Nigeria is a country with abundant resources and the potential to be a very powerful nation, but it is hampered by many problems. These problems are caused by Nigerias colonization by England. Because of this intrusion on their way of life, their future was altered dramatically. The nation of Nigeria as a whole has suffered greatly as a country because of this colonization, its problem is rooted in the way it was colonized and ruled.
The background of the situation is essential to understand its full impact From the way Nigeria was colonized, it was clear from the start that it would bode ill for the future inhabitants of Nigeria. Beginning in the 19th century, the British started to make their presence felt along the coast. In earlier
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Instead of focusing on diversifying, the leaders of the country focus on gaining power and standing in the government. Nigerias most daunting challenge lies in overcoming the severe divisions among its competing religious and ethnic groups . Moreover, once they gain it, their problems do not end, since they must look over their back, never knowing how long they will hold on to the little power they have. Meanwhile, the common person suffers, as he is neglected by his government and must survive on his own. The standard of living declined even further than before and external debts increased. This neglect of the common man bodes ill for the government, as it is the common man who votes in the polls. However, the vote does very little, since corruption is rampant in Nigeria.
Two futures for Africa are possible-one with a democratic and stable Nigeria, and one with a Nigeria stricken by autocratic rule, corruption, and intermittent coups. An entire continent awaits the result of the Nigerian experiment with democracy. Nigeria has the resources and can provide leadership to foster greater regional and international cooperation, leadership that many of Nigeria's neighbors need. A successful Nigerian democracy would provide hope for many of Africa's other burgeoning democracies.
The biggest problem with the government of Nigeria in regard to its malpractice towards the people is the unchecked corruption. A
Evidence of this first presented itself after Aguiyi-Ironsi dissolved the regional governments of Nigeria after the initial military coup of 1966 (Falola 1999, 118). His Unification Decree incited outrage among Nigerians, whose lives were based upon opportunities granted to them by their provincial governments (Falola 1999). The federal government rewarded members of the provinces’ ethno-political elite with
War was inevitable: ‘This simple and seemingly innocuous action broke the last thread and split the last institution symbolizing Nigeria's nationhood and cohesion which had been regularly tampered with by the politicians since 1962. The rift between the Eastern Region and the rest of the country was total’ (ibid). In a meeting convened in Aburi, Ghana, by Ghanaian general Gen. Ankrah, leader of the eastern region military Lt. Col. Ojukwu understood the real issues at hand and convinced attendees that the only way for Nigeria to stay together is that it has to break apart, effectively implying secession. After a breakdown in communication, a frustrated federal government passes Decree no. 8 of 17th March 1967, which split Nigeria’s regions into twelve states. This was seen by Lt. Col. Yakubu Gowon as a pre-emptive, non-violence weapon against the east. The eastern region was split into 3 states. Lt. Col. Ojukwu unsurprisingly rejected Decree no. 8 and states that the Enugu, (capital of Nigeria’s eastern region) is headed for secession. On the 30th of May 1967, the eastern region of Nigeria declares itself as the independent sovereign state of Biafra. The Federal military fired the first bullet on the 6th of July 1967. Now this essay will turn to providing a background to the development of Realism as an analytical theory of International Relations.
In the late 19th and early 20th century, Europeans had raced to colonize the country Africa. Great Britain was the leaders at this time in colonizing the land filled with rich natural recourses. These recourses were considered a necessity to the industrialization of the world, specifically Nigeria. During this colonization that Great Britain was doing in their new land, you could imagine that the locals were not too happy about this. The British had no respect for the culture or Nigerian traditions. The longer they stayed the more that they adopted for each other's cultures. However even with the cultural exchanges between the two countries, there was much conflict for the people of a dark colored skin
Nigeria would soon become a prime example of the issues with arbitrary borders and the long term effects they can create. Nigeria would gain its independence in 1960 and would become a Federal Republic with three regions. This federalist republic would bring out regional rivalries and fears amongst the people. Violence against Igbo would erupt around the North and soon after `the Southeast secedes as Biafra. (Reno, pg. 2) A three year war would follow and illness and hunger within Biafra would prevail. Britain got involved in the issue and would aid Nigeria in pulling Biafra back in as a way to avoid a chain reaction. Eventually, the Southeast region would give in, and return to Nigeria. However, regional distrust remained an issue, and would take on ethnic and religious dimensions for years to come. In addition, there was a deep disregard to many of the institutions and practices that had already been set in place by the people.
The Republic of Niger, a poor, landlocked country, located in the heart of Sub-Saharan West Africa. Niger has seen its fair share of change throughout the decades; moving away from the control of the French Parliament in 1960, Niger formally declared its independence. Despite this bold act of independence, Niger would not see its first steps towards democracy until the early 1990’s, when they held their first open election as a free state. However, even with the empowerment of the people in a democratic government, Niger has seen itself nearly torn apart as a result constant coups, that have occurred as recently as 2010. Such instability has led to incredulous amounts of corruption and poverty, within the Niger government. This lack of stability and constant turnover in government, has been a driving factor behind the lack of resources available for education in Niger.
In Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, the Igbo culture experienced tremendous changes before, during, and after the colonial period as clearly illustrated by the writer. For instance, at first, we notice that there were well established social-economic and political structures in Nigeria based on their traditional customs. They had clansmen, members of the can and village elders. Each of these individuals played a particular role in the community. The Igbo people had a unity of purpose as well as a strong believe and faith in their traditional way of life. However, this was not the case when missionaries invaded their ancestral land. Enormous changes were witnessed. Among them include the conversion of people from their traditional beliefs and customs to Christianity, building of schools so as to introduce education to Nigerians, interference of roles, and gender relations among various families members just highlight but a few. Thus, in this paper, my primary objective was to vividly explore the changes that were experience by the Igbo in the Things Fall Apart during colonization and antithetically compare them in a very comprehensive manner with the concept of international development in the contemporary society i.e., past the colonial period. I have therefore made a hypothesis that the changes which took place in Nigeria Igbo community during and after colonization were of two types: there were those that significantly contributed to development, as well as those whose
Independent from British ruling since 1960, Nigeria today still suffers from ethnical and religious divisions as well as unequal distribution of power and resources among its regions. A high degree of violence and insecurity has shaped Nigeria’s political framework since colonial times. The region is characterized by systematic human under-development and socio-political decay. By draining resources from development, terrorism creates an additional burden on the society and interferes with development opportunities.
The response of the native populations in Nigeria and India is comparable to British Colonialism in the nineteenth century. This is shown through Dadabhai’s reveal of the Indian perspective on British Imperialism in his article written in 1874, “The Pros and Cons of British Rule.” Additionally, the Nigerian perspective was explained by Chinua Achebe in his novel “Things Fall Apart” in 1958.
Okeke,2014. Pressure groups and policy process in Nigeria: a case of fourth republic. Nigeria: Vincent Onyekwelu Su
The colonization of Africa by European explorers is to this day one of the most controversial topics still debated. Chinua Achebe’s novel entitled Things Fall Apart takes readers through the life of a man named Okonkwo. Masculine and tough, Okonkwo lives his life as any other man in Nigeria; Three wives, a yam farm and a tightly knit belief in religion and family values. In Nigeria, having more wives and more yams results in a higher status and that is very near and dear to Okonkwo. 1958 was a time when the countries of Africa began to revolt against their white predecessors, riots and movements lead to violence and even death. To show the effect of colonization specifically of white europeans colonizing Nigeria, Achebe used a small tribe
The first was the weak sense of nationalism caused by all the ethnic groups where religion played a major part of the division. The main three ethnicities in Nigeria are Hausa-Fulani, Yoruba, and Igbo; the former is Muslim while the two latter are Christians. The second cause mentioned was the “divide and rule” which was a British tactic to employ ethnic groups against one another, and thus “helped ensure that ethnicity would be the main line of political cleavage after Nigeria became an independent country.” The third cause is the personal rule system based on “big men” and what this means is that Nigerian’s who worked for the British used their personal relationships to gain power and wealth, and in a certain way it is still used today in the Nigerian government. The fourth devastating cause was the “creation of an increasingly active and interventionist state during WWII and after until its independence in 1960, but that opened the doors to patronage, which would be used to gain political power and wealth. The past reveals the problems Nigeria has had for several decades, some of which have not disappeared but seem to get progressively worse. (CITATION)
Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country, and it’s the 9th most populous country in the world, with an estimated 150 million people. Lately the country has had a huge amount of explosive population growth due to its high fertility rate. It
Before we begin, let’s take a look at the country and its environs. Nigeria a former British Colony, located in the western part of Africa, it shares borders with Benin, Cameroun, and Niger. A growing population of 150million, labour force of 51million (70% Agriculture, 10% industry and 20% service), urbanisation is less than 40%, GDP is over $300billion, Per capita income is $2300. Nigeria is blessed with different cultures, languages and ethnic groups (252 in total); this was due to the colonization of the British in the early 19th century (Columbia Encyclopaedia). The British amalgamated its protectorates in 1914 to enable stable control and governance which made them create one Nation of Nigeria formed from all the groups, community and empires around the Niger area under their control. Nigeria had her independence on the 1st of October 1960 and since then various civil wars, political and religious unrest in the country to share power and resources amicably.
Nigeria has been a country in political turmoil for a long time. The country was created in 1914 under British colonial rule and at that time it was considered a protectorate. It was not until 1960 that Nigeria received independence from the United Kingdom. One of Nigeria's problems politically is that it has over three hundred different ethnic groups. The three largest of these are the Hausa-Fulani, Igbo, and Yoruba. At the time of the independence of Nigeria it was split up into three states with each state being under the control of one of the major ethnic groups. The natural resources of the other 297 ethnic groups were exploited for the major three groups,
Corruption can be defined as the use of entrusted power to accumulate public wealthy for personal benefit. Corruption is not peculiar to any country, continent or state; it is sure a global issue which is an endemic to all government all over the world. However, corruption is prevalent in the Niger delta region of Nigeria; public officers in this oil producing state of Nigeria are corrupt. Consequently, it has defied the Niger delta from developing politically and economically which has left the states reputation in a mess. Radicalization of youths, abject poverty and -political instability are the three leading effects of corruption in the Niger delta region of Nigeria.