Maddie LesniackJeff Pacholski

Neil Pathak

Mrs. McCanlessFebruary 19, 2013

Political and Economic Changes in Nigeria(800 C.E. - Present)

Nigeria’s Eras of Political & Economical Changes

1Pre- ColonialNigeria

2ColonialNigeria 3Modern

Nigeria

Pre-Colonial Nigeria

800 - 1860 C.E.

1

Pre-Colonial Era

• Nigeria’s location has allowed for easy

trade.

• Change started when the Fulani group

came to the north through the Islamic

Holy War. They established Sokoto

Caliphate.

• Sokoto Caliphate (1808-1900) - Muslim

state in the north.

• This encompasses the entire northwest,

north, and mid-section.

• Nigeria traded with Europeans until the

1900’s.Maddie Lesniack

Pre-

Colo

nial

Era

Con

tinue

d…• In the south, people lived in close contact to the Atlantic

Ocean. This contact led to Europeans converting many

Nigerians to Christianity.

• This contact also led to slave trade.

• Slave Trade (16th-20th

century) - Many young

males were forced to

leave their native land.

This was driven by

demands for western

goods. It became

outlawed in 1936.

Maddie Lesniack

2 Colonial Nigeria

1860 - 1960

Colonial Era Background• Britain officially colonized the area in 1860, when it imposed

indirect rule through the European-style bureaucracy it established.– The bureaucracy consisted mostly of natives from the

south, signifying the beginning of a major North-South cleavage.

Jeff Pacholski

• From 1900 to 1914, the British split Nigeria into the Southern and Northern Nigeria Protectorate.– This emphasized the differences between the two areas,

and caused for a reasonable amount of autonomy to exist in the regions even after they were united in 1914.

Colonial Era in the South

Jeff Pacholski

• British influence had always been strongest in the south, as it had the ports and coastline the British used to fuel their trade operations.

• As mentioned before, the bureaucracy that indirectly governed Nigeria for Britain consisted almost exclusively of southerners who had been educated at elite, western-style schools.

– These schools were set up by Christian missionaries and subsidized by Britain. Most were in the south.

– Attending these schools was the main form of elite recruitment in colonial Nigeria and served to further separate the north from the south and the elites from the commoners.

Colonial Era in the North

Jeff Pacholski

• Since the North was already organized into political hierarchies according to Islamic tradition at the time of colonization, the British left its governing system largely in tact and untouched.

• Because the north had less to offer Britain than the south did economically, the British focused less on developing and governing the north.– This led to divisions and conflicts between

the north and south that still exist today.

3 Modern Nigeria

1960 - Present

This era began with British trying to prepare

Nigerians to rule their own country. They trained

them to join the bureaucracy and taught them

western values. This started assimilation and

decolonization of Nigerians during this time

period.

Modern Nigeria

Maddie Lesniack

Modern Nigeria Continued…

• 1960-1966: Republic-parliamentary

system. The first republic of Nigeria

under the British parliamentary system.

• 1966-1998: A drastic change occurred

when the parliamentary system was

switched to a military dictatorship. This

dictatorship caused an era of instability

and military coup d’etat (the violent

overthrow of an existing government)

by a small group. 2nd and 3rd Republics

were unsuccessful. Maddie Lesniack

Modern Nigeria Continued…

• 1979: Milirary dictator, Olusegun

Obasanjo, stood down for a

democratically-elected president, Shehu

Shagari. Shagari was later forced out of

office in 1983 by a military coup led by

General Muhammed Buhari.

Maddie Lesniack

• 1979: Nigeria got a new

constitution. This favored American

style presidential system with a

directly elected executive.

Olesegun Obasanjo

Shehu Shagari

The Second Republic

Jeff Pacholski

• In 1983, Shagari and his National Party of Nigeria were reelected in a landslide.

• The elections however, were marred by violence and allegations of vote rigging and other corrupt practices.

The Overthrow of Shagari• In December 1983, the military overthrew Shagari’s government and Major

General Buhari took control of the country’s new ruling body, the Supreme Military Council (SMC).

• In 1985, third ranking member General Babangida overthrew the SMC and took over.– Babangida restored freedom of the press and released innocent political

detainees.– He encouraged economic reform for Nigeria, and encouraged the public to

offer its opinions of what reforms ought to take place.

The Third Republic

Jeff Pacholski

• Babangida vowed to return Nigeria to civilian rule by 1990.

• The government created two political parties, The Social Democratic Party (SDP), and the National Republican Convention in 1989, in anticipation of the formation of the Third Republic.

• In 1990 the first elections were held.

– Early in the year an attempt to overthrow the government had been thwarted, so tensions were high.

– The elections took place however, without any violent incident. The SDP won a majority in most local government councils.

• When Moshood Abiola seemingly won the

1993 presidential election, General Babangida

had the election annulled, but Babangida was

overthrown by General Abacha in a military

coup later that year.

• Both General Babangida and General Abacha

maintained large foreign bank accounts, with

regular deposits being diverted from the

Nigerian State. Other funds went to the

Nigerian elite through the patron client system.

These two generals are widely remembered

for their political corruption.

Modern Nigeria Continued…

Neil Pathak

General Babangida

General Abacha

Colonial Era Continued…

Neil Pathak

• Abdulsalmi Abubaka succeeded Abacha in 1998,

with the promise to eventually hand over the

government to a duly elected civilian.

• Olusegun Obasanjo became president as a result of

the 1999 elections, and he was re-elected in 2003.

After his re-election, Nigerian citizens became

hopeful for the possibilities of a democracy.

• 2 facts hindered the citizens’ hopes:

Obasanjo was a former military general

Both elections were characterized by voting

fraud

Abdulsalmi Abubaka

Mod

ern

Nig

eria

Con

tinue

d… • From 1966-1998, Nigeria’s government

has been a military dictatorship, with

transition of power being from a military

coup.

• Although there were questionable

elections in 1999, 2003, and 2007, Nigeria

has been considered a presidential

democracy since 1999.

The People’s Democratic Party has

won all three elections.

Neil Pathak

People’s Democratic Party

Nigeria’s Leadership Transitions Since 1960

Neil Pathak

Year Ruler Government Type Reason for Transition

1960-1966 Tafawa Balewa (Prime Minister

Republic Military Coup

1966 Johnson Aguyi-Ironsi Military Dictatorship Military Coup

1966-1975 Yakubu Gowon Military Dictatorship Military Coup

1975+1976 Murtala Muhammed Military Dictatorship Military Coup

1976-1979 Olusegun Obasanjo Military Dictatorship Replace by democratically elected president

1979-1983 Shehu Shagari Military Dictatorship Military Coup

1983-1985 Muhammed Buhari Military Dictatorship Military Coup

1985-1993 Ibrahim Babangida Military Dictatorship Military Coup

1993-1998 Sani Abacha Military Dictatorship Death of Abacha

1999-2007 Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Democracy Reached end of presidency

2007-2010 Umaru Yar’Adua Presidential Democracy Death of Yar’Adua

2010-Present Goodluck Jonathan Presidential Democracy

Nigeria’s Economy

Neil Pathak

• Many economic problems were created because of

political corruption at powerful positions in the

government. Because of this, problems have arose:

Agriculture has suffered under incoherent

government policy where there is untapped

mineral sources and farmland.

Nigeria does not use oil profits to invest

infrastructure or education enough.

• From 2003-2007, the National/State Economic

Empowerment Development Strategy has attempted to

address these problems through various economic

reforms (deregulation, privatization, transparency, etc.)

Nigeria’s Economy Continued…

Neil Pathak

• Nigeria is classified as a rentier state - a state that drives much of its revenue from its

resources.

• Oil and Natural Gas make up 90% of export profits and 80% of government revenue.

• Nigeria has the 32nd largest GDP, but its rank as 182nd GDP per capita proves that the

country’s quality of life needs to be improved. This also illustrates the significant gap

between the rich and poor in Nigeria.