A History of Nigeria

370 Pages·2008·2.66 MB·English

by  Toyin Falola

A HISTORY OF NIGERIA
NigeriaisAfrica’smostpopulouscountryandtheworld’seighthlargestoil
producer, but its success has been undermined in recent decades byethnic
and religious conflict, political instability, rampant official corruption,and
anailingeconomy.ToyinFalola,aleadinghistorianintimatelyacquainted
with the region, and Matthew Heaton, who has worked extensively on
African science and culture, combine their expertise to explain the context
to Nigeria’s recent troubles, through an exploration of its pre-colonial and
colonial past and its journey from independence to statehood. By exami-
ningkeythemessuchascolonialism,religion,slavery,nationalism,andthe
economy, the authors show how Nigeria’s history has been swayed by the
vicissitudes of the world around it, and how Nigerians have adapted to
meet these challenges. This book offers a unique portrayal of a resilient
people living in a country with immense, but unrealized, potential.
toyin falola is the Frances Higginbotham Nalle Centennial Professor
in History at the University of Texas at Austin. His books include The
Power of African Cultures (2003), Economic Reforms and Modernization in
Nigeria, 1945–1965 (2004), and A Mouth Sweeter than Salt: An African
Memoir (2004).
matthew m. heaton is a Patrice Lumumba Fellow at the University
of Texas at Austin. He has co-edited multiple volumes on health and
illness in Africa with Toyin Falola, including HIV/AIDS, Illness and
African Well-Being (2007) and Health Knowledge and Belief Systems in
Africa (2007).

A HISTORY OF NIGERIA
TOYIN FALOLA AND MATTHEW M. HEATON
UniversityofTexasatAustin
CAMBRIDGEUNIVERSITYPRESS
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Cambridge University Press
The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB28RU, UK
Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York
www.cambridge.org
Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521862943
© Toyin Falola and Matthew M. Heaton 2008
This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provision of
relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place
without the written permission of Cambridge University Press.
First published in print format 2008
ISBN-13 978-0-511-39712-7 eBook (NetLibrary)
ISBN-13 978-0-521-86294-3 hardback
ISBN-13 978-0-521-68157-5 paperback
Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of urls
for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not
guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.
For Dr. Akin Ogundiran, a dear friend and colleague

Contents
List of illustrations page ix
List of maps xi
Acknowledgments xii
Chronology xiii
Notable people in Nigerian history xix
List of abbreviations xxxiii
Glossary xxxvi
Introduction 1
1 Early states and societies, 9000 BCE – 1500 CE 16
2 Slavery, state, and society, c. 1500 – c. 1800 39
3 Political and economic transformations in the
nineteenth century 61
4 Transition to British colonial rule, 1850 – 1903 85
5 Colonial society to 1929 110
6 Nationalist movements and independence, 1929 – 1960 136
7 Instability and civil war, 1960 – 1970 158
8 Oil, state, and society, 1970 – 1983 181
9 Civil society and democratic transition, 1984 – 2007 209
10 Nigeria and Nigerians in world history 243
vii
viii Contents
Concluding remarks: corruption, anti-corruption,
and the 2007 elections 271
Notes 280
Selected bibliography 305
Index 322
Illustrations
1.1 Women selling peppers (collection of Roy Doron) page 23
1.2 A Zarian woman (collection of Dr. Alfred Segun Fayemi) 31
2.1 European-styled building in Badagry (collection of
Brigitte Kowalski) 46
2.2 A mother and child in Ibadan (collection of Roy Doron) 55
3.1 The Kano Mosque horsemen (collection of Jonathan
T. Reynolds) 69
3.2 A cloth-dyer in Kano (collection of Jonathan T. Reynolds) 79
4.1 Street scene in present-day Ibadan (collection of Roy Doron) 100
4.2 The Water House, Lagos (collection of Brigitte Kowalski) 104
4.3 The Niger–Benue confluence at Lokoja (collection of
Dr. Okpeh Okpeh) 107
5.1 A typical street-side market in Ibadan (collection of
Roy Doron) 124
5.2 Girl reading a newspaper (collection of Roy Doron) 131
6.1 The Emir of Kano celebrating Eid (collection of
Jonathan T. Reynolds) 152
6.2 Sellers of locally produced textiles in Lagos (collection
of Roy Doron) 157
7.1 A motor park in Umuahia (collection of Roy Doron) 177
7.2 A neighborhood in present-day Kano (collection of
Jonathan T. Reynolds) 179
8.1 An oil tanker delivering fuel (collection of Matthew
M. Heaton) 184
8.2 The minibus, a common form of public transit
(collection of Roy Doron) 198
ix