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INTRODUCTION

This marks the day Nigeria broke free from Colonial rule. It definitely wasn't an easy feat for the ring leaders of this movement but it was worth it in the end; Nigeria is 61 today!

BRIEF HISTORY OF NIGERIA (WIKIPEDIA)

The History of Nigeria can be traced to settlers trading across the middle East and Africa as early as 1100 BC. Numerous ancient African civilizations settled in the region that is known today as Nigeria, such as the Kingdom of Nri, the Benin Empire, and the Oyo Empire. Islam reached Nigeria through the Borno Empire between (1068 AD) and Hausa States around (1385 AD) during the 11th century, while Christianity came to Nigeria in the 15th century through Augustinian and Capuchin monks from Portugal. The Songhai Empire also occupied part of the region. From the 15th century, European slave traders arrived in the region to purchase enslaved Africans as part of the Atlantic slave trade, which started in the region of modern-day Nigeria; the first Nigerian port used by European slave traders was Badagry, a coastal harbour. Local merchants provided them with slaves, escalating conflicts among the ethnic groups in the region and disrupting older trade patterns through the Trans-Saharan route.

Lagos was occupied by British forces in 1851 and formally annexed by Britain in the year 1865. Nigeria became a British protectorate in 1901. The period of British rule lasted until 1960, when an independence movement led to the country being granted independence. Nigeria first became a republic in 1963, but succumbed to military rule three years later, after a bloody coup d'état. A separatist movement later formed the Republic of Biafra in 1967, leading to the three-year Nigerian Civil War. Nigeria became a republic once again after a new constitution was written in 1979. However, the republic was short-lived, as the military seized power again and ruled for ten years. A new republic was planned to be established in 1993, but was aborted by General Sani Abacha. Abacha died in 1998 and a fourth republic was later established the following year, which ended three decades of intermittent milita.
I hope this was a nice read
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NIGERIA TODAY AND THE WAY FORWARD

1) Education:

In as much as no sector is signigficantly more important than the other, I believe the educational sector of any state has an enormous direct impact on the lives of its citizens. There's need for its revitalization in Nigeria today. The government should endeavour to prioritize development of schools and erect facilities that will foster academic growth. In the absence of the right opportunities and other favourable conditions, the talents and brilliance in students tend to wither permanently and never resurface.

2) Security:

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Protection of the lives and properties of citizens is one of the primary roles of the government. The rate of insecurity in the country has been alarming for years now. The government ought to provide the necessary support to armed forces to help combat insecurity in the state. Providing exceptional personnel with incentives like national recognition and awards will also help boost the confidence of the brotherhood in the government; they'd have a sense of belonging knowing that the goveenment sees them. Also, the people ougnt to unite and help armed forces take down the 'bad guys' in ways they can. I believe this will go a long way in restoring long lasting peace in the land.

3) Agrifulture and Transportation:

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Agriculture and transportation, to me, are like conjoined twins. Encouraging local production is one thing while having good roads on which to transport them is another. The government can boost agriculture from different parts of the country just by constructing good roads. Most farmers are deterred from venturing into commercial agriculture because the major roads through which they will transport their massive produce to the marker is in bad shape. Agriculture can also be encouraged by encouraging mechanized farming all over the state by subsidising the cost of mechanized farm tools, fertilizers and manures etc.
Bad roads is not an impediment to agriculture alone, but to every other sphere of life. Humans can't fly for crying out loud. In very populated states, having bad roads increases the time spent in transit which affects everyone's day. We shouldn't live on the roads and the government has the power to remedy that.
I believe that when these three major sectors are prioritized, other sectors will tend to bloom effortlessly; there can't be development in chaos.

HAPPY NEW MONTH STEEMIANS!

I feel obliged to shout out to all steemians out there, especially @whitestallion and @campusconnectng. I wish you all a blissful and productive new month ahead. And To all those preparing for exams in this month, I say Goodluck!
May God bless us all in our endeavours.

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Cc;
@cryptokannon
@whitestallion
@campusconnectng