Hello, my name is Mr. March.

I'm here today to teach you all about the colonial history and legacy of Nigeria.

So grab everything that you need for today's lesson and let's get going.

So by the end of today's lesson, you will be able to describe how colonisation shaped Nigeria's modern-day borders, economy, and society.

There are five key terms for today's lesson.

Those are: borders, legacy, enslaved people, colonies, and finally, democracy.

Borders refers to the dividing lines between two countries.

Legacy refers to something handed down or passed on from one generation to another.

Enslaved people refers to people taken against their will and forced to work for no pay, to obey commands, and allowed no freedom.

Colonies refers to countries or areas that are controlled by another country and have people living there from the controlling country.

And finally, democracy refers to where people have a say in how the government of a country is run, usually by voting in elections.

There are two learning cycles for today's lesson and we're gonna start with the first learning cycle, which is all about the early history of Nigeria, pre-1960.

Different geographical and cultural aspects of a country give us many, many clues about that country's past.

Now Izzy makes a really, really good point.

She says that, "More than 500 languages are actually spoken in the country of Nigeria itself.

The most commonly spoken regional languages are Hausa, Yoruba, and Igbo." Now then, English is actually the official language of Nigeria.

So we have to ask ourselves why is that? Another question we have to ask ourselves when we look at the map of Nigeria is why are some of Nigeria's borders straight lines? And we're gonna try to answer some of those questions in today's lesson.

Other questions we need to ask ourselves as well is why do almost half of Nigeria's population identify as Christian? Why was the previous Nigerian currency called the British West African pound? And finally, why do some buildings in Nigeria and Europe look so similar to one another? Again, we're gonna spend today's lesson answering some of those really complex and thought-provoking questions.

The answers to these questions lie in Nigeria's past as a colony.

History often shapes geography.

These two subjects are often very intertwined.

Now, Nigeria as we know it today, has not always existed.

Over time, different aspects, such as the borders of the country, its name, the rulers, and the type of government have all changed.

Nigeria has had a really eventful history, and this has left a legacy that we still see in the country today.

So a quick learning check.

It says, "What is Nigeria's official language?" What you need to do then is pause the video here, read through the four options, and select what you think is the correct answer.

And the correct answer was A, English.

Really, really well done if you were able to select a as the correct answer.

Our next learning check says "True or false.

Nigeria has always been the same shape and size with the same borders and the same name throughout its history." So please then pause the video here whilst you consider and then select your answer.

And the correct answer was false.

Now, once again, I'd like you to pause the video whilst you consider as to why or how this statement is false.

And the reason it's false is while different aspects of Nigeria, such as its name and borders, have changed during its history, similar changes have happened in other countries too.

These changes are often the result of conflict or warfare, which causes significant political change.

So really well done if you were able to get those two answers correct.

This timeline shows some real key points in Nigeria's eventful history up to 1960.

Now up to 500 BC, there was the Nok culture, and a big event in Nigeria's history was in 1472 where the first Europeans arrived on its shores.

These were the Portuguese.

In the 1600s, then, the first British traders then arrive.

And across the 1800s, we then see increasing British control across Africa as Britain's empire and its colonisation really took hold in Nigeria and indeed other parts of Africa and in other parts of Asia, for example.

Finally in 1914, British colonial rule of Nigeria came into force.

So these are five key points in Nigeria's early history pre-1960, let's say.

Nigeria has a really ancient history because actually discoveries of historical artefacts show that indigenous peoples were living in the region of Nigeria thousands of years ago.

Now, one of the earliest known societies were the Nok people who settled on Jos Plateau in the centre of the region.

And we can see that there happening 500 BC or even previous to that.

So it's a long, long time ago where there is evidence of human civilization in present-day Nigeria.

During the following centuries, the region of modern-day Nigeria became divided into lots of different states and kingdoms, which were under the control of different groups of indigenous peoples.

Today, Nigeria is one of the most culturally diverse countries in the world, and more than 250 ethnic groups live in the country, each with its own traditions, customs, and histories.

And this goes some way to explaining why it is that over 500 different languages are actually spoke within the one country of Nigeria itself.

Now, as I said previously, the first European settlers or traders arrived in the 1400s, and it was the Portuguese that arrived first.

The first Portuguese explorers reached the Nigerian coast in 1472, and the first British traders arrived in the 1600s.

These early Europeans were trading goods such as weapons and cloth in exchange for commodities such as palm oil, ivory, as well as unfortunately enslaved people via the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

So a quick learning check.

It says, "True or false? The Nok people ruled the region which is now known as Nigeria for thousands of years." So what I need you to do that is pause the video here whilst you consider and then select your answer.

And the correct answer was false.

Now once again, I'd like you to pause the video whilst you consider as to why or how that statement is false.

And the reason it's false is that while the Nok people were one of the earliest known people to settle in the region, but they were then joined by many different groups of indigenous peoples.

The region then became divided into lots of different states and kingdoms. So really well done if you were able to get those two answers correct.

The region became an important centre for the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

And from the 1500s to the early 1800s, millions of men, women, and children were forcibly taken from Africa to work as enslaved people in European colonies in the Americas.

Enslaved people had absolutely no rights.

They often worked long hours in harsh conditions and were treated very poorly.

Many enslaved people died on the journey across the Atlantic Ocean.

And unfortunately for Britain's history, Britain played a key role in that Transatlantic Slave Trade.

This trade was abolished though in British colonies in 1807, but slavery itself wasn't actually abolished until 1933.

In the late 1700s, and especially the 1800s, European countries began claiming more and more territories in Africa.

There was a lot of land grabbing happening within the continent of Africa.

This process known as colonisation involved taking control of land and the resources, those natural resources, often by force, and ruling over the native local populations.

So more and more African countries came under the control of the British during the 1800s.

Many European countries, which included Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, and other European countries, were really eager to establish colonies in Africa, partly due to the continent's abundance of natural resources that were scarce or unavailable in Europe.

Extracting those natural resources and selling them could generate a lot of wealth.

As Lucas says, "Palm oil, tin, and oil are valuable resources in the region we know of and in Nigeria today." 1914 is a really significant year in the history of Nigeria.

Why? Well, because Britain, which was the colonial power of the Nigerian lands, they merged two territories in West Africa to form the country that we now know as Nigeria.

This is the flag of what the British called the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria.

Time now for a learning check.

It says to, "Add the missing words to the text below." So what you need to do then right now is pause the video here, read through that statement, and do your best to fill in those three gaps.

Best of luck.

And the answers were, so the statement needed to read as, "The region became an important centre for the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

From the 1500s to the early 1800s, millions of men, women, and children were forcibly taken from Africa to work as enslaved people in European colonies in the Americas." So really well done if you were able to get those three answers correct.

Our next learning check says, "When did the British merge two territories in West Africa to form the country that is now known as Nigeria?" So once again, I'd like you to pause the video here whilst you read through those four options and select what you think is the correct answer.

And the correct answer is C, 1914.

Really, really well done if you too were able to select C as the correct answer.

We're on now to our two practise tasks for our first learning cycle.

And the first one says to "Complete the timeline by adding in labels for these key points in the early history of Nigeria." So on the screen then you can see there's five different points in the early history of Nigeria.

You need to add labels for those different points.

The second question says to "Explain why British and other European countries were keen to create colonies in Africa." So please then pause the video here whilst you attend these two practise tasks.

Best of luck.

And some feedback then.

So here is a completed timeline showing key points in the early history of Nigeria.

So 500 BC we have the Nok culture.

In 1472, the first Portuguese explorers arrive.

In the 1600s, then, the first British traders arrive.

In the 1800s, increasing British control across Africa.

And then finally in 1914, the British colonial rule of Nigeria when those two states were merged to create the land of Nigeria that we know of today.

The second question then, here are some possible ideas.

Many European countries were eager to establish colonies in Africa partly due to the continent's abundance of natural resources that were scarce or unavailable in Europe.

Extracting those natural resources and selling them could generate a lot of wealth.

Millions of children though, as well as women and men, were also forcibly taken from Africa to work as enslaved people in European colonies in the Americas.

So really, really well done if you were able to get anything like that in your own answer.

We're on now to our second and final learning cycle, and this one's all about the modern history of Nigeria, so post-1960.

So this timeline that's on the screen now is showing us some key points in Nigeria's history from 1960 onwards.

And 1960 was really a momentous year for Nigeria because it becomes an independent country.

It breaks away from British colonial rule and becomes an independent country.

Unfortunately though, in 1967, or from 1967 to 1970, Nigeria experiences a civil war.

And in 1999, Nigeria becomes a democracy.

After the Second World War, there was a growing independence movement across Africa.

So not just Nigeria, but across the continent of Africa.

People wanted to end European control over their countries and rule themselves.

Many Africans had fought in the war and they now demanded freedom, equality, and the right to govern their own lands.

And this is where the 1960, momentous year in Nigeria's history, comes in.

Because this is the year that Nigeria breaks free of British rule and becomes an independent country.

Nigeria gained independence on 1st of October, 1960.

This meant that the country was no longer a British colony.

As Aisha says, "The green in Nigeria's flag represents the agriculture and the white represents peace and unity." There were tensions and instability, though, in Nigeria after independence.

Different groups in the country were fighting to take power, and the military took control of the government in 1966 and tensions increased even further.

Perhaps because of the large number of languages spoken there, as well as the many different ethnic groups found within Nigeria, a civil war broke out between 1967 and 1970, which caused the deaths of more than a million people in Nigeria.

The tensions and instability in Nigeria, though, continued even after the end of the civil war.

In 1999, Nigeria became a democracy and a new government was elected.

However, instability and unrest is still ongoing in the country with tensions between different ethnic groups and violence led by terrorist groups such as Boko Haram.

Time now for a learning check.

It says, "When did Nigeria become an independent country?" So what you need to do right now then is pause the video here whilst you read through those four options and select what you think is the correct answer.

And the correct answer was C, 1960.

Really well done if you were able to select C as the correct answer.

Being a former colony and having this colonial legacy has had a big impact on Nigeria's modern history, economy and society.

Although there was some investment under British rule, the long-lasting effects of colonialism have caused many serious problems since the country became independent because Nigeria's colonial legacy really has affected things such as the borders of the country, the languages spoken there, the governance, as well as the economic systems. So let's start by looking at the borders.

While the borders of Nigeria were actually artificially created by the British powers without really considering the many different ethnic groups living there, and as a result, more than 250 ethnic groups were grouped together.

And this has caused tensions and conflict ever since.

Furthermore, in 1914, Britain merged two territories to form the country that we now know as Nigeria.

There was the Northern Protectorate and the Southern Protectorate.

The northern part of Nigeria is predominantly Muslim whilst Christianity is the main religion in much of the south.

Religious conflict as a result is an ongoing issue in Nigeria.

Again, let's now look at language.

And although English is the official language, which is a legacy of the British colonial rule, more than 500 different languages are spoken across the country.

This can make communication, education, and unity extremely difficult.

It can also result inequalities in people's lives and the opportunities that they have because they may not be able to speak a certain language, and therefore they may be excluded from certain opportunities within that country.

Time now for a learning check.

It says that "Andeep and Alex are describing two of the problems created by colonialism in Nigeria.

Your job is to find and correct their mistakes." What you need to do right now is pause the video here whilst you read through Andeep's statement and Alex's statement and try to find and then correct their mistakes.

Best of luck.

And let's start by looking at Andeep's statement.

So the correct statement for Andeep should have read that "English is Nigeria's official language, but many other languages are spoken in the country.

This can cause issues with communication, education, and unity." Let's now have a look at Alex's statement.

And this is the correct statement we're now looking for.

So "The borders of Nigeria were created by British powers without considering more than 250 different ethnic groups living there." So really well done if you were able to find and then correct those mistakes.

What about governance? Well, during the British rule, colonial authorities introduced new systems of governance that often replaced or weakened existing indigenous institutions.

When Nigeria gained independence in 1960, few Nigerians actually had the experience in running a national government, which made administration extremely ineffective and extremely difficult.

In the years that followed, some leaders favoured people from their own ethnic group or their own religious group, which again contributed and compounded the problem of inequality and actually made political tensions even worse between ethnic groups.

Furthermore, in terms of the economic system, the colonisation in Nigeria brought about changes in the country's economic system.

There was a focus on the extraction of natural resources, and this made Nigeria's economy dependent on simply exporting resources such as oil.

And this has contributed to the ongoing economic challenges in the country.

The fact that Nigeria's economy really does depend on sort of extracting natural resources and selling them to make money.

There isn't a well developed industrial base, there's not a well developed service economy just yet.

Nigeria is slowly developing those different industrial sectors because previously it was always dependent on this primary industry such as agriculture, and as I said before, mining and exploiting and extracting different natural resources.

As Izzy says, "This exploitation of natural resources has also created many different environmental challenges across the country." Time now for a learning check.

It says to "Complete the labels to show some of the impacts of Nigeria's colonial legacy." So what you need to do right now then is pause the video here whilst you attempt this learning check.

Best of luck.

And the correct answers were: borders, language, governance, and economic systems. Really well done if you were able to recall those pieces of information.

We're on now to our two practise tasks for our final learning cycle.

And it says to "Complete the table to explain some of the challenges caused by the legacy of colonialism in Nigeria." So we have borders, language, governance, and economic systems. The second practise task says, "Who do you agree with and why?" And you can see you've got a statement by Lucas and a statement by Sam.

Your job is to decide who you agree with and explain why.

So please then pause the video here whilst to attempt these two practise tasks.

Best of luck.

And now some feedback.

So for the first question, your answer may have included the following: For borders, I've said that "The borders of Nigeria were created without considering the many different ethnic groups living there.

More than 250 ethnic groups were brought together, which caused tension and conflict." With regards to language, "Although English is the official language, more than 500 languages are actually spoken across the country.

This can make communication, education, and unity extremely difficult." With regards to governance, "When Nigeria became independent in 1960, very few people had been given the chance to gain experience in government or leadership.

And this made it difficult to run the country effectively.

With regards to economic systems, "Nigeria's economy became dependent on the extraction and export of natural resources such as oil, and this has contributed to ongoing economic challenges within the country." And now for the second question, and remember this question was entirely opinion based so you may have agreed with Lucas, or you may have agreed with Sam.

I'm going with the opinion that I've agreed with Lucas and this is what my answer has included, and maybe your answer has included the same.

So I've said that "I partially agree with Lucas as colonialism was a long time ago, but as Sam says, decisions and actions taken during colonialism, such as creating an artificial border, are key factors in why conflict and challenges remain in Nigeria." So really well done if you were able to include anything like that in your own answer.

We're on now to our learning summary and what you need to know from today's lesson.

Well, Nigeria was a really important centre for the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

The region of modern-day Nigeria was colonised by Britain in the 1800s.

Natural resources such as oil were exploited by colonisers.

After independence in 1960, Nigeria has faced political instability and conflict.

And finally, colonial legacies still shape Nigeria's economy and society even today.

So really well done during today's lesson.

It was a pleasure teaching you and I will see you again on the next lesson.

Goodbye.