Today 1st of October, 2023 marks Nigeria's 63rd Year of Independence. 63 years after been freed from colonial rule by Britain, Nigeria is indeed standing strong with a population of over 200 million people and an uninterrupted democracy that's already lasted for 24 years not a lot, but for Nigerians it's a milestone considering the 33 years spent in military rule. Now for most people the fore mentioned information is common but there is a much more popular question ask on every Independence Day celebration- how developed is the country since from 1960- it is also no secret that the answer to this question is much more negative than positive. But today we are not going to talk about the development status of the country but rather the most important and glaring issue the country has faced since 1960, "unity". In 1914 the British colonial administration led by Lord Lugard fused together three regions from Western Africa, the conservative Nothern Nigeria Prote
Before 1914 Nigeria was administered as a separate political unit. The Northern protectorate and the Southern Protectorate each was divided into provinces by the British administration for example provinces in the North include Sokoto, Kano, Kastina, Bornu, Bauchi, Zaria, Yola, Nupe and Nasarawa. The Southern Protectorate was made up of Eastern states and Lagos Colony who were merged in 1906 to form the Southern Protectorate their provinces are Lagos, Abeokuta, Benin, Oyo, Ondo, Warri, Calabar, Owerri, Onitsha and Ogoja. Each province was administered by a British Resident, under him were administrative officers who controlled subdivisions of the province, the district officers. In each district traditional rulers remained in charge of their areas of authority but were responsible to the district officers. By 1912 the administration in the Northern and Southern Protectorates has been well established. But there was a growing need for a better and more effective form of administrat