If Africa were a pistol, Nigeria will be the trigger. The country is strategically located on the western brink of the black Continent. Nigeria is bordered by the Gulf of Guinea, between Benin Republic on the west and Cameroon on the east. The country’s location has been of immense benefits as it is an action point for the continent. It is also bounded by the Atlantic Ocean making it more accessible for importation and exportation. It also avails it the opportunity of having Islands which have contributed to the nation’s economy. Thus, anyone coming to the country to establish or settle down is not making a mistake, because there are lot of rooms for expansion.
Nigeria has a long history as her inhabitants have existed for centuries. However,
…show more content…
The nation however became a republic on October 1st 1963, when Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe came into office as Nigeria’s first President, having been the first indigenous Governor-General since 16th November, 1960. The democratic terrain of the country has been severally interrupted by Military rule. The first Republic ended in January, 1966 with a coup, which brought Major-General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi as Military ruler. Coups followed and Military regimes continued till 1979 when Major-General Olusegun Obasanjo relinquished power, allowing for a second republic with Shehu Shagari emerging President under the platform of the National Party of …show more content…
The country is divided into six major geo-political zones: North-East, North-Central, North-West, South-East, South-West, and South-South. The nation is further divided into thirty-six states and the Capital Territory. Nigerian major cities include Lagos, Ibadan, Kaduna, Kano, Maiduguri, Jos, Port Harcourt, Enugu, Calabar, and Aba (Wilson, 2011). It is however worthy of mention that Ibadan is the largest city in the whole of Africa.
Nigeria’s population is currently put at about 170 million people, although no one is sure of its accuracy, because they turn everything in Nigeria to politics. Thus it is impossible to say the correct figure until a new census is conducted, and this has been slated for 2016 (National Population Commission, 2011). The population density in Nigeria is among the highest in Africa. No wonder it is called the Giant of Africa. The population is largely made up of young people; the largest segment of the population comprised individuals who are between fifteen and sixty-four years old. The second largest segment is between the ages of zero and fourteen years old. The smallest segment are the older generation who are sixty-five years and older. My colleague should know that leading in a country like Nigeria, though one has to be globally consistent, there is also the need for one to be locally relevant for one to succeed and
Europe, in the late 1800’s, was starting for a land grab in the African continent. Around 1878, most of Africa was unexplored, but by 1914, most of Africa, with the lucky exception of Liberia and Ethiopia, was carved up between European powers. There were countless motivations that spurred the European powers to carve Africa, like economical, political, and socio–cultural, and there were countless attitudes towards this expansion into Africa, some of approval and some of condemnation.
When the Age of Imperialism began in 1875, it effected Africa in many ways. Nowhere was the competition for colonies more intense than in Africa. Europeans went after North and South Africa splitting up the continent. Egypt and Sudan were taken over by Britain to obtain the Suez Canal. Imperialism helped to develop Africa’s economy and turned it into a continent of colonies.
Throughout the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, almost every country in Africa was imperialized by other countries in Europe. To imperialize is to conquer another country, whether it be in the means of politics, economics and/or culture, and control that land. The aftermath for the imperialized country was either beneficial or harmful. The amount of African countries that a European country imperialized varied. Great Britain imperialized fifteen countries in Africa, including Egypt in 1882, Sierra Leone in 1808, and the Union of South Africa in 1910. Although Great Britain’s reasons to imperialize were selfish, Britain helped each country progress afterwards.
Prior to the 19th century, the Europeans traded mainly for African slaves. It turns out they were not immune towards certain diseases and therefore had an increasing risk of becoming sick. For years to come this continued, but not much land was conquered. Eventually, conference between only the Europeans was held to divide up the land appropriately, and the scramble for Africa began. The driving forces behind European imperialism in Africa were expanding empires, helping natives, and natural resources.
Nigeria was colonized by the world leader at the time; Britain, and was claimed as a colony in 1914. Although both Britain and the Royal Niger Company had been claiming parts of Nigeria as a protectorate, their control over Nigeria was achieved through both peace treaties and military actions. Europe didn’t officially recognize Britain’s control over Nigeria until after the Berlin Conference which gave Britain full right to Nigeria, and Britain hastened to forcefully control the area after civil war in Nigeria over the slave-trade threatened to disrupt their interests. Britain was interested in the palm-oil trade of Nigeria, which was controlled by The Royal Niger Company along the Niger river. Once Britain claimed Nigeria, it set about
The two factors that led to the formal occupation of North Africa in 1882 was economic and political factors. Britain wanted to protect their economic interests such as their investment in The Suez Canal. In 1875 Prime Minister Disraeli bought a 44% share in the Suez Canal- this was ultimately beneficial for Britain as this was a cheaper way to export goods into Egypt whilst simultaneously protecting the route to India. Robinson and Gallagher argue that the driving force that led to Britain expanding its empire to Egypt was because it would protect the ‘trade between the British and the Jewel of the crown’. Disraeli’s shares led to considerable business investment in Egypt, for example Egyptian cotton became popular amongst British entrepreneurs.
Lagos- is city, which is located in the coast of West Africa. Lagos is the most
During the colonial period in Nigeria (from about 1850 to 1960), the British, like any other colonial power, asserted their dominance through a variety of media. The colonial experience of Nigeria and Britain, and Nigeria's early post-colonial history can be described, roughly chronologically, in three phases or periods: the formation of a ‘captured' colony, the education and inculcation of ‘proper,' British ways (i.e., the ‘taming' of the colony), and the immediate aftermath of colonialism (i.e., the ‘independence' of the colony). This essay attempts to scrutinize these periods in the light of the theories of Karl Marx, Ernest Gellner, and Jack Snyder. My claim is that Nigeria's colonial relationship with Britain, in general, reflects Marx's theory of the dichotomy between the oppressor and the oppressed, Gellner's theory that domination and oppression is disseminated through educational means, and Snyder's theory on the risks and dangers that young, ‘immature' … countries face when they gamble on democracy
Throughout history, imperialism has led countries to extend their rule over weaker countries and then colonized those countries to expand their own power. Imperialism allows the ruling countries to use the weaker countries for their resources. Colonizing other countries would then lead to growth and a better reputation for the dominating country. There are many examples of imperialism throughout European history. When many European countries “scrambled” for Africa, it seemed as though Africa had no say in anything. During the 19th century, Europe found a way to use Africa for their own growth and power. Using Africa for their resources, the Europeans colonized Africa without a second thought. European imperialism in Africa had a negative impact because of social disarray, cultural loss, and death it caused.
Oghre, Ben. “Nigeria’s Population Is A Silent Killer .” Nigerians of America. N.p., 30 Sept. 2007. Web. 5 Feb. 2012. .
In the early 1880’s, the powers of Europe started to take control of regions in Africa and set up colonies there. In the beginning, colonization caused the Africans little harm, but before long, the Europeans started to take complete control of wherever they went. The Europeans used their advanced knowledge and technology to easily maneuver through the vast African landscape and used advanced weapons to take control of the African people and their land. The countries that claimed the most land and had the most significant effect on Africa were France, England, Belgium, and Germany. There were many reasons for the European countries to be competing against each other to gain colonies in Africa. One of the main reasons was that the Europeans believed that the more territory a country was able to control, the more powerful it could become and the more powerful it would be seen as by other countries. Other reasons for the desire to control African land included the many natural resources that could only be found in Africa, such as diamonds, gold, and as time progressed, rubber. It also provided new markets in surrounding places so that manufactured goods could be sold for a larger profit. The Europeans had many motives for imperialism in Africa. Yet the true motives were often shielded as they tried tom present themselves as humanitarians when in reality they were making Africa a terrible place to live with brutality and harsh treatment of the African natives. The ways of the Europeans had many physical and emotional costs for the people of Africa. The imperialism process also took a toll on the people of Europe. The European imperialistic colonization in Africa was motivated by the desire to control the abundant natural resources an...
Its neighbors include Cameroon and Chad to the east, Niger to the north and Benin to the west. Nigeria is a very important country in Africa since it exports oil worldwide. Agriculture and industry constitute most of Nigeria's economic activity. Women represent an estimated 60-80 percent of the agricultural labor force, producing about two-thirds of the food crops. Currently, Nigeria's population exceeds 110 million.
In the end, what holds African countries such as Nigeria together is their shared pride. Modern, western influences can bring positive changes to society, but new cultures cannot completely eradicate the foundational cultures to which a society is founded on.
Nigerian culture is as multi-ethnic as the people in Nigeria. The people of Nigeria still cherish their traditional languages, music, dance and literature. Nigeria comprises of three large ethnic groups, which are Yoruba, Hausa-Fulani and Igbo.
The ultimate result was troops and as many as 3 million civilians died. While the outside world considered Nigeria to be a united and monolithic entity, even the British colonial administration was wary of the reality of Nigerian politics; the nation was not so much a “country” as it was more than three hundred different groups coalesced into one. 45 These tribes were divided between three main spheres of influence: the Yoruba, the Igbo, and the Hausa. Historically, their interests were often opposed, and their cultures did not come into regular contact with one another until the British occupation.