Nigeria’s Social, Cultural and Political State

Social and cultural context:
● Modern-day Nigeria formed in 20th century under British rule
○ Before this, Nigeria was made up of many smaller tribal kingdoms
● Gained independence from Britain in 1960
● Has more than 500 ethnic groups with different languages
○ Three dominant ethnic groups:
■ Igbo
● South of Nigeria
● Christian
■ Yoruba
● South of Nigeria
● Christian
■ Hausa
● North of Nigeria
● Muslim
● Rapid urbanisation has caused a shift of population
○ Rural-urban migration
○ Broken down traditional boundaries
■ But ethnic identities still exist

Political context:
● Gained independence from Britain in 1960
● Nigeria has progressed from civil war (1960 – 70)
○ Several military dictatorships
○ Army ruled country until 1998
○ Is now a democratic country
■ Country holds regular elections
■ People vote to choose their government
● Conflict continues in the north → Boko Haram
○ Boko Haram = extremist organisation , wants to abolish democracy and set up their own
government under Islamic law
■ 17, 000 killed in conflict since 2002
■ Over half a million people have fled the region
■ 2014 → Boko Haram kidnapped 276 schoolgirls (still haven’t been found)
● Boko Haram is against education
○ Rise of Boko Haram is blamed on inequality
○ Extremists able to exploit growing gap between rich cities and poor rural areas
● Sign of progress when Nigeria dealt with Ebola outbreak (2014)
○ Killed over 11, 000 people
○ Only 8 people died in Nigeria → managed to contain the disease
■ Due to good healthcare and planning
○ Every person who came into contact with an Ebola victim was screened for the disease
■ Other countries then copied Nigeria’s method to prevent spread