The First Republic was the republican government of

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

between 1963 and 1966 governed by the first republican

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these pr ...

. The country's government was based on a federal form of the Westminster system. The period between 1 October 1960, when the country gained its independence and 15 January 1966, when the first military coup d’état took place, is also generally referred to as the First Republic. The first Republic of Nigeria was ruled by different leaders representing their regions as premiers in a federation during this period. Leaders include

Ahmadu Bello Ahmadu Ibrahim Bello, Sardauna of Sokoto (12 June 1910–15 January 1966), knighted as Sir Ahmadu Bello, was a conservative Nigerian statesman who masterminded Northern Nigeria through the independence of Nigeria in 1960 and served as its first a ...

Northern Nigeria 1959–1966, Obafemi Awolowo Western Nigeria 1959–1960, Samuel Akintola Western Nigeria 1960–1966,

Michael Okpara Michael Iheonukara Okpara (25 December 1920 – 17 December 1984) was a Nigerian politician and Premier of Eastern Nigeria during the First Republic, from 1959 to 1966. At 39, he was the nation's youngest Premier. He was a strong advocate of wh ...

Eastern Nigeria 1960–1966, and Dennis Osadebay Mid-Western Nigeria 1964–1966.

Founded (1963)

Although

gained independence from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

on 1 October 1960, the nation retained the British monarch,

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states durin ...

, as titular head of state until the adoption of a new constitution in 1963 declaring the nation a republic. The Westminster system of government was retained, and thus the President's powers were generally ceremonial. The name "Nigeria" is derived from the word "Niger" – the name of the river that constitutes the most remarkable geographical feature of the country. Nigeria is a country of , bound to the west by

Benin Republic Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the no ...

, to the north by the

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesChad Republic, east by the

Republic of Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; th ...

, and south by the

Gulf of Guinea The Gulf of Guinea is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean from Cape Lopez in Gabon, north and west to Cape Palmas in Liberia. The intersection of the Equator and Prime Meridian (zero degrees latitude and longitude) is i ...

. The country gained independence from the British government on 1 October 1960, and became a republic in 1963. The journey to independence started with some constitutional developments in Nigeria. These constitutional developments saw the country attaining self-rule in some quarters in 1957 and total independence on 1 October 1960.

President

Note: Nnamdi Azikiwe resigned from NCNC to become the First

Governor-General of Nigeria The Governor-General of Nigeria was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom in Colonial Nigeria from 1954 to 1960, and after Nigerian independence in 1960, the representative of the Nigerian head of state. The office was created ...

from 16 November 1960 – 30 September 1963.

Prime minister

Alhaji Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa of the Northern People's Congress was the only

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

during the period of the First Republic.

Political parties

* Action Group (AG) * Borno Youth Movement (BYM) * Democratic Party of Nigeria and Cameroon (DPNC) * Dynamic Party (DP) * Igala Union (IU) * Igbira Tribal Union (ITU) *

Midwest Democratic Front The Midwest Democratic Front was a small political party from Nigeria's Midwest region; encompassing present day Edo and Delta states. The party was one of the various small parties that forged alliances with the dominant parties in Nigeria's fir ...

(MDF) * National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons/National Convention of Nigerian Citizens (NCNC) * National Independence Party (NIP) * Niger Delta Congress (NDC) * Nigerian National Democratic Party (NNDP) *

Northern Elements Progressive Union The Northern Elements Progressive Union (NEPU) was the first political party in Northern Nigeria. Founded in Kano on 8 August 1950, it was the offshoot of a pre-existing political association called the Northern Elements Progressive Associati ...

(NEPU) * Northern People's Congress (NPC) * Northern Progressive Front (NPF)
Republican Party
(RP) * United Middle Belt Congress (UMBC) * United National Independence Party (UNIP)
Zamfara Commoners Party
(ZCP)

Politics

The country was split into three geopolitical regions— Western Region, Eastern Region and Northern Region—and its political parties took on the identities and ideologies of each region. The Northern People's Congress (NPC) represented the interests of the predominantly Hausa/ Fulani Northern Region, the

National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons The National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC) later changed to the National Convention of Nigerian Citizens, was a Nigerian nationalist political party from 1944 to 1966, during the period leading up to independence and immediately ...

(NCNC)] (later renamed to "National Council of Nigerian Citizens") represented the predominantly Igbo people, Igbo Eastern Region, and the Action Group (AG) dominated the

Yoruba The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute ...

Western Region. The NPC took control of the federal parliament, and formed a coalition government with the NCNC. The National Independence Party (NIP) formed by Professor Eyo Ita became the second political party in the old Eastern Region.

, the Sardauna of Sokoto, leader of the NPC, was poised to become the Prime Minister, but instead he chose to become the Premier of the Northern Region, and supported his deputy Tafawa Balewa's candidacy for Prime Minister. This raised suspicions amongst the southern politicians, who resented the idea of a federal government controlled by a regional leader through his designated proxy. In the end, Tafawa Balewa of NPC was named Prime Minister and Head of Government, and

Nnamdi Azikiwe Nnamdi Benjamin Azikiwe, (16 November 1904 – 11 May 1996), usually referred to as "Zik", was a Nigerian statesman and political leader who served as the first President of Nigeria from 1963 to 1966. Considered a driving force behind the n ...

of NCNC was named President. At Nigeria's independence, the Northern Region gained more seats in parliament than both Eastern and Western regions combined—this would cement Northern dominance in Nigerian politics for years to come. Resentment amongst southern politicians precipitated into political chaos in the country. Obafemi Awolowo, Premier of Western Region, was accused of attempting to overthrow the government. This followed a period of conflict between the AG regional government and the central government. In spite of the flimsiness of the evidence presented by the government's prosecutors, he was convicted. With incarceration of Awolowo, Samuel Akintola took over as the Premier of Western Region. Because Akintola was an ally of Ahmadu Bello, the undisputed strong man of Nigeria, Akintola was criticized as being a tool of the North. As premier of the West, Akintola presided over the most chaotic era in Western Region—one which earned it the nickname " the Wild-Wild West". However, as late as Thursday, 13 January 1966, Balewa had announced that the federal government was not going to intervene in the West. However, the very next day, Akintola, premier of the West met with his ally Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto, premier of the North and party boss of NPC party to which Balewa belonged.John de St. Jorre, ''The Nigerian Civil War'', p. 30. At the same time a top-level security conference in Lagos was taking place which was attended by most of the country's senior army officiers. All of this activity created rumors that the Balewa government would be forced to crack down on lawlessness in the West using military might.

Notable politicians

Image:JajaWachuku01.jpg,
Jaja Wachuku
Foreign Minister
(1961 - 1965) S.A. Ajayi returned to Kabba Province and joined the Northern People's Congress, where he later rose to become the vice president of the party in Kabba Province. In 1955, he was elected councillor in the Kabba Native Administration and a year later, he won a seat in the Northern House of Assembly, and became a member of the regional executive council as minister of state for forestry affairs. He was appointed acting minister for education in 1963, in the absence of Isa Kaita. During his time in the Northern House of Assembly, he was appointed parliamentary secretary to the Premier of Northern Nigeria,

from 1957 to 1960. He was among the delegate that negotiated Nigerian Independence at the Lancaster House Conferences in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and led the Northern Nigeria Delegation to London for the Negotiation and Launching of VC-10 Nigeria Airways. He was a member of Nigeria Economic Mission to

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 ...

and was a minister till their government was overthrown by the military coup on January 15, 1966. During

Shehu Shagari Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari (25 February 1925 – 28 December 2018), titled Turakin Sokoto from 1962, was the first democratically elected President of Nigeria, after the transfer of power by military head of state General Olusegun Obasanjo in ...

's administration, he was appointed to the first board of directors of National Insurance Corporation of Nigeria (NICON).

The coup

The political unrest during the mid-1960s culminated into Nigeria's first military

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

. On 15 January 1966, Major

Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu Patrick Chukwuma "Kaduna" Nzeogwu (26 February 1937 – 29 July 1967) was a Nigerian military officer and revolutionary who played a leading role in the first military coup d'ètat of 15 January 1966, which overthrew the first Nigerian republ ...

and his fellow rebel soldiers (most of who were of southern extraction) and were led by Major Emmanuel Ifeajuna of the

Nigerian Army The Nigerian Army (NA) is the land force of the Nigerian Armed Forces. It is governed by the Nigerian Army Council (NAC). The Chief of Army Staff is the highest ranking military officer of the Nigerian Army. History Formation The Nigerian ...

, executed a bloody takeover of all institutions of government. Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa, was assassinated along with the premier of Northern Nigeria, strong-man

the Sardauna of Sokoto, Samuel Akintola, premier of the West and Festus Okotie-Eboh, the Finance Minister.

It is not clear whether President Azikiwe's life was spared because he was out of the country at the time, or whether he had been informed about the impending coup and was out of the country so that his life could be spared. Major-General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi took control as the first Head of the Federal Military Government of Nigeria on January 16, 1966.John de St. Jorre, ''The Nigerian Civil War'', p. 39.

Civil war and beyond: 1966–79

The republic would be torn by the secession of

Biafra Biafra, officially the Republic of Biafra, was a partially recognised secessionist state in West Africa that declared independence from Nigeria and existed from 1967 until 1970. Its territory consisted of the predominantly Igbo-populated f ...

and the ensuing

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

from 1966 to 1970. After the end of the war, the nation re-unified and military rule continued for another nine years, implementing Nationalisation of foreign businesses. Eventually, elections were held in 1979 leading the way to the

Nigerian Second Republic The Second Nigerian Republic was a brief formation of the Nigerian state which succeeded the military governments formed after the overthrow of the first republic. Background Contested elections and political turbulence in the Western region en ...

References

External links

THE FIRST REPUBLIC

Media Accountability and Democracy in Nigeria

{{DEFAULTSORT:First Republic Of Nigeria History of Nigeria 1960s in Nigeria Republic of Nigeria 01 Nigeria 01 Politics of Nigeria 1963 establishments in Nigeria 1966 disestablishments in Nigeria 1963 in Nigeria 1964 in Nigeria 1965 in Nigeria 1966 in Nigeria