Purple Hibiscus Background Information
Nigeria—Some History
The British took control of the area the later called Nigeria during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.
Dame Flora Shaw, wife of Lord Lugard, suggested the name in 1897. The name was inspired by the 2,600 milelong river Niger, named by the Portuguese in the late Middle Ages when they first discovered it. (They were the
first Europeans to see it although, of course, Africans had known and used it for thousands of years). The river
has other names in African languages. ‘Niger’ is the Latin word for black and the name may refer to the local
black-skinned population. Or it could be a corruption of an African word. No one is quite sure.
Nigeria remained a British colony until 1960, when it gained its independence, but the newly declared
independent government was not stable. Years of being governed by a foreign power and long-standing tensions
between regions made steady government difficult. A series of military take-overs known as coups followed,
like the one that occurs in Purple Hibiscus.
After two coups in 1966, the Igbo region of Nigeria tried to break away from the rest of the country by
establishing an independent state called Biafra. This led to a bloody civil war between Nigeria and Biafra,
referred to several times in the novel as history well within living memory. The breakaway attempt failed.
Biafra was taken back into Nigeria in 1970.
Because Nigeria has extensive oil reserves, its economic situation improved after the civil war.
Adichie’s fictional character Papa, for example, has become extremely rich as a businessman and factory owner
making biscuits and other food stuffed in the postwar period. Corruption and unemployment continued,
however. Further instability developed and there were more coups—the situation that Adichie depicts in the
novel, which is set loosely in the early 1990’s
The leader referred to as Big Oga in the novel echoes the atmosphere during the reign of General Sani
Abacha who took over Nigeria in 1993. During this time, a well-known writer, Ken Saro-Wiwa, was executed
along with other human rights activists. That led to international outrage and Nigeria was suspended from the
Commonwealth of Nations. Adichie fictionalizes Saro-Wiwa as Nwankkiti Ogechi, who was shot by soldiers
“in a bush in Minna” and who then “poured acid on his body to…kill him even when he was already dead”
(200-01).
Abacha died in 1998.he was succeeded by General Abdul Salam Abubakar, who tried to restore order.
Abubakar released political prisoners and held elections. General Olusegun Obasanjo, a former leader
imprisoned during the rule of Abacha, was inaugurated as president of Nigeria in 1999. He was re-elected in
2003 followed by Umaru Yar’Adua in 2008 and Goodluck Jonathan in 2010. But corruption, tensions between
factions and economic problems caused by falling oil prices are still going on.
Many readers have seen the novel as a small version, or mirror, of the situation in Nigeria as a whole.
Kambili is strictly controlled by her family, just as every Nigerian is controlled by Big Oga, the despotic head
of state.
Nigerian Culture and Language
Nigeria consists of 36 states, of which Enugu, where most of the novel is set, is one. Across these states,
the country has over 250 ethnic groups. The three largest are the Igbo in the east, the Hausain the north and the
Yoruba in the west.
About half the country is Muslim and about 40% is Christian. Traditional religion, based on the worship
of many gods and spirits, is still practiced today, as shown by the character of Papa-Nnukwu.
Kambili and her family are members of one of the largest ethnic groups in Nigeria, the Igbo. Igbo is,
therefore, the family’s ancestral language and Adichie often presents them speaking it.
English, however, became the official language of the country while it was a British colony, and it still
is, this means, for example, that it is the language of government and education. Kambili and Jaja are being
educated entirely in English, as their parents and Aunty Ifeoma were. Papa-Nnukwu speaks only Igbo because
he has not been to school or been taught to read and write.
Most Nigerians speak English and at least one African language. In the novel, characters move from one
language to another continually. Adichie makes this clear by telling the reader which language is being spoken
and peppering the text with Igbo words. His daughter Ifeoma and all the grandchildren use Igbo when they
speak to Papa-Nnukwu, but English at school and often at home. By contrast, even though Papa grew up
speaking Igbo and is fluent in it, it is unusual for him to use it other than to servants or the people on his country
estate, Kambili comments on it when he does. He favors English as the civilized language of white people and
associates Igbo with the traditional; heathen Nigerian ways he loathes. He changes his accent—making it sound
more British—when he is with the white Father Benedict or the nuns who teach in Kambili’s school.
Christianity in Nigeria
European missionaries took Christianity to Nigeria. They tried to convert local people from their
traditional; religious practices to follow what they regarded as the true religion. They ran schools for the
children of converts and others, which meant they could ensure that children absorbed the Christian message
while they were young and impressionable.
Kambili and her family are Catholics and she and Jaja both attend Catholic schools run by monks and
nuns under the ultimate leadership and guidance of the Pope. In 2005, there were an estimated 19 million
baptized Catholics in Nigeria out of a population of around 150 million. Priests such as Father Benedict are
white Europeans sent to Nigeria to run churches.
In recent years, there has been a marked increase in young black Nigerians educated in Catholic schools
who then decide to go into the priesthood. Father Amadi is one of these. When he says to Papa-Nnukwu that he
is going to be sent away, Papa Nnukwu is much amused, seeing it as a neat bit of role reversal.
Traditionally the Catholic Church had strict ideas about sin and behavior, although it is usually much
gentler today. The kinder face of Catholicism is represented by Aunty Ifeoma and Father Amadi.
Papa takes the hardest imaginable line with his children, seeing it as his responsibility to control rigidly
everything they do and to punish them severely to save them from burning in Hell if they do not conform. He is
also adamant that his family should eat nothing before they take communion, as we see when Kambili needs a
painkiller just before the service because she has taken some painkillers.
Colonialism
British colonies were important for their resources, valuable crops, cheap labor, and positioning for
military bases. Few people questioned the morality of this colonialism. Rather, there was a sense that European
colonizers were helping the Africans to become more civilized by giving them Christianity, grand buildings,
schools for their children, and European laws. It was almost as if Europe thought it was the grown up while
Africa remained a child needing firm guidance.
However, after WWII, British colonies began to seem an economic burden rather than an asset and most
were granted independence. This meant installing a government of local people who were then expected to run
the country as a British-style democracy, with fair elections, well-organized parliaments, and so on. In fact, in
Africa, this has not usually worked. These new large countries with artificial boundaries fixed by the colonizers
lack leaders who have the centuries of evolved experience that European governments have. The result is
corruption and military coups.
That is why so many Africans are bitter about their colonial past. They argue that it was quite wrong of
the British and other nations to plunder their countries for wealth, try to break up local culture and then leave
them to flounder,
Historic regions: 5th century BC - 20th century AD
Nigeria contains more historic cultures and empires than any other nation in Africa. They date back as
far as the 5th century BC, when communities living around the southern slopes of the Jos plateau make
wonderfully expressive terracotta figures - in a tradition known now as the Nok culture, from the Nigerian
village where these sculptures are first unearthed. The Nok people are Neolithic tribes who have recently
acquired the iron technology spreading southwards through Africa.
The Jos plateau is in the center of Nigeria, but the first extensive kingdoms of the region - more than a
millennium after the Nok people - are in the north and northeast, deriving their wealth from trade north through
the Sahara and east into the Sudan.
During the 9th century AD a trading empire grows up around Lake Chad. Its original center is east of the
lake, in the Kanem region, but it soon extends to Bornu on the western side. In the 11th century the ruler of
Kanem-Bornu converts to Islam.
West of Bornu, along the northern frontier of Nigeria, is the land of the Hausa people. Well placed to
control trade with the forest regions to the south, the Hausa develop a number of small but stable kingdoms,
each ruled from a strong walled city. They are often threatened by larger neighbors (Mali and Gao to the west,
Bornu to the east). But the Hausa traders benefit also from being on the route between these empires. By the
14th century they too are Muslim.
In the savanna grasslands and the forest regions west of the Niger, between the Hausa kingdoms and the
coast, the Yoruba people are the dominant tribes. Here they establish two powerful states.
The first is Ife, on the border between forest and savanna. Famous now for its sculpture, Ife flourishes
from the 11th to 15th century. In the 16th century a larger Yoruba empire develops, based slightly further from
the forest at Oyo. Using the profits of trade to develop a forceful cavalry, Oyo grows in strength during the 16th
century. By the end of the 18th century the rulers of Oyo are controlling a region from the Niger to the west of
Dahomey.
Meanwhile, firmly within the forest, the best known of all the Nigerian kingdoms establishes itself in
the 15th century (from small beginnings in the 13th). Benin becomes a name internationally known for its castmetal sculpture, in a tradition inherited from the Ife (see Sculpture of Ife and Benin).
In terms of extent Benin is no match for Oyo, its contemporary to the north. In the 15th century the
region brought under central control is a mere seventy-miles across (people and places being harder to subdue
in the tropical forest than on the savanna), though a century later Benin stretches from the Niger delta in the east
to Lagos in the west.
But Benin's fame is based on factors other than power. This is the coastal kingdom which the Portuguese
discover when they reach the mouth of the Niger in the 1470s, bringing back to Europe the first news of superb
African artifacts and of the ceremonial splendor of Benin's oba or king.
The kings of Benin are a story in themselves. In the 19th century they scandalize the west by their use of
human sacrifice in court rituals. And they have stamina. At the end of the 20th century the original dynasty is
still in place, though without political power. All in all, among Nigeria's many historic kingdoms, Benin has
earned its widespread renown.
The Fulani and Sokoto: AD 1804-1903
Living among the Hausa in the northern regions of Nigeria are a tribe, the Fulani, whose leaders in the
early 19th century become passionate advocates of strict Islam. From 1804 sheikh Usman dan Fodio and his
two sons lead the Fulani in an immensely successful holy war against the lax Muslim rulers of the Hausa
kingdoms.
The result is the establishment in 1809 of a Fulani capital at Sokoto, from which the center and north of
Nigeria is effectively ruled for the rest of the 19th century. But during this same period there has been steady
encroachment on the region by British interests.
British explorers: AD 1806-1830
From the death of Mungo Park near Bussa in 1806 to the end of the century, there is continuing interest
in Nigeria on the part of British explorers, anti-slavery activists, missionaries and traders.
In 1821 the British government sponsors an expedition south through the Sahara to reach the kingdom of
Bornu. Its members become the first Europeans to reach Lake Chad, in 1823. One of the group, Hugh
Clapperton, explores further west through Kano and the Hausa territory to reach Sokoto. Clapperton is only
back in England for a few months, in 1825, before he sets off again for the Nigerian coast at Lagos.
On this expedition, with his servant Richard Lander, he travels on trade routes north from the coast to
Kano and then west again to Sokoto. Here Clapperton dies. But Lander makes his way back to London, where
he is commissioned by the government to explore the lower reaches of the Niger.
Accompanied in 1830 by his brother John, Lander makes his way north from the coast near Lagos to
reach the great river at Bussa - the furthest point of Mungo Park's journey downstream. With considerable
difficulty the brothers make a canoe trip downstream, among hostile Ibo tribesmen, to reach the sea at the Niger
delta. This region has long been familiar to European traders, but its link to the interior is now charted. All
seems set for serious trade.
SS Alburkah: AD 1832-1834
After Lander's second return to England a company is formed by a group of Liverpool merchants,
including Macgregor Laird, to trade on the lower Niger. Laird is also a pioneer in the shipping industry. For the
present purpose, an expedition to the Niger, he designs an iron paddle-steamer, the 55-ton Alburkah. Laird
himself leads the expedition, with Richard Lander as his expert guide. The Alburkah steams south from Milford
Haven in July 1832 with forty-eight on board. She reaches the mouth of the Niger three months later, entering
history as the first ocean-going iron ship.
After making her way up one of the many streams of the Niger delta, the Alburkah progresses upstream
on the main river as far as Lokoja, the junction with the Benue. The expedition demonstrates that the Niger
offers a highway into the continent for ocean vessels. And the performance of the iron steamer is a triumph. But
medicine is not yet as far advanced as technology. When the Alburkah returns to Liverpool, in 1834, only nine
of the original crew of forty-eight are alive. They include a much weakened Macgregor Laird.
Trade and anti-slavery: AD 1841-1900
The next British expedition to the Niger is almost equally disastrous in terms of loss of life. Four ships
under naval command are sent out in 1841, with instructions to steam up the Niger and make treaties with local
kings to prevent the slave trade. The enterprise is abandoned when 48 of the 145 Europeans in the crews die of
fever. Malaria is the cause of the trouble, but major progress is made when a doctor, William Baikie, leads an
expedition up the Niger in 1854. He administers quinine to his men and suffers no loss of life. Extracted from
the bark of the cinchona tree, quinine has long been used in medicine. But its proven efficacy against malaria is
a turning point in the European penetration of Africa.
The British anti-slavery policy in the region involves boosting the trade in palm oil (a valuable product
which gives the name Oil Rivers to the Niger delta) to replace the dependence on income from the slave trade.
It transpires later that this is somewhat counter-productive, causing the upriver chieftains to acquire more slaves
to meet the increased demand for palm oil. But it is nevertheless the philanthropic principle behind much of the
effort to set up trading stations. At the same time the British navy patrols the coast to liberate captives from
slave ships of other nations and to settle them at Freetown in Sierra Leone.
From 1849 the British government accepts a more direct involvement. A consul, based in Fernando Po,
is appointed to take responsibility for the Bights of Biafra and Benin. He undertakes direct negotiations with the
king of Lagos, the principal port from which slaves are shipped. When these break down, in 1851, Lagos is
attacked and captured by a British force. Another member of the Lagos royal family is placed on the throne,
after guaranteeing to put an end to the slave trade and to human sacrifice (a feature of this region). When he and
his successor fail to fulfill these terms, Lagos is annexed in 1861 as a British colony.
During the remainder of the century the consolidation of British trade and British political control goes
hand in hand. In 1879 George Goldie persuades the British trading enterprises on the Niger to merge their
interests in a single United African Company, later granted a charter as the Royal Niger Company.
In 1893 the delta region is organized as the Niger Coast Protectorate. In 1897 the campaign against
unacceptable local practices reaches a climax in Benin - notorious by this time both for slave trading and for
human sacrifice. The members of a British delegation to the oba of Benin are massacred in this year. In the
reprisals Benin City is partly burnt by British troops.
The difficulty of administering the vast and complex region of Nigeria persuades the government that
the upriver territories, thus far entrusted to the Royal Niger Company, also need to be brought under central
control.
In 1900 the company's charter is revoked. Britain assumes direct responsibility for the region from the
coast to Sokoto and Bornu in the north. Given the existing degree of British involvement, this entire area has
been readily accepted at the Berlin conference in 1884 as falling to Britain in the scramble for Africa - though in
the late 1890s there remains dangerous tension between Britain and France, the colonial power in neighboring
Dahomey, over drawing Nigeria's western boundary.
British colonial rule: AD 1900-1960
The sixty years of Britain's colonial rule in Nigeria are characterized by frequent reclassifying of
different regions for administrative purposes. They are symptomatic of the problem of uniting the country as a
single state.
In the early years the Niger Coast Protectorate is expanded to become Southern Nigeria, with its seat of
government at Lagos. At this time the rulers in the north (the emir of Kano and the sultan of Sokoto) are very
far from accepting British rule. To deal with the situation Frederick Lugard is appointed high commissioner and
commander-in-chief of the protectorate of northern Nigeria.
Lugard has already been much involved in the colony, commanding troops from 1894 on behalf of the
Royal Niger Company to oppose French claims on Borgu (a border region, divided in 1898 between Nigeria
and Dahomey). Between 1903 and 1906 he subdues Kano and Sokoto and finally puts an end to their rulers'
slave-raiding expeditions.
Lugard pacifies northern Nigeria by ensuring that in each territory, however small, the throne is won and
retained by a chief willing to cooperate. Lugard then allows these client rulers considerable power - in the
technique, soon to be known as 'indirect rule', which in Africa is particularly associated with his name (though it
has been a familiar aspect of British colonial policy in India).
In 1912 Lugard is appointed governor of both northern and southern Nigeria and is given the task of
merging them. He does so by 1914, when the entire region becomes the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria.
The First World War brings a combined British and French invasion of German Cameroon (a campaign
not completed until early in 1916). In 1922 the League of Nations grants mandates to the two nations to
administer the former German colony. The British mandate consists of two thin strips on the eastern border of
Nigeria.
The rival claims of Nigeria's various regions become most evident after World War II when Britain is
attempting to find a structure to meet African demands for political power. By 1951 the country has been
divided into Northern, Eastern and Western regions, each with its own house of assembly. In addition there is a
separate house of chiefs for the Northern province, to reflect the strong tradition there of tribal authority. And
there is an overall legislative council for the whole of Nigeria.
But even this is not enough to reflect the complexity of the situation. In 1954 a new constitution (the
third in eight years) establishes the Federation of Nigeria and adds the Federal Territory of Lagos.
During the later 1950s an African political structure is gradually achieved. From 1957 there is a federal
prime minister. In the same year the Western and Eastern regions are granted internal self-government, to be
followed by the Northern region in 1959.
Full independence follows rapidly, in October 1960. The tensions between the country's communities now
become Nigeria's own concern.
Independence and secession: AD 1960-1970
Regional hostilities are a feature of independent Nigeria from the start, partly due to an imbalance of
population. More than half the nation's people are in the Fulani and Hausa territories of the Northern region.
Northerners therefore control not only their own regional assembly but also the federal government in Lagos.
From 1962 to 1964 there is almost continuous anti-northern unrest elsewhere in the nation, coming to a
climax in a rebellion in 1966 by officers from the Eastern region, the homeland of the Ibo. They assassinate
both the federal prime minister and the premiers of the Northern and Western regions.
In the ensuing chaos many Ibos living in the north are massacred. In July a northern officer, Yakubu
Gowon, emerges as the country's leader. His response to Nigeria's warring tribal factions is to subdivide the four
regions (the Mid-West has been added in 1963), rearranging them into twelve states.
This device further inflames Ibo hostility, for one of the new states cuts their territory off from the sea.
The senior Ibo officer, Odumegwu Ojukwu, takes the drastic step in May 1967 of declaring the Eastern region
an independent nation, calling it the republic of Biafra.
The result is bitter and intense civil war, with the federal army (increasing during the conflict from
10,000 to 200,000 men) meeting powerful resistance from the secessionist region. The issue splits the west,
where it is the first post-independence African war to receive widespread coverage. The US and Britain supply
arms to the federal government. France extends the same facilities to Biafra.
In any civil war ordinary people suffer most, and in small land-locked Biafra this is even more true than
usual. By January 1970 they are starving. Biafra surrenders and ceases to exist. Ojukwu escapes across the
border and is granted asylum in the Ivory Coast.
From oil wealth to disaster: AD 1970-1999
General Gowon achieves an impressive degree of reconciliation in the country after the traumas of
1967-70. Nigeria now becomes one of the wealthiest countries in Africa thanks to its large reserves of oil
(petroleum now, rather than the palm oil of the previous century). In the mid-1970s the output is more than two
million barrels a day, the value of which is boosted by the high prices achieved during the oil crisis of 1973-4.
But with this wealth goes corruption, which Gowon fails to control. When he is abroad, in 1975, his
government is toppled in a military coup. Gowon retires to Britain.
In the second half of the 1970s oil prices plummet. Nigeria rapidly suffers economic crisis and political
disorder. Within a period of five years the average income per head slumps by 75%, from over $1000 a year to
a mere $250.
Neither brief civilian governments nor frequent military intervention prove able to rescue the situation.
A regular response is to subdivide regional Nigeria into ever smaller parcels. The number of states is increased
to nineteen in 1979 and to twenty-nine in 1991. By the end of the century it stands at thirty-six. Meanwhile the
nation's foreign debt has been increasing in parallel, to reach $36 billion by 1994.
In 1993 the military ruler (Ibrahim Babangida, in power from 1985) yields to international pressure and
holds a presidential election. When it appears to have been conclusively won by Moshood Abiola, a chief of the
western Yoruba tribe, Babangida cancels the election by decree.
This blatant act prompts Nigeria's first energetic movement for democracy, which comes to international
attention when one of its leaders - the playwright Ken Saro-Wiwa - is among a group hanged in 1995 for the
alleged murder of four rivals at a political rally in 1994. Saro-Wiwa has also been a campaigner for the rights of
his Ogoni people, whose territory is ravaged - to no benefit to themselves - by the international companies
extracting Nigeria's oil.
The world-wide outcry at Saro-Wiwa's death, without any presence of a fair trial, prompts Nigeria's
generals to offer new elections in 1999. The presidential election is won by Olusegun Obasanjo, by now a
civilian but for three years from 1976 the military ruler of the country - and therefore widely assumed to be the
army's preferred candidate. His People's Democratic Party wins a majority of seats in both the house of
representatives and the senate.
Early reports suggest that under Obasanjo's government a ruthless disregard of civil liberties continues
in Nigeria, with outbreaks of minority ethnic protest being brutally suppressed. The election of Obasanjo, a
Christian from the south, brings new tensions. As if in response, in November 1999, the predominantly Muslim
northern state of Zamfara introduces strict Islamic law, the sharia. Other northern states discuss similar action.
Local Christians take alarm. Violent street battles between the two communities are a feature of the early
months of 2000.
The future of Nigeria is problematic but of considerable importance to Africa. The nation's potential
remains vast. With at least 115 million people (comprising some 200 tribes) it is the continent's most populous
country. And as the world's fifth largest oil producer, it has the wherewithal to be one of the richest.
A Timeline
1910: British colonial influence becomes more concentrated during the 19th century. Growing economic
involvement, particularly in the export of palm oil, leads to the annexation of the port of Lagos in 1861. The
Royal Niger Company establishes and expands political and economic administration until transferring
authority to the crown in 1900. Protectorates are established in North, South, and East.
1911-1918: Britain formally establishes the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria in 1914 under the governorship
of Sir Frederick Lugard. Separate administrative units are created to allow government through "indirect rule."
The British interact with a select few indigenous rulers and institutions, and contact with the majority of the
population is limited. Africans are barred from political power.
1919-1929: Indirect rule spawns a nationalist movement. Protesting the increased authority granted the
traditional elite (kings and tribal chiefs) by the British, nationalists attempt to work within the colonial structure
toward a variety of sociopolitical and economic goals. Nationalist positions include opposition to taxation and
the establishment of municipal self-government.
1930-1939: Economic depression brings hardship, unemployment, and heightened nationalist consciousness.
European entities such as the United Africa Company, which controls 40 percent of the import/export trade, stir
discontent with colonial domination. Italy's 1935 invasion of Ethiopia and the rise in popularity of journalist and
anticolonial nationalist Nnamdi Azikiwe help focus unrest on colonial rule.
1940-1947: The nationalist movement gains momentum during World War II as Nigerian soldiers are exposed
to Allied propaganda that touts liberty, freedom, and equality. India's independence from Britain in 1947
intensifies the movement, and postwar restructuring increases pressure on the British to grant its colonies
independence. The economic environment worsens after a wartime growth spurt.
1948-1958: Concessions by the colonial government pave the way for Nigerian independence. Maneuvering
begins in earnest as ethnic and regional interests that determine loyalties and alliances dominate the political
landscape. A British-sponsored 1953 conference in London brings together members of competing political
parties and regions to determine the constitution for the soon-to-be independent nation.
1959-1962: After 15 years of gradual constitutional reforms and peaceful transfer of power, Nigeria gains
independence on October 1, 1960. Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa is elected prime minister. His majority
Northern People's Party governs in coalition with Herbert Macaulay's Nigerian National Council, which has the
support of the Eastern Igbos. Presidential elections are set for 1963.
1963-1965: The Federal Republic of Nigeria is declared on October 1, 1963. Nnamdi Azikiwe is elected
president. Brewing regional resentment over perceived Northern domination in the federal government prevents
agreement on a long-range economic development plan. The nascent government inherits control of a highly
centralized economy from its colonial predecessors.
1966: Gen. Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi assumes power in a military coup fueled by regional hostilities. He dissolves
the legislature, suspends the constitution, and establishes a military government. Appointed military governors
replace elected civilian representatives. Ironsi is soon killed in a countercoup mounted by Northern elements.
Lt. Col. Yakubu Gowon takes power.
1967-1970: Eastern regional leaders refuse to recognize Gowon's authority. Negotiations to resolve the North's
ethnic violence and general conflict over economic policy and political administration are fruitless. In May
1967 the East declares the Independent Republic of Biafra. Gowon immediately attacks. By the time the
fledgling republic surrenders in 1970, more than one million people have died.
1971-1974: Nigeria joins OPEC as the world's seventh largest petroleum-producing country, with crude oil
exportation dominating the economy. Although the state controls the oil, it depends on foreign companies for
extraction and maintains a role of granting licenses and collecting fees. Gowon's military regime continues to
centralize power and reneges on promises to return the government to civilian rule.
1975-1978: Gowon's administration is overthrown in a bloodless coup in July 1975. Lt. Gen. Murtala
Muhammad takes power, promising political and economic reforms and a return to civilian rule. Within a year,
Muhammad is assassinated, and Lt. Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo replaces him, earning the respect of the people by
continuing both his predecessor's reform programs and the transition to the Second Republic.
1979-1983: Alhaji Shehu Shagari is elected president in 1979. Decentralization of power continues as states
receive more revenue allocation and the authority to collect taxes. But widespread corruption impedes
development prospects. Despite falling oil prices, government spending continues and debt climbs. After bloody
ethnic and religious clashes, two million illegal immigrants are expelled.
1984: A failing economy, widespread political corruption, and broad civil unrest contribute to the Second
Republic's collapse. Muhammadu Buhari, brought to power by military coup, imposes draconian measures on
Nigeria, punishing those associated with the civilian government, curtailing press freedom, subordinating the
judiciary to the military, and failing to announce a planned return to civilian rule.
1985-1990: Gaining power in a 1985 coup, Ibrahim Babangida promises a return to civilian rule and policies
designed to address economic woes and rampant corruption. While his regime uses tactics to stall the
governmental transition, it also launches the Structural Adjustment Program (SAP), a comprehensive economic
austerity package meant to deemphasize governmental control of economic interests.
1991-1993: Babangida's reign ends in disgrace when he annuls the 1993 elections, of which Moshood Abiola
was the clear victor. SAP policies result in devaluation of Naira, unemployment, and a cost of living unbearable
for most Nigerians. Babangida resigns, turning the government over to his handpicked transitional council. The
council's leader, Ernest Shonekan, is promptly ousted by Gen. Sani Abacha.
1994-1997: Widely considered the most corrupt dictator of the post-colonial era, Abacha tramples human rights
and brings the country to the brink of destruction while claiming to make plans for another return to civilian
rule. Abacha abolishes all state and local governments, the federal legislature, and political activity. Abiola is
jailed. Civil unrest builds.
1998: Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar replaces Abacha. Abubakar reaches out diplomatically to other African
nations and the West in an effort to restore Nigeria's image. Human rights violations recede, but the continued
expenditure of revenues on debt servicing, rather than on social services and basic necessities, prevents
infrastructure improvements and stokes discontent.
1999-2001: Olusegun Obasanjo, forced from power almost 25 years earlier, wins the 1999 presidential election.
Monetary policy, agricultural revitalization, political stability, a war on corruption, and privatization of
parastatals are all announced as reform priorities, but holding the country together amid dramatic civil unrest
and violent religious clashes quickly takes precedence.
2002: The adoption of sharia (Islamic law) in the Northern states, continued difficulties of economic
management, the volatility of oil prices, and ongoing regional and local protest movements make governing
Nigeria extremely difficult. Spending outpaces revenue, and President Obasanjo is under constant political
pressure.
2003: Violence escalates in the Southern provinces during the weeks preceding national and regional elections.
Ethnic and tribal tensions flare. As opposing political parties vie for control of Nigeria's richest oilfields, reports
of election irregularities in that region are rife. Oil output drops. President Obasanjo wins a sweeping victory
amid widespread accusations of election fraud.
Political
1910: Of Nigeria's many ethnic groups, the West's Yoruba, the Southeast's Igbo, and the North's Hausa
represent the largest regional divisions. The three are divided by language, ethnicity, religious beliefs, and
cultural traditions. British colonial administration encourages their deep cultural separation, which reinforces a
natural impediment to national and political unity.
1911-1921: Governor-General Frederick Lugard implements a local format of indirect rule, borrowed from its
perceived successful implementation in India and Sudan. The British colonial administration uses select local
leaders to carry out colonial regulations and laws, thereby minimizing direct contact with the people and also
opposition to the policies and intrusion of a foreign authority.
1922-1939: A nationalist movement led by such charismatic figures as Herbert Macaulay and Nnamdi Azikiwe
gives voice to anticolonial dissent. Local legislative councils evolve under the hegemony of colonial rule and
exchange ideas about nationalization and administrative participation with other councils. Though their
demands are rebuffed, a lasting nationalist consciousness is born.
1940-1945: The Nigerian National Council is formed in 1944 in response to the colonial administration's refusal
to consider nationalist demands. With Herbert Macaulay as president and Nnamdi Azikiwe as secretary general,
the council opens membership to all Nigerians in an effort at unity. With a goal of self-governance, the council
shuns its past passive willingness to work within the current administration.
1946-1950: The British begin to yield to Nigeria's nationalist movement and mounting postwar pressure to
decolonize. Constitutional revisions in 1947 allow for the creation of a central legislative body. The following
year, large-scale reforms are implemented. Steps are taken to "Nigerianize" the civil service, democratize the
local legislatures, and expand social services.
1951-1958: The London Conference of 1953 yields a constitution for an independent Nigeria. It calls for the
creation of a federation with a strong centralized government and regional administrations led by Nigerian-born
premiers and ministers. But regional conflict dominates the political environment, and progress is thwarted by
continual scrambling for position in anticipation of independence.
1959-1962: Even as Nigeria proclaims independence in 1960, regional conflicts worsen. Population-based
regional representation at the federal level makes census-data collection and potential restructuring of
geographical regions contentious. The populous North helps elect Prime Minister Balewa. His tenuous coalition
government is unable to pursue unified national interests in a bitterly divided climate.
1963-1966: Nigeria's governmental structure is modeled on the British parliamentary system and includes three
distinct branches -- legislative, judiciary, and executive -- which exist at both federal and regional levels. Newly
elected President Nnamdi Azikiwe fails to end increasingly violent regional clashes that result in deadly rioting
and the eventual overthrow of the civilian government.
1967-1970: Eastern leaders declare the Independent Republic of Biafra after thousands of Igbo settlers die in
ethnic clashes in the Muslim-dominated North. The leaders demand greater autonomy and the authority to retain
tax and oil revenues. Lt. Col. Gowon's offer to divide the country into 12 states to prevent political domination
by the North is rejected, and a brutally divisive civil war begins.
1971-1974: Following the civil war, Gowon's military regime continues to centralize power in the federal
government. In 1974 he announces that his efforts toward stabilizing the political system will delay a return to
civilian rule. Gowon promises to draft a new constitution subject to approval of the people, but a widespread
feeling of disillusionment with his regime envelops the country.
1975-1979: Murtala Muhammad and Olusegun Obasanjo's military regimes stress commitment to civilian rule.
Each continues a four-year transition program to restructure federal government, draft a new constitution, create
new states, and hold state and federal elections by 1979. Policy initiatives include decentralizing power,
forming national political parties, and combating inflation by reducing money supply.
1980-1984: President Alhaji Shehu Shagari governs from minority status amid struggle with opposition leaders.
His administration continues the corrupt practices of post-civil war governments, subordinating long-term social
and economic development programs to projects that provide potential for personal profit. Despite the turmoil,
Shagari wins a second term in controversial 1983 elections.
1985-1993: Ibrahim Babangida assumes power in 1985 with an empty promise to return Nigeria to civil rule.
His decision to annul a 1993 election won by Moshood Abiola throws the country into a political crisis and
forces his resignation. Violent clashes between Muslims and Christians increase dramatically when Nigeria
registers as a member of the Organization of the Islamic Conference in 1986.
1994-1998: Gen. Sani Abacha reinforces military rule. In spite of claims that he is preparing for a return to
civilian government, he replaces elected legislatures with military appointees. Abacha lifts the ban on political
activity that he himself imposed, but he imprisons Abiola and obstructs the formation of legitimate political
parties. Abacha's abrupt death is followed by Abiola's death in prison.
1999: Abdulsalami Abubakar guides the country into presidential elections; Olusegun Obasanjo, who led the
1976 military government, wins. Oil production and exportation become lightning rods for unrest as
demonstrators use violent protests and strikes to underscore widespread socioeconomic inequalities, including a
lack of access to basic resources, rampant unemployment, and environmental degradation.
2000-2003: The Northern states implement sharia, underscoring religious and regional differences and
challenging the constitution, notably with death sentences for women convicted of adultery. Violent community
protests over oil production and economic inequalities continue in the Niger Delta. President Obasanjo trounces
his opponents in his bid for reelection, but charges of vote rigging abound.
Economic
1910: The Royal Niger Company establishes stringent trade controls, including high tariffs on imports and
exports and on foreign companies operating in the area. Large-scale processing enterprises spring up as focus
shifts from food crops to cash crops in an export-oriented environment. Millions are put to work, migration is
limited, and some Nigerian merchants begin to gain wealth, status, and power.
1911-1920: Emphasis on production of cash crops for export rather than food crops for sustenance benefits
British colonial governors; local farmers, however, struggle to meet demand spurred by modernization of
transportation and communication. Capital investment and long-term planning are ignored, as are Nigerian
traditions. The South's socioeconomic development and modernization outpace the North's.
1921-1929: As Western markets boom, "developmental economics" policies become deeply rooted and
centralized. They are embodied by the establishment of state-run marketing boards that artificially regulate the
price farmers are paid for their crops. The colonial administration fails to develop a self-sustaining economic
infrastructure or to create vehicles that equitably distribute wealth and social services.
1930-1939: The Great Depression reduces Britain's willingness to commit new money to the colony. The
introduction of the pound sterling as the universal medium of exchange encourages export trade in tin, cotton,
cocoa, groundnuts, and palm oil, but agricultural production continues to slide. Other than a handful of elite
local businessmen, most Nigerians are excluded from economic participation.
1940-1947: Resource shortfalls in Europe brought on by the war effort temporarily increase the demand for raw
materials, in particular tin and rubber. Prosperity is short-lived as artificially inflated demand ends with the war
itself. Nigeria's strategic importance as a staging area and supply line during the war effort results in rapid
development of airports and military bases, and roads to connect them.
1948-1957: The economy shows signs of life following a postwar lull. The colonial government's policy of
"Nigerianization" opens jobs in the civil service and expands education. Reforms allow businesses to benefit
from access to banks, loans, and government contracts. Exports increase dramatically, and new industries are
established. Public spending on roads, energy, industry, and education grows.
1958-1959: Petroleum exports, firmly under state control, begin in 1958, two years after its discovery. Local
officials work with foreign companies to produce and export what becomes the country's dominant economic
resource. Nigeria realizes the enormous potential for revenue generation, but at the expense of the agricultural
and manufacturing sectors. The Central Bank is created to monitor monetary policy.
1960-1961: Nigeria joins the IMF in 1961 and adheres to the Bretton Woods Agreement, which limits exchange
restrictions and controls. A huge increase in government expenditure on administrative, social, and economic
services and in revenue from taxes and loans follows. Inflationary pressures emerge as money supply increases
by almost 30 percent and the cost of living rises at upwards of 5 percent a year.
1962-1965: The transition to the First Republic is difficult, largely because of an inherited colonial legacy that
left an export-driven economy, a private sector dominated by foreign interests, and a widening gulf between a
small elite class and a growing rural peasantry. Monetary restraint is implemented to curb inflation and stabilize
the Naira, and imports are curtailed.
1966-1970: Economic focus is war-based, not long-term. Capital expenditure and manufacturing and
agricultural sector growth rates fall. Crude oil accounts for 58 percent of total exports by 1970. Inflation
continues to rise. Military rule turns a blind eye to abuses in the oil and manufacturing sectors as officials
routinely engage in corrupt contract awards, kickbacks, and fraudulent joint enterprises.
1971-1974: Oil-generated revenues drive economic recovery and unprecedented budget surpluses. The
government undertakes a Second National Development Plan to reconstruct facilities damaged during the war
and to promote social and economic development. The economy is increasingly dependent on petroleum, which
accounts for 81 percent of Nigeria's total exports by 1974 and is subject to wild price fluctuations.
1975-1978: Extreme government spending leads to a bloated money supply, which in turn spawns a food crisis,
unemployment, swollen defense budget, and widespread inflation. A Third National Development Plan aims for
greater control over oil production, processing, and distribution. A "Nigeria First" campaign encourages foreign
business ventures to sell outright to Nigerians or to work as joint ventures.
1979-1982: The Second Republic's constitution calls for a mixed economy, but President Shagari helms an
administration, like the colonial ones of the past, in which those in power maintain absolute control of all
profitable sectors of the economy to ensure personal gain. Global recession, combined with a sharp drop in oil
prices in 1981, puts further pressure on the economy. A period of stagflation follows.
1983-1984: Despite an economic downturn, public-sector government spending continues unabated as the
budget deficit climbs. Significant domestic and external loans taken out to meet basic needs and the subsequent
servicing of those loans further drain the economy. Military government leader Buhari fails to negotiate debt
rescheduling, refusing IMF austerity measures which include devaluing the Naira.
1985-1990: The World Bank-sponsored Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) is launched, emphasizing
economic discipline, deregulation, and austerity. SAP allows market forces, not government, to dictate the
economic environment. Measures include devaluing the Naira, slashing public spending, stimulating exports
and the private sector, removing import licenses, reducing tariffs, and selling parastatals.
1991-1993: SAP collapses under the weight of severe currency devaluation and dramatic surges in inflation and
the cost of living. External debt skyrockets, and subsequent debt servicing results in public-expenditure
cutbacks. Attempts at privatization allow wealthy individuals to gain ownership of previously state-run
enterprises, intensifying the inequality of wealth distribution.
1994-1997: Oil dependence peaks under Abacha at more than 90 percent of total exports. Oil production and the
accompanying environmental degradation devastates other economic sectors, particularly agriculture. Abacha
officially abandons SAP and, in keeping with his autocratic regime, favors state control of foreign exchange,
finance, and trade. Corruption is unchecked at all levels of the failing economy.
1998-1999: As the 1998 federal budget reveals a huge deficit, a devastated economy hits a 20-year low in both
manufacturing and industrial output. Inflation is well into the double digits, and Nigeria ranks as the world's
13th poorest country. The Abubakar administration enacts policies aimed at privatizing state-run businesses,
reducing government spending, and opening the country to foreign trade.
2000-2001: A legacy of mismanagement greets Obasanjo on his return to power, with external debt topping
US$30 billion. Facing rising inflation and continued currency devaluation, he legislates macroeconomic
programs to liberalize the economy. Most significantly, he promises a firm commitment to "guided
deregulation," specifically privatization of state-owned industries, including energy and transportation.
2002-2003: Public spending exceeds revenues and results in suspension of foreign debt repayment. Failure to
reach agreement with the IMF imperils new international support. As striking oil workers take hundreds hostage
on foreign-owned offshore rigs, oil production plummets, wiping out hoped-for short-term gains from hikes in
oil prices due to war in Iraq. Obasanjo's efforts finally free the hostages.
General Background
Twice the land size of California, Nigeria is a large West African nation bordered by the Gulf of Guinea and
wedged between Benin and Cameroon.
Nigeria is Africa's most populous nation, accounting for one-quarter of West Africa's people.
The country has a population of more than 120 million people from hundreds of ethnic groups.
The most populous and politically influential ethnic groups include the Hausa-Fulani, 29 percent; Yoruba, 21
percent; Igbo (also "Ibo"), 18 percent; Ijaw, 10 percent; Kanuri, 4 percent; Ibibio, 3.5 percent; and Tiv, 2.5
percent.
More than 250 languages are spoken. English is the official language.
Average Nigerian life expectancy is 50.59 years.
Each Nigerian woman bears an average of 5.49 children.
Of the population aged 15 and over, 57.1 percent can read and write.
Nigeria is one of the wealthiest -- and one of the poorest -- of African nations. Though the country brings in
billions in oil revenues, the U.N.'s Human Development Index ranks it 136th out of 162 countries.
Less than 25 percent of Nigerians live in cities, but the cities are large; at least 24 cities have populations of
more than 100,000.
"419 men" is the name for people who accumulate "fast wealth." It refers to the number of laws relating to fraud
in the Nigerian penal code. So-called 419 men are believed to have "earned" their wealth through scams and the
international drug trade.
An estimated 3.5 million Nigerians have HIV/AIDS, accounting for one in every 11 HIV/AIDS sufferers
worldwide.
Government
Nigeria was formally united under British colonial rule in 1914, but the result was a loose affiliation of the
mainly Muslim Hausa-Fulani North, the mainly Christian Yoruba South and West, and the mainly Christian
Igbo East.
The country achieved its independence from England in 1960.
Tired of the way his people were being mistreated in the North, Igbo leader Lieutenant Colonel Odemugwu
Ojukwu declared the eastern region of Nigeria the Republic of Biafra on May 30, 1967. The civil war that
resulted cost more than a million lives.
By January 15, 1970, the Biafran state was finished, its capital city lost in battle and its population starved into
submission.
From the first military coup, in 1966, the army has consistently ruled the country (except for a break during the
Second Republic [1979-1983] and for a few weeks in 1993) until elections were held in 1999.
Following nearly 16 years of military rule, a new constitution was adopted in 1999, and a peaceful transition to
civilian government followed.
Under the constitution adopted in May 1999, a strong executive presidency appoints a Federal Executive
Council composed of government ministers and ministers from each of Nigeria's 36 states.
The executive is accountable to the bicameral National Assembly.
There are three political parties, but, in practice, personal and ethnic ties dominate the political process.
Olusegun Obasanjo has been Nigeria's president since May 1999.
The north is Nigeria's poorest region, but it has traditionally held great political power, supplying most of the
country's presidents since independence in 1960. The implementation of sharia is seen by some as a direct
challenge to President Olusegun Obasanjo, a southern Christian.
Since the restoration of civilian rule in May 1999, more than 10,000 Nigerians have died in civil strife.
The next election is scheduled for April 2003.
Nigeria is ranked as the second-most-corrupt country of 91 surveyed by the Transparency International Global
Corruption Report last year.
Former president General Sani Abacha, who seized power in 1993 after canceling presidential elections and
jailing the presumed winner, reportedly made off with $4.3 billion from Nigeria's treasury.
Economy
Currency: naira (NGN)
Population below poverty line: 45 percent
Former military rulers allowed Nigeria to develop a chronic dependence on its "black gold," which provides 20
percent of Nigeria's GDP, 95 percent of foreign exchange earnings and nearly 80 percent of government
income.
Once a large exporter of food, Nigeria must now import food.
Imported goods are hit with heavy tariffs: for example, 100 percent on imported toilet paper and 150 percent on
water and beer. Traders evade these duties by paying for smuggled goods with black-market dollars.
Nigeria is the world's sixth-largest exporter of petroleum, producing 4.5 percent of the world's total production.
In September 2001, Shell Oil Company announced that a flow station in southern Nigeria had been damaged in
an attack and put out of commission for 18 months. The company is suing two communities for $25 million.
More than 4,000 oil spills have been recorded in Nigeria's Niger Delta over the past four decades, a failure the
president blames on the oil companies.
The largest item in Nigeria's 2002 budget: military spending
The country's relationship to the International Monetary Fund was severed in February 2002.
Religion
Half of all Nigerians are Muslim, 40 percent are Christian and 10 percent hold indigenous beliefs.
Nigeria's religions tend to parallel ethnic identification. Hausa-Fulani people in the north are predominantly
Muslim, the Igbo in the east are often Catholic, and the Yoruba in the west are animist, Christian or Muslim.
Individuals sometimes mix the religions, for example, combining tenets of Christianity with local customs.
Kano, a 1,000-year-old northern trade center, is West Africa's oldest city. Its Central Mosque attracts as many
as 50,000 worshippers at a time.
Masks play an important role in certain animist rites, representing forces of nature and gods in ceremonies.
Wooden Yoruba masks, for example, help maintain connection to ancestors.
In sub-Saharan Africa, the ability to combat witchcraft and black magic is part of the appeal of "born again"
Christian churches.
There are 250 registered Pentecostal ministries in Nigeria today, up from 50 in 1990, and these churches seem
especially to appeal to the young.
Canaan Land, a 565-acre campus with hotel, gas station, bank, restaurants, shops and the continent's largest
church auditorium, is just one example of Nigeria's growing Christian fervor.
Sharia
Twelve out of 36 Nigerian states are currently under sharia, Islamic law.
Sharia is not new to Nigeria. Islamic penal codes were enforced until 1960, when punishments such as
amputations and floggings were outlawed.
Many Muslim Nigerians believe that this penal system is a reasonable alternative to Nigeria's secular courts,
which are notoriously dysfunctional. In the country's secular courts, bribery is the norm, and there is no such
thing as a speedy trial.
In sharia courts, most people represent themselves, saving legal fees.
Last year, a teenage mother was flogged 100 times with a cane in Zamfara State, after being convicted of
premarital sexual intercourse. She had no legal representation at her trial. None of the three married men she
accused of coercing her into having sex with them was charged, tried or punished.
Muslim vigilante groups have been responsible for unlawful detention, acts of violence, torture and killings.
Culture
The Nok people were the first to populate the land now called Nigeria, around 500 B.C. The highly adept Nok
knew how to smelt metal. They adorned themselves with nose rings, earrings and bracelets -- an early cultural
expression unmatched in Africa for the next 1,000 years.
One of the first and most powerful tribes was the Yoruba, a group of traders and artisans who worshipped a
pantheon of deities headed by Oduduwa, creator of the earth and ancestor of future Yoruba kings.
Igbo women traditionally have their own women's council. This council exercises real power, organizing
communitywide walkouts that can last several days. When the council of women decides that they need to make
a point, the women leave their men and all but the youngest of their children. They move to a nearby village
where they are treated as guests. There, the women tell of their troubles with the men at home. The men from
the neighboring village act as police, pressuring the other men to shape up. They also bill the men for the
expense of housing and feeding the displaced women.
Nigerian music is well-known around the world. Until his death in 1997, Fela Kuti's eclectic fusion of
traditional Yoruba call-and-response chanting with freestyle jazz (Afrobeat) was quite popular.
Other popular Nigerian musicians include Sonny Ade, the king of juju music, Sonny Okosun, granddaddy of
Afro-reggae, and the soul singer, Sade.
Nigeria has as many writers as the rest of West Africa combined.
Among Nigeria's best-known authors are Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka and Ben Okri.
Distinguished novelist and playwright Ken Saro-Wiwa was hanged for political activism in 1995.