History of Nigeria
The history of Nigeria can be traced to the earliest inhabitants whose date remains at least 13,000 BC through the early civilizations such as the Nok culture which began around 1500 BC. Numerous ancient African civilizations settled in the region that is known today as Nigeria, such as the Ife Empire, Kingdom of Nri, the Benin Kingdom, and the Oyo Empire. Islam reached Nigeria through the Bornu Empire between (1068 AD) and Hausa Kingdom during the 11th century, while Christianity came to Nigeria in the 15th century through Augustinian and Capuchin monks from Portugal to the Kingdom of Warri. The Songhai Empire also occupied part of the region. Through contact with Europeans, early harbour towns such as Calabar, Badagry, and Bonny emerged along the coast after 1480, which did business in the transatlantic slave trade, among other things.
After 1804, Usman dan Fodio unified an immense territory in his jihad against the superior but quarrelling Hausa states of the north, which was stabilised by his successors as the "Caliphate of Sokoto".
In its initial endeavour to stop the slave trade in West Africa, the United Kingdom gradually expanded its sphere of influence after 1851, starting from the tiny island of Lagos (3 km2) and the port city of Calabar. The British followed expansive trading companies such as the RNC and missionaries such as Mary Slessor, who advanced into the hinterland, preached and founded missionary schools, but also took action against local customs such as the religiously induced killing of twins or servants of deceased village elders and against the Trial by ordeal as a means of establishing the legal truth. At the Berlin Congo Conference in 1885, the European powers demarcated their spheres of interest in Africa without regard to ethnic or linguistic boundaries and without giving those affected a say. Thereafter, the British made increasing advances in the Niger region, which they had negotiated in Berlin, and ultimately defeated the Sokoto Caliphate. From 1903, Great Britain controlled almost the entire present-day territory of Nigeria, which was united under a single administration in 1914 (in 1919, a border strip of the former German colony of Cameroon was added to the territory of Nigeria).
Under the British colonial administration, purchasing cartels (of companies such as Unilever, Nestlé and Cadbury) kept the prices of cocoa, palm oil and peanuts artificially low, thereby damaging Nigerian agriculture, but on the other hand ports and an extensive railway network were also built. Newspapers, political parties, trade unions and higher education institutions were established - rather against the wishes of the colonial rulers in order to control the oversized colony. In the East African campaign of 1941, Nigerian regiments achieved the first major success against the Axis powers with the fastest military advance in history at the time. In 1956, oil fields were discovered in Nigeria. Since then, vandalism, oil theft and illegal, unprofessional refining by local residents have caused the contamination of the Niger Delta with crude and heavy oil, particularly around disused exploratory boreholes.
Nigeria gained independence in 1960. From 1967 to 1970, the Biafran War raged in the southeast, becoming one of the worst humanitarian disasters of the late twentieth century. After nearly three decades of largely restrictive military rule, Nigeria transitioned to a democratic federal republic in 1999, modeled in part on the political system of the United States.
Quadrennial elections have been criticized as lacking transparency. Nevertheless, transfers of presidential power at Aso Rock occurred peacefully in 2007, 2010, 2015, and 2023, making Nigeria one of the relatively stable democracies in the region despite persistent institutional challenges.
The Boko Haram insurgency gained significant international attention around 2014 but later weakened due to internal divisions and coordinated regional military efforts. In the same year, the spread of the Ebola epidemic to the densely populated city of Lagos was successfully contained through rapid public health response and crisis management.
In recent years, Nigeria has experienced growing international recognition for its cultural and technological sectors, including the global rise of Nigerian music and the expansion of the film industry. The country has also seen growth in the technology sector, producing five of Africa’s seven technology unicorn companies.
Since January 2024, Nigeria has sought to expand domestic refining capacity, including the commissioning of large new refineries, in an effort to process more of its own crude oil rather than relying heavily on imported refined products.
Kidnapping for ransom remains one of Nigeria’s most significant security challenges. Surveys indicate that approximately 38% of Nigerians personally know someone who has been kidnapped.
Economic reforms implemented in 2023 were followed by a sharp rise in the cost of living; polls suggest that about 64% of Nigerians report being unable to afford basic needs or experiencing food insecurity. The same survey reported that 78% of respondents rated the performance of President Bola Tinubu as “poor” or “very poor”.