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Showing posts with label STORYS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label STORYS. Show all posts

Thursday, 8 September 2016

My Sex Service To My Principal And Students – NYSC Member ……. Part 13 (A Must Read) This is the continuation of the story by Money- Hungry, read below:- [If you dont have self control, please dont read this part] I got home faster than flash. I met Sandra

This is the continuation of the story by Money- Hungry, read below:- [If you dont have self control, please dont read this part] I got home faster than flash. I met Sandra sitting on a chair in front of my neighbor’s kitchen. I was glad to see her, it’s been just 4 days or so but it felt like I hadn’t seen her in a million years. We went inside and hugged, then she gave me juice and some apples she brought for me. We talked about the past few days that we didn’t see each other. She told me about how her ex (fiance actually) was trying to come back into her life and how she was doing everything possible to turn him down. Secretly, I hoped she wasn’t turning him down for my sake, because I was almost certain that what we had wouldn’t lead to marriage. I was far from marriage but I couldn’t tell her that because I didn’t want to hurt her and moreover, that might cost me the coochie!. But I did like her though, and she meant more than $ex to me. Swear down. I told her that she was right to have rejected him. Sometimes you have to lie to comfort the ones you care about. I bought two tubers of yam from the market as well as some items to prepare yam and egg-stew. She offered to cook it, I refused but she still insisted. To settle it, I decided to make it a duo:- I let her be the head cook while I assisted her. We were cooking, gisting and watching a movie at the same damn time! Lol. The title of the movie was “Friday” starring Chris Tucker and ice cube. It was a 90’s black comedy heavily influenced by hip-hop. Best movie ever!!. This moment was good… Days of our lives. After we finished cooking, we ate and then started playing video games. One of the most amazing things about Sandra was that she was really open with me, she tells me everything including her private life. That earned her some trust from me because naturally, I don’t trust Nigerian girls. Lol. Sometime around 4 pm, Sandra said she wanted to take her bath and then head back home, said she needed to go and check on her mum. My heart literally sank. Omoh, na so I take miss again today?!., Well, next time still dey sha. I continued playing my video game with heavy rap songs blasting through my speakers. Sandra came out of the bathroom tying one of my towels. Her @as and bo’obs were bouncing underneath. Damn! This girl na fire!. Then she sat on the bed, started rubbing lotion on her skin while browsing the internet with her phone (This girls spends 99% of her time on their phone) Probably chatting with her multiple admirers on Facebook and co, but who cares? They had her online, I had her in my room with nothing but my towel on. I’m winning I guess, but I still hadn’t scored yet. I paid her little attention and continued playing my video game. Around 10 minutes later, I noticed that she was still on towel, browsing with her phone. Na wa oh, no be this girl wey talk say she dey hurry to go check her sick mum for house?. Naija girls sef, you can never understand them. I looked at her legs, damn! the towel was way too small for her fat @ss. I could see bare thighs, s xy** as ever. Then she dropped the towel from her chest and started rubbing the lotion on her bo’obs. Omoh she get succulent bo’obs, this girl wan raise my blood pressure sha. Our eyes met, she was trying hard to conceal a laugh. I dropped my game console and started crawling slowly to the bed, towards her. She grabbed the towel back to her chest, laughing mischievously. I got close to her, she was trying to protect her goodies with her hands as best as she could. She sat in an L position:- legs on the bed, back on the wall. I lay flat on my stomach just beside her, one hand rubbing her thighs and sweet- talking to her. Damn! Her skin was smooth as butter and she smelt good too. I started kissing on one of her thighs and still rubbing the other with my palm. I would kiss her from down her knee then move up towards her coochie region. But, she would hold my head, laughing, begging me to stop. All na wash Jare. I would have stopped if I could, but I just couldn’t. Lol. She said:- “Corper, please stop na, I need to go home now.” Sandra always called me “Corper” and I always told her that it made me feel casual to her. All my efforts didn’t change that, so I was gradually adapting to it. Anyway, none of that mattered now … I don’t care if she called me anything:- corper, papa, or even ‘tata’. I just wanted to make love to her, right now, if she would let me. I replied her:- “I know. I just wanna appreciate you for everything”. “We still have a lots of time. I’m not traveling out of the country”. Omoh, time no dey oh. I no dey trust naija babes too much, cuz she fit actually travel out. Dey there na. We laughed. Omoh, as I dey laugh i use style rest my head on top her soft laps close to her coochie. I could smell the sweet scent of her coochie. Oh lawd!, Sweet scent of sin. Damn! I’d love to lick and hit that, and planned to do it like I owed her. This would be special. And yes, I did owe her for all the care, soul and companionship she gave to me. I don’t really believe in debts and payments when it comes to relationships. But then again, one way or the other, we all pay (sacrifice) in relationships. I owed Sandra a good round of ‘sexvice’ and I was dying to pay. * back to the matter at hand I started kissing and licking different places on her thighs. I was doing it like I was actually licking her coochie. Lick and kiss, different spots. I am a professor at this art but I did this episode extra-professionally cuz I wanted to send a message to her:- that I wanted to eat her coochie and that I was a super-man at it. Sandra was getting the message, I knew so cuz her little resistance was beginning to fade. At a point, she just gave me freedom, no resistance whatsoever. Hoo-hoo!. Hard works pays!. Sandra was still operating her phone but I knew deep down that her mind was in my art, she was anticipating about what I was gonna do next…… . . . THE STORY CONTINUES, WATCH OUT FOR PART (14) AND DONT FORGET TO INVITE & ADD YOUR FRIENDS TO NAIJAMATE.COM AND DROP YOUR COMMENT AS YOU LEAVE (Feel Free To Have Your Say On The Tale/ Story), WE LOVE YOUR CO
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It Is Teenage Love… Part 4 (A Must Read)

THE CONTINUTY…….. “so where should we go?” she asked. “Ikolaba grammar school.” segun suggested. “Do you have friends there?” she asked. “Yeah.” he replied. “But, am afraid o.” she said. “Why?” he asked. “Emma is writing his exams there.” she warned. “Forget about him, nothing will go wrong.” he assured. “Okay.” she replied. They got to the main road and boarded a bike and off they went to Ikolaba. They got to the front gate of the school and segun brought out his phone and called Mike. “Hello.” segun said immediately Mike picked the call. “Hello. Where are you?” Mike asked. “I’m in front of the gate.” segun answered. “Okay. Am coming. What are you wearing?” Mike asked. “You might not notice me but am with a girl dressed in a yellow gown top and a black leggings.” segun described. “Nike abi?” Mike asked. “Yeah.” Segun answered. Segun dropped the call and turned to Nike. “He’ll soon be here.” “Okay.” Nike replied. “Let’s go somewhere he could easily pick us.” Segun said. They both walked towards a fig tree opposite the gate, when they both sighted Emmanuel and six other guys coming towards them. “Let get out of here.” Nike said fearfully. “We are not going anywhere.” Segun said. “Segun please don’t fight them.” she advised. “I won’t. You know am out numbered.” Segun said. Emma and his boys Joined them in no time. “Hey boy.” Emma greeted. “How far.” Segun replied. “What are you doing with the girl.” A member of the gang Tony asked. “Which girl?” Segun asked. “My girlfriend.” Emma said. “Your girlfriend.” Segun asked irritatedly. “Go down on your knees.” Tony commanded. “Go down for what?” segun asked. Another member usman removed a dagger from his pocket and showed segun. Segun was scared. “Guys please, we can settle this peacefully.” he pleaded. “Who are your guys?” Usman barked moving towards him but he moved back. All these Nike was pleading with them and telling Segun to obey them. To which they all paid less attention to. Segun studied the guys properly, they were all dressed in red T-shirts and black jean. Segun sensed cultism. Segun discovered they had attracted onlookers. “Okay please lets leave this open space.” Segun said. Immediately usman tried hitting him with the dagger but segun was fast enough to hold him as his head butted him on the chest, as he reeled in pain backwards. The rest of the squad excluding Emmanuel attacked him as they pushed him to the ground and started hitting him. Olanike was begging Emmanuel not minding the onlookers. “What’s going on there?” Micheal asked. “Who are you?” Tony yelled. “You dey craze. What are you doing to do boy?” Akin a well built boy with thick voice asked angrily. (he was also Segun’s friend). Then the battle began, the two squads faced each other, within a short period of time, it seems like Segun’s team are leading because Emma’s team boys are begging for their lives before the school security men disengaged them. Emma and his guys left in annoyance but not after promising Segun a rematch. Segun sustained a number of injuries as he was bleeding. Having watched the whole drama Omolayo and Jummy pushed their way out of the crowd as they came to segun’s aid by applying some first aid drugs on the wounds. “Segun. Are you alright?” Omolayo asked. “Yeah. Am okay.” segun replied. “Let me help you with water.” Nike said as she tried removing a bottled water from her school bag. “No, don’t bother yourself.” Omolayo said and looked at her murdrously before she hissed. Segun and his friends walked round the school, leaving Olanike, Jummy and Omolayo behind. By the time they arrived Olanike was no where to be found. Segun dialled her number but his calls were rejected. He left ikolaba and went back to his centre only to see Olanike alight from a bike. He ran to her but she walked into the school compound. There he met Caleb, his seatmate. “Hey, shegzy.” Caleb greeted. “How far.” he replied. “What happened to you in Ikolaba?” Caleb asked. “I’ll tell you later.” Segun told him as he ran past him in chase of Olanike. “Bad news spread faster than good news.” he thought to himself. Segun ran after Nike as she increeased her pace. “Nike… Nike..,” he called as he ran. She ignored him and entered the exam hall but took the other exit and got out again to the back of the hall. Segun entered the hall and couldn’t find her. He asked the candidates in the hall but they all claimed they saw no one. He got out and began searching for her. He saw her afar, seated in a deserted part of the school. He ran towards her. “Nike, what’s wrong with you?” he asked angrily. “Did i tell you anything is wrong with me?” she replied. He walked up to her and held her hand as she made to leave. “Are you crying?” he asked and got no answer. Getting fed up of the whole situation. “Okay, why did you leave Ikolaba without telling me?” he asked. “Ask your cousin.” she replied. “Omolayo! What did she do to you?” he asked as he made her to seat down. “You need to see how she blasted me. Saying i am a slut who gets involved with cultist and then decided to put an innocent guy like you into trouble by forcing myself on you.” she explained. “Am very sorry about that.” he apologised. “It’s okay.” she said. “Let’s get back to the hall, so we can settle down before the paper commences.” he advised. “Okay.” she said as she stood up and followed him. “Can you do this paper on your own?” he asked. “Yes. I’ll try.” she replied. “Are you sure?” he asked. “Yes.” she replied. “Okay.” “And am very sorry for all i put you through today.” she apologised. “Oh! It’s nothing.” he assured her. They both entered the examination hall five minutes after the commencement of the paper. “Where are you two coming from?” the invigillator asked. “Sir, we don’t know the paper had already started.” Segun replied. “You are silly. Don’t you know the break is over?” The man asked. “Sir, its not yet 2.30pm which means the paper is not yet supposed to start.” He defended. “Look at this boy. Bastard son of a thousand fathers.” the man said. “Point of corrections sir. I am not a bastard and you have no right to call me one.” he replied rudely. In a blink of an eye the invigillator had slapped him. He wanted to retaliate but Nike held him back. “Segun don’t try it.” she warned. “I am old enough to be your father, so don’t dare try rubbish with me.” the man warned. “You can never be my father.” segun said angrily. “please sir, we are very sorry for coming back late. We thought the paper will start by 2.30. Nike explained kneeling down. “God bless you my daughter. I’ll allow you to write the paper for your sake.” he said as he gave them the objective question paper and the OMR sheet. “Thank you sir.” Nike said. Segun walked to his seat angrily and left Nike with the old man. Nike begged on segun’s behalf for sometime before the invigillator told her to go………. . . . THE STORY CONTINUES, WATCH OUT FOR PART 5!!! YOU DONT WANT TO MISS IT, SO STAY ONLINE AND TELL YOUR FRIENDS ABOUT NAIJAMATE.COM THE HOME OF LATEST UPDATES. PLEASE DON’T JUST READ AND LEAVE, DROP YOUR COMMENT IF YOU ENJOYED & LOVE THIS TALE/STORY AND WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED NEXT & HOW IT ENDED, WE LOVE YOUR COMMENTS!!!

Funny Stories Of Human That Turn To Gorillar Becuase Of Money (Must Read)

A graduate in Biology from University of Benin was having difficulty in finding a job. He saw an advert in one of the daily newspapers for a job at a zoo. In the interview, the manager told him that their gorilla, which had been tourists attraction has died so they needed someone to dress up and pretend as gorilla. The graduate was embarrassed, but since the salary was okay, he accepted the job. The first day, he put on the gorilla skin and entered the cage, he started jumping up and down, beat his chest and roared like gorilla. The next day, he put on a gorilla skin and started moving around the zoo again and mistakenly entered another cage and found hi mself staring at a lion. The lion roared and rushed towards him. The scared graduate quickly forgot that he is a gorilla and started shouting like human, “Help! Help!” The lion leaped onto him, knocked him to the ground and whispered in his ear, “Ebuka, it’s me Slimcase, your course mate wey be artist for school”
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Monday, 22 August 2016

History of Nigeria, Nigeria History - 123Independenceday

It's commonly believed that history presents the glorious past of a country which is replete with unprecedented events and incidents that give the nation its own political identity. The history of Nigeria too represents the remarkable incidents that changed and redefined the various aspects of the country. Since the ancient times the land of Nigeria, has been inhabited by different groups of tribes coming from other places. Historical Background of Nigeria Ancient History of Nigeria Historical evidences indicate that during 9000 B.C. IwoEleru and UgwuelleUturu settled in the south western part of Nigeria. In the 4th century B.C. agriculture was widely practiced along with the growth of ceramic industries. However, the ancient Nigerian culture owes its origin to the Nok people who thrived extensively between 500 BC and 200 AD on the Jos Plateau situated in the northeastern part of Nigeria. The comprehensive history of Nigeria remains incomplete without mentioning the historic reign of Yoruba kingdoms, Igbo kingdom of Nri and the Edo kingdom of Benin. It's important to note that the Yoruba's have pre dominated the ancient land of Nigeria and established their vast empire on the banks of River Niger. The Yoruba's were credited for their organizational set up which helped to carry forward many planned activities in field of agriculture and growth of trade and commerce. With the coming of Oyo and Benin in the 15th century also exerted tremendous influence over the political scenario of the country, it's believed that they also had some mythical origins and bore spiritual importance to the Yoruba's. With the emergence of trade relations between different countries and the opening of TransSaharan trade links between the western Sudan and the Mediterranean region paved the way for establishment of other dynasties and extension of the present boundaries. This led to the formation of the northern kingdoms of Savanna comprising of states as Hausa, Ghana, Gao and Kanem. In the later years, the kingdom of Kanem was expanded westward with Borno. Towards the 11th century, popular Hausa states such as Kano, Katsina, and Gobir grew to be popular hubs of trade and industry. Colonial Rule in Nigeria and Nigeria's Struggle for Independence During the reign of Songhai Empire in 16th century, Islamic art and culture widely spread throughout the land. But their fall in 1591, created political turmoil with many states falling apart and rise of war conflicts between other rulers. After the Napoleon wars, the British tried to expand their colonial rule in Africa and began to establish trade ties with Nigeria. In the year 1901, Nigeria officially became a part of the huge British Empire. In the later years, the whole of Nigeria fought together for the freedom struggle of the country. The political history of Nigeria gained momentum with the forty years of struggle for independence. Finally on October 1, 1960 the country achieved its independence and became a republic in 1963 when Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe became the first President of the country. Thus, an overview of the history of Nigeria gives you an amazing glimpse into its glorious past. Sitemap | Contact Us | Reach

Historic regions: 5th century BC - 20th century

nokterracotta100.jpg Nigeria contains more historic cultures and empires than any other other nation in Africa. They date back as far as the 5th century BC, when communities living around the southern slopes of the Jos plateau make wonderfully expressive terracotta figures - in a tradition known now as the Nok culture , from the Nigerian village where these sculptures are first unearthed. The Nok people are neolithic tribes who have recently acquired the iron technology spreading southwards through Africa. The Jos plateau is in the centre of Nigeria, but the first extensive kingdoms of the region - more than a millennium after the Nok people - are in the north and northeast, deriving their wealth from trade north through the Sahara and east into the Sudan. During the 9th centurya trading empire grows up around Lake Chad. Its original centre is east of the lake, in the Kanem region, but it soon extends to Bornu on the western side. In the 11th century the ruler of Kanem-Bornu converts to Islam. West of Bornu, along the northern frontier of Nigeria, is the land of the Hausa people. Well placed to control trade with the forest regions to the south, the Hausa develop a number of small but stable kingdoms, each ruled from a strong walled city. They are often threatened by larger neighbours ( Mali and Gao to the west, Bornu to the east). But the Hausa traders benefit also from being on the route between these empires. By the 14th century they too are Muslim. In the savanna grasslands and the forest regions west of the Niger, between the Hausa kingdoms and the coast, the Yoruba people are the dominant tribes. Here they establish two powerful states. The first is Ife, on the border between forest and savanna. Famous now for its sculpture, Ife flourishes from the 11th to 15th century. In the 16th century a larger Yoruba empire develops, based slightly further from the forest at Oyo. Using the profits of trade to develop a forceful cavalry, Oyo grows in strength during the 16th century. By the end of the 18th century the rulers of Oyo are controlling a region from the Niger to the west of Dahomey . Meanwhile, firmly within the forest, the best known of all the Nigerian kingdoms establishes itself in the 15th century (from small beginnings in the 13th). Benin becomes a name internationally known for its cast-metal sculpture, in a tradition inherited from the Ife (see Sculpture of Ife and Benin). In terms of extent Benin is no match for Oyo, its contemporary to the north. In the 15th century the region brought under central control is a mere seventy-miles across (people and places being harder to subdue in the tropical forest than on the savanna), though a century later Benin stretches from the Niger delta in the east to Lagos in the west. But Benin's fame is based on factors other than power. This is the coastal kingdom which the Portuguese discover when they reach the mouth of the Niger in the 1470s, bringing back to Europe the first news of superb African artefacts and of the ceremonial splendour of Benin's oba or king. The kings of Benin are a story in themselves. In the 19th century they scandalize the west by their use of human sacrifice in court rituals. And they have stamina. At the end of the 20th century the original dynasty is still in place, though without political power. All in all, among Nigeria's many historic kingdoms, Benin has earned its widespread renown. The Fulani and Sokoto: 1804-1903 Living among the Hausa in the northern regions of Nigeria are a tribe, the Fulani, whose leaders in the early 19th century become passionate advocates of strict Islam. From 1804 sheikh Usman dan Fodio and his two sons lead the Fulani in an immensely successful holy war against the lax Muslim rulers of the Hausa kingdoms. The result is the establishment in 1809 of a Fulani capital at Sokoto, from which the centre and north of Nigeria is effectively ruled for the rest of the 19th century. But during this same period there has been steady encroachment on the region by British interests. British explorers: 1806-1830 From the death of Mungo Park near Bussa in 1806 to the end of the century, there is continuing interest in Nigeria on the part of British explorers, anti-slavery activists, missionaries and traders. In 1821 the British government sponsors an expedition south through the Sahara to reach the kingdom of Bornu . Its members become the first Europeans to reach Lake Chad, in 1823. One of the group, Hugh Clapperton, explores further west through Kano and the Hausa territory to reach Sokoto . Clapperton is only back in England for a few months, in 1825, before he sets off again for the Nigerian coast at Lagos. On this expedition, with his servant Richard Lander, he travels on trade routes north from the coast to Kano and then west again to Sokoto. Here Clapperton dies. But Lander makes his way back to London, where he is commissioned by the government to explore the lower reaches of the Niger. Accompanied in 1830 by his brother John, Lander makes his way north from the coast near Lagos to reach the great river at Bussa - the furthest point of Mungo Park's journey downstream. With considerable difficulty the brothers make a canoe trip downstream, among hostile Ibo tribesmen, to reach the sea at the Niger delta. This region has long been familiar to European traders, but its link to the interior is now charted. All seems set for serious trade. SS Alburkah: 1832-1834 After Lander's second return to England a company is formed by a group of Liverpool merchants, including Macgregor Laird, to trade on the lower Niger. Laird is also a pioneer in the shipping industry. For the present purpose, an expedition to the Niger, he designs an iron paddle-steamer, the 55-ton Alburkah . Laird himself leads the expedition, with Richard Lander as his expert guide. The Alburkah steams south from Milford Haven in July 1832 with forty-eight on board. She reaches the mouth of the Niger three months later, entering history as the first ocean-going iron ship. After making her way up one of the many streams of the Niger delta, the Alburkah progresses upstream on the main river as far as Lokoja, the junction with the Benue. The expedition demonstrates that the Niger offers a highway into the continent for ocean vessels. And the performance of the iron steamer is a triumph. But medicine is not yet as far advanced as technology. When the Alburkah returns to Liverpool, in 1834, only nine of the original crew of forty-eight are alive. They include a much weakened Macgregor Laird. Trade and anti-slavery: 1841-1900 The next British expedition to the Niger is almost equally disastrous in terms of loss of life. Four ships under naval command are sent out in 1841, with instructions to steam up the Niger and make treaties with local kings to prevent the slave trade. The enterprise is abandoned when 48 of the 145 Europeans in the crews die of fever. Malaria is the cause of the trouble, but major progress is made when a doctor, William Baikie, leads an expedition up the Niger in 1854. He administers quinine to his men and suffers no loss of life. Extracted from the bark of the cinchona tree, quinine has long been used in medicine. But its proven efficacy against malaria is a turning point in the European penetration of Africa. The British anti-slavery policy in the region involves boosting the trade in palm oil (a valuable product which gives the name Oil Rivers to the Niger delta) to replace the dependence on income from the slave trade. It transpires later that this is somewhat counter- productive, causing the upriver chieftains to acquire more slaves to meet the increased demand for palm oil. But it is nevertheless the philanthropic principle behind much of the effort to set up trading stations. At the same time the British navy patrols the coast to liberate captives from slave ships of other nations and to settle them at Freetown in Sierra Leone. From 1849 the British government accepts a more direct involvement. A consul, based in Fernando Po, is appointed to take responsibility for the Bights of Biafra and Benin. He undertakes direct negotiations with the king of Lagos, the principal port from which slaves are shipped. When these break down, in 1851, Lagos is attacked and captured by a British force. Another member of the Lagos royal family is placed on the throne, after guaranteeing to put an end to the slave trade and to human sacrifice (a feature of this region). When he and his successor fail to fulfil these terms, Lagos is annexed in 1861 as a British colony. During the remainder of the century the consolidation of British trade and British political control goes hand in hand. In 1879 George Goldie persuades the British trading enterprises on the Niger to merge their interests in a single United African Company, later granted a charter as the Royal Niger Company. In 1893 the delta region is organized as the Niger Coast Protectorate. In 1897 the campaign against unacceptable local practices reaches a climax in Benin - notorious by this time both for slave trading and for human sacrifice. The members of a British delegation to the oba of Benin are massacred in this year. In the reprisals Benin City is partly burnt by British troops. The difficulty of administering the vast and complex region of Nigeria persuades the government that the upriver territories, thus far entrusted to the Royal Niger Company, also need to be brought under central control. In 1900 the company's charter is revoked. Britain assumes direct responsibility for the region from the coast to Sokoto and Bornu in the north. Given the existing degree of British involvement, this entire area has been readily accepted at the Berlin conference in 1884 as falling to Britain in the scramble for Africa - though in the late 1890s there remains dangerous tension between Britain and France, the colonial power in neighbouring Dahomey , over drawing Nigeria's western boundary. British colonial rule: 1900-1960 The sixty years of Britain's colonial rule in Nigeria are characterized by frequent reclassifying of different regions for administrative purposes. They are symptomatic of the problem of uniting the country as a single state. In the early years the Niger Coast Protectorate is expanded to become Southern Nigeria, with its seat of government at Lagos. At this time the rulers in the north (the emir of Kano and the sultan of Sokoto) are very far from accepting British rule. To deal with the situation Frederick Lugard is appointed high commissioner and commander-in-chief of the protectorate of northern Nigeria. Lugard has already been much involved in the colony, commanding troops from 1894 on behalf of the Royal Niger Company to oppose French claims on Borgu (a border region, divided in 1898 between Nigeria and Dahomey). Between 1903 and 1906 he subdues Kano and Sokoto and finally puts an end to their rulers' slave-raiding expeditions. Lugard pacifies northern Nigeria by ensuring that in each territory, however small, the throne is won and retained by a chief willing to cooperate. Lugard then allows these client rulers considerable power - in the technique, soon to be known as 'indirect rule', which in Africa is particularly associated with his name (though it has been a familiar aspect of British colonial policy in India). In 1912 Lugard is appointed governor of both northern and southern Nigeria and is given the task of merging them. He does so by 1914, when the entire region becomes the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria. The First World War brings a combined British and French invasion of German Cameroon (a campaign not completed until early in 1916). In 1922 the League of Nations grants mandates to the two nations to administer the former German colony. The British mandate consists of two thin strips on the eastern border of Nigeria. The rival claims of Nigeria's various regions become most evident after World War II when Britain is attempting to find a structure to meet African demands for political power. By 1951 the country has been divided into Northern, Eastern and Western regions, each with its own house of assembly. In addition there is a separate house of chiefs for the Northern province, to reflect the strong tradition there of tribal authority. And there is an overall legislative council for the whole of Nigeria. But even this is not enough to reflect the complexity of the situation. In 1954 a new constitution (the third in eight years) establishes the Federation of Nigeria and adds the Federal Territory of Lagos. During the later 1950s an African political structure is gradually achieved. From 1957 there is a federal prime minister. In the same year the Western and Eastern regions are granted internal self-government, to be followed by the Northern region in 1959. Full independence follows rapidly, in October 1960. The tensions between the country's communities now become Nigeria's own concern. Independence and secession: 1960-1970 Regional hostilities are a feature of independent Nigeria from the start, partly due to an imbalance of population. More than half the nation's people are in the Fulani and Hausa territories of the Northern region. Northerners therefore control not only their own regional assembly but also the federal government in Lagos. From 1962 to 1964 there is almost continuous anti-northern unrest elsewhere in the nation, coming to a climax in a rebellion in 1966 by officers from the Eastern region, the homeland of the Ibo. They assassinate both the federal prime minister and the premiers of the Northern and Western regions. In the ensuing chaos many Ibos living in the north are massacred. In July a northern officer, Yakubu Gowon, emerges as the country's leader. His response to Nigeria's warring tribal factions is to subdivide the four regions (the Mid-West has been added in 1963), rearranging them into twelve states. This device further inflames Ibo hostility, for one of the new states cuts their territory off from the sea. The senior Ibo officer, Odumegwu Ojukwu, takes the drastic step in May 1967 of declaring the Eastern region an independent nation, calling it the republic of Biafra. The result is bitter and intense civil war, with the federal army (increasing during the conflict from 10,000 to 200,000 men) meeting powerful resistance from the secessionist region. The issue splits the west, where it is the first post- independence African war to receive widespread coverage. The US and Britain supply arms to the federal government. France extends the same facilities to Biafra. In any civil war ordinary people suffer most, and in small land-locked Biafra this is even more true than usual. By January 1970 they are starving. Biafra surrenders and ceases to exist. Ojukwu escapes across the border and is granted asylum in the Ivory Coast. From oil wealth to disaster: 1970-1999 General Gowon achieves an impressive degree of reconciliation in the country after the traumas of 1967-70. Nigeria now becomes one of the wealthiest countries in Africa thanks to its large reserves of oil (petroleum now, rather than the palm oil of the previous century). In the mid-1970s the output is more than two million barrels a day, the value of which is boosted by the high prices achieved during the oil crisis of 1973-4. But with this wealth goes corruption, which Gowon fails to control. When he is abroad, in 1975, his government is toppled in a military coup. Gowon retires to Britain. In the second half of the 1970s oil prices plummet. Nigeria rapidly suffers economic crisis and political disorder. Within a period of five years the average income per head slumps by 75%, from over $1000 a year to a mere $250. Neither brief cilivian governments nor frequent military intervention prove able to rescue the situation. A regular response is to subdivide regional Nigeria into ever smaller parcels. The number of states is increased to nineteen in 1979 and to twenty-nine in 1991. By the end of the century it stands at thirty-six. Meanwhile the nation's foreign debt has been increasing in parallel, to reach $36 billion by 1994. In 1993 the military ruler (Ibrahim Babangida, in power from 1985) yields to international pressure and holds a presidential election. When it appears to have been conclusively won by Moshood Abiola, a chief of the western Yoruba tribe, Babangida cancels the election by decree. This blatant act prompts Nigeria's first energetic movement for democracy, which comes to international attention when one of its leaders - the playwright Ken Saro-Wiwa - is among a group hanged in 1995 for the alleged murder of four rivals at a political rally in 1994. Saro-Wiwa has also been a campaigner for the rights of his Ogoni people, whose territory is ravaged - to no benefit to themselves - by the international companies extracting Nigeria's oil. The world-wide outcry at Saro-Wiwa's death, without any pretence of a fair trial, prompts Nigeria's generals to offer new elections in 1999. The presidential election is won by Olusegun Obasanjo, by now a civilian but for three years from 1976 the military ruler of the country - and therefore widely assumed to be the army's preferred candidate. His People's Democratic Party wins a majority of seats in both the house of representatives and the senate. Early reports suggest that under Obasanjo's government a ruthless disregard of civil liberties continues in Nigeria, with outbreaks of minority ethnic protest being brutally suppressed. The election of Obasanjo, a Christian from the south, brings new tensions. As if in response, in November 1999, the predominantly Muslim northern state of Zamfara introduces strict Islamic law, the sharia. Other northern states discuss similar action. Local Christians take alarm. Violent street battles between the two communities are a feature of the early months of 2000. The future of Nigeria is problematic but of considerable importance to Africa. The nation's potential remains vast. With at least 115 million people (comprising some 200 tribes) it is the continent's most populous country. And as the world's fifth largest oil producer, it has the wherewithal to be one of the richest.

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