Nigeria issue report - Research Paper Example

existing there. The majority however, remains Muslims in the north and Christians in the south. From the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries, Nigeria built its forts in the areas of economics through regional and international trade, and on agrarian bases. However, the major part of her trade was in slaves. In the 1700s, Nigeria was ridden with the slave trade. Slaves from there were taken to Britain for trade. “Between 1798 and 1847, 4,300,000 slaves were taken from West Africa of which, the English were chiefly responsible” (African Affairs).

This trade slave gave Nigeria revenue which they badly needed then. However, it was the British who abolished cross-border trade in slaves in 1807 that this trade took a hit in Africa, and subsequently, in Nigeria. Nonetheless, slave trade was still an integral part of Nigerian economy, according to Heaton and Falola, in their book, ‘A History of Nigeria’. The Nigerian region was vastly dependent on this slave trade for their economic wealth and political stability, as the leaders used the trade of slaves to promote their campaigns” (Falola).

After Great Britain’s fight against human trade, Nigeria shifted to trading products such as spices, palm oil, etc. However, slavery was not wiped out as soon as the 1807 act was passed. The British gained power over the Subcontinent through the East India Company. The same tactic was adopted in Nigeria, where the Royal Niger Company was under the command of the British Government. “While its existence was of a short period, it played a pivotal role in helping the British take control of Nigeria” (Falola).

According to Heaton’s and Falola’s research, Nigeria became part of the British Empire in 1901. The British ruled over Nigeria with their motto the same as in all the other countries that were colonized by them; divide and conquer. Nigeria was ruled as two separate regions, Northern and Southern