Nigeria: A Journey into the Past

Nigeria is a West African country, bordered by Benin, Cameroon, Chad and Niger while its southern border is enjoyed with the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean. Nigeria is ranked amongst the countries with highest populations and is the most populous country of the African continent. Being a popular tourist destination, Nigeria is one of the world’s most visited countries hence flights to Nigeria are conducted by almost all major international airlines around the globe. Served by the widely acclaimed Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos is the main entry point for Nigeria.

 As per the written history and archeological evidences, the Nigerian cities of Kano and Kastina are believed to be the oldest inhabited ones. Their history has been recorded back to the year 999 and they both are located in the north of Nigeria.

However, myths, facts and rights over land have jumbled up to lead many Nigerian ethnicities to claim to be the oldest inhabitants of the land. Ile-Ife is a class of the Yoruba people which the Yoruba believe to be the first form of modern human beings. Ife Kingdom is believed to have reigned from the years 700-900 while the Oyo Kingdom came around the year 1400. These two kingdoms represent the history of Western Nigeria.

The Kingdom of Benin is considered the oldest empire of the country’s southwestern area ruling between 1400s and 1800s. The hub of this kingdom was the city of Eko, now known as Lagos. In the southeast, the Igbo people settled with their Nri Kingdom in place and the city of Nri is considered the origin of Igbo culture.

 Around the year 1472, Portuguese explorers had reached Nigeria and discovered its trading capabilities. Around 1480, the slave trade started with different Nigerian ethnicities having different rates according to status. The city of Eko was renamed to Lagos after the Portuguese city of Lagos and inspired by the lagoons in the city. It became the major port and hence the hub of Portuguese trade. With the end of Napoleonic Wars in Europe, Portuguese hold in Nigeria came to an end making a place for British trade. In 1886, the Royal Niger Company was formed which gained control of the Nigerian areas in 1900 that the company had used for trading. In 1901, Nigeria became a British colony.

British hostility and unlawful attitude gave birth to nationalism amongst the locals which reached its peak around the end of World War II. Due to its growing force, the British were compelled to grant more rights to Nigerians for self-government with passing time. Through blood, sweat and tear, the Nigerians finally gained independence from the British on 1^st October, 1960.  

With the independence, the differences in different Nigerian ethnicities came to rise. As a result of disagreements, Southern Cameroon joined The Republic of Cameroon in 1963. Nigeria then became a Federal Republic and Nnamdi Azikiwe became its first president. The country saw a number of military coups and a lot of political instability in its initial years, but with time, things settled down.

Nigeria became a recognized democratic country in 1999 and a well established economy baked by oil. With betterment in these areas, Nigeria has developed many tourist attractive sites and its natural beauty is being noticed. In result, cheap flights to Nigeria are now being largely searched for, and tourism in the country is increasing by the day.