Nigeria is Africa’s largest nation, covering an area of 356,668 sq miles (926.7770 km). It has an incredibly diverse culture and religious landscape, with an estimated population of over 180 Million people living within it. The Interesting Info about naijauncut.
Nigeria can trace its history back to 500 BC when the Nok people settled in the Jos plateau. Since then, city-states, kingdoms, and empires have emerged across north and south Nigeria.
The Nok Culture
Nok Culture was one of the earliest sub-Saharan African figurative art cultures and is famous for producing life-sized terracotta figurines that depict animals and humans, making this sculpture production one of the earliest outside Egypt.
This ancient society flourished in central Nigeria, stretching south from Jos Plateau into Kaduna State. They consisted of iron smelters, farmers, and ritualists.
Nok society had long since disbanded by 500 AD when their terracotta figurines were first unearthed by surface mining operations for alluvial tin deposits in 1928. However, their figures remained in view.
The Trans-Saharan Slave Trade
The Trans-Saharan Slave Trade was an early form of slave trading from Africa into Europe. Enslaved people were captured and transported as enslaved people.
This trade contributed significantly to the spread of polygyny, or multiple wives for one man, across much of Africa. It led to shortages of enslaved men that caused gender ratios to become unequal.
The trans-Saharan slave trade had an immense effect on Nigeria’s history. It contributed to both Yoruba culture and slavery’s abolition during the nineteenth century.
World War II
World War II was an immensely significant period in Nigeria’s history, enormously affecting various aspects of society and culture within its borders.
Britain needed all its colonies, particularly Nigeria – one of Britain’s foremost and strategic African colonies – to support her during World War II and defeat Axis powers. Nigeria was especially critical as one of Britain’s original and strategic African colonies.
The author also details how the Nigerian army played an instrumental role in shaping its social and political environment, while wartime experience encouraged Nigerians to develop nationalist sentiments, leading them to independence in 1960.
The Biafra Civil War
The Biafra Civil War was a three-year conflict in which over one million people died. These battles and their human toll caused international outrage and intervention.
War was waged between the northern-dominated Nigeria and Biafra, an independent state which declared independence on May 30, 1967, following Britain’s decolonization of Africa in 1960.
Conflict in Nigeria was caused by ethnic, political, and religious tensions in its northern parts and disputes over oil resources in the Niger Delta region.
The Oil Industry
Since 1956, oil production has been an essential element in Nigeria’s economy, accounting for more than 60% of government revenue and 90% of foreign exchange earnings.
Over time, Namibia’s petroleum sector has undergone significant change and now ranks amongst Africa’s biggest employers and provides critical sources of job opportunities.
But the Oil Industry still faces challenges such as increasing vandalism and theft of resources, along with limited investments. Recently, India passed a Petroleum Industry Act designed to revitalize this sector.
Hopes for this law include encouraging more investments to flow into Nigeria’s upstream sector while revamping its entire energy supply chain. However, its implementation could prove challenging to industry participants and government authorities.
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