Nigeria at the Crossroads (1)

Nigeria, located in West Africa, has borders with Benin, Cameroon, Chad, and Niger. Its name comes from the Niger River that crosses the country. The flag has three equal vertical bands of green, white and green; the green color represents the forests and natural resources of the country, the white color symbolizes peace and unity.

Political Emergence

Ruled by the British beginning in 1914, Nigeria gained independence in 1960. A new constitution was adopted in 1999. The most populous country in Africa (206 million inhabitants), its most densely populated areas are in the south and southwest: Lagos (14.8 million), Kano (4.1 million), Ibadan (3.6 million), Abuja (3.4 million), Port Harcourt (3.1 million), and Benin City (1.8 million).

After independence, Nigeria experienced six coups d’état (1966, 1967, 1975, 1983, 1985, and 1993), followed by military rule and short periods of civilian government. After decades of largely military rule, Nigeria has experienced the longest period of civilian rule in its history since 1999.

It is a federation of 36 autonomous states and one federal territory. It has a bicameral legislature consisting of a 109-member Senate and a 360-member House of Representatives. There are currently 18 registered political parties. The parties rotate candidates on an “ethnic rather than regional” basis, also known as a federal quota system.

This system was designed to address fears of marginalization and ethnic domination in education and government. However, the system has many critics who complain of a discriminatory effect. Perceived violations of these provisions have often led to conflict.

In the 2023 presidential election, the All Progressives Congress ran a Muslim-Muslim ticket for the first time, while the main parties had always run a Muslim-Christian ticket: two Muslims were elected, which is considered an indicator of increasing religious discrimination and marginalization in the country.

Populations

Nigeria is far from being a homogeneous country. More than 250 ethnic groups and indigenous languages express the diversity and richness of the country: Hausa 30%, Yoruba 15.5%, Igbo (Ibo) 15.2%, Fulani 6%, Tiv 2.4%, Kanuri/Beriberi 2.4%, Ibibio 1.8%, Ijaw/Izon 1.8%, others 24.9%. The main ethnic groups are also divided geographically: the Hausa, Fulani, and Kanuri are dominant in the north and the Yoruba, Igbo, and Tiv in the south.

To understand the situation in the country, one must consider the typology between the north and south of the country. Some Nigerians speak of a position of “geographical ignorance” between the two parts. Many Nigerians in the South believe that there are no Christians in the North, even though states like Gombe or Kaduna have a Christian population of almost 50% and in Borno, the cradle of Boko Haram, 30% of the population is Christian.

Before the advent of British power, the north, south, west, and east had different characteristics and lived their own ethnic, political, and religious realities. The annexation of Lagos in 1861 was the first step in the conquest of the Niger region. In 1885, at the Berlin Conference, Great Britain claimed rights over the Niger basin.

In 1906, the British merged the Colony and Protectorate of Lagos with the Protectorate of Southern Nigeria to form the new Colony and Protectorate of Southern Nigeria. In 1914, these southern territories were united with the Protectorate of Northern Nigeria, giving birth to the geopolitical unit that we know today as Nigeria.

However, the territories retained their regional authorities, divided after 1914 into three local units. The announcement of their dissolution by the military government after the first coup in 1966 triggered violent reactions in the north against the southerners who had settled among them. This was one of the factors that contributed to the outbreak of the civil war.

The antagonism between the north and the south resurfaced sharply with the restoration of Sharia law in 12 of the 20 northern states in 2000 and has intensified in recent years, fueled by the conflicts that will be described in Chapter 3 of this report. It should be noted that the terms “north” and “south” do not always correspond to the perception that an observer would have looking at a map.

If one considers the division into states from a political and administrative perspective, Adawama or Taraba are two states in the North-East region, even though to an observer they are clearly located in the center. Similarly, Abuja, the capital, is considered part of the north of the country.

One geographical term is very important: “the middle belt of Nigeria,” which refers to the area that divides the country from east to west, along the center, forming a transition zone between northern and southern Nigeria. It includes most of the north-central region and the southern half of the north-eastern region.

Characterized by a great mix of ethnicities – 50 to 100 different languages and ethnic groups – it is a meeting point between two worlds and the scene of frequent incidents today.

Resources

130 million Nigerians live below the poverty line. The south is richer, has more universities and is better educated. The south also includes the oil reservoir and the financial capital, Lagos.

The political center is in the north, where 46% of the population lives, while 53% live in the south. The population density is higher in the south, although the area is smaller.

"Southerners" often complain about the distribution of resources, which is subject to centralization by the federal government. Some places, like Delta State, are much less developed, even though they have oil deposits.