History of Nigeria; Land Of Culture And Heritage

Nigeria is a land known for its rich and vast culture and heritage. The name Nigeria was gotten from the great Niger River, it was suggested in the 1890s by British journalist Flora Shaw, who later became the wife of colonial governor Frederick Lugard.
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Lord Lugard as he is popularly known, was not just a colonial governor, but he was the one that amalgamated northern and southern Nigeria into a Colony and Protectorate in 1914. As a political state, the giant of Africa as she is usually called is made up of about 250 to 400 ethnic groups of widely varied cultures, and modes of political organization. Colonialism played a major role in shaping Nigeria into what it is today. The colonial era was relatively brief, lasting only six decades or so, depending upon the part of Nigeria, but it unleashed such rapid change that the full impact was still felt in the contemporary period. The expansion of agricultural products as the principal export earner and the corresponding development of infrastructure resulted in severely distorted economic growth that has subsequently collapsed.
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On the other hand, social dislocation associated with the decline of slavery and the internal movement of population between regions, and to the cities necessitated the reassessment of ethnic loyalties, which in turn have been reflected in politics and religion. The history of the Nigerian people extends backward in time for some three millennia. Archaeological evidence, oral traditions, and written documentation establish the existence of dynamic societies and well-developed political systems, whose history had an important influence on the colonial rule and has continued to shape independent Nigeria. Nigerian history is fragmented in the sense that it evolved from a variety of traditions, but many of the most outstanding features of modern society reflect the strong influence of the three regionally dominant ethnic groups which are; the Hausa in the north, the Yoruba in the west, and the Igbo in the east.
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Asides from her vast ethnic groups and culture, this great nation has several religions but majorly three that are practiced which are, Christianity, Islam, and traditional religion.
The Islamic religion is dominant in the North, but it is also practiced in other parts of the country. Christianity and traditional religion on the other hand are practiced any and everywhere.
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In the three decades since the independence of Nigeria in 1960, a period half as long as the colonial era, Nigeria has experienced a number of successful and attempted military coups d’état and brutal civil war, let corrupt civilian governments siphon off the profits from the oil boom of the 1970s, and faced economic collapse in the 1980s. As the most populous country in Africa, and one of the ten most populous countries in the world, Nigeria has a history that is important in its own right, but that also bears scrutiny if for no other reason than to understand how, and why this nation has stood the test of time and is still standing strong no matter.
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