🇳🇬 Nigeria

Evidence of iron smelting excavated at Lejja dates to 2000 BC and at Opi to 750 BC in southeast Nigeria. Kainji Dam excavations also showed ironworking by the 2nd century BC, with the transition from Neolithic to Iron Age accomplished without intermediate bronze production.

The Nok civilisation thrived between 1500 BC and 200 AD, producing life-sized terracotta figures among the earliest known sculptures in Africa. It independently invented iron smelting by about 550 BC, marking one of the earliest known civilisations in what became Nigeria.

By the 8th century the Yoruba had developed Ile Ife, which became the heart of the later Ife Empire. Oyo and other Yoruba states became prominent in the 12th and 14th centuries respectively, and the oldest settlement signs at Ife date to the 9th century.

The Kano Chronicle records the history of Kano dating to around 999 AD, with the other Hausa Bakwai cities of Daura, Biram, Katsina, Zazzau, Rano and Gobir also having recorded histories from the 10th century. These city-states formed the political backbone of northern Nigeria for centuries.

The Kingdom of Nri of the Igbo people consolidated in the 10th century and endured until it lost its sovereignty to the British in 1911. Ruled by the Eze Nri, the city of Nri is considered the foundation of Igbo culture, and nearby Igbo-Ukwu produced West Africa's oldest lost-wax bronzes.

The ruling dynasty of the Kanem–Bornu Empire moved southwest to Borno in the late fourteenth century. The empire established extensive diplomatic and trade networks reaching North Africa and Europe, and under rulers such as Mai Idris Alooma brought much of Hausaland into tributary status.

In the 1390s Mai Biri III Uthman wrote to Barquq, Sultan of Egypt, complaining of slave raids on local Muslims by Judham Arabs. It is among the earliest written documentation of Nigerian history from native sources, evidencing long-range diplomatic contact.

In the 16th century the Portuguese became the first Europeans to trade directly with peoples of southern Nigeria, at Lagos and Calabar along the Slave Coast. This coastal trade marked the beginnings of the Atlantic slave trade, with Calabar becoming one of West Africa's largest slave-trading posts.

Oyo at its height extended its influence from western Nigeria to modern-day Togo. Together with Benin, whose power lasted between the 15th and 19th centuries, and the Aro Confederacy, it participated directly or indirectly in the Atlantic slave trade.

British influence and control over what would become Nigeria grew through the 19th century, from the annexation of Lagos in 1861 to the amalgamation of the northern and southern protectorates in 1914.

At the beginning of the 19th century Usman dan Fodio led a successful jihad against the Hausa Kingdoms, accusing them of not being true Muslims, and founded the Sokoto Caliphate. The state expanded rapidly under his descendants and became one of the largest slave societies in 19th-century Africa, with about two million slaves by the 1890s.

After the Sokoto Caliphate conquered parts of the old Oyo Empire and pushed into Yorubaland, Ibadan's forces inflicted a decisive defeat at the Battle of Osogbo. This halted the jihad's southward advance and preserved the sovereign integrity of Yoruba territory.

The outlawing of the Atlantic slave trade in 1807, combined with a desire for stability, led European powers to promote cultivation of agricultural products such as palm for European industry. Illegal smuggling continued, and Britain's West Africa Squadron intercepted smugglers at sea, resettling rescued slaves at Freetown.

Britain intervened in the Lagos kingship struggle by bombarding Lagos in 1851, deposing the slave-trade-friendly Oba Kosoko and installing Oba Akitoye. The Treaty between Great Britain and Lagos followed on 1 January 1852, opening the way to formal British control.

Britain annexed Lagos as a crown colony in August 1861 under the Lagos Treaty of Cession. This gave the British a permanent territorial foothold from which missionaries and administration expanded inland.

In 1864 Samuel Ajayi Crowther was consecrated as the first African bishop of the Anglican Church. His elevation accompanied the expansion of British missionary operations further inland.

In 1885 British claims to a West African sphere of influence received recognition from other European nations at the Berlin Conference. The following year Britain chartered the Royal Niger Company under Sir George Taubman Goldie, which subjugated independent southern kingdoms along the Niger.

The British conquered Benin in 1897 and defeated further opponents in the Anglo-Aro War of 1901–1902. The defeat of these states opened the Niger area to British rule.

The British journalist Flora Shaw coined the name Nigeria on 8 January 1897. The label was subsequently applied to the amalgamated British territories on the Niger.

In 1900 the Royal Niger Company's territory came under the direct control of the British government, which established the Southern Nigeria Protectorate as part of the British Empire. This replaced chartered company rule with formal colonial administration.

British victory at the Battle of Kano in 1903 gave a logistical edge in pacifying the Sokoto heartland, and on 13 March 1903 the last vizier conceded to British rule at Sokoto. Lugard abolished the caliphate but retained the sultan as a symbolic title within the new Northern Nigeria Protectorate; remaining northern forces were defeated in June 1903 and resistance was quelled by 1907.

On 1 January 1914 the British formally united the Southern Nigeria Protectorate and the Northern Nigeria Protectorate into the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria. Administration remained divided between the protectorates and Lagos Colony, and indirect rule limited Christian missions in the Islamic north, entrenching regional disparities in education.

Nigerian nationalism first emerged in the 1920s, with Herbert Macaulay its most significant figure. His vision aimed to unite all Nigerians and demand independence, laying the groundwork for the constitutional advances that followed the Second World War.

Northern Nigeria did not outlaw slavery until 1936, whereas in other parts of Nigeria slavery was abolished soon after colonialism began. The delay reflected the north–south imbalance embedded in colonial indirect rule.

Successive British-legislated constitutions moved Nigeria toward self-government on a representative and increasingly federal basis, with a degree of self-rule attained in 1954. This prepared the federal structure that independence would inherit.

The discovery in the Niger Delta led to Nigeria's first oil export shipment in 1958 and the growth of an industry that now accounts for most of the country's export earnings. Oil wealth later became entangled with corruption and conflict in the region.

Oil, first exported in 1958, made Nigeria's economy petroleum-based, but revenues have been squandered through corruption and mismanagement. Reforming this economy remains a daunting task for the government.

Since independence Nigeria has endured recurring ethnic and religious tensions, notably between the largely Muslim north and Christian south, which continue to challenge national cohesion.

Nigeria gained full independence on 1 October 1960 as the Federation of Nigeria, with Abubakar Tafawa Balewa as Prime Minister and Elizabeth II retained as Queen of Nigeria; the country joined the United Nations the same month. Nnamdi Azikiwe replaced the colonial governor-general in November 1960 and became the country's first president when Nigeria declared itself a republic in 1963, a Westminster system being retained with a largely ceremonial presidency.

In the 1961 plebiscite Southern Cameroons opted to join the Republic of Cameroon while Northern Cameroons chose Nigeria. The result made the northern part of the country larger than the south, deepening the political imbalance in the federation.

In January 1966 majors including Emmanuel Ifeajuna, Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu and Adewale Ademoyega assassinated prime minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa along with regional leaders Ahmadu Bello and Samuel Akintola, ending the First Republic, and power passed to Major General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi. A counter-coup that July, backed by Northern officers, brought Yakubu Gowon to power; Igbos in northern cities suffered persecution and fled east, deepening the ethnic and regional tensions that led to civil war the following year.

In May 1967 Lt. Colonel Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, Governor of the Eastern Region, declared the region independent as the Republic of Biafra, citing the 1966 pogroms against Igbos. Federal forces attacked at Garkem on 6 July 1967, beginning a 30-month war that ended with Biafra's surrender in January 1970; estimates of the death toll vary widely, ranging up to one to three million in the former Eastern Region, with famine and disease killing large numbers alongside combat casualties.

The UK and Soviet Union were the main military backers of the federal government, with Egyptian pilots providing air support, while France and Israel aided Biafra. Mobutu's Congo supported the federal side and deployed thousands of troops against the secessionists.

Nigeria joined OPEC in July 1971 and enjoyed an oil boom through the 1970s with huge revenues. The military government did little to raise living standards or invest in infrastructure, and the state became increasingly dependent on oil revenues and commodity markets.

Nigeria partnered with neighbouring states to create the Economic Community of West African States in 1975, taking a leading role in West African regional integration. It also supported Pan-African causes in the 1970s, backing Angola's MPLA and SWAPO in Namibia.

The July 1975 coup removed Yakubu Gowon, who fled to Britain, and installed a triumvirate under Murtala Muhammed with Olusegun Obasanjo and Theophilus Danjuma. They introduced austerity measures, created a Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau and dismissed 11,000 civil servants under 'Operation Deadwood'.

Dimka's February 1976 coup attempt killed General Murtala Muhammed but lacked military support and collapsed. Olusegun Obasanjo became military head of state and, with Shehu Yar'Adua and Theophilus Danjuma, organised the transfer-of-power programme including state creation and a constitutional drafting committee.

Five parties contested the 1979 elections and Shehu Shagari of the National Party of Nigeria won, being sworn in on 1 October 1979 as the first executive President and Commander-in-Chief. Obasanjo peacefully transferred power, becoming the first Nigerian head of state to step down willingly. Women throughout the country were also politically emancipated in 1979.

After Shagari's landslide re-election in August 1983 was marred by violence and vote-rigging allegations, a military coup ended the Second Republic and made Major General Muhammadu Buhari head of state. The intervention was generally viewed at the time as a positive development.

Babangida seized power in the coup d'état of 1985 and established the Nigerian Political Bureau in 1986 to recommend a transition to the Third Republic. He survived a coup attempt in 1990, postponed the promised return to democracy to 1992, and created a two-party system of the SDP and NRC.

Wole Soyinka won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1986. Ben Okri later won the Booker Prize in 1991 and Chinua Achebe in 2007, giving Nigerian letters global standing.

Since the Bamako Initiative of 1987 Nigeria has reorganised its health system, promoting community-based methods to increase access to drugs and health services partly through user fees. The framework continues to shape primary health care delivery.

Gunmen had abducted the pupils, teachers and a toddler from schools in Oriire, Oyo State, in mid-May, marking a rare extension of mass school kidnappings into the south-west. Security forces freed the captives on 10 July after nearly two months, arresting several kidnappers in the operation.

Lawmakers adopted President Bola Tinubu's executive bill to create state police forces, dropping the chamber's own competing proposal. The amendment still requires ratification by a majority of the 36 state assemblies, and the president is expected to receive the finalised draft in September 2026.

The court ordered Nigeria's electoral commission to deregister the five parties for failing to meet constitutional performance thresholds. The ADC had been the platform opposition figures Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi were using to build a single coalition against President Tinubu ahead of the 2027 election.

The refinery was processing around 650,000 barrels of crude a day, close to its nameplate capacity, and Nigeria recorded net petrol exporter status for the first time. An expansion approved in October 2025 aims to lift capacity to 1.4 million barrels a day.

Presidents Donald Trump and Bola Tinubu announced that a joint strike in the Lake Chad Basin had killed Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, ISIS's global second-in-command, and several lieutenants. The raid formed part of a US-Nigerian offensive against Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province launched in December 2025.

In April 2026 FTSE Russell upgraded Nigeria from 'unclassified' to 'frontier market', following upgrades by Moody's and S&P in 2025 and 2026. In early 2026 Nigeria also recorded its highest quarterly trade surplus since its foundation in 1914.

The agreement was intended to ease the return of Nigerian migrants without valid status in the United Kingdom and included a £746 million project to refurbish major Lagos ports. It was signed on 19 March 2026 during President Tinubu's state visit to London.

Gunmen attacked the villages of Nuku and Woro, killing at least 162 people in one of the deadliest single attacks recorded anywhere in Nigeria during the year. The killings added to a wider pattern of mass-casualty raids across the country's northern and central states.

The Monetary Policy Committee lowered the rate by 50 basis points from 27 per cent, its first cut since inflation began easing from a 2024 peak above 33 per cent. The bank said further moves would depend on sustained disinflation and stable foreign exchange conditions.

The reforms, signed into law in mid-2025 after a six-month transition, raised the tax-free personal income threshold from 300,000 to 800,000 naira a year and created the Nigeria Revenue Service to replace dozens of separate collection agencies.

On 25 December 2025 the United States struck Islamic State militants in northwest Nigeria at the request of Tinubu's government. President Donald Trump said the strike was to protect against alleged violence against Christians in the north.

Gunmen killed the vice principal and abducted the girls from a secondary school in Maga before dawn on 17 November 2025, part of a wider wave of school kidnappings across northern Nigeria that month. State authorities secured the release of the remaining captives eight days later.

On 29 May 2024 Tinubu signed legislation restoring the 1960–1978 national anthem, replacing 'Arise, O Compatriots'. The change was made amid ongoing domestic challenges including widespread kidnapping.

The Dangote refinery opened in 2023 and its success is transforming Nigeria from an oil exporter into a fuel and fertiliser exporter. A rice mill at Imota near Lagos also opened in 2023, designed to support 250,000 jobs and produce 2.5 million 50-kg bags of rice annually.

Bola Tinubu of the ruling APC won the 2023 presidential election with 36.61% of the vote against divided opposition support for Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi; both runners-up claimed victory and challenged the result in court, and the Supreme Court upheld Tinubu's victory in October 2023. He was inaugurated on 29 May 2023. It was the first election since the return of democracy in which no former military ruler ran, and the first in which the informal religious-balance convention for running mates was set aside.

In August 2019 Nigeria closed its border with Benin and other neighbouring countries to stop rice smuggling and boost local production. Rice output rose 10% between 2017/18 and 2021/22 to 5 million tonnes a year but failed to keep pace with demand.

Nigeria EduSat-1 was deployed from the International Space Station in June 2019. It marked a small-satellite capability milestone for Nigerian science and education.

Nigeria signed the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in 2017. The step aligned its nuclear ambitions with strictly civilian energy purposes.

In April 2015 Nigeria opened negotiations with Russia's Rosatom on designing, building and operating four nuclear power plants by 2035. Two sites were selected in June 2015 and agreements for the Itu nuclear power plant were signed in 2017.

In February 2015 the affected states agreed to establish an 8,700-strong Multinational Joint Task Force to jointly fight Boko Haram. By October 2015 Boko Haram had been driven out of all the cities and almost all the counties it controlled in northeastern Nigeria.

A ban on female genital mutilation was implemented in 2015, although the practice remains common. It formed part of a wider set of women's rights measures dating back to political emancipation in 1979.

A merger of opposition parties formed the All Progressives Congress and nominated former military dictator Muhammadu Buhari, who defeated incumbent Goodluck Jonathan of the governing People's Democratic Party by over two million votes in a contest observers praised as fair — the first time an incumbent Nigerian president lost re-election. Jonathan conceded before final results were declared, easing fears of post-election unrest. Insecurity from banditry, insurgency and separatism worsened under Buhari, and the economy suffered two recessions and oil shocks during COVID-19; he was re-elected in 2019.

In January 2014 Nigeria took up a nonpermanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2014–15 term.

In the 2014 Ebola outbreak Nigeria was the first country to effectively contain and eliminate the threat that was ravaging three other West African countries. Its contact-tracing method was later adopted by countries including the United States.

The Boko Haram insurgency intensified under Jonathan, including the Gwoza massacre and the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping in 2014. Over 41,600 lives had been lost to the conflict by October 2022, with 1.8 million internally displaced and about 200,000 refugees in neighbouring countries.

Gunmen seized the students from a government secondary school in Borno State on the night of 14–15 April 2014, prompting an international campaign known as Bring Back Our Girls. Dozens escaped in the following days, but some remained missing more than a decade later.

By the end of 2013 the film industry reported record revenue of ₦1.72 trillion (US$4.1 billion), and by 2014 it was worth ₦853.9 billion (US$5.1 billion). This made it the third most valuable film industry in the world behind the United States and India.

Goodluck Jonathan won the April 2011 presidential election in polls that went smoothly with relatively little violence or fraud and were generally judged credible, beginning the country's longest period of civilian rule since independence. His tenure saw an economic recovery that made Nigeria Africa's leading economic power, but also unparalleled corruption, with as much as US$20 billion said to have been lost through the national oil company.

In 2010 thousands of people were inadvertently exposed to lead-containing soil from informal gold mining in northern Zamfara State. Estimates suggest upwards of 400 children died of acute lead poisoning.

A federal Marriage Rights Act banning the marriage of girls under 18 was introduced in 2008. Child marriage nonetheless remains common in Northern Nigeria, where 39% of girls are married before age 15.

Umaru Yar'Adua of the People's Democratic Party came to power in the general elections of April 2007, which marked the first civilian-to-civilian transfer of power in Nigeria's history but which international observers condemned as seriously flawed, both the 2003 and 2007 presidential polls being marred by significant irregularities and violence. Yar'Adua died on 5 May 2010, having been succeeded as acting president by Vice President Goodluck Jonathan three months earlier.

According to the FAO, Nigeria had the world's highest rate of deforestation in 2005, when 12.2% of the country, or 11,089,000 hectares, was forested. Between 1990 and 2005 Nigeria lost 35.7% of its forest cover, around 6,145,000 hectares.

Nigeria opened a Chinese-origin research reactor at Ahmadu Bello University in 2004 and sought IAEA support for plans of up to 4,000 MW of nuclear capacity by 2027. President Umaru Yar'Adua urged the country to embrace nuclear power in 2007.

The state-owned airline Nigeria Airways was over-indebted in 2003 and was bought by the British Virgin Group, flying as Virgin Nigeria Airways from 28 June 2005. Virgin withdrew at the end of 2008 and the carrier became Nigerian Eagle Airlines from September 2009.

The EFCC was established in 2003 to combat organised financial crime. It became the principal institutional instrument against corruption in the Fourth Republic.

Built with the UK's Surrey Satellite Technology and launched from Russia on 27 September 2003, the satellite was intended for disaster monitoring and agricultural mapping. It made Nigeria the third African country to operate a satellite, after South Africa and Algeria.

Abubakar adopted a new constitution on 5 May 1999 that provided for multiparty elections. It furnished the legal framework for the Fourth Republic still in force.

On 29 May 1999 Abdulsalami Abubakar handed power to Olusegun Obasanjo, winner of the 1999 presidential election and a former military ruler imprisoned under Abacha, beginning the Fourth Republic under a new constitution. The inauguration ended a 39-year period of short-lived democracies, civil war and military dictatorship that had prevailed for most of the time since 1966, following the death of military ruler Sani Abacha in 1998; Nigeria made significant progress in democratisation despite flawed elections in 1999 and 2003.

In 1996 Abacha officially declared French Nigeria's second official language. The policy has remained largely theoretical, with English continuing as the working official language.

Abacha's regime hanged environmentalist Ken Saro-Wiwa in 1995 on trumped-up charges over the deaths of four Ogoni elders, prompting Nigeria's temporary expulsion from the Commonwealth. Related lawsuits under the American Alien Tort Statute against Royal Dutch Shell were settled out of court.

The 12 June 1993 presidential election, the first since 1983, showed Moshood Abiola and Baba Gana Kingibe of the SDP defeating the NRC ticket by over 2.3 million votes, but General Ibrahim Babangida's government annulled the result. Massive civilian protests shut down the country for weeks, and in August 1993 Babangida handed power to an interim government under Ernest Shonekan; 12 June is now marked as Democracy Day.

Abacha seized power in the coup d'état of 1993, ending the shortest government in Nigerian political history and using military force widely to close the Third Republic crisis. He looted money to offshore Western European accounts and held power through arrests and bribery until his death in 1998.