History of Nigeria dates back to the prehistoric times, starting from 9000 B.C. To have a better understanding of the History of Nigeria, it has been categorized into Pre 20th century History, Modern History of Nigeria and Recent History of Nigeria.
According to archaeological evidences, the earliest inhabitants of Nigeria were the Noks who were skilled artisans producing terracotta sculptures that testifies the history of the period. They were followed by the Kano and the Katsina whose history dates back to the year 999. It was during this period that the Hausa Kingdoms began to prosper and established trading posts with the North and the West of Africa. The Western block of Nigeria was founded by the Yoruba Kingdoms of Ife and Oyo. This dates back to the period between 700 and 900 and then again in the 15th century. The kingdom extended as far as modern Togo. The Kingdom of Benin was another dominating kingdom that held sway between 15th and 19th century. This was an Islamic kingdom and the Europeans dared not to touch or interfere until the 19th century. Their dominance extended as far as Lagos. With the establishment of trading routes with the European countries they began to lose control over their sovereignty. The Portuguese were followed by the English, who slowly began to fiddle with the internal affairs of the country to gain political power in order to exploit the natural wealth that the country possessed.
It was on 1st October, 1960 that Nigeria gained independence from UK. The new independent government was a coalition government of the Nigerian people's Congress and the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons. Its leader Nnamdi Azikiwe was made the first Governor General of Independent Nigeria. In 1963, Nigeria parted with the British to declare itself as the Federal Republic and Azikiwe was made the first President of the Federal republic of Nigeria.
The period following this was a period of strife where secessionist forces began to dampen the peace in the region. Massacres, inter-regional hostilities and military coups became the order of the day. Efforts are on to establish peace and prosperity in the region. Elections were held in 2007, which was condemned by the international community as being massively inconsistent. Situation is improving rapidly and peace is likely to be restored to pave the way for progress and prosperity.
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