nigerian navy

The Nigerian Navy (NN) is the sea arm of the Nigerian military. The Nigerian Navy is the second largest in black Africa continent after South Africa, consisting 8,000 personnel, including those of the Coast Guard.In 1887, the Colonial Government of Nigeria established the Lagos Marine as a quasi-military organisation combining the duties of present day Nigeria Ports Authority, the Inland Waterways and the maritime policing duties of a modern day Navy.When Northern and Southern Nigeria were brought together as one country in 1914, the two marine forces became the Nigeria Marine, and on 1 June 1956 after lobbying for a full-fledged naval force instead of a ports authority, the Nigerian Naval Force was established. HMS Hare, an Algerine class minesweeper was renamed Nigeria and recommissioned as the flagship of the new navy on 21 July 1959.
The Navy celebrated its Golden Jubilee in Lagos in June 2006 with a parade and a review of the fleet by the Commander in Chief, President Olusegun Obasanjo. To witness this colourful parade were the Chiefs of Naval Staff of African Navies and other friendly nations. In 2004, two Navy rear admirals were dismissed on corruption charges after having been convicted of involvement in the disappearance from Navy custody of the Russian oil tanker African Pride.
The Nigerian Navy command structure today consists of the Naval Headquarters based in Abuja, two operational commands with headquarters in Lagos and Calabar, two training commands with headquarters in Lagos but with training facilities spread all over Nigeria, two operational bases, five forward operational bases (with two more soon to come on stream), and two Dockyards located in Lagos and Port Harcourt. The Navy has 8,000 personnel, including those of the Coast Guard.
The commander of the Nigerian Navy is Vice Admiral II Ibrahim, the Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS). He is assisted by 7 principal staff officers at the Headquarters known as Branch Chiefs. The PSOs are the Chief of Policy and Plans, Rear Admiral PS Adeniyi, Rear Admiral Os Ibrahim, the Chief of Training and Operations, Chief of Accounts and Budget, Commodore Maculey, Rear Admiral Jonah, the Chief of Naval Engineering, Commodore S Orishamolade, the Chief of Logistics, and Rear Admiral I B Acholonu, the Navy Secretary.
Each of the Branches consists of Directorates. The Administration Branch, for instance, consists of Directorate of Education (headed by Cdre TO Olawumi) and Directorate of Medical Services (headed by Cdre K Ibe Lambert). The Navy sponsors three schools, the first established at Ojo, the Nigerian Navy Secondary School, Abeokuta, and a third at Port Harcourt. The Directorate of Naval Information, headed by Captain H Babalola, is under the Chief of Policy and Plans.
The commands are under the flag officers commanding. Rear Admiral SU Umosen commands the Western Naval Command. The major facility within the Western Naval Command appears to be the Naval Base at Apapa in Lagos, which is made up of the shore establishments NNS Olokun and NNS Quorra. Rear Admiral BA Raji commands the Eastern Naval Command. The other two commands are the Naval Training Command and the newly constituted Logistics Command, headed by Rear Admiral HOG Arogundade.

The IISS Military Balance 2007 lists the Nigerian Navy as having one MEKO 360 class frigate, NNS Aradu; one Vosper corvette, Enymiri (F 83); two modified Italian Lerici class coastal minesweepers (Ohue and Marabai, commissioned in 1987 and 1988 respectively); three French Combattante fast missile craft (Siri, Ayam, and Ekun); and four Balsam ocean patrol craft (ex buoy tenders).Jane's Fighting Ships said in 2010 that Enymiri's sistership Erinomi was assessed as beyond economical repair in 1996. All these vessels are listed as having their serviceability in doubt. Vessels which may be operational are a German Luerssen 57-metre coastal patrol craft; twelve Defender patrol boats; the landing ship tank NNS Ambe (LST 1312); and the five logistics and support ships: one survey vessel, three tugs, and the training ship Ruwan Yaro (A 497). There are two Agusta Westland Lynx ASW helicopters, which are not operational, and a total of four AgustaWestland AW109 helicopters. On 20 April 2007 an Navy Augusta Helicopter crashed during a flight between Port Harcourt and Owerri, and all the three naval personnel aboard were feared killed, reducing the then total number of Augusta helicopters from three to two. On 12 April 2009, the Navy commissioned two 38-metre Sea Eagle Fast Patrol Crafts (FPCs) - NNS Zaria and NNS Burutu and two new Agusta helicopters procured from Alenia, Italy.
In late 2006 and early 2007, a naval exercise was held which saw several previously thought unserviceable ships involved

nigeria bar association

The Nigerian Bar Association, NBA is the umbrella body of all lawyers admitted to practice law in Nigeria. A lawyer’s admission into the NBA is automatic having satisfied the members of the Body of Benchers with the requirements of good character and proficiency in the Bar Final Examination.
The NBA is made up of 88 branches, spread across the 36 states of Nigeria. It consist of 14 National Officers who are appointed every 2 years and 1 National Secretariat. With a membership base of about 55,000, it is reputed to be the largest professional association in Africa. In Nigeria, the NBA remains the top professional association. It has members in every sphere of endeavour in the country and this gives it a credible platform to be a change agent, an ideal it has been committed to since inception. The affairs of the association is managed by the National Executive Committee(NEC) which is made up of National Officers and representatives of all branches
The NBA was officially recognized by law in 1933. It has continued to act as the conscience of the nation especially as it relates to the promotion of democracy, respect for Rule of law and social/economic empowerment. It was in the vanguard for the fight for Democracy and presently is committed to Democracy consolidation and the entrenchment of the Rule of law. It uses its enormous human resources to constantly appraise and engage government policies and programmes. It has a highly respected voice in the country. The NBA holds annual general conferences and it publishes various journals and newsletters reporting the work of its sections and committees.
The NBA is Juristic personality and Juridical entity. It  is a creation of statutes; the Legal Practitioners Act(amendment in progress), and is recognized by numerous legislations. It is also registered as incorporated trustees with eminent lawyers as trustees. It has domestic, representational and quasi-regulatory functions relating only to the legal profession.
CONCEPTUAL DEFINITION
To be in the vanguard for the promotion and defence of the rule of law, good governance, social justice and the dignity of all persons.
VISIONTo rank among the foremost Bar Associations in the world.
MISSIONTo use the law as an instrument for social change.
MOTTOPromoting the Rules of law.
CORE VALUES

• Integrity
• Excellence
• Courage
• professionalism

 GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

• Maintenance and defence of the integrity and independence of the Bar and the Judiciary in Nigeria.
• Promotion and advancement of Legal Education, Continuing Legal Education, Advocacy and Jurisprudence.
• Improvement of the system of administration of justice, its procedure and the arrangement of court business and regular law reporting.
• Establishment, maintenance and efficient operation of a system of prompt and efficient legal aid and assistance for those in need but who are unable to pay for same.
• Promotion and support of law reform.
• Maintenance of the highest standards of professional conduct, etiquette and discipline.
• Promotion of good relations among the members of the Association and between them and lawyers of other countries.
• Promotion of co-operation between the Association and other National or International Law Organizations and such other bodies as may be approved by the National Executive Committee.
• Encouragement and protection of the right of access to courts at reasonably affordable fees and of representation by counsel before courts and tribunals.
• Encouragement of the establishment of a National Law Library.
• Promotion and protection of the principles of the rule of law and respect for enforcement of fundamental rights, human rights and people’s rights.
• Creation of schemes for the encouragement of newly qualified members and assistance to aged or incapacitated members of the Association.
• Establishment of schemes for the promotion of the welfare, security and economic advancement of members of the legal profession.
• Creation and maintenance of an Endowment Fund for the proper observance and discharge of any of these aims and objects.

Nigeria railways

Railways in Nigeria are operated by the Nigerian Railway Corporation.
As of 2003, Nigeria’s rail system had 3,557 kilometers of track, 19 kilometers of which were dual gauge and the remainder, standard gauge. The country has two major rail lines: one connects Lagos on the Bight of Benin and Nguru in the northern state of Yobe; the other connects Port Harcourt in the Niger Delta and Maiduguri in the northeastern state of Borno. As of March 2006, Nigeria and Niger expected to move forward with plans to establish a rail link between the two countries. Nigeria is also seeking a rail link with Cameroon, but discussions are more contentious in the aftermath of the International Court of Justice’s October 2002 verdict in favor of Cameroon on the issue of control of the Bakasi Peninsula. In order to remedy the poor condition, efficiency, and profitability of the nation’s railways, the government is seeking to privatize the Nigerian Railway Corporation. Under the privatization plan, three separate concessions of 25–30 years would be granted to private-sector companies to run train services in the western, central, and eastern regions.

total: 3,557 km
narrow gauge:
3,505 km 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) gauge
19 km 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) gauge convertible to 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in)

standard gauge: 329 km 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in) gauge

note: Years of neglect of both the rolling stock and the right-of-way have seriously reduced the capacity and utility of the system. A project to restore Nigeria's railways is now underway. A project to convert the gauge of the system to 1435 mm has also somewhat stalled. Couplings of the chopper kind, vacuum brakes and non-roller bearing plain axles are also obsolete.

Main article: Lagos Metro

There are no rail links to neighbouring countries.

 Timeline

2010

• Lagos Metro to proceed.

 2008

• A metro is proposed for the megacity of Lagos.

 2007

• 21 July 2007 YENEGOA-PORT HARCOURT LINE - According to the Daily Champion (published in Lagos), the Nigerian states Bayelsa and Rivers are to embark on the construction of a high-speed rail line to connect Yenagoa, the Bayelsa state capital, and Port Harcourt. The Governor Timipre Sylva made this announcement when he met Nigerian Agip Oil Company managing director Antonio Panza in Yenagoa recently.

• February 2007 - Inland Container Depot under construction at Jos.

 2006

• CONTRACT TO REBUILD LAGOS TO KANO RAILWAY LINE

30 October 2006
President Olusegun Obasanjo signed a contract with China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation to modernise the Lagos to Kano railway line. This is the first phase of the proposed 3 phase line upgrade. The project has been split up into 5 sections namely Lagos-Ibadan (181 km), Ibadan-Ilorin (200 km), Ilorin-Minna (270 km), Minna–Abuja–Kaduna (360 km), and Kaduna-Kano (305 km).

• 8 June 2006 - development of Inland Container Depots (ICD) is proposed for a number of sites.

• CHINA HELPS WITH REVOLUTIONARY "FAST" RAIL

22 March 2006 In terms of a Memorandum of Understanding signed by Nigeria’s federal Government on 16 March, the Guangdong Xinguang International Group is to construct a revolutionary “fast” rail (RFR) system from Lagos to the capital Abuja (where there is no existing railway) as well as light rail lines to the Murtala Mohammed International Airport from Lagos city and to Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport from the Abuja city centre.
According to the minister of commerce, $US2billion has been made available to start the projects, and the Chinese company will also invest in the three planned stages of the projected Abuja light rail system.

History of the Nigerian Senate

The law-making function is one of the essential pillars of any society. No human society survives in the total absence of laws. Whatever the social system, the conduct of affairs must be defined by certain basic rules. These rules must be made by someone or some group and executed or enforced by some group. In a democratic environment, power belongs to the people who in turn elect those who are to carry out the task of law-making on their behalf. But in a despot and directly exercised by him or assigned to anyone of his choice. There are no clear lines demarcating the law-making function from the executive function. The two flow into each other and are often carried out by the same people. Therefore, the story of one inevitably leads to the other. Such is the case of law-making in Nigeria arising from its long history of military dictatorships. The story of the legislature is intertwined with that of the executive and evolves from the larger history of the Nigerian national itself. Nothing better captures this evolution than the process of constitutional engineering in Nigeria, for it is these supreme laws of the land that provide guidance for law-making.

On the whole, these supreme laws or constitutions are products of the dynamic polity, itself a part of the political history of Nigeria. Therefore, it is within this context that the development of the legislature can be traced to the beginning of British colonization of what is now know as Nigeria. The first act in the formal colonization process was the annexation of Lagos in 1961

At the head of the colonial administrative set-up for the colony called The Settlement Of Lagos was a Governor aided by a ten-man advisory body. This advisory body later called the LegislativeCouncil commissioned in March 1862 was to be the forerunner of actual law-making bodies in the country.

February 19, 1866, the Settlement Of Lagos came under the jurisdiction of a new British Colonial sovereignty known as the West African Settlement incorporating the territories of Gold Coast, Lagos, Sierra Leone and the Gambia.

Barely one year later, Lagos and Gold Coast were severed from the larger settlement and brought under the jurisdiction of The Gold Coast Colony with its own executive and legislative council. In 1886, the colony was further broken down and Lagos became a separate political unit with its own governor, legislative and administrative council. By this time, the rest of Nigeria had come under colonial rule with the Protectorate of Northern Nigeria administered from Zungeru and Calabar serving as the capital of The Protectorate OF Southern Nigerian. The year 1906 was the turning point in the history of what is now the Nigerian state for its was in this year that the colonial administration began the process of creating an entity out of the disparate peoples of Northern and Southern Nigeria. It unified the Colony of Lagos with the Southern Protectorate and it became The Colony and Protectorate of Southern Nigeria and the Lagos Legislative Council was granted powers to make laws for the entire entity. But it was in 1914 that the unification process was complete. Sir F.J.D. Lugard was appointed Governor of the Colony and Protectorate of Southern Nigeria in 1912 and tasked with the assignment of effecting the unification of the Colony and Protectorate of Southern and the Protectorate of Northern Nigeria.

Two years later, this task was accomplished with both colony and protectorates merged into what became The Colony And Protectorate Of Nigeria. Lord Lugard became the Governor and Commander-in-chief of this emerging nation. The Lagos Legislative Council continued to legislate for the Colony and Protectorate of Southern Nigeria, while the Governor made laws for the Northern Protectorate.

The emerging nation was, therefore, a product of mergers but it mergers with tenuous links, the reason being the non-existence of a common forum for the elite of the Northern and Southern Protectorates. Kept apart, the natural understanding and confidence-building that flows from interaction would elude them for 32 years until 1946 when the Richards Constitution made interaction possible for Southern and Northern politicians..

nigeria colonial era

Spaniard and Portuguese explorers were the first Europeans to begin trade in Nigeria in the port they named Lagos and in Calabar. The Europeans traded with the ethnicities of the coast and also negotiated a trade in slaves, to the detriment and profit of many Nigerian ethnicities. Consequently many of the citizens of the former slave nations of the British Empire are descended from a Nigerian ethnic group. Britain abolished its slave trade in 1807 and, following the Napoleonic Wars, established the West Africa Squadron in an attempt to halt the international traffic in slaves.
In 1885, British claims to a West African sphere of influence received international recognition, and in the following year the Royal Niger Company was chartered under the leadership of Sir George Taubman Goldie. In 1900 the company's territory came under the control of the British government, which moved to consolidate its hold over the area of modern Nigeria. On January 1, 1901, Nigeria became a British protectorate, part of the British Empire, the foremost world power at the time. Many wars against subjugation had been fought by the states of what later became Nigeria against the British Empire in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Notably of those were the British Conquest of Benin in 1897 and the Anglo-Aro War from 1901—1902. The restraint or complete destruction of these states opened up the Niger area to British rule.
In 1914, the Niger area was formally united as the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria. Administratively, Nigeria remained divided into the northern and southern provinces and Lagos colony. Western education and the development of a modern economy proceeded more rapidly in the south than in the north, with consequences felt in Nigeria's political life ever since. Slavery was not finally outlawed in northern Nigeria until 1936.
Following World War II, in response to the growth of Nigerian nationalism and demands for independence, successive constitutions legislated by the British government moved Nigeria toward self-government on a representative and increasingly federal basis. By the middle of the 20th century, the great wave for independence was sweeping across Africa.

nigeria Crime

Nigeria is home to a substantial network of organized crime, active especially in drug trafficking. Nigerian criminal groups are heavily involved in drug trafficking, shipping heroin from Asian countries to Europe and America; and cocaine from South America to Europe and South Africa. .The various Nigerian Confraternities or "campus cults" are active in both organized crime and in political violence as well as providing a network of corruption within Nigeria. As confraternities have extensive connections with political and military figures, they offer excellent alumni networking opportunities. The Supreme Vikings Confraternity, for example, boasts that twelve members of the Rivers State House of Assembly are cult members. On lower levels of society, there are the "area boys", organized gangs mostly active in Lagos who specialize in mugging and small-scale drug dealing. According to official statistics, gang violence in Lagos resulted in 273 civilians and 84 policemen killed in the period of August 2000 to May 2001.
Internationally, Nigeria is infamous for a crime dubbed 419, a type of advance fee fraud (named after Section 419 of the Nigerian Penal Code) along with the "Nigerian scam", a form of confidence trick practiced by individuals and criminal syndicates. In 2003, the Nigerian Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (or EFCC) was created to combat this and other forms of organized financial crime.
There is also some Piracy in Nigeria, with attacks mainly directed at smaller ships shuttling employees and materials belonging to the oil companies with any involvement in oil exploration in the Niger Delta. From January 1, 2007 to October 15, 2007, twenty-six pirate attacks were recorded

history of herbert macauley

Herbert Samuel Heelas Macaulay (November 14, 1864—May 7, 1946) was a Nigerian nationalist, politician, engineer, journalist, and musician and considered by many Nigerians as the founder of Nigerian nationalism.Macaulay was born in Lagos on November 14, 1864 to Sierra Leone Creole parents. He was the grandson of bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther and the son of the founder of the first secondary school in Nigeria. After going to a Christian missionary school, he took a job as a clerk at the Lagos Department of Public Works. From 1891 to 1894 he studied civil engineering in Plymouth, England. On his return, he worked for the Crown as a land inspector. He left his position in 1898 due to growing distaste for Nigeria's position as a British colony.

Importance Of Constitution

Today, mostly every democratic country has a constitution which is a vital document, according to which the country carries out its operations. Constitution protects the rights of the citizens of a concerned nation, irrespective of their religion, caste, creed, sex or physical appearance. A constitution, thus, can be safely said to be a social contract between the government and the people it governs. It can also be deemed as the fundamental underlying framework of government for a nation. In a constitutional country therefore, every person is treated equally, regardless of his office or position and is expected to abide by higher law. For instance, the constitution of United States, besides establishing the government’s power also cites the fundamental rights belonging to the people who reside within its borders. Although mostly a country’s constitution is in written form, it need not necessarily be so. Great Britain, for instance, has an unwritten constitution and by what they refer to as constitution are an agglomeration of their collective legal traditions, which include the Magna Carta of 1215, English Bill of Rights of 1687, Acts of Parliament, as well as the collective decisions of the British Courts. However, in case of United States, a constitution refers to the written document that lays out the structure and function of a federal government along with the Bill of Rights. This article discusses the role of constitution to keep a nation united.

 

Significance Of Constitution

• The primary function of a constitution is to lay out the basic structure of the government according to which the people are to be governed. It is the constitution of a country, which establishes the three main organs of the government, namely, the legislature, executive and judiciary.
• The constitution of a country not only defines the powers allotted to each of the three main organs, but it also significantly makes a clear demarcation of the responsibilities assigned to each of them. It effectively regulates the relationship between these organs as well as the relationship between the government and its people.
• Since the country’s constitution stands superior to all the laws framed within the territorial precincts of the country, any law enacted by the ruling government has to be in conformity with the concerned constitution. As such, the citizens would, in turn, be abiding by not just the law, but also working in sync with the demarcations of the constitution laid by the country.
• The constitution does not simply provide a recipe for an efficient government, but also deals with limitations on power. Since power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely, a constitution is established to restrict the abuse of power by those who conduct governmental functions.
• The constitution of a particular country lays down the national goals which form the basic edifice on which the nation rests upon. For instance, the constitution of India has inscribed in it the primary facets of the nation which are democracy, socialism, secularism and national integration.  
• A constitution, besides thrusting on the rights of the citizens of the concerned nation, also has embedded in it the duties that the citizens require to adhere to as well.

10 worst enemies of the federal republic of nigeria

1. Bad leadership- The first of these enemies is bad leadership. The country Nigeria has never had a good leader since 1960, and this jinx is continuing until the record is broken. It would appear that none of the nation’s leaders was ever prepared for the assignment of leading the teeming innocent citizens of the country. Only a bad leader can effectively solve the seeming intractable challenges confronting the nation.
2. Bad electoral system- Only the unborn will turn blind eye to the kind of outlandish and odd electoral system that continue to produce our kind of leaders. Election in Nigeria has become a selection exercise and if nothing is done a day will come when only our politicians will go out in the rain and vote themselves in. This is the number two enemy of the nation. Don’t ask me for solution.
3. Corruption- You know it better than I do. Corruption has eaten so deep into our system that “egunje” has become officially recognized in our political dictionary. No sector of the country can assume ignorance of the “settle me” syndrome. We see it happen everyday but what we don’t see is top political office holders going to spend at least 5 years jail term for not executing contracts awarded to them. We see only part 1 out of several parts remaining in the days of Ribadu but all that is history now.
4. Politicians- Politicians are the fourth worst enemies Nigeria has. A Nigerian politician can afford to spend several millions of naira celebrating his victory. Why? Because he now has an opportunity to steal money. And when he thinks that his party is not doing impressively after bagging a position, he deserts to another party commonly PDP as seen in the case of Bauchi State now. He never surrenders the mandate given to him as a member of his ex-party but absconds with it.  
5. The Niger Delta region- This is the beautiful region that has contributed to the development of the nation since 1956 when oil was first discovered leading to the development and continued growth of cities like Abuja and Lagos and feeding the personal pockets of the nation’s leaders. However the region is in neglect today as the people cannot fish from their waters, farm on their lands and breathe clean air from their homes. The people have also protested this very violently which is unfortunate though leading to fall in oil production. The region is ranking fifth as the enemy of the nation because if not properly addressed by the FGN, the future is blink.
6. Frequent electricity failure- Interestingly, the nation cannot supply its citizens with adequate power supply. It has therefore come to a stage the people only see with “atukpa,” candles and lanterns. We are back to the dark ages. Believe me if I tell you that a 10 year-old child born and brought up in the country may not have seen electricity stay on for 6 hours. Such is the situation of the country in terms of power and energy.
7. Aristocrats- Many Nigerians can be effectively categorized in the family of nobility in the country today. These people have ruined the nation with a lot of money they have stolen from the country and parade themselves as wealthy and famous individuals while the ordinary Nigerians groan in the streets with no streetlights, good roads, water and even food to mention just a few. We know, see and read about them on daily basis even as we are dying.
8. A portion of the country- This issue needs to be discussed if we must move forward as one nation with one destiny. A section of the country has ruled us for many decades with the nation remaining stagnant. Out of a total of the 13 leaders that the nation has produced, this very section of the country has produced about 9 of these rulers yet ideas have not taken the nation beyond the deserts to the Promised Land. In fact, there are people of other ethnic groups who ordinarily should be having the same right to rule the nation but have been relegated to the background.
9. Education system- This system like ones in the country is getting ruined by the day. With this sector now sold to private hands and public universities increasing fees almost on daily basis, only the children of the rich can now afford to educate themselves. Something drastic must be done to correct this anomaly.
10. Bad policies- Bad policies not aimed at benefiting the common man in the street is usually the agendas of the nation and when these agendas are high sounding not one sees the light of the day. The situation has become such that when our leaders announce their agendas for us we only smile and not take them into considerations

state creation in nigeria

State	Date Created	Preceding Entity
Abia State	27 August 1991	Imo State
Adamawa State	27 August 1991	Gongola State
Akwa Ibom State	23 September 1987	Cross River State
Anambra State	27 August 1991	(old) Anambra State
Bauchi State	3 February 1976	North-Eastern State
Bayelsa State	1 October 1996	Rivers State
Benue State	3 February 1976	Benue-Plateau State
Borno State	3 February 1976	North-Eastern State
Cross River State	27 May 1967	Eastern Region; known as South-Eastern State from 1967 to 1976.
Delta State	27 August 1991	Bendel State
Ebonyi State	1 October 1996	Enugu State and Abia State
Edo State	27 August 1991	Bendel State
Ekiti State	1 October 1996	Ondo State
Enugu State	27 August 1991	(old) Anambra State
Gombe State	1 October 1996	Bauchi State
Imo State	3 February 1976	East Central State
Jigawa State	27 August 1991	Kano State
Kaduna State	27 May 1967	Northern Region; known as North-Central State from 1967 to 1976.
Kano State	27 May 1967	Northern Region
Katsina State	23 September 1987	Kaduna State
Kebbi State	27 August 1991	Sokoto State
Kogi State	27 August 1991	Kwara State; Benue State
Kwara State	27 May 1967	Northern Region; known as West Central State from 1967 to 1976.
Lagos State	27 May 1967	Federal Territory of Lagos and Colony Province
Nasarawa State	1 October 1996	Plateau State
Niger State	3 February 1976	North-Western State
Ogun State	3 February 1976	Western State
Ondo State	3 February 1976	Western State
Osun State	27 August 1991	Oyo State
Oyo State	3 February 1976	Western State
Plateau State	3 February 1976	Benue-Plateau State
Rivers State	27 May 1967	Eastern Region
Sokoto State	3 February 1976	North-Western State
Taraba State	27 August 1991	Gongola State
Yobe State	27 August 1991	Borno State
Zamfara State	1 October 1996	Sokoto State
Abuja Federal Capital Territory	3 February 1976	Benue-Plateau, North-Central, and North-Western States

nelson mandela history

elson Mandela belongs to a cadet branch of the Thembu dynasty, which reigns in the Transkeian Territories of South Africa's Cape Province. He was born in Mvezo, a small village located in the district of Umtata, the Transkei capital.He has Khoisan ancestry on his mother's side. His patrilineal great-grandfather Ngubengcuka (who died in 1832), ruled as the Inkosi Enkhulu, or king, of the Thembu people.One of the king's sons, named Mandela, became Nelson's grandfather and the source of his surname. However, because he was only the Inkosi's child by a wife of the Ixhiba clan (the so-called "Left-Hand House"), the descendants of his branch of the royal family were not eligible to succeed to the Thembu throne.
Mandela's father, Gadla Henry Mphakanyiswa, served as chief of the town of Mvezo. However, upon alienating the colonial authorities, they deprived Mphakanyiswa of his position, and moved his family to Qunu. Despite this, Mphakanyiswa remained a member of the Inkosi's Privy Council, and served an instrumental role in Jongintaba Dalindyebo's ascension to the Thembu throne. Dalindyebo would later return the favour by informally adopting Mandela upon Mphakanyiswa's death. Mandela's father had four wives, with whom he fathered thirteen children (four boys and nine girls). Mandela was born to his third wife ('third' by a complex royal ranking system), Nosekeni Fanny. Fanny was a daughter of Nkedama of the Mpemvu Xhosa clan, the dynastic Right Hand House, in whose umzi or homestead Mandela spent much of his childhood.His given name Rolihlahla means "to pull a branch of a tree", or more colloquially, "troublemaker".
Rolihlahla Mandela became the first member of his family to attend a school, where his teacher Miss Mdingane gave him the English name "Nelson".
When Mandela was nine, his father died of tuberculosis, and the regent, Jongintaba, became his guardian.Mandela attended a Wesleyan mission school located next to the palace of the regent. Following Thembu custom, he was initiated at age sixteen, and attended Clarkebury Boarding Institute. Mandela completed his Junior Certificate in two years, instead of the usual three. Designated to inherit his father's position as a privy councillor, in 1937 Mandela moved to Healdtown, the Wesleyan college in Fort Beaufort which most Thembu royalty attendeAt nineteen, he took an interest in boxing and running at the school.
After enrolling, Mandela began to study for a Bachelor of Arts at the Fort Hare University, where he met Oliver Tambo. Tambo and Mandela became lifelong friends and colleagues. Mandela also became close friends with his kinsman, Kaiser ("K.D.") Matanzima who, as royal scion of the Thembu Right Hand House, was in line for the throne of Transkei, a role that would later lead him to embrace Bantustan policies. His support of these policies would place him and Mandela on opposing political sides. At the end of Nelson's first year, he became involved in a Students' Representative Council boycott against university policies, and was told to leave Fort Hare and not return unless he accepted election to the SRC. Later in his life, while in prison, Mandela studied for a Bachelor of Laws from the University of London External Programme.
Shortly after leaving Fort Hare, Jongintaba announced to Mandela and Justice (the regent's son and heir to the throne) that he had arranged marriages for both of them. The young men, displeased by the arrangement, elected to relocate to Johannesburg.Upon his arrival, Mandela initially found employment as a guard at a mine. However, the employer quickly terminated Mandela after learning that he was the Regent's runaway ward. Mandela later started work as an articled clerk at a Johannesburg law firm, Witkin, Sidelsky and Edelman, through connections with his friend and mentor, realtor Walter Sisulu. While working at Witkin, Sidelsky and Edelman, Mandela completed his B.A. degree at the University of South Africa via correspondence, after which he began law studies at the University of Witwatersrand, where he first befriended fellow students and future anti-apartheid political activists Joe Slovo, Harry Schwarz and Ruth First. Slovo would eventually become Mandela's Minister of Housing, while Schwarz would become his Ambassador to Washington. During this time, Mandela lived in Alexandra township, north of Johannesburg.

abraham lincoln history

Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) served as the 16th President of the United States from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led the country through its greatest internal crisis, the American Civil War, preserved the Union, and ended slavery. Reared in a poor family on the western frontier, he was mostly self-educated. He became a country lawyer, an Illinois state legislator, and a one-term member of the United States House of Representatives, but failed in two attempts at a seat in the United States Senate. He was an affectionate, though often absent, husband, and father of four children.
Lincoln was an outspoken opponent of the expansion of slavery in the United States, which he deftly articulated in his campaign debates and speeches. As a result, he secured the Republican nomination and was elected president in 1860. As president he concentrated on the military and political dimensions of the war effort, always seeking to reunify the nation after the secession of the eleven Confederate States of America. He vigorously exercised unprecedented war powers, including the arrest and detention, without trial, of thousands of suspected secessionists. He issued his Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, and promoted the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, abolishing slavery.
Lincoln closely supervised the war effort, especially the selection of top generals, including Ulysses S. Grant. He brought leaders of various factions of his party into his cabinet and pressured them to cooperate. He defused a confrontation with Britain in the Trent affair late in 1861. Under his leadership, the Union took control of the border slave states at the start of the war and tried repeatedly to capture the Confederate capital at Richmond. Each time a general failed, Lincoln substituted another, until finally Grant succeeded in 1865. A shrewd politician deeply involved with patronage and power issues in each state, he reached out to War Democrats and managed his own re-election in the 1864 presidential election.
As the leader of the moderate faction of the Republican party, Lincoln came under attack from all sides. Radical Republicans wanted harsher treatment of the South, Democrats desired more compromise, and secessionists saw him as their enemy.Lincoln fought back with patronage, by pitting his opponents against each other, and by appealing to the American people with his powers of oratory; for example, his Gettysburg Address of 1863 became one of the most quoted speeches in history. It was an iconic statement of America's dedication to the principles of nationalism, equal rights, liberty, and democracy. At the close of the war, Lincoln held a moderate view of Reconstruction, seeking to speedily reunite the nation through a policy of generous reconciliation in the face of lingering and bitter divisiveness. Just six days after the decisive surrender of the commanding general of the Confederate army, Lincoln fell victim to an assassin — the first President to suffer such a fate. Lincoln has consistently been ranked by scholars as one of the greatest U.S. Presidents.

Supreme Court of Nigeria

 The Supreme Court of Nigeria is the highest court in Nigeria, and is located in the Central District, Abuja, in what is known as the Three Arms Zone, so called due to the proximity of the offices of the Presidential Complex, the National Assembly, and the Supreme Court.
In 1963, the Federal Republic of Nigeria was proclaimed and [[Nnamdi Azikiwe]] became its first President. Appeals from the Federal Supreme Court to the [[Judicial Committee of the Privy Council]] were abolished at that point, and the Supreme Court became the highest court in Nigeria. In 1976, the Court of Appeal (originally known as the Federal Court of Appeal) was established as a national court to entertain appeals from the High Courts of each of [[States of Nigeria|Nigeria's 36 states]], which are the trial courts of general jurisdiction.  The Supreme Court in its current form was shaped by the Supreme Court Act of 1990 and by Chapter VII of the 1999 [[Constitution]] of Nigeria.

Under the 1999 constitution, the Supreme Court has both original and appellate [[jurisdiction]]s, has the sole authority and jurisdiction to entertain appeals from Court of Appeal, having appellate jurisdiction over all lower federal courts and highest state courts.  Decisions rendered by the court are binding on all courts in Nigeria except the Supreme Court itself.

monarchy ststem of government

A monarchy is a form of government in which all political power is pased down to an individual,(usally handed down to generation to generation) known as a monarch ("single ruler"), or king (male), queen (female).
As a political entity, the monarch is the head of state, generally until their death or abdication, and "is wholly set apart from all other members of the state."
Historically, the notion of monarchy may emerge under different circumstances. It may grow out of tribal kingship, and the office of monarch (kings) becoming typically hereditary, resulting in successive dynasties or "houses", especially when the leader is wise and able enough to lead the tribals. It may also be a consequent emergence after an act of violence is committed upon local communities by an invading group, which usurps the communities' rights over their resources and then gradually releases such rights under controlled conditions. The leader of the usurping group often establishes himself as a monarch. A state of monarchy is said to result that reveals the relationships between resources, communities, monarch and his office. Even in antiquity, the strict hereditary succession could be tempered by systems of elective monarchy, where an assembly elects a new monarch out of a pool of eligible candidates. The concept has also been modernized, and constitutional monarchies where the title of monarch remains mostly ceremonial, without or with very limited political power.

  Absolute monarchy

  Semi-constitutional monarchy

  Constitutional monarchy

  Commonwealth realms (consitutional monarchies in personal union)

  Subnational monarchies (traditional)

Currently, 44 nations in the world have monarchs as heads of state, 16 of which are Commonwealth realms that recognize Queen Elizabeth II as their head of state. The historical form of absolute monarchy is retained only in Brunei, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Swaziland and Vatican City.

nigeria cutomary law

The traditional classification of customary law is into the following categories:

·                         Ethnic/Non-Moslem

·                         Moslem law/ Sharia

In the states in the Southern part of the country, Moslem/Islamic law, where it exists, is integrated into and has always been treated as an aspect of the customary law. Since 1956, however, Islamic law has been administered in the Northern states as a separate and distinct system. Even then it has only been in relation to Muslim personal law. However, it is better to accord Islamic law its distinct status as a separate source of law because of its peculiarities in terms of origin, nature and territorial and personal scope of application.

characteristics of democracy.

Democracy is more than just a set of specific government institutions; it rests upon a well-understood group of values, attitudes, and practices – all of which may take different forms and expressions among cultures and societies around the world. Democracies rest upon fundamental principles, not uniform practices.
Core Democratic Characteristics
• Democracy is government in which power and civic responsibility are exercised by all adult citizens, directly, or through their freely elected representatives.
• Democracy rests upon the principles of majority rule and individual rights. Democracies guard against all-powerful central governments and decentralize government to regional and local levels, understanding that all levels of government must be as accessible and responsive to the people as possible.
• Democracies understand that one of their prime functions is to protect such basic human rights as freedom of speech and religion; the right to equal protection under law; and the opportunity to organize and participate fully in the political, economic, and cultural life of society.
• Democracies conduct regular free and fair elections open to citizens of voting age.
• Citizens in a democracy have not only rights, but also the responsibility to participate in the political system that, in turn, protects their rights and freedoms.
• Democratic societies are committed to the values of tolerance, cooperation, and compromise. In the words of Mahatma Gandhi, "Intolerance is itself a form of violence and an obstacle to the growth of a true democratic spirit."

Public discussion is the lifeblood of democracy. Pictured: Nigerian Nobel-prize winner Wole Soyinka at a Swiss book fair.

Two Forms of Democracy
Democracies fall into two basic categories, direct and representative. In a direct democracy, citizens, without the intermediary of elected or appointed officials, can participate in making public decisions. Such a system is clearly most practical with relatively small numbers of people – in a community organization, tribal council, or the local unit of a labor union, for example – where members can meet in a single room to discuss issues and arrive at decisions by consensus or majority vote.
Some U.S. states, in addition, place "propositions" and "referenda" – mandated changes of law – or possible recall of elected officials on ballots during state elections. These practices are forms of direct democracy, expressing the will of a large population. Many practices may have elements of direct democracy. In Switzerland, many important political decisions on issues, including public health, energy, and employment, are subject to a vote by the country's citizens. And some might argue that the Internet is creating new forms of direct democracy, as it empowers political groups to raise money for their causes by appealing directly to like-minded citizens.
However, today, as in the past, the most common form of democracy, whether for a town of 50,000 or a nation of 50 million, is representative democracy, in which citizens elect officials to make political decisions, formulate laws, and administer programs for the public good.
Majority Rule and Minority Rights
All democracies are systems in which citizens freely make political decisions by majority rule. In the words of American essayist E.B. White: "Democracy is the recurrent suspicion that more than half the people are right more than half the time."
But majority rule, by itself, is not automatically democratic. No one, for example, would call a system fair or just that permitted 51 percent of the population to oppress the remaining 49 percent in the name of the majority. In a democratic society, majority rule must be coupled with guarantees of individual human rights that, in turn, serve to protect the rights of minorities and dissenters – whether ethnic, religious, or simply the losers in political debate. The rights of minorities do not depend upon the good will of the majority and cannot be eliminated by majority vote. The rights of minorities are protected because democratic laws and institutions protect the rights of all citizens.
Minorities need to trust the government to protect their rights and safety. Once this is accomplished, such groups can participate in, and contribute to their country's democratic institutions. The principle of majority rule and minority rights characterizes all modern democracies, no matter how varied in history, culture, population, and economy.
Pluralism and Democratic Society
In a democracy, government is only one thread in the social fabric of many and varied public and private institutions, legal forums, political parties, organizations, and associations. This diversity is called pluralism, and it assumes that the many organized groups and institutions in a democratic society do not depend upon government for their existence, legitimacy, or authority. Most democratic societies have thousands of private organizations, some local, some national. Many of them serve a mediating role between individuals and society's complex social and governmental institutions, filling roles not given to the government and offering individuals opportunities to become part of their society without being in government.
In an authoritarian society, virtually all such organizations would be controlled, licensed, watched, or otherwise accountable to the government. In a democracy, the powers of the government are, by law, clearly defined and sharply limited. As a result, private organizations are largely free of government control. In this busy private realm of democratic society, citizens can explore the possibilities of peaceful self-fulfillment and the responsibilities of belonging to a community – free of the potentially heavy hand of the state or the demand that they adhere to views held by those with influence or power, or by the majority.

nigeria political culture

The International Herald Tribune has a good analysis article that considers the condition of Nigeria's political culture. I think it offers a good chance to ask students to cite evidence to support or refute the analysis.

Look for official election results and explanations about why the flaws in the system don't negate the legitimacy of the vote from the president and government spokesmen later today.


Elections disappoint, and Nigerians too beaten down to rise up

"Saturday's presidential vote denounced by the opposition and election observers as a sham was meant to set up Nigeria's first transfer of power from one elected civilian to another, a benchmark for democratic growth...

"But the day after a new president is sworn in on May 29, presuming Nigeria finishes what it started and the populace accepts the results, regular folks will awake as impoverished, disadvantaged and disaffected as ever. They're yet to see the promised benefits of civilian rule — and don't expect to soon.

"'All this is just a waste,' said 32-year old Lawrence Akro, looking at electoral material during the vote. 'It's like a dead lion, no use to anyone.'

"So where are the massive protests, the rising tide of anger to sweep away the corrupt political class that benefits at the expense of the average Nigerian? Where is Nigeria's Vaclav Havel, its Nelson Mandela, its Tiananmen Square?

"Nigerians say they have little time for revolutionary politics — they're so far removed from politics, particularly at the federal level, and their lives are so filled by fighting for survival in a country where the government provides little.

"Plus, they're been conditioned by years of military rule to understand that those who step out of line suffer the worst fates...

"Civilian rule that returned to Nigeria with Obasanjo's 1999 election was supposed to change the country's political calculus, by putting an end to the brutal military regimes that long lorded over Nigeria and handing power to the people.

"Obasanjo, himself a military ruler in the 1970s who handed over to a civilian government later overturned by the army, has made advancements, virtually clearing Nigeria's books of tens of billions of dollars of foreign loans and playing peacemaker for Liberia and other war-battered African countries.

"He has liberalized much of the country's moribund economy and tamed inflation rates that used to reach 400 percent.

"But after three consecutive elections — each more chaotic and heavily rigged than the one before, the opposition says — Nigerians don't see that voting has meant an improvement in their lives..."

igbo's religion

The Igbo are a profoundly religious people who believe in a benevolent creator, usually known as Chukwu, who created the visible universe (uwa). Opposing this force for good is agbara, meaning spirit or supernatural being. In some situations people are referred to as agbara in describing an almost impossible feat performed by them. In a common phrase the igbo people will say Bekee wu agbara. This means the white man is spirit. This is usually in amazement at the scientific inventions of the white man.
Apart from the natural level of the universe, they also believe that it exists on another level, that of the spiritual forces, the alusi. The alusi are minor deities, and are forces for blessing or destruction, depending on circumstances. They punish social offences and those who unwittingly infringe their privileges. The role of the diviner is to interpret the wishes of the alusi, and the role of the priest is to placate them with sacrifices. Either a priest is chosen through hereditary lineage or he is chosen by a particular god for his service, usually after passing through a number of mystical experiences. Each person also has a personalised providence, which comes from Chukwu, and returns to him at the time of death, a chi. This chi may be good or bad.
There is a strong Igbo belief that the spirits of one's ancestors keep a constant watch over you. The living show appreciation for the dead and pray to them for future well being. It is against tribal law to speak badly of a spirit. Those ancestors who lived well, died in socially approved ways, and were given correct burial rites, live in one of the worlds of the dead, which mirror the worlds of the living. They are periodically reincarnated among the living and are given the name ndichie – the returners. Those who died bad deaths and lack correct burial rites cannot return to the world of the living, or enter that of the dead. They wander homeless, expressing their grief by causing harm among the living.
The funeral ceremonies and burials of the Igbo people are extremely complex, the most elaborate of all being the funeral of a chief. However, there are several kinds of deaths that are considered shameful, and in these circumstances no burial is provided at all. Women who die in labour, children who die before they have no teeth, those who commit suicide and those who die in the sacred month – for these people their funeral ceremony consists of being thrown into a bush. Their religious beliefs also led the Igbo to kill those that might be considered shameful to the tribe. Single births were regarded as typically human, multiple births as typical of the animal world. So twins were regarded as less than humans and put to death (as were animals produced at single births). Children who were born with teeth (or whose upper teeth came first), babies born feet first, boys with only one testicle, and lepers, were all killed and their bodies thrown away in secrecy.
Religion was regarded with great seriousness, and this can be seen in their attitudes to sacrifices, which were not of the token kind. Religious taboos, especially those surrounding priests and titled men, involved a great deal of asceticism. The Igbo expected in their prayers and sacrifices, blessings such as long, healthy, and prosperous lives, and especially children, who were considered the greatest blessing of all. The desire to offer the most precious sacrifice of all led to human sacrifice – slaves were often sacrificed at funerals in order to provide a retinue for the dead man in life to come. There was no shrine to Chukwu, nor were sacrifices made directly to him, but he was conceived as the ultimate receiver of all sacrifices made to the minor deities.
These minor deities claimed an enormous part of the daily lives of the people. The belief was that these gods could be manipulated in order to protect them and serve their interests. If the gods performed these duties, they were rewarded with the continuing faith of the tribe. Different regions of Igboland have varying versions of these minor deities. Below are some of the most common:
Ala – the earth-goddess, the spirit of fertility (of man and the productivity of the land).
Igwe – the sky-god. This god was not appealed to for rain however, that was the full-time profession of the rain-makers, Igbo tribesmen who were thought to be able to call and dismiss rain.
Imo miri – the spirit of the river. The Igbo believe that a big river has a spiritual aspect; it is forbidden to fish in such deified rivers.
Mbatuku– the spirit of wealth.
Agwo – a spirit envious of other’s wealth, always in need of servitors.
Aha njuku or Ifejioku – the yam spirit.
Ikoro – the drum spirit.
Ekwu – the hearth spirit, which is woman’s domestic spirit.

world map

nigeria coups

By the time a disparate group of junior officers struck first in January 1966, the officers were still politically naive and had yet to master the art of coup planning and execution. This inexperience partly explains why Major Kaduna Nzeogwu and others who masterminded the coup, failed to take over state power. Instead, Major General Johnson Aguiyi Ironsi, commander in chief of the army, became Nigeria's first military ruler. Some of the remote causes of the coup included the use of soldiers to quell unrest, such as the riots among the Tiv people of the lower northern region, and calls on the military to supervise the 1964 elections. Whereas the latter involvement gave the soldiers a feeling of political efficacy, the beginnings of what came to be known as the "federal character" principle that sought to give each area some parity of representation, gave military personnel a sense of being sectional representatives. The coup of January 1966 was seen by many northerners as an attempt by the Igbo people of the east to dominate the federation. A successful countercoup six months later led by northern soldiers demonstrated the degree to which soldiers had become politicians in uniform.
The immediate reasons for the first-coup, however, concerned the nationwide disillusionment with the corrupt and selfish politicians, as well as with their inability to maintain law and order and guarantee the safety of lives and property. During the initial stages, Nzeogwu and his collaborators were hailed as national heroes. But the pattern of killings in the coup gave it a partisan appearance: killed were the prime minister, a northerner, the premier of the Northern Region, and the highest ranking northern army officers; only one Igbo officer lost his life. Also killed was the premier of the Western Region who was closely allied with the NPC.
General Ironsi, an Igbo, emerged as the head of state. In his policies and actions, Ironsi did little to allay the fears of Igbo domination. He failed to place the coup plotters on trial as northern leaders demanded, and he appointed Igbos to sensitive governmental positions. Against all advice, Ironsi promulgated Decree Number 34 of 1966, which abrogated the federal system of government and substituted a unitary system; he argued that the military could only govern in this way. Given the already charged atmosphere, this action reinforced northern fears. As the north was less developed than the south, a unitary system could easily lead to southerners "taking over control of everything," as a northern spokesperson put it. It was at the height of northern opposition to unitarism that the countercoup of July 1966 took place. Most top-ranking Igbo officers, including Ironsi, lost their lives; the "status quo" of northern dominance was restored.
Lieutenant Colonel (later General) Yakubu Gowon, a Christian from the middle belt, became the head of state after the coup. His first act was to reinstate the federal system, along with the four regions and their allotted functions. But relations between the federal government and the Eastern Region, led by military governor Colonel Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, were very strained. In addition to the elimination of many Igbo officers during the July coup, a massive pogrom against Igbos occurred in the Northern Region. In September Colonel Gowon summoned an ad hoc constitutional conference to deliberate on the country's political future. Most regional delegates to the conference, with the exception of those from the midwest, recommended a confederal system to replace the federal system. The delegates from the Eastern Region insisted that any region wishing to secede from the federation should be allowed to do so. The conference was ended abruptly by increased killings of Igbos in the north and the heightening of tensions between the federal government and the Eastern Region. A summit of military leaders at Aburi, Ghana, in January 1967 attempted to resolve the disagreements and recommended the establishment of a base confederation of regions. The Aburi Agreement became a source of contention, however.
In anticipation of eastern secession, Gowon moved quickly to weaken the support base of the region by decreeing the creation of twelve new states to replace the four regions. Six of these states contained minority groups that had demanded state creation since the 1950s. Gowon rightly calculated that the eastern minorities would not actively support the Igbos, given the prospect of having their own states if the secession effort were defeated. Many of the federal troops who fought the civil war, known as the Biafran War, to bring the Eastern Region back to the federation, were members of minority groups.
The war lasted thirty months and ended in January 1970. In accepting Biafra' unconditional cease-fire, Gowon declared that there would be no victor and no vanquished. In this spirit, the years afterward were declared to be a period of rehabilitation, reconstruction, and reconciliation. The oil-price boom, which began as a result of the high price of crude oil (the country's major revenue earner) in the world market in 1973, increased the federal government's ability to undertake these tasks.
The postwar Gowon government issued a nine-point transition program that was to culminate in the handing over of power to a civilian government on October 1, 1976. The agenda of the transition included the reorganization of the armed forces, the completion of the establishment of the twelve states announced in 1967, a census, a new constitution, and elections.
Gowon initiated several nation-building policies, the most notable of which was the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), a community service institution that required one year of service by each Nigerian immediately after graduation from university or other institution of higher learning. Each member of the corps had to serve in a state other than his or her home state. More than 1 million graduates had served in this program by 1990.
The Gowon years also saw the oil boom and a buoyant economy. The federal government was encouraged to take on some responsibilities formally allocated to the states, especially in the area of education. It embarked on major infrastructural projects to transfer control of the economy from foreigners to Nigerians. The Nigerian Entreprises Promotion decree of 1972, which was expanded in 1977, stipulated that only Nigerians could participate in certain categories of business. In those in which foreign involvement was permitted, controlling shares had to be owned by Nigerians.
The structure of government under Gowon was basically unitarian. At the apex of government was the all-military Supreme Military Council (SMC), which was the lawmaking body for the entire federation. Its decrees could not be challenged in any law court. Most members of the SMC under Gowon were state governors. There was also a Federal Executive Council composed of military and civilian commissioners. The states also had commissioners appointed by the governor. The states were practically reduced to administrative units of the federal government, which in several domains made uniform laws for the country. This basic structure of military federalism has, with amendments, remained the same during all military governments in the country.

second world war

World War II, or the Second World War (often abbreviated as WWII or WW2), was a global military conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, which involved most of the world's nations, including all of the great powers: eventually forming two opposing military alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, with more than 100 million military personnel mobilised. In a state of "total war," the major participants placed their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities at the service of the war effort, erasing the distinction between civilian and military resources. Marked by significant events involving the mass death of civilians, including the Holocaust and the only use of nuclear weapons in warfare, it was the deadliest conflict in human history, resulting in 50 million to over 70 million fatalities.
The war is generally accepted to have begun on 1 September 1939, with the invasion of Poland by Germany and Slovakia, and subsequent declarations of war on Germany by France and most of the countries of the British Empire and Commonwealth. Germany set out to establish a large empire in Europe. From late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or subdued much of continental Europe; amid Nazi-Soviet agreements, the nominally neutral Soviet Union fully or partially occupied and annexed territories of its six European neighbours. Britain and the Commonwealth remained the only major force continuing the fight against the Axis in North Africa and in extensive naval warfare. In June 1941, the European Axis launched an invasion of the Soviet Union, giving a start to the largest land theatre of war in history, which, from this moment on, was tying down the major part of the Axis military power. In December 1941, Japan, which had been at war with China since 1937, and aimed to dominate Asia, attacked the United States and European possessions in the Pacific Ocean, quickly conquering much of the region.
The Axis advance was stopped in 1942 after the defeat of Japan in a series of naval battles and after defeats of European Axis troops in North Africa and, decisively, at Stalingrad. In 1943, with a series of German defeats in Eastern Europe, the Allied invasion of Fascist Italy, and American victories in the Pacific, the Axis lost the initiative and undertook strategic retreat on all fronts. In 1944, the Western Allies invaded France, while the Soviet Union regained all territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies.
The war in Europe ended with the capture of Berlin by Soviet troops and subsequent German unconditional surrender on 8 May 1945. The Japanese Navy was defeated by the United States, and invasion of the Japanese Archipelago ("Home Islands") became imminent.
The war ended with the total victory of the Allies over Germany and Japan in 1945. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world. The United Nations (UN) was established to foster international cooperation and prevent future conflicts (such as World War III). The Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which would last for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers started to decline, while the decolonization of Asia and Africa began. Most countries whose industries had been damaged moved toward economic recovery. Political integration emerged as an effort to stabilise postwar relations.

first world war

World War I (WWI) or First World War (called at the time the Great War) was a major war centered on Europe that began in the summer of 1914. The fighting ended in November 1918. This conflict involved all of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Allies (centred around the Triple Entente) and the Central Powers. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilized in one of the largest wars in history. More than 9 million combatants were killed, due largely to great technological advances in firepower without corresponding advances in mobility. It was the second deadliest conflict in history.
The assassination on 28 June 1914 of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, was the proximate trigger of the war. Long-term causes, such as imperialistic foreign policies of the great powers of Europe, such as the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, the Russian Empire, the British Empire, France, and Italy, played a major role. Ferdinand's assassination by a Yugoslav nationalist resulted in a Habsburg ultimatum against the Kingdom of Serbia. Several alliances formed over the past decades were invoked, so within weeks the major powers were at war; via their colonies, the conflict soon spread around the world.
On 28 July, the conflict opened with the Austro-Hungarian invasion of Serbia, followed by the German invasion of Belgium, Luxembourg and France; and a Russian attack against Germany. After the German march on Paris was brought to a halt, the Western Front settled into a static battle of attrition with a trench line that changed little until 1917. In the East, the Russian army successfully fought against the Austro-Hungarian forces but was forced back by the German army. Additional fronts opened after the Ottoman Empire joined the war in 1914, Italy and Bulgaria in 1915 and Romania in 1916. The Russian Empire collapsed in 1917, and Russia left the war after the October Revolution later that year. After a 1918 German offensive along the western front, United States forces entered the trenches and the Allies drove back the German armies in a series of successful offensives. Germany agreed to a cease-fire on 11 November 1918, later known as Armistice Day.
By the war's end, four major imperial powers—the German, Russian, Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman Empires—had been militarily and politically defeated. The latter two ceased to exist. The revolutionized Soviet Union emerged from the Russian Empire, while the map of central Europe was completely redrawn into numerous smaller states. The League of Nations was formed in the hope of preventing another such conflict. The European nationalism spawned by the war and the breakup of empires, and the repercussions of Germany's defeat and the Treaty of Versailles led to the beginning of World War II in 1939.