Nigeria
is an artificial structure created by colonial powers in the 19th
century. Although Nigeria has over 300 different ethnicities, unlike many other African
nations, Nigeria is divided into three main regions which are composed of three
distinct people, the Igbos of the south-eastern Nigeria, the Hausa-Fulani of
northern Nigeria, and the Yoruba of southwestern Nigeria. These different
groups have their independent customs, and values and as such, they
historically remained separated from each other.

The British
colonial authorities in Nigeria found it convenient to rule indirectly through
an already existing tribal political system. In the north, the British ruled
through the monarch-like emirs, to maintain a rigid social and political
institution. The Christian missionaries were excluded from the north, leading
to lack of education and social progression. This was an indirect contrast to
the south where Western education was rapidly and effectively established by the
missionaries. As a result, the Yoruba’s became the first group in Nigeria to
introduce modern African civil servants, lawyers, medical professionals and
technicians.
As a result,
to the changes and progression, in 1960 Nigerian claimed its independence, and
the northern side of Nigeria remained under developed with a literacy of 2%. In
contrast, the Igbos became more politically and economically prosperous, with
educated men dominating many fields throughout Nigeria.
During
the colonial period, the British divided Nigeria into three regions intensified
competitions between the three main ethnic groups. These ethnic groups formed
political parties that are largely regional and tribal. however, the country
was evenly divided to an extent, the north had a slightly larger population. The
federal legislature created by the colonial authorities granted the
Hausa-Fulani of the north the majority seat.
The ethnic
tension because of the coup and counter-coup which increased among the rivaling
ethnic groups, and mass pogroms which was committed in May 1996, followed by those
in July and September, a large scale of massacres and horrific atrocities aimed
at Christian Igbo living in the Muslim North, and the murder of soldiers and
officers in the north became a frequent occurrence. It was estimated that
30,000 out of 13 million Igbo people lost their lives, resulting to a mass
exodus of 1.8 million refugees to the Igbo South east.
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