Maddie Lesniack Jeff Pacholski Neil Pathak Mrs. McCanless February 19, 2013 Political and Economic Changes in Nigeria (800 C.E. - Present)
Feb 22, 2016
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.