A Long List of Coups and Power Grabs
This seal was definitely earned with blood for most of the leaders.
Nigeria, as part of Western Africa, was of interest to Western powers as a source for the slave trade during the 16-18th centuries. Portugal was the first to arrive in Nigeria, followed by Britain and Germany. Even at this time, there were clear divisions between the populations that descended from the Hausa kingdom and Borno dynasty in what is now Northern Nigeria and the populations that descended from the Oyo and Benin kingdoms in what is now Southern Nigeria.
In 1809, an Islamic state was founded in the northern region of modern day Nigeria, which was known as the Sokoto caliphate. During the mid-1800s, the south was plagued by civil wars which is when Britain began to build a presence in the region before consolidating their power in the late 1800s. This was symbolized by the naming of Lagos, which is the capital and largest city in Nigeria, a crown colony. However, gaining control of the area was difficult, particularly at the turn of the century, when the British fought a war against the Aro Confederacy in Eastern Nigeria, decimating the population. A few years later, they overtook the Sokoto caliphate. After World War I, Germany lost a colony that it had in Southern Nigeria and from that point on, Britain controlled the entire region. It wasn’t until 1960 that Nigeria gained its independence from the British.
Beginning in 1960, the first independent government was run by Prime Minister Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa who was leading a coalition government. From 1960 to 1966, there were two coups that took place by senior ranking military members and both ousted leaders were killed.
During 1967, three Southern Nigerian states ceded from the nation, creating the Republic of Biafra, which sparked a bloody civil war that lasted three years but lead to reintegration. Again in 1975, a fourth regime change occurred after Prime Minister Lieutenant-Colonel Yakubu Gowon was overthrown. (Finally one that didn’t involve killing the leader). His successor is killed a year later in a failed coup, and his replacement, Lieutenant-General Olusegun Obasanjo installs an American-style presidential constitution in 1976.
1979 is the first year that elections are held and bring a new leader, Shagari, to power. He wins reelection under rumors of corruption, before being ousted in a coup by Major-General Muhammad Buhari in 1983. Shortly after in 1985, there is another coup, and the military ends political elections in 1993 once it appears that they will lose power.
The 1990s saw fewer leaders, but fewer freedoms as well, leading to Nigeria’s suspension from the Commonwealth and sanctions from the European Union.
The first recognized elections since 1983 occur again in 1999.
Coup/overthrow count: 6
Number of Leaders 1960-2000: 12
Modern Conflicts and Political Challenges
Starting in 2000, tensions between Christians and Muslims start to grow. Northern states begin to implement Sharia law and hundreds of people die in the clashes between the two groups. Religious tensions are compounded by ethnic tensions as well. After a Miss World beauty pageant is scheduled to take place in Nigeria, four days of rioting occurred until the event was moved to another country.
During the 2000’s elections are resumed, however, they are marred by delays, ballot-rigging, and corruption.
Violence between Christians and Muslims continue, with mass casualties occurring on both sides. Oil prices would rise due to violence, then fall suddenly, causing budget cuts, leading to more political insecurity and an insecure population. This decade was also characterized by constant corruption, including arrests of a former president’s daughter and two health ministers who were charged with embezzling over 4 million dollars of public health funds.
In this climate, in 2002, Boko Haram launches its terrorist campaign to bring Sharia law to the entire region, becoming increasingly violent as time went on.
What Political Conditions Helped Facilitate Boko Haram’s Emergence?
Sarah Chayes, a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, studied the links between systemic corruption in governments around the world and the emergence of extremist insurgencies. She said all those countries, including Nigeria, were run by a kleptocratic clique.
“Many Nigerians suggest the emergence of Boko Haram was in part a reaction to this systematized corruption,” Chayes wrote in an op-ed piece in the Los Angeles Times.”
According to the U.S. State Department’s 2013 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, Nigerian politics engages in, “massive widespread, and pervasive corruption affected all levels of government and the security forces.”
In fact, as recently as February 2014, the Nigerian president, Goodluck Jonathan was under scrutiny for firing the central bank minister who was investigating 20 billion dollars of missing oil revenue over an 18 month period.
Initially, Boko Haram, which means “Western Education is Forbidden,” was a reflection of the Nigerian education situation, which was left over from British imperialism. For someone to get a job in the Nigerian civil service, they have to go to school, but they go to the imperial schools for the connections, buying their way in and buying their way through exams. This naturally leads to corruption within the government, continuing the cycle of corruption and distrust of government. Initially, “Western Education is Forbidden” referred to the corrupt education system in Nigeria, not a hatred of Western culture. Of course over time, as the military and police cracked down on the group violently, the group radicalized to where it is today, pledging its allegiance to ISIS.
Late last year, President Goodluck Jonathan postponed elections from February 2015 in order to focus on the military offensive taking place against Boko Haram, moving them to late March 2015. It was suspected that this might have been a political move to garner more support. However, it worked well, considering Boko Haram captured several towns near Lake Chad and were raiding neighboring Chad and Cameroon in early 2015. Hundreds of people in the north-east were killed and thousands more displaced. However, this offensive worked, reducing the territory Boko Haram operates in, capturing their stronghold, and leaving them with only two cities to operate from.
Finally, Muhammadu Buhari wins the presidential election, becoming the first opposition candidate to so in Nigeria’s history. He has a reputation of being uncorruptable, and as a Major-General, he had a reputation for being better able to handle Boko Haram. It was also considered the first generally safe and fair election, and is largely seen as a positive change, despite his record previously running the country from 1983 to 1985, where his human rights record was abysmal. However, there generally is hope that he has learned from his previous mistakes and with his vice president who is known for working for human rights, will at least start changing the culture of corruption that is endemic to Nigeria while what is hopefully the final offensive against Boko Haram is underway.
And now this: Bees and Snakes have been fighting Boko Haram
Sources:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-13951696
Edward Harland Duckworth, ed., Nigeria magazine, issues 140–147 (Cultural Division of the Federal Ministry of Information, Nigeria, 1982), p. 31
Falola & Heaton, A History of Nigeria (2008), “Chronology” (pp. xiii–xviii).
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/boko-haram-formed-amid-nigerian-government-corruption-1.2636547
http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21647616-muhammadu-buhari-was-least-bad-presidential-candidate-nigeria-may-he-rise-his?zid=309&ah=80dcf288b8561b012f603b9fd9577f0e
http://www.newsweek.com/nigerian-military-enter-final-stages-boko-haram-offensive-324384
Photos:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4a/Nigerian-Presidential-Seal1.jpg
http://www.mapsofworld.com/africa/regions/western-africa-region-map.jpg
http://www.itiscannizzaro.net/Ianni/booksweb/sitodarkness/immagini/map3.gif
http://nigeriamasterweb.com/Etc6/BiafraMap.jpg
http://www.nigerianmuse.com/images/Nigeria_map_clear_states.jpg
http://cdn1.vox-cdn.com/assets/4441993/Nigeria_Boko_Haram_attacks.jpg