Nigeria

Basic Knowledge of Nigeria

❖Nigeria is the 14th largest country in Africa

➢ Bordered by Benin, Cameroon and Chad

❖Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa (130 million people)

❖Nigeria is also one of the most urbanized countries in Africa

Ethnic Makeup in Nigeria

❖Nigeria is the most diverse African country with 350 ethnic groups. The 3 most populous are

➢ The Hausa Fulani

➢ Igbo

➢ Yoruba

❖Nigeria’s ethnic groups by demographic are divided in 6 areas

➢ The Northwest

➢ The Northeast

➢ The Middle Belt

➢ The Southwest

➢ The Southeast

The Hausa Fulani

❖Largest ethnic group

❖Originally two ethnic groups (The Hausa and the Fulani), but merged overtime

❖Mostly practice Islam

➢ Islam is considered to be the backbone of the ethnic group

❖Mostly located in the Northern Region of Nigeria

The Yoruba

❖Located in the Southwestern Region

❖Did not side with one religion

➢ Practiced a mix of Islam, Christianity and indigenous religious traditions

❖ Considered to be the most modern ethnic group b/c of their blend of religions

The Igbo

❖Located in the Southeastern Region of Nigeria

❖Mostly practiced Christianity

British Colonialism in Nigeria

❖The British colonized Nigeria from 1900 - 1960

❖During the colonial period, European colonial powers remade Nigerian and the borders of neighboring countries, (The Carving of Africa); causing ethnic and religious strife

❖The British also established indirect control of Nigeria (especially after the 1st and 2nd world War)

➢ This was done by placing British educated leaders in Nigeria who would uphold the British colonial agenda

➢ After the 2nd WW, Great Britain's control over Nigeria and other British colonial possessions lessened

Nigeria’s First Republic

❖In 1960, Nigeria declares independence from Great Britain

➢ issues arise over who would run the government in the post-colonial period

❖As a result of the population imbalance, The Hausa-Fulani come into power

➢ sparks resistance in the southern region

❖Nigeria adopts the parliamentary government system

❖Niambi Azikiwe becomes the 1st president of Nigeria

❖Abubakar Tafawa Balewa becomes the 1st and only prime

minister

Biafran Secession and Civil War

❖Many Nigerians, predominantly Nigerians living in the southern region of Nigeria felt that they were under represented in the government

➢ As a result, riots and protests ensue and the Prime minister, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa is assassinated by Igbo rebels (1966)

➢ After the assassination, members of the Hausa-Fulani attack Igbos living in the northern region of Nigeria

➢ As a result of the attacks, a region of southern Nigeria, Biafra succeeds from Nigeria

■ This does not go well with the central government and the government restricts food and resources to the state until Biafra returns to the union

Examination of Political Economy and Development

GDP increasing by around 7%; it was 6.3% in 2014 which is equal $568.5 billion

The non-oil sector has been the main driver of growth, with services contributing about 57%, while manufacturing and agriculture, respectively contributed about 9% and 21%.

Largest economy in Africa

Corruption

Development in Nigeria Violence and a huge wealth gap between the rich and poor

Over 80% of Nigerians live on less than $2 a day

most of the wealth goes to the small urban class

Welfare

The country still have problems with: Electricity, water, health

Solution

Confucianism: High moral/ethical conduct, loyalty, reciprocal obligations,

honesty.

Invest in other resources of the country

Governance and Policy-Making

★National Question and Constitutional Governance.

●Independent Oct. 1, 1960-1963.

●National Question.

●President Obasanjo’s third-rerm gambit.

★Federalism and State Structure.

●Nigeria’s First Republic.

●Second Republic 1979.

●Domination of federal government 1960-1999 by Northern Nigerians.

●The 2009-10 Crisis: Umaru Yar’ Adua’s and Johnathan.

●Positive contribution to governance.

★Executive under Military Rule.

●Seven military heads of state.

★Semipublic Institutions.

●Parastatals.

★Prebendalism.

★State and Local Judiciaries.

●State level judiciaries.

●Islamic shari’a law.

●Olusegun Obasanjo “fad.”

★The Policy-Making Process.

●“Loyalty pyramid.”

Political Representation

Federal republic with presidential system, a multiparty democracy since 1999

Government structure modeled after that of the U.S.

Separation of powers

Bicameral legislature - the National Assembly: 109 Senators, 360 Representatives; 4-year terms

Democratically elected president, who picks Cabinet members from all 36 states

President appoints Supreme Court justices; judicial branch also includes Court of Appeals, High Court, and other state-level courts (customary, sharia, etc.)

Each state has an elected governor and House of Assembly

Further divided into 774 local government regions

Political Participation

Universal suffrage; voting age is 18

Elections determined by a plurality of votes

Independent National Electoral Commission has been criticized for lack of transparency

43.65% of registered voters voted in this year’s elections

Political apathy and electoral violence are major problems

Women are underrepresented in politics

Few Nigerians trust their political leaders

Political Parties and Interest Groups

Nigeria has 29 registered parties

The largest two are the All Progressives Congress (APC) (formed as a coalition of three opposition parties) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP)

Both are socially conservative; APC has more progressive economic policies

Interest groups have existed in Nigeria since before it became a democracy

Include trade unions, professional groups, human rights groups, etc.

Pre-ColonizationBefore “Nigeria”

Human existence was believed to begin in Africa → We are all African11th Century onward, several kingdoms and dynasties spread out and

inhabited the regionBetween the 1500s and 1700s,

several hundreds of thousands of people were taken from their homelands and transported to the Americas, Europe, and the Caribbean → Very profitable

for the Europeans

Colonization and Independence1830s - Civil War broke out among several groups over control of the slave trade

1850s - British began taking control over different regions on the modern day Nigeria

1914 - British fully colonized and set the boundaries of “Nigeria”

1922-1959 - Struggle for Freedom

To ease this, British allowed several constitutions to be written, but these still limited Nigeria's input in the way they were governed → Continued discrimination1960 - Nigeria gains independence

Nigerian Politics in TransitionEstablished first government as parliamentary system1966-1979 - Civilian Governance overthrown in the country’s first military coupAdopted a Presidential system1983-1993 - Country’s second military coup1998-1999 - Third military coup designed to bring the country back from the brink of collapsing

Nigerian Politics in Transition

Power restored in civilian government, but continue to face huge social issues and corruption

Former President Jonathan stole $20 billion from oil revenue

Boko Haram - Regional terrorist group with ties to ISIS

Massive wage disparities

Nigeria’s Foreign Relations

● Relations with other African nations

○ Founding country of the OAU

○ Supporter of African freedom and decolonization

○ Supported South African efforts to end apartheid

○ Financially supported multiple African nations during decolonization efforts

○ Founder of OAU (Organisation of African Unity, now African Union)

●Relations outside of Africa

○ Relations with major powers generally favorable to neutral

○ Remained uninvolved during the Gulf War

Nigeria’s Trade

Nigeria’s exports

Almost entirely devoted to petroleum products (95%)

Current member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)

Nigeria’s biggest export partners include India, Brazil, and the Netherlands

other export commodities include cocoa, rubber, and yams.

Nigeria’s imports

Majority of imports consist of machinery, chemicals, transportation equipment, and food.

Major partners include China, The U.S. and India

China dominated the Nigerian market, with 25.3% of imports coming from China

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