi became the first military head of state. Some of those soldiers who were involved in the bloody coup were arrested. This coup sparked off ethnic rivalry between the North and the East. Besides the ill-feelings that accumulated in the hearts of many, Ironsi was unable to give the country an acceptable constitution. He also fuelled anger by enacting Decree No 34 which sought to unify the country. This Decree attracted national condemnation because it concerns were not in the overall interest of the country.
Nigeria’s Second Republic:
When General Obasanjo started his military rule, he was crystal clear that he would return Nigeria to a civil rule within a time possible. To demonstrate this commitment, a committee was constituted in 1977 to draft for the Nigerian people, a new constitution that would act as a legal document for the proposed civil rule.
In 1979, political parties were given the leeway to hit the ground for campaigns and subsequent elections. In view of this, five political parties fielded in candidates and eventually, Alhaji Shehu Shagari of National Party of Nigeria (NPN) was elected the President of Nigeria. All the five parties won seats in the National Assembly.
The Nigeria’s Third Republic:
General Babangida was in power beginning from 1985, with his own promise of restoring civil rule to the country. This promise did not come to Nigerians by surprise because it was almost a military tradition to have a Head of State make promises, whether redeemably possible or not.
To bring his promise to pass, Babangida fixed 1990 as a year the country would be returned to civil rule, but he later extended it to 1993. Earlier in 1989, a constitution was completed and political activities returned uninvited. Two parties were formed: the National Republican Party (NRP) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
