Nigeria’s history as a political entity did not begin as a nation but as a private enterprise. The area now called the Federal Republic of Nigeria was once the business territory of the defunct Royal Niger Company. Following the Berlin Conference and the Partition of Africa in 1885, Britain, which had been assigned control over this region, revoked the company’s charter due to pressure from French and German imperial interests in West and Central Africa.
For handing over its territories, the Royal Niger Company was compensated with £865,000. Britain then dispatched military officer Frederick Lugard as High Commissioner to consolidate control, particularly over the Sokoto Caliphate and the wider northern territories. On January 14, 1914, Lugard merged the Southern and Northern Protectorates, along with the Colony of Lagos, into one entity. His consort, Flora Shaw, christened it “Nigeria.”
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Roots of Division
The foundation of Nigeria’s disunity was laid in the very structure of the amalgamation. The North, with a massive land area of 744,249 square kilometres, was paired with the more densely populated South, which had only 192,803 square kilometres. This imbalance helped cement the North’s supposed “majority” and dominance.
The Sokoto Caliphate, which had conquered much of the North by 1904, was allowed by the British to retain significant authority under indirect rule. By contrast, governance in the South was uneven: while the Yoruba West retained traditional monarchies under semi-indirect rule, the largely republican Igbo East came under direct colonial administration through warrant chiefs and missionaries.
The East and West, exposed earlier to Western education and missionary influence, became hotbeds of agitation for self-rule. From the 1920s, these regions pressed strongly for independence, while the North, dependent on Southern subsidies despite its agricultural wealth, remained less enthusiastic about breaking away from Britain.
—
Britain’s Strategy and Seeds of Discord
For its own post-independence interests, Britain cultivated a strong alliance with the North. To “unify” Nigeria, colonial authorities strategically constructed North-South railway lines and, just before independence, split the North into smaller constituencies—giving it disproportionate parliamentary seats.
The controversial census of 1951–53 further deepened mistrust: the North was credited with 10.4 million people, while the West had 4.2 million and the East only 2.6 million. Ever since, census figures and constituency distribution have remained contentious, fuelling competition for dominance.
—
Collapse Into Crisis
These divisions set the stage for Nigeria’s post-independence instability. Political crises in the Western Region culminated in the January 15, 1966 coup led by Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu. Its failure, along with its perceived ethnic bias, triggered violent reprisals, including the massacre of Igbo people in the North and parts of the West.
The Eastern Region, led by Col. Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, declared the Republic of Biafra on May 30, 1967, after the collapse of the Aburi Accord and ongoing massacres. The ensuing Civil War entrenched feelings of alienation that persist among many Igbo today, now re-echoed in renewed Biafra agitations led by Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
Since the All Progressives Congress (APC) came to power in 2015, under Muhammadu Buhari and now Bola Tinubu, ethnic profiling and divisive rhetoric have reportedly intensified, particularly in the North and Lagos.
—
Cycles of Violence
Nigeria’s fragility has not only been tested by the Civil War. In the Niger Delta, Isaac Adaka Boro attempted secession, while Ken Saro-Wiwa’s protests over environmental degradation in Ogoniland escalated into violent militancy. By the late 1990s, Ijaw youths launched armed struggles in the creeks, destabilizing the oil-rich region until amnesty was granted in 2009.
In the North, the killing of radical preacher Mohammed Yusuf in 2009 birthed Boko Haram, which has terrorized the North-East for over 16 years. The rise of other violent groups—including bandits in the North-West and armed herders across the country—has compounded insecurity, with communities terrorized, displaced, and often abandoned by state forces.
—
Coups and Instability
Disunity has repeatedly manifested in military takeovers. Nigeria has endured at least eight coups: from Nzeogwu’s 1966 attempt (which ushered in Aguiyi-Ironsi), through Gowon, Murtala Mohammed, Obasanjo, Buhari, Babangida, and Abacha, to failed attempts like the 1990 Gideon Orkar coup. Each disrupted governance, widened divisions, and left lasting scars.
—
Endless Attempts at Renegotiation
In search of unity, Nigeria has convened several constitutional conferences—from the Lancaster House meetings before independence to the Aburi talks during the Civil War. Post-independence efforts include:
1979 Constitution: drafted under Rotimi Williams and enacted under Obasanjo.
1988 Constituent Assembly: chaired by Justice Aniagolu, stalled by the June 12 annulment.
1994–1996 National Conference: convened by Abacha, leading to the 1999 Constitution promulgated by Abdulsalami Abubakar.
2006 Third Term Debate: collapsed under President Obasanjo.
2014 National Conference: under Goodluck Jonathan, whose recommendations remain unimplemented.
Despite these, Nigeria’s unity question remains unresolved.
—
At the Crossroads
Unlike Ghana and India—also products of British colonialism—Nigeria has struggled to forge nationhood. Ghana, under Kwame Nkrumah, and India, under Mahatma Gandhi, built unity on secular constitutions and visionary leadership. Nigeria’s founding fathers—Nnamdi Azikiwe, Obafemi Awolowo, and Ahmadu Bello—either clung to narrow ethnic and religious interests or were boxed in by colonial realities.
Today, Nigerians remain bound more by football, federal allocations, and a forced “One Nigeria” than by shared values. Instead of cooperation, competition, mistrust, and domination define national life.
As the Bible reminds us in Amos 3:3: “Can two walk together unless they agree?” Unless Nigerians adopt a new mindset, place the nation above tribe, religion, and region, and elect truly patriotic leaders, the cycle of disunity and misery will persist.
—
Would you like me to make this shorter and sharper, like an editorial/opinion piece for publication, or keep it long and historical for an in-depth feature article?
Nigeria’s history as a political entity did not begin as a nation but as a private enterprise. The area now called the Federal Republic of Nigeria was once the business territory of the defunct Royal Niger Company. Following the Berlin Conference and the Partition of Africa in 1885, Britain, which had been assigned control over this region, revoked the company’s charter due to pressure from French and German imperial interests in West and Central Africa.
For handing over its territories, the Royal Niger Company was compensated with £865,000. Britain then dispatched military officer Frederick Lugard as High Commissioner to consolidate control, particularly over the Sokoto Caliphate and the wider northern territories. On January 14, 1914, Lugard merged the Southern and Northern Protectorates, along with the Colony of Lagos, into one entity. His consort, Flora Shaw, christened it “Nigeria.”
—
Roots of Division
The foundation of Nigeria’s disunity was laid in the very structure of the amalgamation. The North, with a massive land area of 744,249 square kilometres, was paired with the more densely populated South, which had only 192,803 square kilometres. This imbalance helped cement the North’s supposed “majority” and dominance.
The Sokoto Caliphate, which had conquered much of the North by 1904, was allowed by the British to retain significant authority under indirect rule. By contrast, governance in the South was uneven: while the Yoruba West retained traditional monarchies under semi-indirect rule, the largely republican Igbo East came under direct colonial administration through warrant chiefs and missionaries.
The East and West, exposed earlier to Western education and missionary influence, became hotbeds of agitation for self-rule. From the 1920s, these regions pressed strongly for independence, while the North, dependent on Southern subsidies despite its agricultural wealth, remained less enthusiastic about breaking away from Britain.
—
Britain’s Strategy and Seeds of Discord
For its own post-independence interests, Britain cultivated a strong alliance with the North. To “unify” Nigeria, colonial authorities strategically constructed North-South railway lines and, just before independence, split the North into smaller constituencies—giving it disproportionate parliamentary seats.
The controversial census of 1951–53 further deepened mistrust: the North was credited with 10.4 million people, while the West had 4.2 million and the East only 2.6 million. Ever since, census figures and constituency distribution have remained contentious, fuelling competition for dominance.
—
Collapse Into Crisis
These divisions set the stage for Nigeria’s post-independence instability. Political crises in the Western Region culminated in the January 15, 1966 coup led by Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu. Its failure, along with its perceived ethnic bias, triggered violent reprisals, including the massacre of Igbo people in the North and parts of the West.
The Eastern Region, led by Col. Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, declared the Republic of Biafra on May 30, 1967, after the collapse of the Aburi Accord and ongoing massacres. The ensuing Civil War entrenched feelings of alienation that persist among many Igbo today, now re-echoed in renewed Biafra agitations led by Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
Since the All Progressives Congress (APC) came to power in 2015, under Muhammadu Buhari and now Bola Tinubu, ethnic profiling and divisive rhetoric have reportedly intensified, particularly in the North and Lagos.
—
Cycles of Violence
Nigeria’s fragility has not only been tested by the Civil War. In the Niger Delta, Isaac Adaka Boro attempted secession, while Ken Saro-Wiwa’s protests over environmental degradation in Ogoniland escalated into violent militancy. By the late 1990s, Ijaw youths launched armed struggles in the creeks, destabilizing the oil-rich region until amnesty was granted in 2009.
In the North, the killing of radical preacher Mohammed Yusuf in 2009 birthed Boko Haram, which has terrorized the North-East for over 16 years. The rise of other violent groups—including bandits in the North-West and armed herders across the country—has compounded insecurity, with communities terrorized, displaced, and often abandoned by state forces.
—
Coups and Instability
Disunity has repeatedly manifested in military takeovers. Nigeria has endured at least eight coups: from Nzeogwu’s 1966 attempt (which ushered in Aguiyi-Ironsi), through Gowon, Murtala Mohammed, Obasanjo, Buhari, Babangida, and Abacha, to failed attempts like the 1990 Gideon Orkar coup. Each disrupted governance, widened divisions, and left lasting scars.
—
Endless Attempts at Renegotiation
In search of unity, Nigeria has convened several constitutional conferences—from the Lancaster House meetings before independence to the Aburi talks during the Civil War. Post-independence efforts include:
1979 Constitution: drafted under Rotimi Williams and enacted under Obasanjo.
1988 Constituent Assembly: chaired by Justice Aniagolu, stalled by the June 12 annulment.
1994–1996 National Conference: convened by Abacha, leading to the 1999 Constitution promulgated by Abdulsalami Abubakar.
2006 Third Term Debate: collapsed under President Obasanjo.
2014 National Conference: under Goodluck Jonathan, whose recommendations remain unimplemented.
Despite these, Nigeria’s unity question remains unresolved.
—
At the Crossroads
Unlike Ghana and India—also products of British colonialism—Nigeria has struggled to forge nationhood. Ghana, under Kwame Nkrumah, and India, under Mahatma Gandhi, built unity on secular constitutions and visionary leadership. Nigeria’s founding fathers—Nnamdi Azikiwe, Obafemi Awolowo, and Ahmadu Bello—either clung to narrow ethnic and religious interests or were boxed in by colonial realities.
Today, Nigerians remain bound more by football, federal allocations, and a forced “One Nigeria” than by shared values. Instead of cooperation, competition, mistrust, and domination define national life.
As the Bible reminds us in Amos 3:3: “Can two walk together unless they agree?” Unless Nigerians adopt a new mindset, place the nation above tribe, religion, and region, and elect truly patriotic leaders, the cycle of disunity and misery will persist.
