First Nigerian Republic
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Nigerian First Republic
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Federal Republic of Nigeria | |||||||||
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| 1963–1966 | |||||||||
| Motto: "Peace, Unity, Freedom"[1] | |||||||||
| Anthem: Nigeria, We Hail Thee[1] | |||||||||
.svg) | |||||||||
| Capital | Lagos | ||||||||
| Common languages | English · Hausa · Igbo · Yoruba and other regional languages | ||||||||
| Religion | Islam · Christianity · Traditional beliefs | ||||||||
| Government | Federal parliamentary republic | ||||||||
| President | |||||||||
• 1963–1966 | Nnamdi Azikiwe | ||||||||
| Prime Minister | |||||||||
• 1963–1966 | Abubakar Tafawa Balewa | ||||||||
| Legislature | House of Representatives | ||||||||
| Historical era | Cold War | ||||||||
| 1 October 1963 | |||||||||
| 15 January 1966 | |||||||||
| Area | |||||||||
| 1963[3] | 923,768 km2 (356,669 sq mi) | ||||||||
| Population | |||||||||
• 1963[3] | 55,670,055 | ||||||||
| Currency | Nigerian pound | ||||||||
| Time zone | UTC+1 (WAT) | ||||||||
| Driving side | left | ||||||||
| ISO 3166 code | NG | ||||||||
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| Today part of | Bakassi peninsula ; governed by Nigeria until 2008 | ||||||||
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 Nigeria portal |
The First Republic was the republican government of Nigeria between 1963 and 1966 governed by the first republican constitution. 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.
History
Foundation
The journey to independence began 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.
Although
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.[4]
1966 coup
The political unrest during the mid-1960s culminated into Nigeria's first military
Nigerian Army, executed a bloody takeover of all institutions of government. Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa, was assassinated along with the premier of Northern Nigeria, strong-man Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto;[5] Samuel Akintola, premier of the West;[6] and Festus Okotie-Eboh, the finance minister.[1] 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.[7]
Civil war and beyond: 1966–79
The republic would be torn by the secession of
Nigerian Second Republic
.
Government and politics
Executive
Dr.
governor-general of Nigeria from 16 November 1960 to 30 September 1963. Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa of the Northern People's Congress was the only prime minister
during the period of the First Republic.
Legislature
The Federal Parliament was the
advice of the prime minister and the remaining four individuals represented the Federal Territory: the Oba of Lagos
(an ex officio Senator), a chief selected by parliament, two other individuals. Regional parliaments had similar chambers: the House of Assembly and the House of Chiefs.
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 (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 (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)
Regionalism
The original regional Premiers of the republic were the following:
- Northern Nigeria Ahmadu Bello (1959–1966)
- Western Nigeria Samuel Akintola(1960–1966)
- Eastern Nigeria: Michael Okpara (1960–1966)
- Mid-Western Nigeria: Dennis Osadebay (1964–1966)
The country was split into three geopolitical regions—
Tafawa Balewa's candidacy for the prime ministership. This raised suspicions among 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 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 among southern politicians precipitated into political chaos in the country.
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.[9] 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.[10] 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.[10]
See also
- Nigerian Civil War
- Second Nigerian Republic (1979–1983)
- Third Nigerian Republic (1993)
- Fourth Nigerian Republic (1999–present)
References
- ^ ISBN 9781432788353.
- ^ "The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1963)" (PDF). p. 26.
- ^ a b Oshungade, I. O. (1995). "The Nigerian Population Statistics" (PDF). 1995 Directory of Nigerian Statisticians. 2: 58. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 February 2013.
- ^ a b https://www.dawodu.com/const63.pdf The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1963)
- ^ John de St. Jorre, The Nigerian Civil War p. 36.
- ^ John de St. Jorre, The Nigerian Civil War, p. 35
- ^ John de St. Jorre, The Nigerian Civil War, p. 39.
- ^ John de St. Jorre, The Nigerian Civil War (Hodder and Stroughto Publishers: London, 1972, p. 30
- ^ John de St. Jorre, The Nigerian Civil War (Hodder and Stoughton Publishers: London, 1972) p. 30.
- ^ a b John de St. Jorre, The Nigerian Civil War, p. 30.
External links
- THE FIRST REPUBLIC
- Nigeria - US State Department Profile
- The History of Nigeria
- Media Accountability and Democracy in Nigeria
- The inside story of Nigeria's first military coup (1)
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| President of the First Republic (1963–1966) | ||||
| Military regime (1966–1979) |
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| President of the Second Republic (1979–1983) | ||||
| Military regime (1983–1999) | ||||
| President of the Fourth Republic (from 1999) | ||||
*Civilian; headed transition to abortive Third Republic | ||||