After gaining independence from Britain in 1960, Nigeria experienced a string of military coups and several abortive attempts to establish a stable national government.
A transition to democracy in 1999 and the election of President Olusegun Obasanjo ended 16 consecutive years of military rule. Yet longstanding ethnic and religious tensions continued to plague Nigeria, and conflicts flared over access to scarce resources. Although it is the leading oil producer in Africa, more than half of Nigeria’s people live in poverty.
Thousands of people have died in the past decade in violence related to communal rivalries. The imposition of a strict interpretation of Islamic law in several Northern states has exacerbated divisions and caused many Christians to flee their homes.
In the oil-rich Niger Delta region, tensions between local groups and large multinational oil corporations and protests against the government have led to numerous incidents of violence in recent years. These have included local militant groups’ sabotaging of oil pipelines and kidnapping of oil workers to protest over inequitable access to resources and the impoverishment of indigenous communities.
Even as Nigeria faces its own serious internal challenges, it has played a key role in supporting peacebuilding efforts in West Africa and elsewhere on the continent. Nigeria has provided the majority of troops for several United Nations peacekeeping missions, including those in Sierra Leone and Liberia, as well as many of the troops to the African Union mission in Sudan.
Although the presidential elections in both 2003 and 2007 included irregularities and were marred by violence, Nigeria continues to experience its longest period of civilian rule since independence in 1960. The elections of April 2007 marked the first civilian-to-civilian transfer of power in the country's history.
The elections of 2011 saw President Goodluck Jonathan reelected by a large margin, in a vote that was largely considered by both Nigerian and international observers to be free and fair. This marked a sharp departure from past elections, and heralded an important step toward giving democratic processes real roots in Nigeria.
Unfortunately, post-election violence in several northern cities underscored the ongoing ethnic and religious divisions in Nigeria. A major challenge continues to be the need for greater reconciliation between Muslims and Christians, which also reflects a division between the North and the South. High levels of poverty and unemployment, particularly among youth in the North, must also be addressed since it is this segment of the population that has instigated most of the violence.
A wave of violence early in 2012 underscored rising religious and political tensions in Nigeria. In particular, a militant Islamic sect known as Boko Haram has exacerbated instability by bombing churches, mosques, and public buildings, especially in the North. The group continues to elude the federal government’s invitation to negotiation.
The U.S. and the international community continue to seek ways to support the Nigerian government’s efforts to address these challenges.
