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The Nigeria Nation
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 Sir Lord Fredrick Lugard |
The vegetation in tile South is predominantly rain forest, but moving northwards one finds a belt of savannah and scrubland which gives way to the Sahara Desert. From across the desert came the earliest external influence to reach some of the areas now part of Nigeria.
That was Islamic faith and ideas which began to filter from North Africa, first into Kanerm- Borno. Although, at the time, it was the religion of a few elite until the nineteenth century. The Niger River, the name from which Nigeria is coined, empties into the Bights of Benin and Bonny, through an intricate network of Delta characterized by a thick mangrove which the British ventured in order to get prized items of trade in the nineteenth century. But this was after the trade in slaves had been outlawed in 1833.
SLAVE TRADE:
 Sir Bernard Bourdillon |
The external influence resulting from this trade brought tremendous impact on Nigeria. From the late 15th Century, Europeans began frequenting the Bights of Benin (now the Bights of Bonny), in search of tropical products and slaves. By the eighteenth century, the ports of Nigerian coastlines, mainly Lagos, Brass, Bonny and Old Calabar, had become centres of the trans-atlantic slave trade.
Trade routes from these ports extended through the communities of the South to the Hausa States. But the industrial revolution and the advent of the machine made the trade unnecessary and unprofitable. The aftermath was an increased interest in palm oil trade.
 Sir John Macpherson |
In 1849, the British Government appointed John Beecroft as the Governor of Bights of Benin and Bonny His job was to regulate commercial relations with the coastal city States. Backed by fierce gunboats, he interfered with the internal affairs of these States and the process which culminated in the imposition of colonial rule came afoot. There were also missionary interests at play. In 1861, Lagos was proclaimed crown colony.
And through the initiative of the United Africa Company, formed by George Goldie, through an amalgamation of British firms in 1879, most of the parts which became Northern Nigeria were preserved as British sphere to the chagrin of French and German competitors.
 Sir James Robertson |
The Company received a charter to administer it until 1899 when the charter was revoked, and tile British Government administered it directly, under the name "Protectorate of Northern Nigeria" The Delta Area had itself been proclaimed the Oil Rivers Protectorate, following the signing of a number of treaties between the local rulers and British consular officials.
Finally, in 1914, the two British administrations were merged, to form a single territorial unit known as Nigeria. This territory was administered by the British until 1960 when the Union Jack (British flag) was lowered for the Nigeria flag to take its place.
The above history was coined from www.onlinenigeria.com
New Nigeria
Nigeria is located in
West
Africa and shares
land
borders
with the Republic of
Benin
in the west,
Chad
and
Cameroon
in the east, and
Niger
in the north while its coastal border in the south stretch along the
Gulf of
Guinea in the
Atlantic
Ocean. The three
largest and most influential ethnic groups in Nigeria are the
Hausa,
Igbo
and
Yoruba.
In terms of religion, Nigeria is roughly split half and half between
Muslims and Christians with a very small minority who practice
traditional religion.
The people of Nigeria have an extensive history. Archaeological evidence shows that human habitation of the area dates back to at least 9000 BCE.[5] The area around the Benue and Cross River is thought to be the original homeland of the Bantu migrants who spread across most of central and southern Africa in waves between the 1st millennium BCE and the 2nd millennium.
The name Nigeria was derived from the Niger River running through the country. This name was coined by Flora Shaw, the future wife of Baron Lugard, a British colonial administrator, in the late 19th century.
Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa, the seventh most populous country in the world, and the most populous country in the world in which the majority of the population is black. It is listed among the "Next Eleven" economies, and is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.
Nigeria has three major tribes: The Hausas in the North, Yorubas, in the west, and the Igbos in the east. However, the country has many more minority tribes speaking well over 250 different languages. However, Nigeria's official language is English (Queen's English).
At the federal level, the country has two legislative arms (the Senate, and the Federal
House of Representatives), a central Judiciary, and the Executive
arm made up of the President and the Ministers. Each state is headed
by a State Governor, with a state house of assembly as the
legislative arm. Each Local Government Area (LGA) is head by a
Council Chairman.
Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic, comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Nigeria has 36 states with its capital at Abuja. It practices the federal system of with three tiers of government (the Federal, State, and Local Governments). At the federal level, the country has two legislative arms (the Senate, and the Federal House of Representatives), a central Judiciary, and the Executive arm made up of the President and the Ministers. Each state is headed by a State Governor, with a state house of assembly as the legislative arm. Each Local Government Area (LGA) is head by a Council Chairman.
The most popular sports in Nigeria is Soccer. The country has lifted Gold at several world soccer tournaments. The senior men's team is called the 'Supper Eagles''; the under-20 national team is called the 'Flying Eagles', while the under-17 national team is called the 'Golden Eaglets'. The national female soccer team is called the 'Super Falcons'. Other types of sports such as track and field, boxing, wrestling, tennis, basket ball, hand ball, swimming, etc are also prominent in Nigeria.
Official Colors:
Nigeria's official colors are Green and White. It's flag represents the two colors with two solid green colors at each end and a solid white color in the middle. Full History
The Motto:
The motto of Nigeria as shown in its coat-of-arms is "Unity and Faith, Faith, Peace And Progress"
Presently, Nigeria has 61 universities and 44 polytechnics institutions in the country namely: Visit the page.
WeatherNigeria lies entirely within the tropics. It has two prominent reasons: It is either raining (rainy season) or it is dry (dry season).
Sports:
The most popular sports in Nigeria is Soccer. The country has lifted Gold at several world soccer tournaments. The senior men's team is called the 'Supper Eagles''; the under-20 national team is called the 'Flying Eagles', while the under-17 national team is called the 'Golden Eaglets'. The national female soccer team is called the 'Super Falcons'. Other types of sports such as track and field, boxing, wrestling, tennis, basket ball, hand ball, swimming, etc are also prominent in Nigeria.
Nigeria also has sports council in every state of the federation that operates under the control of their state ministry of sports. Visit the page.
References/Honors:
Wikkipedia.com is one of our major resource place for many histories on this website, please you can visit them for further details through this link. Full History
However, we have compiled information from other sites like www.onlinenigeria.com and many other websites to make our history more elaborate and meaningful.
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