Early history of Nigeria
Archaeological research has shown that people already living in southwestern Nigeria (specifically Iwo-Eleru) as early as 9000 BC and perhaps earlier in Ugwuelle-Uturu (Okigwe) in southeastern Nigeria, where microliths were used. smelters at Taruga dating from the fourth century BC provide the oldest evidence of metalworking in Archaeology.

The first known example of a fossil skeleton with negroid features, perhaps 10,000 years old, was found at Iii Ileru in western Nigeria and attests to the age of housing in the region.

microlithic ceramic industries have also been developed by savanna pastoralists from at least the 4th millennium BC and were continued by subsequent agricultural communities. In the south, hunting and gathering gave way to subsistence farming in the first millennium BC and the cultivation of staple foods.

The stone ax heads, imported in bulk from the north and is used in the opening of forests for agricultural development, were venerated by the descendants of the Yoruba neolithic pioneers as "thunderbolts," cast to the earth by the gods .

Kainji Dam excavations revealed iron metallurgy in the second century BC. The transition from Neolithic to the Iron Age apparently was achieved without intermediate bronze production. Others suggest that technology was moving west of the Nile Valley, although the Iron Age in the Niger River valley and the forest region appears to predate the introduction of metallurgy in the top sheet in more than 800 years . The first iron identified with the Nigerian culture is the Nok culture, which flourished between 900 BC and 200 AD on the Jos Plateau in northeastern Nigeria. There is no information from the first millennium after Christ after the ascension Nok, but by the second millennium AD activates the trade of northern Africa across the Sahara to the forest, the savannah's people who act as intermediaries in the exchange of various goods.


Akwa Akpa

The modern city of Calabar, was founded in 1786 by families Efik (a branch of the Ibibio) who came out of Town Creek, upstream from the Calabar River, settling on the eastern shore in a position where they were able to dominate the trade with European ships anchored in the river, and soon became the most powerful in the region. Akwa Akpa became a center of the slave trade, where slaves were exchanged for European goods, most of the slave ships that transported slaves from Calabar were English, and about 85% of these ships from Bristol and Liverpool merchants.The main ethnic group out of Calabar slaves were Igbo, while not the main ethnic group in the area.
With the abolition of the slave trade of palm oil and palm kernels became the main export. Akpa Akwa chiefs were placed under British protection in 1884.From 1884 to 1906 Old Calabar was the headquarters of the Protectorate of the Niger Coast after Lagos became the main center. Now called Calabar, the city remained an important port of ivory, wood, beeswax and palm oil production until 1916, when the rail terminal was opened in Port Harcourt, 145 km to the west.

Yoruba

Historically, the Yoruba have been the dominant group on the west bank of the Niger. Of mixed origin, who were the product of periodic waves of migrants. Its closest linguistic relatives are Igala living on the opposite side of the Benue / Niger divergence, and who is believed to have separated about 2000 years ago. The Yoruba were organized in patrilineal groups that occupied village communities and subsisted on agriculture. From about the 8th century AD. , Adjacent village compounds called ile joined into numerous territorial city-states in which clan loyalties became subordinate to dynastic leaders. Urbanization was accompanied by high levels of artistic achievement, especially in clay and ivory sculptures and sophisticated metal casting produced at Ife.
The Yoruba pays tribute to a pantheon headed by an impersonal deity, Olorun, as well as lesser deities who performed various tasks. Oduduwa was considered the creator of the earth and the ancestor of the Yoruba kings. According to the myth Oduduwa founded Ife and dispatched his sons for their creation.

Igbo States

With the decline of the kingdom of Nri in AD 1400-1600, several states, once under its influence, became a powerful economic oligarchies Oracular and large commercial states that dominated Igboland. The neighboring city-state Awka increased power as a result of its powerful oracle Agbala and metallurgical expertise. The Onitsha Kingdom, which was originally inhabited by Igbos of eastern Niger, was founded in the 16th century by migrants from Anioma (Western Igboland) and Benin. Later, groups such as traders Igala from inside the country settled in Onitsha, 18nth century. Western Igbo kingdoms as Aboh, dominated trade in the area of the lower Niger from the 17th century to European penetration. Umunoha state in the Owerri area used the Igwe ka Ala oracle on their behalf. However, the Cross River State as the Aro Igbo had the greatest influence in Igboland and adjacent areas after the fall of NRI.
The kingdom Arochukwu that emerged after the Aro-Ibibio wars from 1630-1720, and became the Aro Confederacy economically dominated parts of the Midwest and eastern Nigeria with pockets of influence in Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon. The source of the economic domination of the Confederation was based on the Aro oracle Ibini judicial Ukpabi ("Long Juju") and its military forces as powerful allies including Ohafia, Abam, Ezza, neighboring states and other partners. People involved Abiriba also cooperated with the ring to become a powerful economic force.
Igbo gods, like those of the Yoruba, were numerous, but their relationship to each other and human beings are essentially egalitarian, reflecting Igbo society as a whole. A number of oracles and local cults attracted devotees while the central deity, Mother Earth and fertility figure Ala, was venerated at shrines throughout Igboland.
The weakness of a popular theory that Igbos were stateless is based on the paucity of historical evidence of pre-colonial Igbo society. There is a huge gap between the archaeological finds of Igbo Ukwu, which reveal a rich material culture in the heart of the Igbo region in the eighth century, and oral traditions of the 20th century. Benin exercised considerable influence in the western Igbo who adopted many of the political structures familiar to the Yoruba-Benin region. Ofege was queen.

Nri Kingdom

The city of Nri is considered the foundation of Igbo culture. Nri and Aguleri, where the Igbo creation myth originates, are located in the territory of Umueri clan, who trace their lineage to King patriarchal figure, Eri. Eri origins are unclear, although it has been described as a "heaven" sent by Chukwu (God). He has been characterized by social first order given to the people of Anambra.
Archaeological evidence suggests that in Igboland Nri hegemony can be traced to the ninth century, and royal burials have been discovered dating back to at least the 10th century. Eri, the founder of God as of Nri, is believed to have settled in the region around 948 with the others following Igbo culture after the 13 th century. The first Eze Nri (King of Nri), Ìfikuánim, followed immediately thereafter. According to oral tradition, Igbo, his reign began in 1043. At least one historian puts Ìfikuánim reign much later, about 1225 AD.
"Every king traces its origins to the founding ancestor, Eri. Every king is a reproduction ritual of Eri. The rite of initiation of a new king shows that the ritual process of becoming Ezenri (Nri priest-king) closely follows the path drawn by the hero in the establishment of the kingdom of NRI.
E. Elochukwu Uzukwu "
"NRI and Aguleri and part of Umueri clan, a group set of the Igbo people, who trace their origins to a sky that is called Eri, and, significantly, includes (from the point of view of its members Igbo) the neighboring kingdom of Igala.
Elizabeth Allo Isichei "
The Nri Kingdom was a religious-political, a kind of theocratic state, which developed in the central core of the Igbo region. The NRI was a taboo symbolic code with six guys. Including humans (such as the birth of twins), animals (such as pythons kill or eat) taboo subject, time, discourse behavior, and location. The rules for these taboos were used to educate and govern NRI issues. This meant that while some Igbo could have lived under different formal administration, all followers of religion Igbo had to abide by the rules of faith and obedience to his representative on earth, the Eze Nri of Usora mfonini
The first states before 1500
The first independent kingdoms and states that comprise the British colonized Nigeria today are (in alphabetical order):
• Kingdom of Benin
• United Borgu
• Fulani Empire
• Hausa kingdoms
Kanem Bornu •
• United Kwararafa
• Nri Kingdom
• United Nupe
• United Oyo
• Songhai Empire

Oyo and Benin

Oyo Empire
During the 15th century Oyo and Benin surpassed Ife as political and economic powers, although Ife preserved its status as a religious center. Respect for the priestly functions of the Oni of Ife was a crucial factor in the evolution of Yoruba culture. The Ife model of government has been adapted to Oyo, where a member of its ruling dynasty controlled several smaller city-states. A Council of State (the Oyo Mesi) named Alafin (king) and acted as a brake on their authority. Its capital city was located about 100 km north of the present Oyo. Unlike the Yoruba kingdoms linked to forests, Oyo was in the savanna and drew its military strength of their cavalry, which established hegemony over the adjacent Nupe and Borgu kingdoms and therefore more developed trade routes north.

Benin Empire

Benin was formerly known as Igodomigodo. It was ruled by absolute monarchs called Ogiso. The last Ogiso, Ogiso Owodo Ekaladerhan banished his son based on a false Oracle manipulated by his barren wife. The exiled son away to found a settlement called Yoruba and Ile-Ife and changed its name to Izoduwa Ekaladerhan, so I found the wealth. The natives of the area, who speak a different dialect, they changed the name and called Oduduwa. Oduduwa was later sent one of his sons, Oranmiyan to rule Benin, who was in a confused state because the ruler, Ogiamien, wanted to establish a new dynasty, because the last Ogiso Owodo had died while his only heir was Ile-Ife. Then Oracle fraud was revealed. Oranmiyan was the father or Eweka, who was the first Ogiso of Benin to take the name Oba, because people saw him wearing red clothes. Oba means red in Benin. Benin grew and spread in the 15 th century and the beginning of the occupied territories of many through Nigeria, including Esanland, Kukuruku Hills, Ondo, Akure, Lagos, Dahomey, and Onitsha. In the 15th century Benin had become an empire. Political and religious authority resided in the oba (king), which according to tradition was descended from the Ife dynasty. Benin, which may have housed 100,000 inhabitants at its height, spread over twenty-five square miles that were closed by three concentric rings of earthworks. A late 15th century, Benin was in contact with Portugal (see the slave trade in the Atlantic). At its peak in the ages 16 and 17, Benin covers parts of southeastern and western Yoruba's Igbo.

Northern Kingdoms of the Savanna

Trade is the key to the emergence of organized communities in the savanna portions of Nigeria. prehistoric inhabitants to adapt to the desert sands were scattered into the third millennium BC, when the desiccation of the Sahara began. trans-Saharan trade routes linked western Sudan to the Mediterranean since the days of Carthage and the Upper Nile from a much earlier date, establishing lines of communication and cultural influence that remained open until the end of 19 century . For these same routes, Islam made its way south into West Africa after the 9th century.
By then, a series of dynastic states, including the first Hausa states, stretched across western and central Sudan. The most powerful of these states were Ghana, Gao, and Kanem, which were not within the limits of the present Nigeria, but have influenced the history of the savannah of Nigeria. Ghana declined in the 11th century but was succeeded by the Mali Empire which consolidated much of western Sudan in the 13 century.
After the breakup of Mali a local leader named Sonni Ali (1464-1492) founded the Songhai Empire in the Midwestern region of Niger and Sudan and took control of trans-Saharan trade. Sonni Ali took Timbuktu in 1468 and Jenne in 1473, building his regime on trade revenues and the cooperation of Muslim merchants. Askia Muhammad Ture his successor (1493-1528) made Islam the official religion, built mosques, and brought Muslim scholars, including Al-Maghili (d.1504), founder of an important tradition of African Sudanese Muslim scholarship, Gao. [21]
Although these western empires had little political influence in the savannah of Nigeria before 1500, which had strong cultural and economic impact is more pronounced in the 16 th century, especially because these states are associated with the spread of Islam and trade. Throughout the 16th century much of northern Nigeria paid homage to Songhai in the west or to Borno, a rival empire in the east.

Kanem-Bornu

Borno history is closely associated with Kanem, which had achieved imperial status in the Lake Chad basin in the 13 century. Kanem expanded westward to include the area that became Borno. The mai (king) of Kanem and his court accepted Islam in the 11th century, as the western empires also had done. Islam was used to reinforce political and social structures of the state, although many established customs were maintained. Women, for example, continued to exert considerable political influence.
The bodyguard employed mai mounted and a fledgling army of nobles to extend Kanem's authority into Borno. By tradition the territory was conferred on the heir to the throne to govern during his apprenticeship. In the 14 th century, however, dynastic conflict forced the then-dominant group and its followers to relocate in Borno, where as a result the Kanuri emerged as an ethnic group in the late 14 and 15 century. The civil war that disrupted Kanem in the second half of the 14th century led to the independence of Borno.
Borno's prosperity depended on the slave trade through the Sudan and the desert trade in salt and livestock. The need to protect its commercial interests compelled Borno to intervene in Kanem, which is still a theater of war throughout the 15th century and in the 16 century. Despite its relative political weakness in this period, Borno track and mosques under the patronage of a line of scholarly kings earned fame as centers of Islamic culture and learning.


Hausa states

Hausa Kingdoms
In the 11th century some Hausa states - such as Kano, Jigawa, Katsina and Gobir - had become walled towns engaging in trade, caravans of service and manufacturing various products. Until the 15th century small states were on the outskirts of the Sudanese empires of the time. They were constantly pressured Songhai to the west and Kanem-Borno to the east, which paid tribute. Armed conflicts generally motivated by economic issues, such as coalitions of Hausa states mounted wars against the Jukun and Nupe in the middle to collect slaves or against each other for control of trade.
Islam came to Hausaland along the caravan routes. The famous Kano Chronicle records the conversion of Kano's ruling dynasty by clerics from Mali, demonstrating that the imperial influence of Mali extended far to the east. The acceptance of Islam was gradual and was often nominal in the countryside where folk religion continued to exert a strong influence. However, Kano and Katsina, with their famous mosques and schools, came to participate fully in cultural and intellectual life of the Islamic world. The Fulani began to enter the country hausa in the 13 century and 15 century who were tending cattle, sheep and goats in Borno as well. The Fulani came from the Senegal River valley, where their ancestors had developed a method of livestock management based on transhumance. Gradually moved eastwards, first in the centers of the Mali and Songhai empires and eventually into Hausaland and Borno. Some Fulbe converted to Islam and in the 11th century and settled among the Hausa, who became racially indistinguishable. There was a religious devotion, the educated elite who made themselves indispensable to the Hausa kings as government advisers, Islamic judges, and teachers.
pre-colonial states, 1500-1800

Savannah states

During the 16th century the Songhai Empire reached its peak, extending from Senegal and Gambia rivers and incorporating part of the Hausa country in the east. At the same time Saifawa Borno dynasty conquered Kanem and extended control west to the cities hausa not under Songhai authority. Largely due to the influence of Songhai, there was a flowering of Islamic learning and culture. Songhai collapsed in 1591 when the Moroccan army conquered Gao and Timbuktu. Morocco was unable to control the empire and the province, including the Hausa states, became independent. The collapse undermined Songhai's hegemony the Hausa states and abruptly altered the course of regional history.
Borno reached its apogee under mai Idris Aloma (ca. 1569-1600), during whose reign Kanem was reconquered. The destruction of Songhai left Borno uncontested and until the 18 th century Borno dominated northern Nigeria. Despite the hegemony of the Hausa states of Borno continued to fight for supremacy. Gradually Borno's position weakened, and its inability to check political rivalries between competing Hausa cities is an example of this decline. Another factor was the military threat of the Tuareg centered Agades who penetrated the northern districts of Borno. The main cause of the decline in Borno was a severe drought in the Sahel and savanna in the middle of 18 century. As a consequence Borno lost many northern territories to the Tuareg, whose mobility allowed them to endure hunger more effectively. Borno regained some of its former power in the decades ahead, but another drought occurred in the 1790s, again weakening the state.
Ecological and political instability provided the background for the jihad of Usman dan Fodio. The military rivalries of the Hausa States tense regions economic resources at a time when farmers drought and famine undermined and pastors. Many Fulani moved to Country Hausa and Borno, and their arrival has increased tensions because they had no loyalty to the political authorities, who saw them as a source of tax increases. In the late 18, some Muslim ulema began articulating the grievances of ordinary people. Efforts to eliminate or control these religious leaders only increased tensions, setting the stage for jihad [21].

A British sphere of influence

After the Napoleonic Wars, the expansion of British trade with the interior of Nigeria. In 1885 the British claims to a sphere of influence in West Africa received international recognition and the following year the Royal Niger Company was incorporated under the direction of Sir George Goldie Taubman. In 1900 the company's territory came under the control of the British Government, which moved to consolidate its position in the area of present day Nigeria. On January 1, 1901 Nigeria became a British protectorate, part of the British Empire, the most important world power at that time.
In 1914, the area officially joined the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria. Administratively, Nigeria remained divided into the provinces of North and South Colony Lakes. Western education and the development of a modern economy proceeded more rapidly in the south than in the north, with consequences felt in Nigeria's political life since then. After the Second World War, in response to the growth of Nigerian nationalism and demands for independence, successive constitutions legislated by the British Government moved Nigeria toward self-government to a representative and increasingly federal basis. On October 1, 1954, the colony became the Autonomous Federation of Nigeria. A mid 20 th century, the great wave of independence was sweeping across Africa.

Independence

History of Nigeria (1960-1979)
The Federation of Nigeria was granted full independence on October 1, 1960 under a constitution which established a parliamentary government and a considerable degree of autonomy for the three regions. From 1959 to 1960, Jaja Wachuku was the first black president of the Parliament of Nigeria - also called the House of Representatives. Wachuku replaced Sir Frederick Metcalfe of Great Britain. Notably, the first President of the Chamber, Jaja Wachuku received Nigeria's Instrument of Independence - also known as the Freedom Charter - the October 1, 1960, Princess Alexandra of Kent, representing the Queen at the ceremony Nigeria's independence.
The federal government was given exclusive power over defense, foreign affairs and trade and fiscal policy. Nigeria's monarch remained head of state, but the legislative power is vested in a bicameral parliament, executive power to a prime minister and cabinet, and judicial authority in the Federal Supreme Court. Political parties, however, tend to reflect the composition of the three main ethnic groups. The NPC (Nigeria People's Congress) represented conservative, Muslim, largely Hausa interests, and dominated the northern region. The NCNC (National Convention of Citizens of Nigeria), was Igbo and Christian dominated, ruling in the Eastern Region and the AG (Action Group) was a leftist party that controlled the Yoruba west. The first post-independence National Government was formed by a conservative alliance of the NCNC and the NPC, with Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, a Hausa, becoming Prime Minister of the Government of Nigeria. The Yoruba-dominated AG became the opposition under its charismatic leader Chief Obafemi Awolowo

First Republic

In October 1963 Nigeria proclaimed the Federal Republic of Nigeria and former Governor General Nnamdi Azikiwe became the first president. From the beginning, ethnic and religious tensions in Nigeria were magnified by the disparities in economic and educational development between the south and north. The AG was maneuvered out of control in the western region by the Federal Government and a new government pro-Yoruba party, the NNDP, took over. Shortly thereafter, the AG opposition leader, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, was imprisoned on treason charges later admitted to be without merit. In 1965 the National Election produced a major realignment of politics and the result proved that set the country on the path to civil war. The dominant northern NPC entered into an alliance with the new NNDP conservative Yoruba, Igbo NCNC exit to join the remnants of the AG (Action Group) in a progressive alliance. In the vote, the alleged widespread electoral fraud and riots broke out in the Yoruba west bastions of the prosecution discovered that he had chosen apparently for the government representatives NNDP.

First period of military rule

Nigeria Civil War
On January 15, 1966 a group of army officers, mostly southeastern Igbos, overthrew the government of the APN-NNDP and killed the prime minister and the premiers of the north and west. The federal military government took power, General Aguiyi-Ironsi was unable to quiet ethnic tensions or produce a constitution acceptable to all sections of the country. His efforts to abolish the federal structure and renaming the country the Republic of Nigeria on May 24, 1966 increased tensions and led to another coup by largely northern officers in July 1966, which established the leadership of Major General Yakubu Gowon. The name of the Federal Republic of Nigeria was restored on August 31, 1966. However, the subsequent slaughter of thousands of Igbo in the north prompted hundreds of thousands of them to return to the southeast where increasingly strong feeling Igbo secessionists emerged. In a move towards greater autonomy to minority ethnic groups in the military divided the four regions in 12 states. However, the Igbo rejected attempts at constitutional reform and insisted on full autonomy for the east. On May 29, 1967 Lieutenant coronelEmeka Ojukwu, military governor of the eastern region who emerged as the leader of increasing Igbo secessionist sentiment, declared the independence of the eastern region of the Republic of Biafra. The ensuing Civil War in Nigeria resulted in an estimated one million deaths before ending in the defeat of Biafra in 1970.
After the country's civil war turned to the task of economic development. Foreign exchange earnings and government revenues increased spectacularly with the oil price rises of 1973-74. On July 29, 1975, General Murtala Mohammed and a group of officers led a bloodless coup, General Yakubu Gowon accused of corruption and delaying the promised return to civilian rule. General Mohammed replaced thousands of civil servants and announced a timetable for the resumption of civilian government on October 1, 1979. He was killed on February 13, 1976 in a failed coup and his chief of staff Lt. Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo, became head of state.

Second Republic

History of Nigeria (1979-1999)
A constituent assembly was elected in 1977 to draft a new constitution, which was published on September 21, 1978, when the ban on political activity was lifted. In 1979, five political parties competed in a series of elections in which Alhaji Shehu Shagari's National Party of Nigeria (NPN) was elected president. The five parties won representation in the National Assembly. In August 1983, Shagari and NPN were returned to power in a landslide, with a majority of seats in the National Assembly and control of 12 state governments. But the elections were marred by violence and allegations of widespread electoral fraud and electoral malfeasance led to legal battles over the results.
On December 31, 1983, the military overthrew the Second Republic. Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari emerged as the leader of the Supreme Military Council (SMC), the governing body of the new country. The Buhari government was peacefully overthrown by the SMC's third member General Ibrahim Babangida in August 1985. Babangida (IBB) cited the misuse of power, human rights violations committed by key officials of the SMC, and the government's failure to address the country's economic crisis as justification for the acquisition. During his first days in office President Babangida moved to restore press freedom and free political prisoners held without charge. As part of a 15-month emergency economic announced pay cuts for military, police, public and private sector. President Babangida demonstrated his intent to encourage public participation in decision-making by opening a national debate on proposed economic reform and recovery measures. The public response convinced Babangida of intense opposition to an economic rec.

The abortive Third Republic

Nigeria Third Republic
Head of State, Babangida promised to return the country to civilian rule in 1990 which was later extended until January 1993. In early 1989 a constituent assembly completed a constitution and spring 1989 allowed political activity again. In October 1989 the government established two parties, the Republican National Convention (RNC) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP) - the other parties were not allowed to register.
In April 1990, mid-level officers attempted unsuccessfully to overthrow the government and 69 conspirators were executed after secret trials before military courts. In December 1990 the first phase of party elections were carried out at local government level. Despite the low turnout there was no violence and both parties demonstrated strength in all regions of the country, with the SDP winning control of most local government councils.
In December 1991 state legislative elections were held and Babangida decreed that previously banned politicians could contest in primaries scheduled for August. These were canceled due to fraud and subsequent primaries scheduled for September also were canceled. All announced candidates were disqualified from standing for president once a new election format was selected. The presidential election was finally held on June 12, 1993, with the inauguration of new president to be held August 27, 1993, the eighth anniversary of President Babangida's coming to power.
In the historic June 12 1993 presidential elections, which most observers believed that Nigeria is more just, early results indicate that wealthy Yoruba businessman MKO Abiola won a decisive victory. However, on June 23, Babangida, with several pending lawsuits as a pretense, annulled the election, launching Nigeria into chaos. Over 100 killed in riots before Babangida agreed to hand over power to an interim government on August 27, 1993. Later he tried to violate this decision, but without popular and military support, was forced to hand over to Ernest Shonekan, a businessman prominent nonpartisan. Shonekan would rule until elections scheduled for February 1994. Although he had led Babangida's Transitional Council since 1993, Shonekan was unable to reverse Nigeria's economic problems or to defuse lingering political tension.

Sani Abacha

With the country descending into chaos Defense Minister Sani Abacha assumed power and forced resignation Shonekan of November 17, 1993. Abacha dissolved all democratic institutions and replaced elected governors with military officers. Although promising restoration of civilian government refused to announce a transitional timetable until 1995. After the annulment of June 12 election of the United States and other countries imposed sanctions on Nigeria as travel restrictions on government officials and the suspension of arms sales and military assistance additional sanctions were imposed because of the lack of Nigeria full certification for its counternarcotics efforts. Although Abacha was initially received by many Nigerians, disenchantment grew rapidly. Opposition leaders formed the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), which campaigned to reconvene the Senate and other democratic institutions dissolved. On June 11, 1994 Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola declared himself president and went into hiding until his arrest on 23 June. In response, oil workers began a strike demanding that Abacha release Abiola and hand over power to him. Other unions joined the strike, bringing economic life in around Lagos and the southwest to a standstill. After calling a strike threatened in July, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) reconsidered a general strike in August after the government imposed conditions on the release of Abiola. On August 17, 1994, the government rejected the leadership of the CNT and the oil unions, unions puts appointed administrators, and arrested Frank Kokori and other leaders of labor.
The government alleged in early 1995 that military and civilian officials were involved in a coup plot. Security officers surrounded the defendants, including former head of state Obasanjo and his deputy, retired General Shehu Musa Yar'Adua. After a secret court for most of the defendants were convicted and several death sentences were handed down. In 1994 the government set up the Ogoni Civil Disturbances Special Tribunal to try and Ogoni activist Ken Saro-Wiwa and others for their alleged involvement in the murder of four Ogoni politicians. The tribunal sentenced Saro-Wiwa and eight others to death and were executed on November 10, 1995.
On October 1, 1995 Abacha announced the timetable for the transition from three years to a civilian government. Only five political parties were approved by the regime and voter participation for local elections in December 1997 was below 10%. On December 21, 1997, the government arrested General Oladipo Diya, ten officers and eight civilians on charges of coup plotting. The defendants were tried by a military tribunal in which Diya and eight others were sentenced to death. Abacha enforced authority through federal safety system, which is accused of numerous human rights violations, including violations of freedom of expression, assembly, association, travel, and violence against women.

Abubakar transition to civilian rule

Abacha died of heart failure on June 8, 1998 and was replaced by General Abdulsalami Abubakar. The military Provisional Ruling Council (PRC) under Abubakar commuted the sentences of defendants in the alleged coup during the Abacha regime and released almost all known civilian political prisoners. Pending the promulgation of the Constitution written in 1995, the government observed some provisions of the constitutions of 1979 and 1989. Neither Abacha nor Abubakar lifted the decree suspending the 1979 Constitution and the 1989 Constitution did not apply. The judicial system remains hampered by corruption and lack of resources after Abacha's death. In an attempt to alleviate the problems of government and Abubakar launched a civil service pay raise and other reformS.
In August 1998 Abubakar appointed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct elections for local government councils, state legislatures and governors, National Assembly and the president. The NEC successfully held elections on December 5, 1998, 09 January 1999, February 20 and February 27, 1999, respectively. For local elections nine parties were granted provisional registration with three fulfilling the requirements to participate in the next election. These parties were the Popular Democratic Party (PDP), All People's Party (APP), and most Yoruba Alliance for Democracy (AD). The former military chief of state, Olusegun Obasanjo, freed from prison by Abubakar, ran as a civilian candidate and won the presidential election. The People's Republic of China promulgated a new constitution based largely on the suspended 1979 Constitution before the May 29, 1999 inauguration of the new civilian president. The Constitution provides for a bicameral legislature, the National Assembly consists of 360 members of the House of Representatives and a Senate of 109 members.

Fourth Republic

The emergence of democracy in Nigeria in May 1999 ended 16 years of consecutive military rule. Olusegun Obasanjo inherited a country suffering economic stagnation and deterioration of most democratic institutions. Obasanjo, a former general, was admired for his stand against the Abacha dictatorship, his record of the federal government returned to civilian rule in 1979, and its claim to represent all Nigerians regardless of religion.
The new president took over a country facing many problems, including a dysfunctional bureaucracy, collapsed infrastructure, and a military that wanted a reward for returning quietly to the barracks. The President moved quickly and retired hundreds of military officers in political positions, established a special panel to investigate human rights violations, scores of detainees released without charge, and revoked many questionable licenses and contracts left by previous regimes. The government also moved to recover millions of dollars in secret foreign accounts.
Most civil society leaders and Nigerians witnessed significant improvements in human rights and press freedom in Obasanjo. As Nigeria works of representative democracy, conflicts persist between the executive and legislative appropriations and other bills. A sign of federalism has been the growing visibility of state governors and the inherent friction between Abuja and state capitals over resource allocation.
communal violence has plagued the Obasanjo government since its inception. In May 1999 violence erupted in Kaduna State in the succession of an Emir, resulting in over 100 deaths. In November 1999, the army destroyed the town of Odi, Bayelsa State and killed scores of civilians in retaliation for the killing of 12 policemen by a local band. In Kaduna in February-May 2000, more than 1,000 people died in riots in the introduction of Sharia criminal law in the State. Hundreds of ethnic Hausa were killed in reprisal attacks in southeastern Nigeria. In September 2001, more than 2. 000 people died in religious riots in Jos in October 2001, hundreds were killed and thousands displaced in communal violence that swept through the states of Benue, Taraba, and Nasarawa. On October 1, 2001 Obasanjo announced the formation of a National Security Commission to address the issue of communal violence. Obasanjo was reelected in 2003.
The new president faces the daunting task of rebuilding a petroleum-based economy, whose revenues have been squandered through corruption and mismanagement. In addition, the Obasanjo government must clear old ethnic and religious tensions, if it hopes to build a foundation for economic growth and political stability. At present there is unrest in the Niger Delta the environmental destruction caused by oil drilling and ongoing poverty in the region rich in oil.
A major problem created by the oil industry is the drilling of pipelines by local people in an attempt to drain the oil for personal use or as a source of income. This often results in huge explosions and death tolls. Particularly notable disasters in this area have been: 1) October 1998, Jesse, 1100 deaths, 2) July 2000, Jesse, 250 deaths, 3) September 2004 near Lagos, 60 deaths, 4) May 2006 Ilades, approx. 150 to 200 deaths (current estimate).
Two militants killed an unknown faction Ustaz Ja'afar Adam shots, a Muslim religious leader and northern Kano state officials, along with one of his disciples in a Kano mosque during dawn prayers on April 13, 2007 . Obasanjo recently said on national radio that he would "deal firmly" with electoral fraud and violence advocated by the "high-ranking individuals. "His comments were interpreted by some analysts as a warning to his vice president and 2007 presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar [28].
In the 2007 general election, Umaru Yar'Adua and Goodluck Jonathan, both the Popular Democratic Party, was elected President and Vice President respectively. The election was marred by electoral fraud, and denounced by other candidates and international observers. 

Yaradua disappearance

Yaradua Presidency remains fraught with uncertainty as the reports of the media say he is suffering from kidney and heart disease. In November 2009 he fell ill and was taken out of the country to Saudi Arabia for medical care. Held incommunicado for 50 days, by which time rumors abounded that he had died. This continued until the BBC broadcast an interview that was done, supposedly by the presidents of your sick bed in Saudi Arabia. As in January 2010 was still abroad. In early May 2010, Goodluck Jonathan had been serving as acting president in the absence of Yaradua. Information eventually evolved into Saudi Arabia and was transferred to the government of Nigeria Yar'Adua's death, after a long battle with existing health problems and an undisclosed illness. This lack of communication leaves the new interim president Jonathan, unaware of their previous plans and existing policies implemented actions. It is questionable whether Jonathan Yaradua end time, or call new elections and political reform. Hausa-Fulani background The former president gave a much larger support base in the northern regions of Nigeria, Goodluck while not of the same ethnic and religious affiliations. This lack of primary ethnic support Jonathan makes a military objective to overthrow or regional surveys in the area. With the increase in expenditure of resources and oil exports, Nigeria GDP and HDI (Human Development Index) have increased dramatically since the rule of Sani Abacha economically stagnant, but still survives in primary populus> (less than) $ 2 USD per day.


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Omo Naija, i've always been fascinated with our far east brothers obviously being Ghanaian ya know. . .  i made some good Nigerian friends at college and they are really cool except the Igbo ones no pun intented!