Nigeria – from ancient kingdoms to Africa's most populous nation
Nigeria's history reaches back to the Nok culture, famous for striking terracotta sculptures made more than two thousand years ago. Over the following centuries powerful states arose: the Hausa city-states and the Kanem-Bornu Empire in the north, the kingdoms of Ife and Oyo among the Yoruba, and the Kingdom of Benin, renowned for its bronze and brass works. In the early 19th century the Sokoto Caliphate united much of the north.
From the 15th century European traders reached the coast, and the transatlantic slave trade forcibly carried vast numbers of people from the region to the Americas. In the 19th century Britain expanded its influence, annexing Lagos in 1861, and in 1914 it merged the northern and southern protectorates into the colony of Nigeria.
Nigeria became independent on 1 October 1960 and a republic in 1963. Ethnic and regional tensions led to military coups and to the civil war of 1967 to 1970, in which the secessionist state of Biafra was defeated; fighting and famine cost a great many lives. Long periods of military rule followed until civilian government returned in 1999. Since then the country has seen democratic transfers of power, but also violent conflicts, including the insurgency in the northeast.
Today Nigeria is shaped by its enormous diversity of peoples and languages, a young and fast-growing population, oil wealth and a vibrant culture of music, film and literature.
Do you have stories, photos or memories connected to Nigeria? Share them in the Heimatgeschichte and help us keep local history alive.