|
|
|
|
|
|
Brief History of Northern Nigeria
Northern Nigeria was
an autonomous division within Nigeria, distinctly
different from the southern part of the country,
with independent customs, foreign relations and
security structures. In 1962 it acquired the
territory of the British Northern Cameroon, which
voted to become a province within Northern Nigeria.
In 1967, Northern Nigeria was divided into the
North-Eastern State, North-Western State, Kano
State, Kaduna State, Kwara State, and the Benue-Plateau
State, each with its own Governor.
The ancient culture of Nok dominated most of
what is now Northern Nigeria in prehistoric times, its legacy in the form of
terracotta statues and megaliths have been discovered in Sokoto, Kano,
Birinin Kudu, Nok and Zaria. The Kwatarkwashi culture, a variant of the Nok
culture centred mostly around Zamfara and Sokoto States; and is thought by some to
be the same or an offshoot of the Nok. Fourteen Kingdoms unified the diverse
lore and heritage of Northern Nigeria into a cohesive ethno-historical
system. Seven of these Kingdoms developed from the Kabara legacy of the
Hausa people. In the 9th century as vibrant trading centers competing with
Kanem-Bornu and Mali slowly developed in the Central Sudan, a collection of
Kingdoms merged, dominating the great savannah plains of the Hausa land, their
primary exports were leather, gold, cloth, salt, kola nuts, animal hides,
and henna.
The Seven Hausa states included:
-
Daura, ? - 1806
-
Kano, 998 - 1807
-
Katsina, c. 1400 - 1805
-
Zazzau (Zaria), c. 1200 - 1808
-
Gobir, ? - 1808
-
Rano
-
Biram, c. 1100 - 1805
The growth and conquest of the
"Hausa Bakwai" resulted in the founding of
additional states with rulers tracing their lineage to a concubine of the
Hausa founding father, Bayajidda.
Thus they are called the "Banza Bakwai", meaning Bastard Seven. The Banza
Bakwai adopted many of the customs and institutions of the Hausa Bakwai but
were considered unsanctioned or copy-cat kingdoms by non-Hausa people. These
states include:
-
Zamfara
-
Kebbi
-
Yauri (also called Yawuri)
-
Gbagyi (also called Gwari land)
-
Kwararafa (a Jukun state)
-
Nupe (of the Nupe people)
-
Ilorin (a Yoruba city)
The
Fulani and the Bornu Empire
Fulani Empire and Bornu Empire - Usuman dan Fodio, the 18th century
revolutionary and a social, religious and political reformer finally united
the 7 Hausa States with newly created provinces into the Sokoto Caliphate.
The Sokoto Caliphate was under the overall authority of the Commander of the
Faithful. Under Dan Fodio, the Empire was bicephalous and divided into two
territories each controlled by an appointed vizier. Each of the territories
was further divided into autonomous Emirates under mainly hereditary local
Emirs. The Bornu Empire was initially absorbed into the Sokoto Caliphate of
Usman dan Fodio, but broke away a few years later.
Colonisation - Initially, the British involvement in Northern Nigeria
was predominantly trade-related, and revolved around the expansion of the
Royal Niger Company, whose interior territories spread north from about
where the Niger River and Benue River joined at Lokoja, the Mount Patti hill.
The Royal Niger Company's territory did not represent a direct threat to
much the Sokoto Caliphate or the numerous states of Northern Nigeria. This
changed, when Frederick Lugard and Taubman Goldie laid down an ambitious
plan to pacify the Niger interior and unite it with the rest of the British
Empire.
Independence - Northern Nigeria gained self-government on 15 March
1957 with Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto as its first premier. The
Northern Peoples’ Congress under Bello dominated parliament while the
Northern Elements Progressive Union becaming the main opposition party. In
1967, Northern Nigeria was disestablished by subdivision.
Government and politics - The government of Northern Nigeria was
modelled after the Westminster system. A premier acted as head of government
and presided over the day-to-day affairs of government, while a Governor of
Northern Nigeria acted as viceroy and as commander-in-chief of the
constabulary.
The lower house of parliament, called the House of Assembly was composed of
elected representatives from the various provinces of the country. The Upper
House of parliament, called the House of Chefs, was similar to the British
House of Lords, composed of unelected emirs of the various Native Authority
Councils of the nation's provinces.
In 1967, the Federal Military Government
of General Yakubu Gowon broke up the four regions that until then had
constituted the Federation of Nigeria, creating twelve new states. Northern
Nigeria was divided into the North-Eastern State, North-Western State, Kano
State, Kaduna State, Kwara State, and the Benue-Plateau State, each with its
own Governor and government.
Click for an in-depth information on Nigeria
....
|
|
|
AREWA DEMOGRAPHIC
PROFILES
Building trusting relationships among key players that
spur the movement of ideas into action in an agile
manner for the Arewa region...
Nigeria's population is more than 200 million people and
is projected
to be 392 million in 2050, becoming the
world’s fourth most populous country, with northern Nigeria
popularly called "Arewa" having the highest youth population.
Nigeria’s sustained high population growth rate will continue
for the foreseeable future because of population momentum and
its high birth rate. Nigeria needs to harness the potential of
its burgeoning youth population in order to boost economic
development, reduce widespread poverty, and religious and ethnic
violence.
Demographic shifts will fuel
the growth of new sectors, markets, and service lines: The
ability of our diversity to build strength and unity is the
power that will propel the organization and consequently, Arewa
and the Nigerian industry, into new dimensions of performance.
Read
On>>
Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, is composed of more
than 250 ethnic groups; the most populous and politically
influential are:
-
Hausa \ Fulani 29%;
-
The Yorubas 21%;
-
Igbos
(Ibos) 18%;
-
The Ijaws 10%;
-
The Kanuris 4%;
-
Nupe
3.0%;
-
The Ibibios
3.5%;
-
Tivs 2.5%
With Muslim 50%,
Christian 40%, indigenous beliefs 10% having Age Structure as
follows:
-
0-14 years
old: -42.79%
(male 40,744,956/female 38,870,303)
-
15-24 years
old: -
19.48%
(male 18,514,466/female 17,729,351)
-
25-54 years
old: -
30.65%
(male 29,259,621/female 27,768,368)
-
55-64 years
old: -
3.96% (male
3,595,293/female 3,769,986)
-
65 years
and over: -
3.12% (male
2,754,040/female 3,047,002) (2016 est.)
Nigeria |
5.7 |
5.7 |
5.5 |
Urban |
4.9 |
4.7 |
4.7 |
Rural |
6.1 |
6.3 |
6.2 |
Region - North Central |
5.7 |
5.4 |
5.3 |
Region - North East |
7.0 |
7.2 |
6.3 |
Region - North West |
6.7 |
7.3 |
6.7 |
Region - South East |
4.1 |
4.8 |
4.7 |
Region - South South |
4.6 |
4.7 |
4.3 |
Region - South West |
4.1 |
4.5 |
4.6 |
History of the Protectorate of Northern Nigeria - The
protectorate of Northern Nigeria was proclaimed at Ida by
Frederick Lugard on January 1, 1897. The basis of the
protectorate was the 1885 Treaty of Berlin which broadly granted
Northern Nigeria to the British sphere of influence, on the
basis of their existing protectorates in Southern Nigeria.
Hostilities with the powerful Sokoto Caliphate soon followed.
The Emirates of Kontogora and Ilorin were the first to be
conquered by the British. In February 1903, the great fort of
Kano, seat of the Kano Emirate was captured; Sokoto and much of
the rest of its Caliphate soon capitulated. On March 13, 1903,
the Grand Shura of Caliphate finally conceded to Lugard's
demands and proclaimed Queen Victoria as suzerain of the
Caliphate and all its lands. Governor Lugard, with limited
resources, controlled the region with the consent of local
rulers through a policy of indirect rule, which he developed
into a sophisticated political theory. The geographical area
included in the Northern Nigeria Protectorate included the Okun-Yoruba
land of Kabba, Ogidi, Ijumu, Gbede, Yagba, as well as, Ebira
land, Igala land fashioned collectively under Kabba Province.
The Ifelodun, Offa, Omuaran, Ifelodun and Irepodun areas, also
Yorubas, were fashioned into Ilorin province. Lugard left the
protectorate after some years, serving in Hong Kong, but was
eventually returned to work in Nigeria, where in 1914 he sought
the merger of the Northern Nigeria Protectorate with Southern
Nigeria, creating the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria.
Agitation for independence from the radically different Southern
Protectorate, however, led to a formidable split in the 1940s.
The Richards constitution proclaimed in 1945, gave overwhelming
autonomy to the North, including eventually in the areas of
foreign relations and customs policy.
ICT is the convergence of communications,
computing and information technologies and has become the
catalyst that enhances development process of a nation...Read
On>>
|
|
|
|
|
|
Restructuring
may not be a bad idea for the North because
the North has so many Potentials of
Solid Mineral Exploration, so great
that by the time the northern
Governors realize it they will
almost forget about allocation funds
coming from Federal Government and
too much Taxes on its citizens to
generate more internally generated
revenue (IGR). The potential is
great and better than crude oil of
the south. Gold, Uranium, Iron Ore,
Gemstones, Columbite, Tantalite,
Kaolin, Goshenite and other precious
minerals are everywhere across the
north, but also High-Grade Lithium
ore in Brine Rocks,
lithium-bearing pegmatite and spodumene, a critical component for
making electric car batteries. By
2030, oil will no longer be that
important as electric cars will take
over, lithium batteries will also be
used for powerhouses and so much
more. The potentials for export of
these natural minerals and local use
in manufacturing from the north are
unparalleled.
The
northern demographic shifts will
fuel the growth of new sectors,
markets and service lines. They will
begin to innovate and with
creativity build viable businesses
in areas of the business supply
chain, and in agriculture, livestock
mainstreaming, no more transporting
live animals to the south but
slaughtered and freight in
refrigerated trucks, renewable
energy like solar farming, ICT,
Business Processing Outsourcing and
in healthcare, manufacturing and
revitalizing Kannywood
entertainment industry in
partnership with Indian Bollywood. The
unity of northern diversity is the
power that will propel the business
communities and consequently, the
northern upcoming industries into
new dimensions of performance. Soon
there will be on the horizon, more
northern banks, northern media and
corporations; and northern
intelligentsia that will meet every
contemporary challenge; build
capacity and human capital
knowledge-pool; and the end of
youths banditry, kidnappings,
communal crises, terrorism and
religious violence because everyone
will have work and meaningful things
to do under strong, compassionate
leadership, propelling the country
to a Greater Height as a whole. ICT-enabled
solutions in healthcare,
agriculture, education, financial
services and States-public services
will drive socio-economic inclusion
of everyone in the region and the
country faster, cheaper and more
efficient than traditional methods.
Indeed, the North; and Nigeria will
be Great Again.
"Let
us begin by embracing a new way of
thinking and action by cultivating a
new philosophy that expresses the
best of us, that brings forth our
better selves and not our worst
demons. Unending political
recriminations and deliberate
economic sabotage must give way to
compassionate leadership,
accommodation and the pursuit of
better ideals".
|
|