In contrast to these somewhat lengthy definitions theorists have also made their contributions to the definition game. Culture of nigeria history, people, clothing, traditions. Short history of democracy in nigeria learn when the country became a republic and how its democratic path was developing from 1960 to nowadays. History of nigeria before independence 1914 till date. This paper is a contribution to the debate on democratization and development in nigeria. Foreign policy, 19451973, and currently at work on a political history of contemporary nigeria.
On the coast of west african, an area of 356,669 square miles has been covered, which was known officially as the federal republic of nigeria in 1963. Pdf chapter summary the dominance of the liberal democratic orthodoxy. Independence from british rule came to pass in nigeria on the 1 st of october, 1960. Even though nigeria acquired republican status in 1963, the first republic in nigeria began on the 1 st of october, 1960 and came to an end on the 15 th of january, 1966. Practice, problems and prospects adeyinka theresa ajayi1 and emmanuel oladipo ojo2 1. The new civil war broke in 1967 and lasted til 1970. Yet the power of the democratic idea has prevailed through a long and turbulent history, and democratic government. Nation of the world have different system of government that is being practiced which ranges from monarchy, aristocracy, democracy just to mention in few, but history will never be completely written if the system of government was not included in the history of the nation. The electoral process and democratic consolidation in nigeria. This is a short history of africa excluding egypt, ethiopia and dutch and british south africa, which are the subjects of separate histories. Library of congress federal research division country profile. Democracy day is june 12, a national public bank holiday in nigeria. Journal of nigeria studies volume 1, number 2, fall 2012 political leadership and corruption in nigeria since 1960. This was the year nigeria assumed both political and military control of its territory.
The history of the nigerian army and the implications for the future of nigeria, by maj fredrick c. Brief history of rivers state rivers state was created out of the former eastern region on 27th may 1967 by the then regime of general yakubu gowon. Problems and prospects of the evoting option idike, adeline nnenna, a department of public administration and local government university of nigeria, nsukka email. Some of the history of these countries, however, is naturally mentioned in this history of the rest of africa but is kept to the minimum needed to make the rest comprehensible. I will definitely be able to forward this information to. Nigerias elections so far have not live up to expectations due. The whole thing started from the year1999, when olusegun obasanjo was sworn in as the first democratically elected president of nigeria. Geographical, historical and political profiles of nigeria. Pdf democracy and democratic experiment the nigerian. History of democracy in nigeria and when did nigeria. The plateau area around jos was a meeting point for cultural influences from the upper niger valley where agriculture developed independently as early as 5000 bce and from egypt.
Read now to get the most interesting facts from nigerian history. Numerous ancient african civilizations settled in the region that is today nigeria, such as the kingdom of nri, the benin empire, and the oyo empire. May 29 was initially the official democracy day in nigeria, marking when the newly elected olusegun obasanjo took office as the president of nigeria in 1999, ending multiple decades of military rule that began in 1966 and had been interrupted only by a brief period of democracy from 1979 to 1983. Challenges facing democracy in nigeria and solutions. Many journalists lost their lives during these years of fighting for democracy. Nigeria became an independent country taking over the control of territories, politics and that of military. For most of its independent history, nigeria was ruled by a series of military juntas. This has led to the process of democratic experiment in abraka, nigeria. Political leadership and corruption in nigeria since 1960. In simple terms, the objective of the paper is to identify and discuss the challenges to democracy and good governance in the country and proffer suggestions for a better democratic nigeria. If any conclusion can be drawn from the political history of post colonial africa, it is that multiparty democracy has been as unsuccessful, as the military coup d etat. The case of nigeria offers a cautionary tale of the excesses of military rule bolstered by oppression, force, prebendalism, and. The journal publishes original papers at the forefront of social, economical, trade and legislative issues related to developing countries. Islam reached nigeria through the borno empire between 1068 bc and hausa states around 85 ad during the 11th century, while.
They have argued that democracy is yet to be fully entrenched in the hearts and minds of politicians and average citizens alike. Nigeria is a nation of vast human and natural resource potential that has experienced. History of nigerian mass media today nigerian guide. Aside fighting to win democracy, the nigerian press has been at the forefront of sustaining nigerias nascent democracy. Brief history of local government in nigeria legit. Democracy in nigeria problems and prospects information. Taylors vice president, moses blah, finished the remaining term and was followed by a transition. A brief history of liberia peter dennis the international center for transitional justice may 2006. I history and development of mass communications lauriethomas lee encyclopedia of life support systems eolss books are the oldest of the media, with the first known book written in egypt around.
Ive learned so much about the history of nigeria and im glad that i had the opportunity to read this. Yes since the return to civil rule in 1999 by the military government of gen. This newly formed country would go on to become a republic three years down the line on 1, october, 1963. In light of this history, building a genuinely united nation, with institutions which would clamp down on virulent ethnic feeling, was the priority. Bayels state was carved out of it in the state creation excercise of 1996. Department of history and international studies, ekiti state university, adoekiti, ekiti state, nigeria abstract. Since independence in 1960, nigerias unstable political history can be characterized by a series of military dictatorships interspersed with brief interludes of limited democracy and civilian rule. Democracy may be a word familiar to most, but it is a concept still misunderstood and misused at a time when dictators, singleparty regimes, and military coup leaders alike assert popular support by claiming the mantle of democracy. Some of the issues that will be discussed in this article are the concept of rule of law, democracy and development, shortcomings of democracy and development in nigeria.
An appraisal of precipitating factors in nigeria olayiwola victor ojo m sc political science, university of ilorin, ilorin, nigeria abstract nigerias electoral politics from independence has been tumultuous. Throughout history, people have sought to increase their ability to conquer the. The journal is published in both printed and online versions. A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as the title, abstract, and list of authors, clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the fulltext. Ugochukwu moses urim at covenant university ota ogun state, nigeria. Department of history and international studies, ekiti state university, adoekiti, ekiti state, nigeria. We reiterate that democracy and development cohabit and inactivity of the former destroys the later. In the 5th century bc athens pioneers an experiment in direct democracy, as opposed to the representative democracy of modern societies.
The origins of public relations the key element in this was the attempt to enhance prs credibility by linking it with social science and suggesting that there was a scientific, objective, and therefore factual basis for it. Until june 6, 2018, it was held annually on may 29. Nigeria became a federal republic, modelling its federal. On 1, october 1960, nigeria, after several years of british colonial rule, became an independent nation. Nevertheless, the democracy story in nigeria can be traced to the year 1960. By doing so, the king acknowledged he was bound by law, like others, and granted his subjects legal rights. Nigerias present democratization, which culminated in the countrys fourth republic on may 29, 1999, started amidst great hope and expectations. After nigeria gained independence in 1960, the country was ranked as the citizens of the 4th biggest democratic country the world over.
Nigeria, july 2008 2 of slaves flowed north across the sahara for a millennium, ending only at the beginning of the twentieth century. Transitions from democracy in nigeria msu libraries michigan. Democracy and the future of the nigerian state daniel eseme. Department of history and international studies, ekiti state university, adoekiti, ekiti state, nigeria 2. May 29 th of every year is declared democracy day in nigeria, and it also a public holiday.
Finally, the agitated freedom was bagged from the british rule. Nigeria has a long history, with its roots in early civilisations of distinguished artistry. Democracy and development in nigeria international society for. It has today repositioned itself to deliver credible elections that would sustain nigerias nascent democracy. In the political history of nigeria, two political systems can be identified as having been operational at.
One of the many factors shaping it is the history of the country in question. As at that time, nigeria was still following the british system of government in which there is a prime minister and a ceremonial president. However the history of democracy, economic development and welfare for citizens in nigeria has been that of disappointment kalu, 2004. Brief history of nigeria from 1960 till date oasdom. Since then, the nature of the democratic project has been the subject of debate in various circles. Geographical, historical and political profiles of nigeria 1. Pdf the electoral process and democratic consolidation. Abdulsalam abubakar who handed over power to the then democratically elected president in person of chief olusegun obasanjo in may 29, 1999, which makes this present democratic government in nigeria to be the longest running democracy in the history of the country. Although the years since nigerias return to civilian rule in 1999 have seen an increased interest in its history and politics, nigeria remains one of the most underresearched african countries. Within nigeria, slavery was widespread and bore social implications that are still evident. Prior to talking about the challenges facing democracy in nigeria and solutions to them, let us take a quick look into the postcolonial democratic history of nigeria. Democracy day marks the day the military handed over power to an elected. It is copied by her greek allies and colonies at the time, but it has rarely been attempted anywhere else since switzerland in the th century is one example. A brief history of liberia international center for.
In this lesson, learn about the history of the young country of nigeria, which gained independence from britain in 1960. Unesco eolss sample chapters journalism and mass communication vol. Nigeria is a famous country with more than one hundred and forty million population. If any conclusion can be drawn from the political history of post colonial africa, it is that multiparty democracy has been as unsuccessful, as the military coup detat. Jean herskovits is professor of history at the state university of new york at purchase and spent 18 months of the transition in nigeria. An independence movement gained nigeria s independence on october 1, 1960. Aside the print media, the television stations have also played their part in the fight against corruption and in the defense of democracy. Ap comparative government and politics nigeria briefing paper. The body organized all transitional elections that ushered in the 4th republic on may 29 1999. Learn when the country became a republic and how its democratic path.
The history of nigeria can be traced to prehistoric settlers nigerians living in the area as early as 1100 bc. She is the author of a preface to modern nigeria, editor of the subsaharan africa volume in dynamics of world power. Ethnic and religious clashes have continued in africas most densely populated nation. As a permanent body, inec comprises the workforce recruited since 1987 under the defunct national electoral commission nec. Lets learn more about its most important stages from this brief history of local governments in nigeria. Brief history of rivers state rivers state page 1 of 1.
Idris ahmed jamo department of public administration, ahmadu bello university zaria abstract nigeria is the fourth world largest democracy with a population of over 160 million and world sixth largest oil supplier and blessed with economic potentials, but majority of the nigerian. An appraisal of the peoples democratic party pdp sixteen years 2 international journal of research in humanities and social studies v2 i9 september 2015 democracy in the literature is contested and for political science the theorization of the concept of. Aside fighting to win democracy, the nigerian press has been at the forefront of sustaining nigeria s nascent democracy. I truly enjoyed reading this information about nigerias history, it is so highly informative, very highly educational. This post is about the governmental and political history of nigeria. Nigeria, however, had experienced the first military coup in the year, 1966, while its civil war actually broke out in the year, 1967, and lasted up till 1970. In 1215, english nobles pressured king john of england to sign a document known as the magna carta, a key step on the road to constitutional democracy. After independence in 1960, that year nigerians became the citizens of the 4th biggest democratic country in the word nigeria experienced its first military coup in 1966. Thomas chukwuma ijere democracy and development in nigeria.