Nigeria
 

1 Jan 1900 - 1 Jan 1914                             1 Jan 1914 - 1953                              1953 - 1 Oct 1960                             Adopted 1 Oct 1960 Map of Nigeria Hear National Anthem "Arise Oh Compatriots, Nigeria's Call Obey" Adopted 1978 Hear Former Anthem "Nigeria We Hail Thee" (1960-1978) Constitution  (29 May 1999) ---------------------------------- Former Constitution (1960-1979) Capital: Abuja (Lagos 1914-12 Dec 1991) Currency: Naira (NGN); Nigerian Pound (NGP) 1959-1973 National Holiday: 1 Oct (1960) Independence Day Population: 146,255,312 (2008) GDP: $338.1 billion (2008) Exports: $83.09 billion (2008) Imports: $46.36 billion (2008) Ethnic groups: Yoruba 17.5%, Hausa 17.2%, Igbo (Ibo) 13.3%,  Fulani 10.7%, Ibibio 4.1%, Kanuri 3.6%, Egba 2.9%, Tiv 2.6%, Igbirra (Ebira) 1.1%, Nupe 1%, Edo 1%, Ijo 0.8%, detribalized 0.9%, other 23.3% (2000) Total Active Armed Forces: 85,000 (2006) Merchant marine: 68 ships (2008) Religions: Muslim 50.5%, Christian 48.2% (of which other/independent Christian 19.5%, Protestant 15%, Roman Catholic 13.7%), other 1.3% (2003) International Organizations/Treaties: ACP, AfDB, APM, AU, BTWC, C, CEN-SAD, CTBT, D-8, ECOWAS, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt,  ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISESCO, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, KP, MIGA, NAM, NPT, NTBT, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCLOS, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFCC, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO Nigeria Index Chronology 30 Jun 1849                Bight of Biafra British protectorate.  1 Feb 1852                Bight of Benin British protectorate.  6 Aug 1861                Bights of Biafra and Benin a united protectorate.  5 Jun 1885                British protectorate over Brass, Bonny, Opobo,                              Aobh, and Old Calabar (excluding Lagos). 1891                       Oil Rivers Protectorate 13 May 1893                Niger Coast Protectorate  1 Jan 1900                British Nigerian colonies.  1 Jan 1900                Protectorates of Northern and Southern Nigeria. 16 Feb 1906                Lagos incorporated into the Southern Nigeria                               Protectorate.  1 Jan 1914                Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria  1 Oct 1954                Federation of Nigeria (autonomous).  1 Oct 1960                Independence from Britain (Federation                              of Nigeria).  1 Oct 1963                Federal Republic of Nigeria 24 May 1966                Republic of Nigeria 31 Aug 1966                Federal Republic of Nigeria 30 May 1967                Secession of Biafra (not internationally                               recognized). 12 Jan 1970                Reintegration of Biafra.       Nigeria (since 1914) States (since 1967) Provinces and Regions (1916-1967) Traditional States Northern Nigeria (1885-1914) Southern Nigeria (1849-1914) Niger Rivers District (1879-1900) Lagos Colony (1861-1906) Biafra (1967-1970) Republic of Benin (1967)

Northern Nigeria
 

2 Jun 1887 - 1 Feb 1888  Royal Niger Company

1 Jan 1900  - 1 Jan 1914

Capital: Lokoja

Population: N/A

 5 Jun 1885                Niger Districts Protectorate (under United African Company).
10 Jul 1886 -  9 Aug 1899  Niger River Delta Protectorate (under Royal Niger Company).
 9 Aug 1899                Becomes the British Northern Nigeria protectorate
                             (effective 1 Jan 1900).
 1 Jan 1914                Part of British Nigeria Colony and protectorate as
                             northern provinces.

Director
 5 Jun 1885 - 10 Jul 1886  Sir George Goldie                 (b. 1846 - d. 1925)
Governors
10 Jul 1886 - 25 Feb 1895  Baron Aberdare
25 Feb 1895 -  1 Jan 1900  Sir George Goldie                  (s.a.)
High commissioners
 1 Jan 1900 - Nov 1906     Frederick John Dealtry Lugard      (b. 1858 - d. 1945)
                             (from 1901, Sir Frederick John Dealtry Lugard) 
Nov 1906 - Apr 1907        Sir William Wallace (acting)
Apr 1907 - 1908            Edouard Percy Cranwill Girouard    (b. 1867 - d. 1932)
Governors
1908 - 28 Sep 1909         Edouard Percy Cranwill Girouard    (s.a.)
28 Sep 1909 - 1912         Henry Hesketh Joudou Bell          (b. 1864 - d. 1952)
1912 -  1 Jan 1914         Sir Frederick John Dealtry Lugard  (s.a.)

 

1885 - 5 Jun 1896	5 Jun 1896 - 1 Jan 1900	1 Jan 1900 - 16 Feb 1906
16 Feb 1906 - 1 Jan 1914

30 Jun 1849                Bight of Biafra British protectorate.
 1 Feb 1852                Bight of Benin British protectorate.
 6 Aug 1861                Bights of Biafra and Benin a united British protectorate.
16 Jul 1884                British protectorate over Brass, Bonny, Opobo,
                             Aobh, and Old Calabar (excluding Lagos)
                            (confirmed 5 Jun 1885), named Oil Rivers Protectorate.
 1 Aug 1891                Effective consular administration established.
12 May 1893                Niger Coast Protectorate
 1 Jan 1900                Protectorate of Southern Nigeria
16 Feb 1906                Lagos incorporated.
28 Feb 1906                Colony and Protectorate of Southern Nigeria
 1 Jan 1914                Part of British Nigeria Colony and Protectorate 
                             as Southern provinces.

Consuls of the Bight of Benin
May 1852 - 1853            Louis Fraser
1853 - Apr 1859            Benjamin Campbell
Apr 1859 - 1860            George Brand
1860 - Jan 1861            Henry Hand
Jan 1861 - May 1861        Henry Grant Foote
May 1861 - 6 Aug 1861      William McCoskry (acting)
Consuls of the Bight of Biafra (from 6 Aug 1861, Bights of Biafra and Benin)
30 Jun 1849 - 10 Jun 1854  John Beecroft                          (d. 1854)
10 Jun 1854 - 1855         James Lynslager (acting)
1855 - 1861                Thomas Joseph Hutchinson
1861 - Dec 1864            Richard Francis Burton
Dec 1864 - 1873            Charles Livingstone
1873 - 1878                George Hartley
1878 - 13 Sep 1879         David Hopkins
13 Sep 1879 -  5 Jun 1885  Edward Hyde Hewett
Consuls-general 
 5 Jun 1885 -  1 Jan 1891  Edward Hyde Hewett
 1 Jan 1891 -  3 Aug 1891  Synge (acting)
Commissioners
 3 Aug 1891 - 1896         Claude Maxwell MacDonald               (b. 1852 - d. 1915)
                             (from 1892, Sir Claude Maxwell MacDonald)
1893 - 13 May 1893         Ralph Denham Rayment Moor              (b. 1860 - d. 1909)
                             (acting for MacDonald) 
1896 -  1 Jan 1900         Ralph Denham Rayment Moor              (s.a.)
                             (from 1897, Sir Ralph Denham Rayment Moore)
Nov 1896 -  4 Jan 1897     Phillips (acting for Moor)
High commissioners 
 1 Jan 1900 - Aug 1904     Sir Ralph Denham Rayment Moor          (s.a.)
1900                       Henry Gallwey (acting for Moor)
Aug 1904 - 28 Feb 1906     Walter Egerton                         (b. 1858 - d. 1947)
                             (from 9 Nov 1905, Sir Walter Egerton) 
Governors
28 Feb 1906 - 1912         Sir Walter Egerton                     (s.a.)
1907                       James Thorburn (acting for Egerton)
1912 -  1 Jan 1914         Sir Frederick John Dealtry Lugard      (s.a.)

 

2 Jun 1887 - 1 Feb 1888  Royal Niger Company

1 Feb 1888 -  1 Jan 1900

Capital: Asaba

Population: N/A

1879                       United African Company (U.A.C.) formed by George T. Goldie 
                             to exploit resources in the Niger Rivers District.
1882                       Renamed National African Company Limited (N.A.C.) 
10 Jul 1886                Renamed Royal Niger Company Chartered & Limited (R.N.C.) 
                             and was granted a Royal Charter by Britain allowing it 
                             to exploit and administer the region.
 1 Jan 1900                Company transfers its territories to Britain; incorporated
                             into the Southern Nigeria Protectorate.

Senior Agent
1879 - 1882                David McIntosh                         (b. 1844 - d. 1888)
General Agents
1882 - 1888                David McIntosh                         (s.a.)
1888 -  1 Jan 1900         Joseph Flint                           (d. 1925)

 

1870 - 1886

1886 - 16 Feb 1906

Capital: Lagos

Population: N/A

Governors
 6 Aug 1861 - 22 Jan 1862  William McCoskry (acting)
22 Jan 1862 - 1863         Henry Stanhope Freeman
1863 - 1864                W.R. Mullinar (acting)
1864 - 19 Feb 1866         John Hawley Glover                  (b. 1829 - d. 1885)
                             (acting to Apr 1865) 
Administrators
19 Feb 1866 - Feb 1866     Charles George Edward Patey         (b. 1813 - d. 1881)
                             (acting)
Feb 1866 - 1870            John Halwey Glover                  (s.a.)
1870                       Miles Cooper (acting)
1870 - 1871                W.H. Simpson (acting)
1871 - 1872                J. Gerrard 
1872                       Henry Fowler
1872 - 1873                George Berkeley                     (b. 1819 - d. 1905)
1873                       Charles Cameron Lees (1st time)     (b. 1831 - d. 1898)
                             (acting)
1873 - 1874                George Cumine Strahan               (b. 1838 - d. 1889)
1874 - 27 Jul 1874         John Shaw (acting)
27 Jul 1874 - 1875         Charles Cameron Lees (2nd time)     (s.a.)
1875 - 1878                John d'Arcy Dumaresq 
1878                       F. Simpson (acting)
1878                       Malcolm Brown (acting)
1878 - 1880                Cornelius Alfred Moloney            (b. 1848 - d. 1913)
1880                       William Brandford Griffith          (b. 1821 - d. 1897)
1880 - 1883                C.D. Turton 
Lieutenant governors
1883                       Corneilus Alfred Moloney (acting)   (s.a.)
1883                       Fred Evans (acting)
1883 - 1884                William Brandford Griffith          (s.a.)
1884                       R. Murray Rumsey
1884 - 1885                R. Knapp Burrow
1885 - 13 Jan 1886         C. Pike
Governors
13 Jan 1886 - 1891         Cornelius Alfred Moloney            (s.a.)
1889 - 1890                George Denton (acting for Moloney)
1891 - 1897                Sir Gilbert Thomas Carter           (b. 1848 - d. 1927)
1897 - 1899                Henry Edward McCallum               (b. 1852 - d. 1919)
1899 - 1902                Sir William MacGregor               (b. 1847 - d. 1919)
1902 - Aug 1904            Henry Reeve (acting to 1903)
Aug 1904 - 16 Feb 1906     Walter Egerton                      (b. 1858 - d. 1947)
                             (from 1905, Sir Walter Egerton) 

 1 Jan 1914                Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria
 1 Oct 1954                Federation of Nigeria
 1 Oct 1960                Independence (Dominion of Nigeria).
 1 Oct 1963                Federal Republic of Nigeria
24 May 1966                Republic of Nigeria
31 Aug 1966                Federal Republic of Nigeria
30 May 1967 - 12 Jan 1970  Secession of Biafra.

Governor-general
 1 Jan 1914 -  8 Aug 1919  Sir Frederick John Dealtry Lugard  (s.a.)
Governors
 8 Aug 1919 - 13 Nov 1925  Sir Hugh Charles Clifford          (b. 1866 - d. 1941)
13 Nov 1925 - 17 Jun 1931  Sir Graeme Thomson                 (b. 1875 - d. 1933)
17 Jun 1931 -  1 Nov 1935  Sir Donald Charles Cameron         (b. 1872 - d. 1948)
 1 Nov 1935 -  1 Jul 1940  Sir Bernard Henry Bourdillon       (b. 1883 - d. 1948)
 1 Jul 1940 - 1942         Sir John Evelyn Shuckburgh         (b. 1877 - d. 1953)
1942 - 18 Dec 1943         Sir Alan Cuthbert Maxwell Burns    (b. 1887 - d. 1980)
18 Dec 1943 -  5 Feb 1948  Sir Arthur Frederick Richards      (b. 1885 - d. 1978)
 5 Feb 1948 -  1 Oct 1954  Sir John Stuart Macpherson         (b. 1898 - d. 1971)
Queen¹
 1 Oct 1954 -  1 Oct 1963  the Queen of the United Kingdom
Governors-general (representing the British monarch as head of state from 1 Oct 1960)
 1 Oct 1954 - 15 Jun 1955  Sir John Stuart Macpherson         (s.a.)               Non-party
15 Jun 1955 - 16 Nov 1960  Sir James Wilson Robertson         (b. 1899 - d. 1983)  Non-party
16 Nov 1960 -  1 Oct 1963  Benjamin Nnamdi Azikiwe            (b. 1904 - d. 1996)  NCNC
President
 1 Oct 1963 - 16 Jan 1966  Benjamin Nnamdi Azikiwe            (s.a.)               NCNC
Heads of the Federal Military Government
(from 24 May to 31 Aug 1966, National Military Government)
16 Jan 1966 - 29 Jul 1966  Johnson Thomas Umurakwe Aguiyi-    (b. 1924 - d. 1966)  Mil
                             Ironsi
 1 Aug 1966 - 29 Jul 1975  Yakubu Gowon                       (b. 1934)            Mil
29 Jul 1975 - 13 Feb 1976  Murtala Ramat Muhammad             (b. 1938 - d. 1976)  Mil
14 Feb 1976 -  1 Oct 1979  Olusegun Obasanjo                  (b. 1937)            Mil
President
 1 Oct 1979 - 31 Dec 1983  Alhaji Shehu Shagari               (b. 1925)            NPN
Chairman of the Supreme Military Council
31 Dec 1983 - 27 Aug 1985  Muhammadu Buhari                   (b. 1942)            Mil
President and chairman of the Armed Forces Ruling Council 
(from 4 Jan 1993, president of the National Defense and Security Council)
27 Aug 1985 - 26 Aug 1993  Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida         (b. 1941)            Mil
Interim president
26 Aug 1993 - 17 Nov 1993  Ernest Adegunle Oladeinde Shonekan (b. 1936)            Non-party
Chairmen of the Provisional Ruling Council
17 Nov 1993 -  8 Jun 1998  Sani Abacha                        (b. 1943 - d. 1998)  Mil
 9 Jun 1998 - 29 May 1999  Abdulsalami Abubakar               (b. 1942)            Mil
Presidents
29 May 1999 - 29 May 2007  Olusegun Obasanjo                  (s.a.)               PDP
29 May 2007 -              Umaru Musa Yar'Adua                (b. 1951)            PDP

Chief minister
30 Aug 1952 -  1 Oct 1954  Benjamin Nnamdi Azikiwe            (s.a.)               NCNC
Prime ministers
30 Aug 1957 - 15 Jan 1966  Abubakar Tafawa Balewa             (b. 1912 - d. 1966)  NPC/NNA
                             (from 1 Jan 1960, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa)
15 Jan 1966 - 17 Jan 1966  Zanna Bukar Dipcharima (acting)    (b. 1917 - d. 1969)  NPC
Chairman of the Transitional Council
 4 Jan 1993 - 26 Aug 1993  Ernest Adegunle Oladeinde Shonekan (s.a.)               Non-party

  ¹Full style 1961 to 1 Oct 1963: "Queen of Nigeria and of Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth."

Territorial Disputes: Joint Border Commission with Cameroon reviewed 2002 ICJ ruling on the entire boundary and bilaterally resolved differences, including Jun 2006 Greentree Agreement that immediately cedes sovereignty of the Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon with a phase-out of Nigerian control within two years while resolving patriation issues, it was finally ceded to Cameroon on 14 Aug 2008; the ICJ ruled on an equidistance settlement of Cameroon-Equatorial Guinea-Nigeria maritime boundary in the Gulf of Guinea, but imprecisely defined coordinates in the ICJ decision and a sovereignty dispute between Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon over an island at the mouth of the Ntem River all contribute to the delay in implementation; only Nigeria and Cameroon have heeded the Lake Chad Commission's admonition to ratify the delimitation treaty which also includes the Chad-Niger and Niger-Nigeria. 

Party abbreviations (political parties banned 1966-1979, 1983-1989): AD = Alliance for Democracy (progressive); APP = All People's Party (conservative); PDP = People's Democratic Party (centrist); Mil = Military;
- Former parties: NNA = Nigerian National Alliance (incl. NPC and Nigerian National Democratic Party); NPN = National Party of Nigeria (1978-1983, coalition); NPC = Northern People's Congress (Hausa/Fulani dominated); NCNC = National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (Igbo dominated); PDM = People's Democratic Movement; UPN = Unity Party of Nigeria (1979-1983, seen as pro-ethnic Yoruba) 

               30 May 1967 - 12 Jan 1970

30 May 1967                Secession of Eastern Region as Republic of Biafra
                             (not internationally recognized¹).
10-26 Jul 1967             Nigerian federal troops take Ogoja, Nsukka and Bonny Island. 
28 Sep 1967                Enugu captured, new capital Unuahia.
24 May 1968                Port Harcourt captured.
22 Apr 1969                Unuahia captured, last capital Owerri.
 9 Jan 1970                Owerri captured.
12 Jan 1970                Reintegration into Nigeria.
15 Jan 1970                Biafran forces formally surrender.

Heads of State and Military Governors
30 May 1967 -  8 Jan 1970  Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu        (b. 1933)            Mil
 8 Jan 1970 - 12 Jan 1970  Philip Effiong (acting)            (b. 1924 - d. 2003)  Mil

 ¹only nations recognizing Biafra: Gabon (8 May 1968), Haiti (22 Mar 1969), Ivory Coast
(9 May 1968), Tanzania (13 Apr 1968), and Zambia (20 May 1968). 

                  19- 20 Sep 1967
 

Capital: Benin City

Population: N/A

 9 Aug 1967                Midwest Region occupied by Biafra.
19 Sep 1967                Republic of Benin declared (07:00)(not recognized).
20 Sep 1967                Re-occupied by Nigeria (13:00).

Biafran Military Administrator
17 Aug 1967 - 19 Sep 1967  Albert Nwazu Okonkwo
Governor
19 Sep 1967 - 20 Sep 1967  Albert Nwazu Okonkwo                                Mil