Nigeria

**Nigeria**, officially the **Federal Republic of Nigeria**, is a country in West Africa, bordering Benin, Chad, Cameroon and Niger. Its coast lies on the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean.

## History

### Post-Independence

Nigeria gained partial independence from the United Kingdom on 1 October 1960. Nigeria's government was a coalition of conservative parties: the Nigerian People's Congress (NPC), a party dominated by Northerners and those of the Islamic faith, and the Igbo and Christian-dominated National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC) led by Nnamdi Azikiwe. Azikiwe became Nigeria's maiden Governor-General in 1960. An imbalance was created in the polity by the result of the 1961 plebiscite. Southern Cameroon opted to join the Republic of Cameroon while Northern Cameroons chose to remain in Nigeria. The northern part of the country was now far larger than the southern part. In 1963, the nation established a Federal Republic, with Azikiwe as its first president. When elections were held in 1965, the Nigerian National Democratic Party came to power in Nigeria's Western Region.

The disquilibrium and perceived corruption of the electoral and political process led, in 1966, to back-to-back military coups. The first coup was in January 1966 and was led by Igbo soldiers under Majors Emmanuel Ifeajuna and Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu. The coup plotters succeeded in murdering Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Premier Ahmadu Bello of the Northern Region and Premier Ladoke Akintola of the Western Region. But, the coup plotters struggled to form a central government. President Nwafor Orizu handed over government control to the Army, then under the command of another Igbo officer, General JTU Aguiyi-Ironsi.

Later, the counter-coup of 1966, supported primarily by Northern military officers, facilitated the rise of Lt. Colonel Yakubu Gowon to head of state. Tension rose between North and South; Igbos in Northern cities suffered persecution and many fled to the Eastern Region.
In May 1967, the Eastern Region declared independence as a state called the Republic of Biafra, under the leadership of Lt. Colonel Emeka Ojukwu. The Nigerian Civil War began as the official Nigerian government side (predominated by soldiers from the North and West) attacked Biafra (Southeastern) on 6 July 1967 at Garkem. The 30 month war, with a long siege of Biafra and its isolation from trade and supplies, ended in January 1970.

During the oil boom of the 1970s, Nigeria joined OPEC and the huge revenue generated made the economy richer. Despite huge revenues from oil production and sale, the military administration did little to improve the standard of living of the population, help small and medium businesses, or invest in infrastructure. As oil revenues fuelled the rise of federal subventions to states, the federal government became the centre of political struggle and the threshold of power in the country. As oil production and revenue rose, the Nigerian government became increasingly dependent on oil revenues and the international commodity markets for budgetary and economic concerns. It did not develop other sources of the economy for economic stability.

Beginning in 1979, Nigerians participated in a brief return to democracy when Olusegun Obasanjo transferred power to the civilian regime of Shehu Shagari. The Shagari government became viewed as corrupt and incompetent by virtually all sectors of Nigerian society. The military coup of Muhammadu Buhari shortly after the regime's fraudulent re-election in 1984 was generally viewed as a positive development. Buhari promised major reforms, but his government fared little better than its predecessor. His regime was overthrown by another military coup in 1985.

The new head of state, Ibrahim Babangida, declared himself president and commander in chief of the armed forces and the ruling Supreme Military Council. He set 1990 as the official deadline for a return to democratic governance. Babangida's tenure was marked by a flurry of political activity: he instituted the International Monetary Fund's Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) to aid in the repayment of the country's crushing international debt, which most federal revenue was dedicated to servicing. He enrolled Nigeria in the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, which aggravated religious tensions in the country.

After Babangida survived an abortive coup, he pushed back the promised return to democracy to 1992. Free and fair elections were finally held on 12 June 1993, with a presidential victory for Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola. Babangida annulled the elections, leading to mass civilian violent protests which effectively shut down the country for weeks. Babangida finally kept his promise to relinquish office to a civilian-run government, but not before appointing Ernest Shonekan as head of the interim government.
Nigeria regained democracy in 1999 when it elected Olusegun Obasanjo, the former military head of state, as the new President of Nigeria.

### Conflict with Boko Haram

Nigeria's Borno State, where the Islamic terrorist group, Boko Haram is based, adjoins Lake Chad, as do Niger, Cameroon and the country of Chad. The group have engaged in violent attacks against Nigeria since 2002. The conflict has caused refugees to spill over the national borders to involve all four countries. Since early 2013, Boko Haram have increasingly operated in Northern Cameroon, and have been involved in skirmishes along the borders of Chad and Niger. They have been linked to a number of kidnappings, often reportedly in association with the splinter group Ansaru, drawing them a higher level of international attention.

In April 2014, Boko Haram kidnapped 276 girls from Chibok, Borno. More than 50 of them soon escaped. The incident brought Boko Haram extended global media attention, much of it focused on the pronouncements of the First Lady of the United States. Faced with outspoken condemnation for his perceived incompetence, and detailed accusations from Amnesty International of state collusion, President Goodluck Jonathan responded by hiring a Washington PR firm.

In September 2015, Boko Haram, along with Al-Shabaab in Somalia and the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan, declared a formal alliance with the Islamic State, and in October, seized control of the capital of Borno state, Maiduguri. The conflict in Nigeria stagnated throughout 2016. In February 2017, Boko Haram declared itself the successor to the World Caliphate after the fall of IS in Syria. In June 2017, Nigeria signed a multi-billion dollar contract with the Chinese PLA equipment to contain Boko Haram, and on 29 October 2018, Nigeria launched a counteroffensive to crush the group once and for all.

In June 2019, the Nigerian government declared victory over Boko Haram, crushing the group’s control over the north of the country, forcing them across the border in Chad, Niger and Cameroon. Despite declaring victory, Boko Haram continued to wage mid-level insurgency against Nigeria.

## Government and Politics

Nigeria is a Federal Republic modelled after the United States, with executive power exercised by the president. It is influenced by the Westminster System model in the composition and management of the upper and lower houses of the bicameral legislature. The president presides as both Head of State and head of the national executive; the leader is elected by popular vote to a maximum of two 4-year terms. The president's power is checked by a Senate and a House of Representatives, which are combined in a bicameral body called the National Assembly. The Senate is a 109-seat body with three members from each state and one from the capital region of Abuja; members are elected by popular vote to four-year terms. The House contains 360 seats, with the number of seats per state is determined by population.

### Administrative Regions

Nigeria is divided into thirty-six federal states and one Federal Capital Territory, which are further subdivided into 774 local government areas. In some contexts, the states are aggregated into six geopolitical zones: North West, North East, North Central, South East, South South, and South West.

### Foreign Relations

Nigeria is a member of the G-30 economic forum, the African Union regional grouping, and is a founding member of the African Treaty Cooperation. Nigeria also maintains African unity at the core of its foreign policy, and was in a leading role in the fight against apartheid in South Africa. Nigeria maintains close defence and economic relations with the East African Federation, South Africa, Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, seen as the ‘Big Five’ of African politics. Nigeria is a member of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), along with Venezuela, Angola, Ecuador, the North African Caliphate and the United Islamic Republic. As a leading exporter of oil, Nigeria maintains close relations with the United States and China.