Chapter 11: Nigeria Notimex/Newscom

CHAPTER 11: NIGERIA

Countries and Concepts: Politics, Geography, Culture 12/eBy Michael G. RoskinCopyright © 2013, 2011, 2009, 2007 Pearson Education, Inc.

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Nigeria’s Geography

Copyright © 2013, 2011, 2009, 2007 Pearson Education, Inc.

Why Nigeria Matters


Nigeria has the largest population in Africa. One-fifth of all Africans below the Sahara are Nigerian.

However, the country is split between Muslims and Christians.

Nigeria is capable of producing a tenth of the world’s oil. Therefore, Nigeria is a major oil exporter.

The U.S. a large amount of Nigerian oil. Nigeria is an influential African state, and is now attempting

democracy for a third time. However, Nigeria is not stable and could explode at any

time. The key to a stable Nigeria is the wise and proper use of its

oil revenues.

Impact of the Past


Like Mexico, Nigeria was home to civilizations long before the Europeans arrived. Nok culture (around the time of Christ). Yoruba in the southwest. Igbo in the southeast.

Islam arrived in the north in the 9th century and converted the Hausa and Fulani peoples, who are known today as the Hausa-Fulani.

The Borno kingdom and Songhai empire were the centers of Islamic culture in Nigeria.

This has meant that Nigeria has remained divided between Muslims in the north and Christians in the south of the country.

Impact of the Past: The Coming of the Europeans


Portuguese were the first to arrive in Nigeria in 1471. The Portuguese did not venture inland, but

traded along the coast. Their chief item of trade became slaves,

which was already being practiced in Africa. The “slave coast” came to be when local African

chiefs kidnapped and delivered slaves to the Europeans.

From the 1530s through the 1850s, over 3 millions slaves were sent across the Atlantic.

The Impact of the Past: The Coming of the Europeans


From 1804-1808, there was a little noticed Islamic holy war, or jihad, in the north of Nigeria.

Muslims battled each other to create a pure Muslim kingdom, which saw the creation of the Sokoto Caliphate.

This was the most powerful political system in the region and motivated by Islamic fundamentalism.

Less than a century later, it would collide with British colonialism.

Missionaries ventured inland in an attempt to convert the Yoruba and Igbo, as well as others.

Missionaries were often the precursor to imperial expansion, as they often would sooner or later need military protection.

Impact of the Past: The Coming of the Europeans


Britain’s suppression of the slave trade was one of factors contributing to the establishment of Nigeria.

To enforce a ban of the shipping of slaves by British ships, the Royal Navy was stationed off the Gulf of Guinea.

Britain encouraged trade in commodities like oils used for soaps and lubricants.

However, the accidental consequence of this was an increase in internal slave trading as a means of producing the desired oils and other commodities.

To stop this, Britain shelled Lagos, the Yoruba’s island capital, in 1851 and annexed it in 1861.

Impact of the Past: The Scramble for Africa


During the 19th century, trade along the winding Niger River grew to be profitable.

In 1879, a British businessman named George Goldie setup the United Africa Company.

Goldie was known as the “father of Nigeria.” The Company became the Royal Niger Company in

1886 after the Berlin Conference carved up Africa and assigned borders to Europe’s imperial powers.

However, the conference stated no power could claim what it did not occupy. This set up a race among Europe’s imperial powers to

turn claims into colonies.

Impact of the Past: The Colonial Interlude


In 1894, British colonialism took shape in Nigeria with the help of Fredrick Lugard. Lugard, with the aid of the new Maxim gun, was able to

consolidate areas of the Yoruba and Igbo into two British Protectorates.

By 1903, Lugard and the British captured the north to form a northern Protectorate.

In 1914, Sir Frederick combined the two and placed them under the control of a governor-general in Lagos.

Nigeria was an invented state, right down to the name.



Lugard used both indirect and divide and rule techniques to control Africa.

With a limited number of people, Britain was able to run colonies through the locals, and also keep the locals divided against each other so they could not unite against Britain.

At the same time, as colonialism offered up new opportunities like education to the locals, and further organized locals, they increasingly desired to rule themselves.

In the 1920s, this led to pan-Africanism in the African colonies, which sought to liberate and unite the continent. Pan-Africanism argues that without the colonial powers,

Africa would not be divided and the tribes could get along.



Britain’s answer to the growing desire for self-rule was to grant some local and partial political power in small steps. In 1914, the British set up the Nigerian Legislative

Council and expanded it to elected members in 1922.

The council had limited powers and did not include the north.

Not all colonial powers did this, and some granted nothing to their subjects. This had a terrible impact on some countries

after achieving independence.

Impact of the Past: Independence


WWII weakened the colonial powers, and they could no longer afford their spread out empires.

Decolonization was a trickle down process. Decolonization reached Africa in 1960,

when 17 states moved towards independence.

Decolonization was easier in those places with less European settlers, and this included Nigeria.



With Independence in mind, the first Nigerian political party was formed in 1923. The Nigerian National Democratic Party was

formed by Herbert Macaulay, who is called the father of Nigerian independence.

In 1934, the Nigerian Youth Movement was founded.

In 1944, both Macaulay and Nnamdi Azikiwe brought together more than 40 groups to form the National Council of Nigeria and Cameroons (NCNC).



The British strategy was to give way piecemeal. In 1947, the British set up a federal system as a

means of providing a solution to Nigeria’s regional differences. Regions corresponded to the three largest ethnic groups:

Hausa-Fulani, Yoruba, and Igbo. In 1951, Britain set up a national House of

Representatives, but it soon failed. In 1954, The British made the Nigerian federation

self-governing with a Muslim prime-minister from the north, and the west and east getting internal self government. The east was placed under the direction of the NCNC, and

the west under the Action Party. Political parties tend to form along tribal lines in Africa.



The biggest problem was uniting the north and south into a single political unit.

The chief party in the north was People’s Congress, which was wary of the Christian south.

On October, 1, 1960, Nigeria gained its independence. Britain left Nigeria with a federal constitution and PM.

However, the imperialists take much blame for Nigeria’s current troubles. The British exploited Nigeria in the slave trade, took over Nigeria with

force, glued an artificial country together composed of tribes who did not like each other, then finally left with all of this in their wake.

Therefore, we cannot be surprised that Nigeria soon collapsed into a series of military dictatorships.

The Key Institutions


In the first half-century of Nigerian independence, the military ruled two-thirds of the time.

The current period of civilian rule, which started in 1999, is the longest such period.

Nigeria is an unstable country with strong divisions and tendencies to fall apart.

When a break up happens, the military intervenes.

Therefore, democracy is tenuous in Nigeria.

The Key Institutions: From British to U.S. Model


Britain started with a Prime Minister as the chief of government, and a system based on the Westminster model.

However, with the 1979 constitution, Nigeria turned towards an U.S.-style presidential system. This was for good reason. Because the Nigerian parliament was fragmented

into many parties, the government was dependent upon multiparty coalitions that were easy victims of votes of no confidence.

A presidential system would solve this problem.

The Key Institutions: From British to U.S. Model


The Nigerian president combines head of state and chief of government.

The president is elected to a maximum of two four-year terms.

Olusegun Obasanjo, who emerged as the first president of Nigeria’s Fourth Republic after the dictator Sani Abacha died, tried to change the constitution to allow a third term. Obasanjo failed, and this was a victory for

democracy in Nigeria.

Personalities: Good Luck, Jonathan


Goodluck Jonathan is a southern Christian from the Ijaw tribe, and is a member for the PDP.

Jonathan went from vice president to acting president in 2010, to being elected president in 2011. He has not been popular among northern Muslims,

especially due to an informal agreement within the PDP to alternate presidents between Christians and Muslims.

Although he has a Ph.D., Jonathan has picked a life of politics and has a long road ahead if he is serious about his desire to see reforms become a reality.

Political Culture: Nigeria’s Political Eras


The Key Institutions: Nigerian Federalism


Nigeria’s federalism resembles American-style federalism.

Nigerian leaders have slowly increased the number of states to the present day 36.

Expansion has been used as a method of solving ethnic violence and differences.

In 1991, the capital was moved from Lagos to Abuja in the center of the country. This allowed the capital to be in a more neutral

territory Abuja is a Federal Capital Territory like the

District of Columbia.

The Key Institutions: Nigerian Federalism


Nigerians states and governors have considerable autonomy, but Abuja distributes oil revenues.

These revenues can be used to keep governors in line.

The federal government cannot or will not deliver basic goods like infrastructure improvement or education, so state governments are left to do the tasks.

In the north, Muslim groups provide these tasks and the north is now under sharia, or Muslim religious law.

The Key Institutions: The National Assembly


The National Assembly is bicameral. The Senate has 109 seats with each state getting

three senators. There is also a seat for the Federal Capital Territory.

The House has 360 seats, ten for each state. Each representative comes from a SMD. Both the upper and lower house are elected to

four-year terms at the same time. For some members of the National Assembly,

salaries are outrageous. Up to $2 million per year.

The Key Institutions: The National Assembly


Each state gets the same number of representatives in the House regardless of population.

This helps smaller states with distinct ethnic populations, but creates resentment among the more populous states.

The real danger in Nigeria is hyperfederalism, where the system tries to overcompensate in terms of representing ethnic groups.

The Key Institutions: Nigeria’s Parties


The large People’s Democratic Party (PDP) bills itself as centrist party representing all Nigerians. The PDP is perceived as a southern Christian party. The PDP was developed as a personal vehicle for former President

Obasanjo. The smaller All Nigerian People’s Party (ANPP) gets its strongest

following from northern Muslims. Descendent of the All Nigeria People’s Party

The Action Congress of Nigeria is basically a Yoruba party that does well only in the southwest.

There are also many smaller parties that can win a few seats in the National Assembly.

Nigeria evolved from a multi-party system to a two-plus system, and a dominant party system led by the PDP. However, the PDP has little support in the north.

Nigerian fragmentation resembles fragmentation in Iraq.

Democracy: Nigeria’s 2011 Elections


Goodluck Jonathan won the 2011 presidential election with 59 percent of the vote. His opponent, Muhammadu Buhari,

a former military dictator, won 32 percent of the vote.

Although not close, the election split Nigeria along religious and regional lines. Violence erupted and at least 500

were killed. The elections were an improvement

from the fraudulent 2007 elections. The 2011 legislative elections were similar to those of 2007,

with a weakened PDP still in control.

AP Photo

Nigerian Political Culture: Nigerian Fragmentation


Half of Nigerians are Muslim, another 40 percent Christian, and 10 percent indigenous faiths such as the Yoruba.

Nigeria also has around 250 ethnic groups. 29 percent Hausa-Fulani 21 percent Yoruba. 18 percent Igbo. 10 percent Ijaw.

Nigeria is fragmented along religious and ethnic lines, and the people of Nigeria have trouble living together in an artificial country created by British colonialism.



The north is especially poor, isolated, traditional, and Muslim.

The north has never liked being ruled by Christians. Whether British or Southern.

Northern Nigeria, and specifically the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, has been criticized for being a source of terrorist recruitment and fundraising. 2009 “underwear bomber” in Detroit was from a wealthy

family in northern Nigeria. Islam has been the chief religion of the north for a

millennium, and is spreading in Africa. It is argues that Islam is natural to Africa and Christianity

was imported.



Islam can be rigid and intolerant, and some Nigerian clerics insist on strict adherence to Muslim laws, education, the Koran, and dress.

A strong fundamentalist movement in the north has made sharia state law. Sharia as state law in the north threatens Nigerian federal law

because it means the state can override federal law. Sharia can be harsh, but the punishments only apply to

Muslims. This creates a dangerous dual legal system.

AFP/Getty Images



Other regions also present problems, with the worst being the Biafra War of 1967-1969. The Igbo of eastern Nigeria attempted to break

away and form their own country, Biafra. In the Niger Delta, Ijaw and Itsekiri tribesmen

fight government troops for control of oil terminals.

At the same time, most Nigerians have not given up on democracy and Nigeria is far from something like the combination of Rwanda and the Congo.

Nigerian Political Culture: The Igbo and Biafra


A prime example of interethnic violence in Nigeria is what happened with the southeastern Igbo in the 1960s.

At the beginning of exploration and colonization, the Igbo lacked a developed civilization like that of their neighbors to the west and north.

At the same time, they had a hustling nature and took to Christianity rather quickly.

The Igbo also took to self-advancement through business, education, civil service, and the military.

The Igbo began to spread out and Igbo merchants came to dominate commercial life in the north.

There was much resentment of the Igbo people for this, who eventually became the most modern and educated of all Nigerians.

This created a rift with the more traditional cultures.



Shortly after independence, Nigeria started destabilizing.

In response to fraudulent elections in October of 1965, a group of mainly Igbo army officers carried out a coup in January of 1966.

Northern Muslims saw this as an Igbo plan to seize the entire country.

In July of 1966, a Christian from Nigeria’s center overthrew the new Igbo government.



Ethnic violence took over in Nigeria In the north, thousands of Igbo merchants

were killed and millions more fled the north. After much consultation among the Eastern

states, it was decided that the Igbo needed a separate country, which was declared on May 30, 1967. This new country would be the Republic of Biafra.

The federal government intervened, knowing that new Republic would be rich with Nigerian oil.

The Igbo effort to fight the Nigerian army collapsed in December of 1969.



The Eastern states that tried to separate were brought back into the Nigerian federation of 12 states.

The oil boom of the 1970s brought some jobs and prosperity.

Another coup in 1975 brought in a new government led by a northern Muslim, who was then assassinated in 1976.

The Biafra serves as a reminder of how fragile Nigeria is and how risky it is to be head of state.

Nigerian Political Culture: The Trouble with Nigeria


Two-thirds of Nigerians are literate, which is not bad for a still developing country. Nigeria also has many college graduates.

Nigeria is a cleft country, meaning that the country is split between two cultures. This is not to be confused with a torn country, where

modernizing elites clash with traditional masses. Nigeria is not unique in this regard. Although pluralism is celebrated as a key to democracy,

there must be limits. Groups must interact within the rule; they must compete

within institutional channels. Pluralism without limits lead to civil war.

Nigerian Political Culture: Cross-Cutting Cleavages


Why do some highly pluralistic or multiethnic societies hold together? Successful societies develop cross-cutting cleavages. These are divisions along several axes that cut across

one another and stabilize political life. For example, in Switzerland, cleavages of French-speaking

or German- speaking, Catholic or Protestant, working-class or middle-class give rise to several combinations.

Where cleavages do not cross-cut, they are said to be cumulative. Cumulative implies that divisions tend to reinforce

one another rather than provide stability. For example, all Croatians in the former Yugoslavia are

Catholics and Serbs are Eastern Orthodox.

Nigerian Political Culture: Cross-Cutting Cleavages


Many of Africa’s troubles begin with an absence of cross-cutting cleavages. Tribes count the most, and in

Nigeria this is reinforced by religion.

Nigeria does have some cross-cutting cleavages. Social class can cut across tribal lines.

Nigerian Political Culture: Democrats without Democracy


Most Nigerians want democracy but are bitterly dissatisfied with their government. Corruption, rigged elections, ethnic strife, and poverty

lead many Nigerians to express their dissatisfaction. However, wanting democracy does not mean it will

happen. The problem is that whenever Nigeria tries

democracy, Nigerian democrats know it will be undermined by tribal and religious tensions, corruption, and military power-grabs. Without such division, Nigeria might have already

achieved democracy. Nigeria ranks as “partly free” according to Freedom

House, which puts it ahead of Russia. Most in Nigeria have not given up on democracy.

Geography: The Niger Delta


The delta of the Niger River is a main feature of West Africa’s west coast. Two problems overlap here. It produces a lot of oil. It is home to several angry tribes.

George Steinmetz/Corbis

Patterns of Interaction


Nigeria is a weak state, but not a failed state.

However, if state authority declines further, it could end up going in that direction.

Oil is a strong incentive for Nigeria’s central government to maintain control.

Crime is astronomical in Nigeria

Patterns of Interaction: The Praetorian Tendency


Weak states often suffer from praetorianism, or a tendency for military takeovers. Weak states often suffer from repeated military coups.

This indicates that the normal institutions of government have little legitimacy or authority.

Finbar OReilly/Corbis


Most coups involve little fighting because mass support of the government no longer exists.

Oil presents incentive for many generals to launch coups in Nigeria.

Another cause is the dispute among ethnic and religious groups.

Patterns of Interaction: The Praetorian Tendency


Nigeria still has high poverty and violence, and could experience another coup.

Praetorianism is a self-reinforcing illness. At the same time, if the military can slide into power,

why do they ever leave power? It is because military governments know they are seen as

being illegitimate. Dictators know that they can be tossed out from within,

even by their own officers. Every general that has seized power knows others are

waiting to do the same. Although they use clientelism, without legitimacy losing

power can be a matter of time.

Count the Coups


What Nigerians Quarrel About: The Political Economy of Nigeria


Because of oil, Nigeria has seen an increase in its GDP.

However, this means little to the people as the oil money stays with only a handful of rich people. 80 percent of the oil revenues go to one

percent of the population. Nigerian living standards have been

declining, and inequality is getting worse. There is little in the way of a middle-class.



Little investment is made in bringing jobs to Nigeria, and little investment is made in raising living standards. Oil revenues do not give way to new jobs.

Unemployment is high in Nigeria. By 2025, the population could reach 200 million.

Forty percent of Nigerians are under 15 and receive little education.

Oil wealth is a poor foundation for economic growth.



At the time of their independence, Nigeria had a GDP on par with several East Asian countries.

The East Asian countries are now many times richer than Nigeria.

There are two broad explanations for this: Physical and material explanations. Cultural and psychological explanations.



Having oil is a curse, and serves as the incentive for leaders to steal and engage in corruption.

Another culprit in the bad politics of Nigeria is imperialism, but it does not paint the entire picture.

Cultural factors loom large as an explanation. Some cultures take to economic development and

some do not. Social scientists seek strategic variables in the area

of policy. Governments can create macroeconomic and

microeconomic policy. Nigeria appears to be mismanaging both.

What Nigerians Quarrel About: The Corruption Factor


Since independence, Nigerian leaders have stolen over $400 billion in oil revenues. None have been tried publically for corruption.

Nigeria Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) charges officials with corruption, but it is said they do so as a means of rooting out certain candidates for election.

The EFCC lost credibility in 2008 when its head was given the boot for investigating former state governments.

Corruption threatens both politics and economics.

What Nigerians Quarrel About: The Corruption Factor


Corruption trips up development and siphons money away from investment and into private pockets.

Nigeria is ripe with petty corruption. Some see petty corruption as an unofficial welfare system

redistributing wealth. The root of corruption in the Third World is acquiring a large

bureaucracy before a state is ready. One solution is to pay civil servants more, but that is not always an

option. However, petty corruption is a minor annoyance compared

to grand corruption, where leaders use their positions to siphon money. Grand corruption happens outside of the country, with politicians

and leaders taking kickbacks from foreign firms and businesses.

Comparison: Corruption International


Corruption is nearly everywhere. Transparency International ranks

countries in terms of corruption on a ten point scale. A ten means totally clean.

The 2010 finding are below, and these types of reports put pressure on governments to be transparent.

What Nigerians Quarrel About: Oil and Democracy


There is an unhappy correlation between petroleum wealth and nondemocratic government.

Oil fosters corruption, as Nigerian politics works through a series of payoffs to state governors and other officials to keep them in line.

Nigeria is a member of OPEC which tells members to keep production down and prices up. At the same time, corruption allows Nigeria to skirt

OPEC rules.



What is it about oil that makes it bad for democracy? Oil tends to concentrate wealth. Oil becomes the prize of politics, as control of oil

equals power. The oil industry employs few. Oil breeds corruption and creates oversized

bureaucracies. Oil wealth allows leaders to avoid investing in

other industries. Three-quarters of Nigerians live in absolute

poverty, or $1.25 per day.



How is this problem fixed? Most Nigerian oil was produced by the Nigerian

National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in conjunction with foreign firms.

The NNPC got most of the revenues, but was corrupt. Efforts to clean up oil have been blocked by other

elected officials. Privatization might help, but only if it is a 100 percent

commitment. Total nationalization will just further some of the same

problems. Loss of kickbacks and other benefits stand in the way

of productive reforms. Other solutions include Nigerian-international board of

supervisors. Micro-loans for small start-ups is another possibility. There have been African success stories, so Nigeria is

not doomed to suffer a tumultuous future.

Chapter 11: Nigeria Notimex/Newscom

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