posted on 2/10/2015

After the World War II, there developed the new world and rapid industrial revolution, hence, the urgent and increased demand for labourers in the plantations. This resulted in slave trade i.e. trading in human beings.

When slave trade was abolished, the Europeans did not stop coming to African countries to search for raw materials for their industries, hence the scramble for and partition of Africa, and Nigeria was colonized by Britain.

WHAT IS COLONIALISM?

Colonialism means a situation where a powerful country controls another country and it happened in Nigeria between 1900 –1960. Without Nigeria being colonized, there cannot be independence.

WHAT IS INDEPENDENCE?

Independence means the gaining of political freedom from another country.  For example, Nigeria gained independence from Britain on 1st October, 1960. After the independence, Nigeria adopted the British parliamentary system of government, in which there was an elected prime minister and a ceremonial head of state.

Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Belewa of NPC (Northern People’s Congress) was the prime minister while Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe of NCNC (National Council of Nigeria and Cameroon) was the ceremonial president. On the 1st of October, 1963, Nigeria became a Republic, and that is why Nigeria is now known as a Federal Republic.

Nigeria was under a parliamentary system of government up till 1966, when the military took over power through a “coup de tat”. The military coup brought and end to the first republic and parliamentary system of government. However, in 1979, the military under the leadership of then General Olusegun Obasanjo voluntarily handed over power back to the civilian democratic government. The system of government adopted this time was the Presidential system that the government borrowed from the United States of America with Alhaji Shehu Shagari as the first democratically elected Executive President and Dr. Alex Ekwueme, as the Executive Vice President. Nevertheless, the military took over again from the civilian bringing to an end the 2^nd Republic.

The military remained in power till May 29^th 1999 when the last military Head of State, General Abdulsalam Abubakar handed over power to Rtd. General Olusegun Obasanjo. By this as a democratically elected Executive President, Obasanjo ruled for 8years and handed over to another democratically elected Executive President (Late Alhaji Shehu Musa Yar’adua. Shehu Musa Yar’adua died in office and his Vice; Dr. Ebele Goodluck Jonathan took over and completed Yar’adua’s tenure. He re-contested and won the election and was in power till May 29th 2015, when he handed over to President Mohammadu Buhari who defeated him in the Presidential election held on the 28^th March, 2015.

Hence, Nigeria has remained a democratic State from May 29^th, 1999 till date.