Nigerian Vocab

Sani Abacha

Oppressive Nigerian military dictator from 1993 to 1998 who came to power in a military coup

All Progressives Congress

Opposition political party formed in 2013 by merger of largest opposition parties and defections from the ruling People's Democratic Party

Benjamin Nnamdi Azikiwe

Nigerian nationalist and independent Nigeria's first head of state (1960-66)

Ibrahim Babangida

Military ruler of Nigeria from 1985 to 1993 who sought to establish the failed Third Republic

Boko Haram

Islamist terrorist group based in northeastern Nigeria that since 2009 has launched a violent insurgency

Muhammadu Buhari

Former military ruler and current democratically elected president of Nigeria (2015-)

Hause-Fulani

Predominantly Muslim ethnic group concentrated in northern Nigeria

Igbo (Ibo)

Predominantly Christian ethnic group concentrated in southeast Nigeria

Goodluck Jonathan

President of Nigeria from 2010 to 2015

Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND)

Militant separatist group from the Niger Delta

National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS)

A wide-ranging Nigerian reform program designed to stem government corruption and enhance economic infrastructure

Olusegun Obasanjo

Military ruler from 1976-1979 and two term elected president, from 1999-2007

Republic of Biafra

Igbo-dominated Eastern Region that tried, and failed, to secede from Nigeria in 1967

Sharia

System of Islamic law

Yoruba

Ethnic group largely confined to southwest Nigeria whose members are divided among Christian, Muslim, and local animist faiths

Herbert Macauly

Nigerian nationalist and politician regarded as the founder of Nigerian nationalism for his efforts in advocating for self-governance and fighting against colonial rule

Indirect rule

a system of government of one nation by another in which the governed people retain certain administrative, legal, and other powers.

Dual mandate

colonial powers had to rule the colony and also provide for the mother country

Biafra

Eastern Nigerian region inhabited mostly by the Ibo people; in 1967 attempted unsuccessfully to secede (leave) from Nigeria; defeated and reintegrated in 1970

Zero sum game

a situation in which an economic gain by one country results in an economic loss by another (no one wins)

FEDECO

The national commission that monitored elections in earlier Nigerian republics (created by Obasanjo)

Umaru Yar'Adua

Former elected president (2007-10); became first President of Nigeria to take the reign in a peaceful transfer of power from one president to another

INEC

Independent National Electoral Commission; monitored elections in earlier Nigeria republics

Bola Ahmed Tinuba

16th President of Nigeria since May 2023 (so current president)

Middle Belt

Ethnically mixed region of central Nigeria where the capital, Abuja, was built (area contains smaller ethnic groups, characterized by a mix of Muslims and Christians)