EYIMBATV: History

DR MUNGO PARK:

<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">DR MUNGO PARK:</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">Was a medical doctor who was said to have discovered the river Niger (the British can lie). People at Onitsha for example have been living near this river we call osimili (great river) for centuries before Mungo Park was born. How come he discovered this great river known to us for thousands of years?</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">Dr Mungo Park was born on the 11th of September 1771 in Scotland, United Kingdom</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #141823; display: inline; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"> of Great Britain.<br /><br />In 1791 he graduated as a medical doctor from the university of Edinburgh, Scotland, UK.<br /><br />He was apparently the first European to explore the course of the River Niger from 1795 to 1796.<br /><br />He was killed by angry villagers at the age of 35 in 1806 in a placed named Bussa in present Northern Nigeria.<br /><br />No be today Northern Nigerians begin dey violent, primitive and barbaric. Lol.<br /><br />If Dr Mungo Park is living today, he'</span><img src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/12928178_10209546949574871_6929328459144848782_n.jpg?oh=1ab1007af8a7543a71cc26567d6b5f2e&oe=578BCA9A&__gda__=1468172005_8907efcf4020f322c7cbd7520e7e2970" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">ll be about 245 years old.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"> </span>

DR MUNGO PARK:

DR MUNGO PARK: Was a medical doctor who was said to have discovered the river Niger (the British can lie). People at Onitsha for example h...

Nigeria: After 50 Years, Still Struggling to Be a Democracy When Nigeria became independent 50 years ago, it expected to lead Africa to prosperity and democracy. But ethnic and religious violence, rigged elections, military takeovers, and a greedy political class have drained the hopes of Nigerians.

Unknown 0 History 11:31 AM

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<strong>Nigeria: After 50 Years, Still Struggling to Be a Democracy</strong></div>
<strong>When Nigeria became independent 50 years ago, it expected to lead Africa to prosperity and democracy. But ethnic and religious violence, rigged elections, military takeovers, and a greedy political class have drained the hopes of Nigerians.</strong><br />
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, is composed of more than 250 ethnic groups, speaking many languages. Three ethnic groups, however, dominate this West African country.<br />
Today the Hausa-Fulani, two peoples who merged in the 1800s, is the largest ethnic group, making up nearly 30 percent of Nigeria’s population. The Hausa-Fulani live mainly in the country’s north region. The Yoruba and Igbo with homelands in the southwest and southeast each make up about 20 percent of Nigeria’s people. The remaining 30 percent are members of small ethnic minorities.<br />
People first inhabited the area surrounding the Niger River thousands of years ago. Over the centuries, kingdoms and empires rose and fell, usually as the result of warfare.<br />
In the 1300s, Muslim preachers who followed caravan routes from North Africa began to convert the Hausa, Fulani, and to a lesser extent the Yoruba to Islam. Their kings, however, did not enforce a strict form of it.<br />
Around 1790, a Muslim preacher led a jihad (holy war) to establish a purified form of Islam. The result was the Sokoto Caliphate, an Islamic religious empire ruled by a sultan from the northern city of Sokoto.<br />
In the 1500s, the British, French, and Dutch arrived along the southern coastline of Nigeria to trade guns, manufactured goods, and liquor for slaves. (The slave trade ended in the 1860s.) By the mid-1800s, European and American Christian missionaries were making many converts, especially among the Igbo in the southeast. Christian preachers were not successful in the heavily Muslim north.<br />
In the 1860s, Nigeria expanded its trade with Britain. The British bought Nigerian products such as palm oil (for candles and soap), rubber, coffee, cacao, and tin. Soon, British companies controlled the production and sale of these products. As the demand for them grew, Britain conquered additional areas of Nigeria, including the Muslim Sokoto Caliphate.<br />
In 1885, the European powers divided Africa among themselves and drew boundaries for their colonies, including those for Nigeria that remain to this day. The Europeans drew colony boundaries that often split apart ethnic groups or combined those hostile to one another, as in Nigeria.<br />
In 1914, Britain combined the areas under its control in Nigeria into one colony. The British adopted an indirect form of colonial government. This permitted the Hausa-Fulani Muslim political class in the north to continue to rule, but under British supervision. In this region, the Hausa language and culture along with Islam remained strong.<br />
In the Yoruba and Igbo regions of the south, the British educated a select class of Nigerians (frequently Christian converts) to assist in administering the colony. The Yoruba and Igbo political classes accepted Christianity, adopted European ways, and learned English, which is the official language of Nigeria today.<br />
After World War II, many of Europe’s colonies in Africa demanded independence. To prepare Nigeria for independence, Britain created a Nigerian federal state with a central government and governments for each of the three regions. The Hausa-Fulani, Yoruba, and Igbo each formed a political party in the region they dominated. This tended to emphasize the ethnic differences of the country rather than Nigerian nationhood.<br />
A few years before independence, European companies discovered vast oil deposits in the Niger River Delta. This seemed to assure a bright future for Nigeria. But many things went awfully wrong.<br />
<strong>The First Republic</strong><br />
On October 1, 1960, Great Britain declared Nigeria an independent nation with Abubakar Balewa, a northern Muslim, as head of state. The Nigerians established a federal republic with a parliamentary government modeled on Great Britain’s.<br />
Many Nigerians believed their country would become the “giant of Africa.” Nigeria had a large population, experienced government administrators, and valuable natural resources such as oil. Nigeria looked destined to show other African countries the way to prosperity and democracy.<br />
As the Nigerians took over from the British, however, the three major ethnic political parties competed to win control of the national wealth. Most of this wealth came from selling oil production leases to foreign companies. The Hausa-Fulani, Yoruba, and Igbo political leaders wanted the oil money to enrich themselves, their followers, and their regions. Thus, greed and corruption soon became common in Nigerian politics.<br />
The ethnic party that won control of Nigeria’s parliament controlled the oil leases, the import trade licenses, government construction projects, and jobs. Even more important were the bribes that went along with them.<br />
The first national election under the newly formed federal republic, took place in 1964. Desperate to win to get their hands on Nigeria’s considerable oil wealth, politicians used bribery, vote rigging, and even violence to win.<br />
Election fraud led to months of political party conflict and deal making. In the end, the Northern People’s Congress Party, representing mostly Hausa-Fulani Muslims, held a slight majority of seats in the parliament. The majority chose Abubakar Balewa as prime minister. He appointed government officials mostly from his party.<br />
Over the next two years, corruption reigned. With oil money flowing into the pockets of government officials and their friends, the ruling party ignored the needs of the Nigerian people.<br />
<strong>Military Rule I</strong><br />
Fearing the Muslim Hausa-Fulani would never give up control of the government, Igbo military officers from the heavily Christian southeast staged a military coup (government take-over) in 1966. Nearly 30 members of the government, including Prime Minister Balewa, were murdered.<br />
Almost immediately, Hausa-Fulani soldiers began to attack Igbo soldiers. This led to a second coup that violently replaced Igbo rule with northern Hausa-Fulani military officers. The Igbo southeast region refused to accept control of the federal government by the northerners.<br />
Ethnic hatred kept boiling over as the new military regime’s soldiers began to massacre Igbos. The Igbos retaliated against northerners. The slaughters resulted in the death of about 8,000 soldiers and civilians. More than a million Igbos fled back to their homeland.<br />
In May 1967, the Igbo southeast region seceded from Nigeria and declared itself the Republic of Biafra. The Nigerian military regime invaded Biafra and established a naval blockade to cut off imports of weapons and food.<br />
The Nigerian Civil War lasted more than two years and killed about 1 million people, mostly Biafrans. More of them died from starvation than bullets. Nigeria’s blockade and superior military force finally crushed Biafra by early 1970.<br />
Nigeria had a chance to start all over again in the 1970s. The military regime’s leader, Gen. Jack Gowon, successfully drew the Igbos back into the Nigerian federation. He also created Nigerian states in order to increase the political influence of the minorities and lessen that of the three dominant ethnic groups. Finally, he promised a return to civilian elected government.<br />
In the 1970s, high world oil prices injected huge amounts of cash into Nigeria’s treasury. In fact, Nigeria became one of the richest countries in the world. But the military officers in charge of running the government turned out to be just as greedy for a cut of the oil money as elected politicians had been.<br />
The oil revenue could have modernized Nigeria’s agriculture, developed its manufacturing, built roads and electricity grids, financed schools and colleges, and accomplished many other things for the Nigerian people. Some progress toward these goals did happen in the “golden ’70s.”<br />
But Nigeria soon became what economists call a classic “rentier state.” These states usually depend on the world market price of a single valuable natural resource such as gold, diamonds, or oil. Rentier states often make the mistake of collecting and spending their unearned revenues on expensive imports rather than investing them in economic development and the welfare of their people. Nigeria made this mistake by neglecting manufacturing and food and cash crop agriculture. Thus, Nigeria became vulnerable to economic booms and busts, depending on the price of oil.<br />
By 1975, money from oil leases and exports made up 80 percent of Nigeria’s total national income. Nigeria got used to importing luxuries like expensive cars, most of its other manufactured goods, and even food. The military regime created many government jobs and boosted wages to gain public support.<br />
Many Nigerians abandoned farms for the high-paying government jobs in the cities. Food got more expensive. The country’s traditional export crops like coffee and rubber declined. Nigerians invested little in private enterprises. After all, the oil money kept rolling in without anybody really having to work for it.<br />
In the late 1970s, however, world oil prices crashed. Nigeria suddenly found itself short of cash. It became a nation in debt. Unemployment kept rising.<br />
<strong>The Second Republic</strong><br />
Faced with economic decline and the growing unpopularity of military rule, a new regime leader, Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo, supervised the writing of a second constitution. It enabled the people to elect a president directly. The constitution also required all political parties to include different ethnic groups from all parts of the country.<br />
In 1979, Shehu Shagari of the conservative National Party of Nigeria won the presidency in a relatively fair election. Thus began Nigeria’s Second Republic.<br />
At first, Shagari’s government took positive steps to improve Nigeria by expanding the public school system, universities, and hospitals. It did not take long, however, for party politicians to capture the machinery of the federal government and distribute jobs, contracts, and favors to their followers. Government officials again feasted on bribery and other kinds of corruption while most Nigerians suffered high unemployment and inflated food prices.<br />
In the heavily Muslim north, an Islamic preacher provoked riots against the corrupt and secular (non-religious) government. He called for the revival of pure Islamic faith throughout Nigeria and demanded death to those who opposed it. Rioting killed more than 10,000 persons, often brutally with machetes, before the army finally restored order.<br />
In 1983, amid widespread reports of massive election fraud, Shagari and his party were re-elected to power. The Nigerian people seemed to lose confidence in the civilian government and even democracy itself. At the end of the year, another military coup overthrew President Shagari’s government. Military rule returned to Nigeria.<br />
<strong>Military Rule II</strong><br />
A new string of military rulers proved to be just as incompetent as the civilians in managing Nigeria’s worsening economy. Continuing low oil prices caused more unemployment and a drastic drop in the standard of living for all Nigerians except for the corrupt officials in the military government. In the midst of this economic disaster, religious conflict between Muslims and Christians erupted.<br />
Since Muslims make up the country’s largest religious group, some have long demanded that Nigeria become an officially Islamic nation. They have called for Islamic religious law, called <em>Sharia,</em> to apply throughout the land. The Christian minority has opposed such a move, fearing second-class citizenship and even their mass slaughter.<br />
In 1989, the military government oversaw the writing of another constitution. The new document declared that federal and state governments “shall not adopt any religion as State Religion.” It did, however, permit states to create Islamic courts to apply the <em>Sharia,</em> but only to Muslims. Christians and other non-Muslims could still go to civil courts that applied secular laws passed by the federal government.<br />
The compromise over religion and the law did not satisfy Muslims who wanted the <em>Sharia </em>applied everywhere or Christians who wanted no mention of the <em>Sharia </em>in the constitution. This dispute led to outbreaks of violence between the two religious groups.<br />
In 1993, Gen. Sanni Abacha grabbed control of the military government and brought on Nigeria’s worst period of dictatorship. He imprisoned his opponents, gagged the press, and staged a phony election in which all “official” political parties nominated him for president. He also looted the treasury and encouraged a “rush to steal” among others in his government.<br />
Gen. Abacha suddenly died under mysterious circumstances in 1998. His military replacement announced a timetable for the return of civilian-elected government<br />
<strong>A New Try for Democracy</strong><br />
In 1999, a new try for democracy resulted in the election of Olusegun Obasanjo as president. Obasanjo, a retired general and former military ruler, along with his People’s Democratic Party, won control of the government by a wide margin.<br />
Despite many reports of election fraud, the Nigerian people accepted the new civilian government. They did this to prevent another military take-over.<br />
In 2003, President Obasanjo won re-election in another vote tainted with ballot-box stuffing, the use of child voters, and other forms of fraud. During his two terms, corruption continued among the civilian political class that ran the government.<br />
By this time, Nigeria was one of the 20 poorest nations in the world. This astounding development mocked Nigeria’s ambition to become the “giant of Africa.”<br />
During President Obasanjo’s two terms, a major dispute arose over the distribution of oil revenues. Complaints came from the Nigerian states and especially the ethnic minorities who lived in the Niger River Delta, the country’s main oil producing area. The U.S. gets 10 percent of its oil imports from the Delta.<br />
The Delta minorities complained bitterly that they got little money from the oil taken from their lands. Moreover, 50 years of careless oil spills by big foreign companies like Shell Petroleum severely polluted Delta farmlands and fishing waters.<br />
The Delta minorities began to organize peaceful protests against Nigeria’s government and the oil companies in the early 1990s. The minorities demanded a fair share of oil revenue from the government and help from oil companies to get clean water, electricity, and health care. The Ogoni minority declared, “[I]t is intolerable that one of the richest areas of Nigeria should wallow in abject poverty and destitution.”<br />
When their peaceful demands got nowhere, some protesters turned violent. They sabotaged oil facilities and pipelines, kidnapped and killed company workers, and clashed with the army. In addition, widespread stealing of oil caused up to a 15 percent drop in daily production. As time went on, youth gangs emerged to kidnap, steal, and extort money for their own benefit.<br />
President Obasanjo tried and failed to change the constitution to allow him to run for a third term. Obasanjo, a Christian from the south, then handpicked a former Muslim governor of a northern state, Umaru Yar’Adua, to run as the presidential candidate of his People’s Democratic Party. The party has an unwritten rule that candidates for president must rotate between a southerner and a northerner after two terms.<br />
Known as an honest politician, Yar’Adua promised to reform the government. In 2007, he won easily, but in perhaps Nigeria’s most corrupt election. Nevertheless, he became the first elected Nigerian president to take power from another elected president. Moreover, a Gallup Poll found that 82 percent of Nigerians favored democracy as the best form of government followed by 8 percent for military rule and 6 percent for a religious government.<br />
Illness prevented Yar’Adua from accomplishing much reform. He did, however, negotiate a shaky truce in the Delta that reduced violence there. After an extended period of medical treatment, Yar’Adua died on May 5, 2010. The vice president with the unlikely name of Goodluck Jonathan, a southern Christian, replaced him.<br />
President Jonathan faces numerous longstanding problems in Nigeria. Great distrust still prevails between the Hausa-Fulani in the north and the Yoruba and Igbo in the south. Violence between Muslims and Christians recently broke out again. No agreement exists on a fair distribution of oil revenue among the states and Delta minorities. The fragile truce in the Delta is starting to fall apart.<br />
In addition, the dependence on oil money for most of Nigeria’s income rather than a diverse economy has enabled a deeply entrenched and corrupt political class. One historian has called Nigeria a “kleptocracy,” a form of government that exists for the political class to loot it.<br />
A new presidential election is due in 2011. If southerner Goodluck Jonathan decides to run, he will violate his party’s rule that another northerner should fill what would have been Yar’Adua’s second term. More political turmoil could result. Whatever the outcome, the military will be lurking in the background.<br />
<strong>For Discussion and Writing</strong><br />
1.  Why was Nigeria referred to as the potential “giant of Africa”?<br />
2.  What prevented it from achieving its potential? What do you think is Nigeria’s most serious problem today? Why?<br />
3.  What is a “rentier state”? What examples other than Nigeria can you think of in the world today?<br />
<strong>For Further Reading</strong><br />
Falola, Toyin. <em>The History of Nigeria</em>. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1999.<br />
Joseph, Richard and Gillies, Alexandra. “Nigeria’s Season of Uncertainty.” <em>Current History.</em> May 2010: 179-185.<br />
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<strong>A C T I V I T Y</strong></div>
<div align="center">
<strong>The Future of Nigeria</strong></div>
The article identifies three major problems that Nigeria faces: (1) ethnic divisions, (2) its economic dependence on oil, and (3) corruption. Imagine that the Nigerian government has hired you to advise it on how to address these problems.<br />
Form small groups. Each group should:<br />
1.  Look in the article to identify each problem and what, if anything, has already been tried to address it.<br />
2.  Discuss possible solutions for each problem.<br />
3.  Select your best solutions and prepare to discuss them with the class.</td></tr>
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Nigeria: After 50 Years, Still Struggling to Be a Democracy When Nigeria became independent 50 years ago, it expected to lead Africa to prosperity and democracy. But ethnic and religious violence, rigged elections, military takeovers, and a greedy political class have drained the hopes of Nigerians.

Nigeria: After 50 Years, Still Struggling to Be a Democracy When Nigeria became independent 50 years ago, it expected to lead Africa to p...

Nigeria: After 50 Years, Still Struggling to Be a Democracy When Nigeria became independent 50 years ago, it expected to lead Africa to prosperity and democracy. But ethnic and religious violence, rigged elections, military takeovers, and a greedy political class have drained the hopes of Nigerians.

Unknown 0 History 11:31 AM

Nigeria: After 50 Years, Still Struggling to Be a Democracy When Nigeria became independent 50 years ago, it expected to lead Africa to p...

Why People Jubilated When Buhari Was Overthrown

Unknown 0 History 10:04 AM

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Have you always wondered (ask your dad) why people jubilated when Buhari was overthrown in 1985?<br />
No need to wond<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;">er any more, these are some of the reasons people went on the streets after his removal. It took pains for me to research so we can catalogue and list the real reasons he was overthrown. Am sure this would help people my age group who were too young or were not born then.<br />ere are my findings</span></div>
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1.Soured Nigeria’s relations with Britain and neighbouring countries by ordering the brutal expulsion of 700,000 West African immigrants</div>
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2.Summarily dismissed 30,000 soldiers who were mainly Southerners and Middle beltans but left Lt.Col Mohammed Aliyu Gusau intact when he knew Aliyu was operating an import license scam.</div>
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3.Abuse of human rights:------- It was so bad that the Nigerian Bar Association stopped their lawyers from participating in the charade dubbed "the Nuremberg tribunals". Once you're summoned to the tribunal, consider yourself a prisoner.</div>
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4.Buhari promulgated Decree 4 on his first day in the job as head of state. It basically means you criticize the government you go to prison, end of story.</div>
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5.All the the senior positions in the SMC were occupied by northern Muslims (SMC is like present day senate and HOR)</div>
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6.Decree 2 of 1984 (Detention of Persons Decree).....It basically allows the president to arrest anybody it wants.</div>
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7.Economy-----Insurmountable economic problems plagued the Buhari regime as petroleum prices collapsed in the face of expanding foreign debt. Buhari instituted austerity measures that caused severe hardship to the average Nigerian. In addition, political corruption continued unabated, with politicians escaping to Western countries with millions of dollars in government money. From Encyclopaedia Britannica</div>
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8.Rigidity----- Does not listen to other opinions hence Babangida said this when he overthrew Buhari: Major-General Muhammadu Buhari was too rigid and uncompromising in his attitudes to issues of national significance.</div>
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9.Jailing of opponents or perceived enemies. Sam Mbakwe 100-year jail, Ambrose Ali 75yrs, Lateef Jakande 100yrs and Pa Ajasin. Pa Adekunle Ajasin was tried, found innocent, tried again and still found innocent, and Buhari just decided enough was enough and jailed him anyhow. But curiously his friend Awwal Ibrahim – the highly corrupt governor of Niger State who was arrested at Heathrow airport with £14 million was only placed under house arrest.,</div>
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The End<br />
10. 20months after taking power, Nigerians and the military had grown tired and impatient with his dictatorship and the rest is history as they say.<br />
After watching the evening news with people he thought were his friends, Majors Dangiwa Umar, Lawan Gwadabe, Abdulmumuni Aminu and Sambo Dasuki rose and pulled their pistols. One of them said: Major-General Muhammadu Buhari, on behalf of the Nigerian people, I hereby declare you arrested for crimes against the Nigerian people.</div>
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In conclusion, Buhari had lots of good policies and came with good intention but his downfall was intransigence. Not listening to other people's opinion in a diverse nation like Nigeria, he was not a unifier.<br />
:Mervin James</div>
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Why People Jubilated When Buhari Was Overthrown

Have you always wondered (ask your dad) why people jubilated when Buhari was overthrown in 1985? No need to wond er any more,...

KNOW YOUR HISTORY

Unknown 0 History 5:38 PM

<img src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/1452262_202722993428405_9095312272780606807_n.jpg?oh=7bedb0995863898181eb68d7ad07584f&oe=574F4BAE&__gda__=1464614255_cffbf0ebcd3757633d7b8236dbc7217e" /><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px;">More about our origin: here you will see that we have been living well before before British came and why they dispersed us all over the world through slave trade so they can be able to manipulate us and bringing us together with the zoo called Nigeria and this is mainly for some of our Niger-Delta Brothers and sisters are still yet to understand that we are one family, we are great and we are all over the world and the restoration of Biafra will be an eye opener to all the Africans and the whole entire Black race all over the world and also a way forward for our freedom, thank you are remain Blessed and you go through this, Amen.</span><br />
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The Igbo people, often spelled and pronounced "Ibo" (because the Europeans had difficulty making the /ɡ͡b/ sound),are an ethnic group of southern Nigeria directly indigenous to East and West of the lower Niger River, with very significant population found in the eastern side of the river.They speak Igbo, which includes various Igboid languages and dialects.</div>
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Igbo people are one of the largest ethnic groups in Africa. In rural Nigeria, Igbo people work mostly as craftsmen, farmers and traders. The most important crop is the yam; celebrations take place annually to celebrate its harvesting. Other staple crops include cassava and taro.</div>
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Before British colonial rule, the Igbo were a politically fragmented group. There were variations in culture such as in art styles, attire and religious practices. Various subgroups were organized by clan, lineage, village affiliation, and dialect. There were not many centralized chiefdoms, hereditary aristocracy, or kingship customs except in kingdoms such as those of the Nri, Arochukwu, Agbor and Onitsha. This political system changed significantly under British colonialism in the early 20th century; Frederick Lugard introduced Eze (kings) into most local communities as "Warrant Chiefs". The Igbo became overwhelmingly Christian under colonization. Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart is one of the most popular novels to depict Igbo culture and changes under colonialism.</div>
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By the mid-20th century, the Igbo people developed a strong sense of ethnic identity. Certain conflicts with other Nigerian ethnicities led to Igbo-densely populated Eastern Nigeria seceding to create the independent state of Biafra. The Nigerian Civil War or the Nigerian-Biafran War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970) broke out shortly after. With their defeat, the Republic of Biafra once again was part of Nigeria.</div>
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MASSOB, a sectarian organization formed in 1999, continues a non-violent struggle for an independent Igbo state.</div>
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Due to the effects of migration and the Atlantic slave trade, there are descendant ethnic Igbo populations in countries such as Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea, as well as outside Africa. Their exact population outside Africa is unknown, but today many African Americans and Afro Caribbeans are of Igbo descent. According to Liberian historians the fifth president of Liberia Edward James Roye was of Igbo descent.</div>
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Identity :</div>
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The Igbo people have had fragmented and politically independent communities. Before knowledge of Europeans and full exposure to other neighbouring ethnic groups, the Igbo did not have a strong identity as one people. As in the case of most ethnic groups, the British and fellow Europeans identified the Igbo as a tribe. Chinua Achebe, among other scholars, challenged this because of its negative connotations and possible wrong definition.He suggested defining the Igbo people as a nation although the Igbo do not have an officially recognized physical state of their own.<br />Due to the effects of migration and the Atlantic slave trade, there are descendant historical Igbo populations in countries such as Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea,as well as outside Africa; many African Americans and Afro Caribbeans are believed to be partially of Igbo descent.</div>
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The most common name for the Igbo in English was formerly "Ibo". They have also been known as the "Iboe", "'Ebo", "Eboe", "Eboans", or "Heebo". Their territory and main settlement have often also been known by their name.</div>
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History ....</div>
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Origin:<br />Pottery dated at around 2500 BCE showing similarities with later Igbo work was found at Nsukka, along with pottery and tools at nearby Ibagwa; the traditions of the Umueri clan have as their source the Anambra valley. In the 1970s the Owerri, Okigwe, Orlu, Awgu, Udi and Awka divisions were determined to constitute "an Igbo heartland" from the linguistic and cultural evidence.</div>
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Nri Kingdom<br />Main article: Kingdom of Nri:</div>
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The Nri people of Igbo land have a creation myth which is one of the many creation myths that exist in various parts of Igbo land. The Nri and Aguleri people are in the territory of the Umueri clan who trace their lineages back to the patriarchal king-figure Eri. Eri's origins are unclear, though he has been described as a "sky being" sent by Chukwu (God).He has been characterized as having first given societal order to the people of Anambra.The historian Elizabeth Allo Isichei says "Nri and Aguleri and part of the Umueri clan, [are] a cluster of Igbo village groups which traces its origins to a sky being called Eri."</div>
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Archaeological evidence suggests that Nri hegemony in Igboland may go back as far as the 9th century,and royal burials have been unearthed dating to at least the 10th century. Eri, the god-like founder of Nri, is believed to have settled the region around 948 with other related Igbo cultures following after in the 13th century.The first Eze Nri (King of Nri) Ìfikuánim followed directly after him. According to Igbo oral tradition, his reign started in 1043.At least one historian puts Ìfikuánim's reign much later, around 1225 AD.</div>
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Each king traces his origin back to the founding ancestor, Eri. Each king is a ritual reproduction of Eri. The initiation rite of a new king shows that the ritual process of becoming Ezenri (Nri priest-king) follows closely the path traced by the hero in establishing the Nri kingdom.</div>
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An Igbo man with facial scarifications, known as ichi, early 20th century<br />The Kingdom of Nri was a religio-polity, a sort of theocratic state, that developed in the central heartland of the Igbo region. The Nri had seven types of taboos which included human (such as the birth of twins), animal (such as killing or eating of pythons), object, temporal, behavioral, speech and place taboos. The rules regarding these taboos were used to educate and govern Nri's subjects. This meant that, while certain Igbo may have lived under different formal administration, all followers of the Igbo religion had to abide by the rules of the faith and obey its representative on earth, the Eze Nri.</div>
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Traditional society :<br />Traditional Igbo political organization was based on a quasi-democratic republican system of government. In tight knit communities, this system guaranteed its citizens equality, as opposed to a feudalist system with a king ruling over subjects. This government system was witnessed by the Portuguese who first arrived and met with the Igbo people in the 15th century. With the exception of a few notable Igbo towns such as Onitsha, which had kings called Obi, and places like the Nri Kingdom and Arochukwu, which had priest kings; Igbo communities and area governments were overwhelmingly ruled solely by a republican consultative assembly of the common people. Communities were usually governed and administered by a council of elders.</div>
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Although title holders were respected because of their accomplishments and capabilities, they were never revered as kings, but often performed special functions given to them by such assemblies. This way of governing was immensely different from most other communities of Western Africa, and only shared by the Ewe of Ghana. Umunna are a form of patrilineage maintained by the Igbo. Law starts with the Umunna which is a male line of descent from a founding ancestor (who the line is sometimes named after) with groups of compounds containing closely related families headed by the eldest male member. The Umunna can be seen as the most important pillar of Igbo society.</div>
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Mathematics in indigenous Igbo society is evident in their calendar, banking system and strategic betting game called Okwe. In their indigenous calendar, a week had four days, a month consisted of seven weeks and 13 months made a year. In the last month, an extra day was added. This calendar is still used in indigenous Igbo villages and towns to determine market days. They settled law matters via mediators, and their banking system for loans and savings, called Isusu, is also still used. The Igbo new year, starting with the month Ọ́nwạ́ M̀bụ́ (Igbo: First Moon) occurs on the third week of February,[51] although the traditional start of the year for many Igbo communities is around springtime in Ọ́nwạ́ Ágwụ́ (June). Used as a ceremonial script by secret societies, the Igbo have an indigenous ideographic set of symbols called Nsibidi, originating from the neighboring Ejagham people. Igbo people produced bronzes from as early as the 9th century, some of which have been found at the town of Igbo Ukwu, Anambra state.</div>
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Igbo Trade Routes before 1900<br />A system of indentured servitude existed among the Igbo before and after the encounter with Europeans. Indentured service in Igbo areas was described by Olaudah Equiano in his memoir. He describes the conditions of the slaves in his community of Essaka, and points out the difference between the treatment of slaves under the Igbo in Essaka, and those in the custody of Europeans in West Indies:</div>
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…but how different was their condition from that of the slaves in the West Indies! With us, they do no more work than other members of the community,… even their master;… (except that they were not permitted to eat with those… free-born;) and there was scarce any other difference between them,… Some of these slaves have… slaves under them as their own property… for their own use.</div>
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The Niger coast was an area of contact between African and European traders from the years 1434–1807. The Portuguese were the first traders, then the Dutch and finally the British. Prior to European contact, Igbo trade routes stretched as far as Mecca, Medina and Jeddah on the continent.</div>
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Transatlantic slave trade and diaspora<br />Main articles: Transatlantic slave trade and The Igbo in the Atlantic slave trade:</div>
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The transatlantic slave trade, which took place between the 16th and late 19th centuries, had huge effects on the Igbo because so many young people were taken, and warfare increased for the taking of captives. Most Igbo slaves were taken from the Bight of Biafra (also known as the Bight of Bonny).This area included modern day southeastern Nigeria, Western Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea and parts of Northern Gabon. Major trade ports for goods and slaves in the area included Bonny and Calabar Town. A large number of slaves from the Bight of Biafra would have been Igbo.Slaves were usually sold to Europeans by the Aro Confederacy, who kidnapped or bought slaves from Igbo villages in the hinterland. Most Igbo slaves were not victims of slave-raiding wars or expeditions, but were sometimes debtors and people who committed what their communities considered to be abominations or crimes. Igbo slaves were known to the British colonists as being rebellious and having a high rate of suicide to escape slavery. For still unknown reasons, there is evidence that traders sought Igbo women.</div>
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Contrary to common belief, European slave traders were fairly well informed about various African ethnicities, leading to slavers' targeting certain ethnic groups which plantation owners preferred. Particular desired ethnic groups consequently became fairly concentrated in certain parts of the Americas. The Igbo were dispersed to colonies such as Jamaica, Cuba, Saint-Domingue, Barbados, the United States, Belize and Trinidad and Tobago, among others.</div>
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Elements of Igbo culture can still be found in these places. For example, in Jamaican Patois, the Igbo word unu, meaning "you" plural, is still used. "Red Ibo" (or "red eboe") describes a black person with fair or "yellowish" skin. This term had originated from the reported prevalence of these skin tones among the Igbo but eastern Nigerian influences may not be strictly Igbo. The word Bim, a colloquial term for Barbados, was commonly used among enslaved Barbadians (Bajans). This word is said to have derived from bém in the Igbo language meaning 'my place or people', but may have other origins (see: Barbados etymology). A section of Belize City was named Eboe Town after its Igbo inhabitants.In the United States, the Igbo were imported most commonly to the Chesapeake Bay colonies and states of Maryland and Virginia, where they constituted the largest group of Africans. Since the late 20th century, a wave of Nigerian immigrants, mostly English and Igbo-speaking, have settled in Maryland, attracted to its strong professional job market.</div>
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Colonial period<br />Main article: Colonial Nigeria</div>
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The 19th-century British colonization effort in present-day Nigeria and increased encounters between the Igbo and other ethnicities near the Niger River led to a deepening sense of a distinct Igbo ethnic identity. The Igbo proved decisive and enthusiastic in their embrace of Christianity and Western education. Due to the incompatibility of the Igbo decentralized style of government and the centralized system including the appointment of warrant chiefs required for British indirect rule, British colonial rule was marked with open conflicts and much tension. Under British colonial rule, the diversity within each of Nigeria's major ethnic groups slowly decreased and distinctions between the Igbo and other large ethnic groups, such as the Hausa and the Yoruba, became sharper.</div>
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Colonial rule transformed Igbo society, as portrayed in Chinua Achebe's novel Things Fall Apart. British rule brought about changes in culture, such as the introduction of Warrant Chiefs as Eze (indigenous rulers) where there were no such monarchies.[91] Christian missionaries introduced aspects of European ideology into Igbo society and culture, sometimes shunning parts of the culture.[92] The rumours that the Igbo women were being assessed for taxation sparked off the 1929 Igbo Women's War in Aba (also known as the 1929 Aba Riots), a massive revolt of women never encountered before in Igbo history.</div>
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Aspects of Igbo culture such as construction of houses, education and religion changed following colonialism. The tradition of building houses out of mud walls and thatched roofs ended as the people shifted to materials such as cement blocks for houses and zinc roofs. Roads for vehicles were built. Buildings such as hospitals and schools were erected in many parts of Igboland. Along with these changes, electricity and running water were installed in the early 20th century. With electricity, new technology such as radios and televisions were adopted, and have become commonplace in most Igbo households.</div>
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Nigerian–Biafran War<br />Main article: Nigerian Civil War:</div>
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A series of ethnic clashes between Northern Muslims and the Igbo, and other ethnic groups of Eastern Nigeria Region living in Northern Nigeria took place between 1966 and 1967. Elements in the army had assassinated the Nigerian military head of state General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi (29 July 1966)[95] and peace negotiations failed between the military government that deposed Ironsi and the regional government of Eastern Nigeria at the Aburi Talks in Ghana in 1967. These events led to a regional council of the peoples of Eastern Nigeria deciding that the region should secede and proclaim the Republic of Biafra on May 30, 1967. General Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu made this declaration and became the Head of state of the new republic.[98] The resultant war, which became known as the Nigerian Civil War or the Nigerian-Biafran War, lasted from July 6, 1967 until January 15, 1970, after which the federal government re-absorbed Biafra into Nigeria. Several million Eastern Nigerians died from the pogroms against them, such as the 1966 anti-Igbo pogrom where between 10,000 to 30,000 Igbo people were killed.[100][101] In their struggle for self-determination, the people of Biafra earned the respect of a generation, and figures such as Jean-Paul Sartre and John Lennon, who returned his British honor, MBE, partly in protest against British collusion in the Nigeria-Biafra war.</div>
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In July 2007 the former President of Biafra, General Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, renewed calls for the secession of the Biafran state as a sovereign entity. "The only alternative is a separate existence...What upsets the Igbo population is we are not equally Nigerian as the others".</div>
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Recent history (1970 to present)<br />The Nigerian–Biafran War left Igboland devastated. Fighting had completely destroyed many hospitals, schools, and homes. In addition to the loss of their savings, many Igbo people faced discrimination from other ethnic groups and from the new non-Igbo federal government. Some Igbo subgroups, such as the Ikwerre, started disassociating themselves from the larger Igbo population after the war. In the post-war era, people of eastern Nigeria changed the names of both people and places to non-Igbo-sounding words. For instance, the town of Igbuzo was anglicized to Ibusa. Due to discrimination, many Igbo had trouble finding employment, and during the early 1970s, the Igbo became one of the poorest ethnic groups in Nigeria.</div>
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Igboland was gradually rebuilt by its citizens and some contribution from the Nigerian government over a period of twenty years and the economy prospered again due to the rise of the petroleum industry in the adjacent Niger Delta region. This led to the establishment of new factories in southern Nigeria. Many Igbo people eventually took government positions, although many were engaged in private business. They still constitute the bulk of both Nigerian commercial and informal economy. Since the early 21st century, there has been a wave of Nigerian Igbo immigration to other African countries, Europe, and the Americas.</div>

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More about our origin: here you will see that we have been living well before before British came and why they dispersed us all over the wo...

SCANNING INTO THE NIGERIA-BIAFRA CIVIL WAR

Unknown 0 History 3:25 PM

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Biafra the fatherland. how the people are very happy in Biafra this is what I call fatherland. no one in Nigeria not even those thieves who called themselves politicians love or have Nigeria in their heart.they are just after what they profits from corruption. Nigeria is just a camouflage. in Biafra we stand. God bless Biafra</div>
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Biafra Vs Nigeria War. That is misleading. The war that took place was Biafra - Britain/Soviet Union War. If the war was Biafra - Nigeria War there clearly would have been a different result. A country like Biafra engaged in a fight against two super powers would hardly be a successful experience. Children were deliberately starved to death all because of evil intentions. Because the Devil is real and evil exist good will always have to fight evil. Does that mean that good can sometimes be subjugated by more powerful bad or evil intentions and motives. No - In the Judeo-Christianity that is hardly the case. A young David armed with only a small stone was able to defeat a heavily armed Goliath and his army. Sometimes the good can temporarily be set back by evil. But it is not permanent. Biafrans cannot not give up their right to rule themselves in their own country regardless of any external countries, or Satan itself that wants to force them to give up their God-given rights.</div>
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The Biafra - Nigeria conflict was a very unfortunate event and a continuation of enslavement of blacks - neocolonialism. There is new creation of slavery - some are made house slaves and some are made field slaves. The conflict was more than blacks against blacks. There was the deceptive doctrine of the conflict being "internal affair" and of no concern to the international community. It was an international affair. Almost all the European powers were enmeshed in it one way or another. The sides taken were strange. Politically Britain, Russia and USA were on one side, while France, the Catholic Church(Vatican) and Portugal were on one side. Catholic countries, governments, and leaders were sympathetic to Biafra. May have been the fact that there was probably a larger proportion of Catholics in Biafra. The Ibo-speaking Irish Bishop Shanahan's missionary work in the Ibo areas and beyond had a lot to do with the fast Catholic expansion. The talk of the oil is a bogey. The mostly Muslim Fulani-Hausa were the group that wanted to secede. They were fearful Ibo Christian domination of the country and a subsequent spread of Christianity into their areas. Their attempts for secession were done in combination of the 1966 mass killings of about 30,000 Biafrans to make them to go back to Biafra land. The British likely dissuaded them with promise of more power to the Muslim north over the rest of the country. Oil was not a factor. South Cameroon were also refused the option of full sovereign independence in the UN plebiscite but only the option of merging with either with Cameroon or Nigeria. Biafrans see their campaign for freedom as a God-given dispensation against evil human wishes and are resolute in regaining control of their lives, indigenous territory and sovereignty based on their ancient history as independent and free peoples.</div>
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Why is it that British people who are Christians just like Biafrans helped the Nigerian Islamic people to kill and defeated Biafrans? I am a Biafran and I hate the British for this they have done to us. Long life Biafra!</div>

SCANNING INTO THE NIGERIA-BIAFRA CIVIL WAR

Biafra the fatherland. how the people are very happy in Biafra this is what I call fatherland. no one in Nigeria not even those thieves who...

EXPLOSIVE!!!

Unknown 0 History 2:14 PM

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My dear Port Harcourt people. Did you know that the name of your state of Origin was Ugwuocha ('White cliff' in Igbo language) and Obumotu ('We are one' in Igbo<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"> language) ?? Did you know that your ancestors were Igbo? Now you say you are not Igbo. Chaii. ALU.!!! Did you know that 'Port Harcourt' was named after Mr Lewis V. Harcourt?</span></div>
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Ugwuocha/Obumotu where Igbo towns that harboured the Seaport from which the British transported "Coal' from Enugwu to Britain. But in the British cultural attitude of disdain for African names, instead of naming the port 'Port Ugwuocha', Frederick Lugard, the 1914 architect of Nigeria, decided to name it after one of his compatriots, Lewis V. Harcourt, who was then the Secretary of State for the Colonies.</div>
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Knowledge is power my people. Read and know your roots or risk being a victim of the 'De-Igbonisation' project (Disorganization of the Igbo people) that was instituted in Nigeria by the British.</div>
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Please every true Igbo should share this post.. Thank you.</div>
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EXPLOSIVE!!!

My dear Port Harcourt people. Did you know that the name of your state of Origin was Ugwuocha ('White cliff' in Igbo language) and ...

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