Nigeria
Nigeria, 1963 to today. Draft, not yet reviewed
The Federal Republic of Nigeria came into existence on 1 October 1963. From 1967 to 1970, the country was ravaged by civil war, followed by a series of military dictatorships, as well as an unstable democracy from 1979 to 1983, until a stable democracy was established in 1999. Following the war, Nigeria enjoyed an oil boom in the 1970s, during which the country joined OPEC and received huge oil revenues. On 29 May 1999, Abubakar handed over power to the winner of the 1999 presidential election, former military ruler General Olusegun Obasanjo, as President of Nigeria.
Seat of power: Abuja
Rulers
Nnamdi Azikiwe
President of Nigeria, 1963–1966
He was the first native governor-general of Nigeria from 1960 to 1963 and the first president of Nigeria during the First Nigerian Republic.
Yakubu Gowon
President of Nigeria, 1966–1975
He served for the longest continuous period as head of state of Nigeria, ruling for almost nine years until his overthrow in the coup d'état of 1975. At the end of the Nigerian Civil War he delivered the speech "no victor, no vanquished" to promote healing and reconciliation.
Portrait of Yakubu Gowon: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file
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Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi
President of Nigeria, 1966–1966
He was named military head of state on 17 January 1966, a position he held until 29 July 1966, when a group of Northern army officers revolted against the government and killed him.
Portrait of Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file
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Murtala Muhammed
President of Nigeria, 1975–1976
He ruled Nigeria from 29 July 1975 until his assassination on 13 February 1976. His rule centred on highly centralised government, authoritarianism, federalism and pan-Africanism.
Portrait of Murtala Muhammed: Seven Ways Zaria, Public domain, file
Olusegun Obasanjo
President of Nigeria, 1976–1979
As military head of state, he continued Murtala's policies, overseeing budgetary cut-backs and an expansion of access to free school education. He oversaw the 1979 election, after which he transferred control of Nigeria to a civilian government.
Portrait of Olusegun Obasanjo: Helene C. Stikkel, Public domain, file
Shehu Shagari
President of Nigeria, 1979–1983
He was the first democratically elected president of Nigeria, after the transfer of power by military head of state General Olusegun Obasanjo in 1979. He commissioned the Ajaokuta Steel Mill, the largest steel project in Africa, and his tenure ended with a military coup in 1983.
Portrait of Shehu Shagari: CLAWSON, Public domain, file
Muhammadu Buhari
President of Nigeria, 1983–1985
He became head of the military junta amid a period of deep economic crisis and widespread corruption. He was overthrown in a palace coup led by General Ibrahim Babangida on 27 August 1985.
Portrait of Muhammadu Buhari: Bayo Omoboriowo, CC BY-SA 4.0, file
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Ibrahim Babangida
President of Nigeria, 1985–1993
He ruled as military president of Nigeria from 1985, when he orchestrated a coup d'état against Muhammadu Buhari, until he stepped aside in 1993. The Babangida era is considered one of the most controversial in Nigerian political and military history.
Portrait of Ibrahim Babangida: Seiperi, CC BY-SA 3.0, file
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Sani Abacha
President of Nigeria, 1993–1998
He ruled Nigeria as military head of state from 1993, following a palace coup d'état, until his death in 1998. His rule drew disrepute to the country, with Nigeria becoming a pariah state in international relations, particularly with regard to the execution of environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa.
Abdulsalami Abubakar
President of Nigeria, 1998–1999
During his leadership, Nigeria adopted a modified version of the 1979 constitution, which provided for multiparty elections. He transferred power to president-elect Olusegun Obasanjo on 29 May 1999.
Portrait of Abdulsalami Abubakar: SSGT Karen L. Sanders, USAF, Public domain, file
Olusegun Obasanjo
President of Nigeria, 1999–2007
As president, he de-politicised the military and both expanded the police and mobilised the army to combat widespread ethnic, religious, and secessionist violence. His attempts to change the constitution to abolish presidential term limits were unsuccessful and brought criticism.
Portrait of Olusegun Obasanjo: Helene C. Stikkel, Public domain, file
Umaru Musa Yar'Adua
President of Nigeria, 2007–2010
He won the Nigerian presidential election held on 21 April 2007 and was sworn in on 29 May 2007. His administration was described as financially prudent.
Portrait of Umaru Musa Yar'Adua: World Economic Forum from Cologny, Switzerland, CC BY-SA 2.0, file
Goodluck Jonathan
President of Nigeria, 2010–2015
He declared that his government would focus on a Transformation Agenda. He lost the 2015 presidential election to Muhammadu Buhari and became the first incumbent president in Nigerian history to lose re-election.
Portrait of Goodluck Jonathan: World Economic Forum, CC BY-SA 2.0, file
Muhammadu Buhari
President of Nigeria, 2015–2023
He served as the democratically elected civilian president of Nigeria from 2015 to 2023 and was sworn in on 29 May 2015. In February 2019, he was re-elected, defeating his closest rival, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, by over 3 million votes.
Portrait of Muhammadu Buhari: Bayo Omoboriowo, CC BY-SA 4.0, file
Bola Tinubu
President of Nigeria, 2023 to today
He is the 16th and current president of Nigeria since 2023 and previously served as the governor of Lagos State from 1999 to 2007. Under his leadership the government ended prior fuel subsidies, citing fiscal pressures.
Portrait of Bola Tinubu: Nosa Asemota, CC BY-SA 4.0, file
Culture
- Nigeria is a multinational state inhabited by more than 250 ethnic groups speaking 500 distinct languages, all identifying with a wide variety of cultures.
- The three largest ethnic groups are the Hausa, Yoruba, and Igbo together constituting over 60% of the total population.
- Wole Soyinka won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1986. The 1970s was the era of Fela Kuti, the pioneer of Afrobeat genre, fused from Highlife, Jazz and Yoruba Music.
- The country is divided roughly in half between Muslims and Christians.
Picture
Zuma Rock is a large natural monolith, or inselberg, located in Madalla, a town in Niger State, Nigeria.
Image: Jeff Attaway, CC BY 2.0, file
Sources
Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.