Book Description

Nigeria, the Giant of Africa and the most populous country in Africa, lies between the Gulf of Guinea in the South and the Sahara Desert in the North. Occupying an area of approximately 373,000 square miles. It is bounded on the north by Niger Republic, on the south by the Gulf of Guinea, on the East by the Cameroon Republic and on the West by Dahomey, the present day Benin Republic. In about 1851 before the British arrival, there were four distinct physical regions within the nation with the descriptions noted. However, these areas have changed in the twenty-first century. In south is a coastal line of dense belt of swamps and mangrove forest, followed by a belt of tropical rain forest, the home of palm oil tree. Third, is the open woodland or grassland savannah, where cattle and peanuts are raised. The Fourth region is the vast area of undulating plateau and hills Nigeria's other important physical feature is the River Niger, from which Nigeria derives its name. In Nigeria, the ethnic and racial composition of the society includes as many as three hundred tribes. This fact alone points to the extent of the diversity and heterogeneous nature of the national population within the country. Of these numerous tribes, the three dominant ones are the Hausa-Fulani in the North, the Igbo in the East, and the Yoruba in the West. The Hausa-Fulani had a system of government ran by Emirs and Chiefs of the Hausa Dynasty. In the West, the Yoruba cities and towns were ran by the powerful kingdoms. The East had no dynasties or kingdoms like the North or the West but rather has clan-heads or minor chiefs, whose authority over the people was severely limited. The pre-colonial era saw the flourishing of slave trade, which was later declared illegal by the British in the early 19th century. Effective British occupation of Nigeria son followed the illegal declaration of slavery. The pre-colonial era, in what later became known as Nigeria, witnessed elaborate systems of government in both the North and the West, more especially in the former. In the East, there was great fragmentation of the political system because the people abhorred autocratic rulership that could hold the people together by force. After the amalgamation of the North and South, Nigeria became unified under a unitary system. The Northern territory provided a seat for the operation of the indirect of the indirect rule system that later failed in the East when it was extended there. Economic necessity made amalgamation desirable. The period of 1914 to 1922 witnessed the development of representation government in Nigeria, even though there were considerable limitations. For the first time, four indigenous peoples were elected into the newly created Legislative Council, and two political parties appeared to contest these seats. The Richard's constitution of 1947 introduced regionalism into Nigeria. Nigeria achieved independence in 1960, having a federal arrangement in which four strongly autonomous regions constituted the units of the weak central body. The weakness of the center made the federation unworkable. History is the events of the past and the future. They may not be widely known but are significant enough not to be forgotten. History forgotten, not known or used is dead and is bound to be repeated. - Dr. Stella E. Nwokeji