Timeline of Nigerian history

=Precolonial Era=

*9th century — Bronzes found at the town of Igbo-Ukwu are created.
*10th century — Nri kingdom begins.
*11th century — Borno is established as an Islamic state.
*15th century — Hausa kingdoms in the north are extablished as nominally muslim states.
*Early19th century — The Sokoto Caliphate is established through a jihad.
*Early 19th century — Sokoto Caliphate goes to war with the Yoruba states.
*Mid to late 19th century — Christian missionary activity begins in Southern Nigeria

=colonial era=

*1880-1905— Southern Nigeria is conquered by the British.
*1901-1902 — The Aro Confederacy declines after the Anglo-Aro war.
*1903 — British conquer most of Northern Nigeria including the Sokoto Caliphate.
*1912 — Lord Lugard, governor of Northern Nigeria establishes a system of indirect rule.
*1914 — Northern Nigeria and Southern Nigeria are amalgamated to form Nigeria.
*1946-1960 — Nigeria enters a period of decolonization as Nigerian nationalism grows.
*1950 — The conference of northern and southern delegates holds in Ibadan.
*1953 — The London conference, regarding Nigeria's federal formula, takes place.
*1957 — Nigeria holds its constitutional conference.
*1959 — Nigeria holds its first national election to setup an independent government. Northern Nigeria wins most of the seats of parliament.

Post Colonial Era (1960-Present)

* October 1,1960 — Nigeria gains her independence from Britain; Tafawa Balewa becomes Prime Minister, and Nnamdi Azikiwe becomes President.
*October 1,1963 — Nigeria severs its remaining ties to Britain, and the Nigerian First Republic is born.

*December 1,1964 — The First civilian-to-civilian national election.
*January 15,1966 — Nigeria's first military coup deposes the Nigerian First Republic; Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa, was assassinated along with the premier of Northern Nigeria, Ahmadu Bello, and the Finance Minister, Festus Okotie-Eboh
*January 16,1966 — The Federal Military Government is formed, with General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi as the Head of State and Supreme Commander of the Federal Republic.
*July 29,1966 — A counter-coup by military officers of northern extraction, deposes the Federal Military Government; General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi is assassinated along with Adekunle Fajuyi, Military Governor of Western Region. General Yakubu Gowon becomes Head of State.
*1967 — Ethnoreligious violence between Igbo Christians, and Hausa/Fulani Muslims in Eastern and Northern Nigeria, triggers a migration of the Igbo back to the East.
*May 30, 1967 — General Emeka Ojukwu, Military Governor of Eastern Nigeria, declares his province an independent republic called Biafra, and the Nigerian-Biafran War ensues.
*January 8, 1970 — General Emeka Ojukwu flees into exile; His deputy Philip Effiong becomes acting President of Biafra
*January 15,1970 — Acting President of Biafra, Philip Effiong surrenders to Nigerian forces through future President of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo, and Biafra is reintegrated into Nigeria.
*July 29,1975 — General Yakubu Gowon is overthrown in a bloodless coup; General Murtala Mohammed becomes Head of State.
*February 13,1976 — General Murtala Mohammed is assassinated on his way to work; His deputy, Lieutenant-General Olusegun Obasanjo becomes Head of State, and sets a date to terminate military rule.
*1979 — Shehu Shagari wins the election as the first Executive President of Nigeria in the American-styled Second Republic.
*October 1,1979 — Shehu Shagari is sworn in as President.
*1983 — President Shehu Shagari wins reelection.
*December 31,1983 — President Shehu Shagari's government is ejected from power in a palace coup; The Second Republic ends; General Muhammadu Buhari becomes Head of State, and Chairman of the Supreme Military Council of Nigeria.
*April 17,1984 — The Buhari regime promulgates Decree No. 4, the "Public Officer's Protection Against False Accusation" Decree, which made it an offence to ridicule the government by publication of false information.
*August,1985 — General Muhammadu Buhari is overthrown in a palace coup; General Ibrahim Babangida becomes Head of State and President of the Armed Forces Ruling Council of Nigeria.
*April,1990 — Middle Belt Christian officers, led by Major Gideon Okar, attempt to overthrow Ibrahim Babangida in an unsuccessful coup.
*1992 — Two political parties, Social Democratic Party (SDP) and National Republican Convention (NRC)are established in President Ibrahim Babangida attempt to return to Civilian rule. Primary elections are annulled in the fall.
*June 12,1993 — MKO Abiola wins the Presidential election; President Ibrahim Babangida annuls the election.
*August 26,1993 — President Ibrahim Babangida steps down due to pressure from the Armed Forces Ruling Council. Ernest Shonekan assumes the reins of power as the Interim Head of State.
*November 17,1993 — Ernest Shonekan is forced to resign from office. Defence Minister, Sani Abacha becomes Head of State, and establishes the Provisional Ruling Council of Nigeria.
*March 13,1995 — The Abacha administration arrests former Head of State, Olusegun Obasanjo for allegedly supporting a secret coup plot.
*November 10,1995 — Human and Environmental rights activist, Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight others are hanged by the Sani Abacha administration.
*June 8,1998 — Head of State, Sani Abacha dies from a heart attack; Abdusalami Abubakar becomes Head of State, and Chairman of the Provisional Ruling Council of Nigeria; The Abubakar administration lifts the ban on political activities, and initiates a one-year transition to return to civilian rule.
*June 15,1998 — Former Head of State, Olusegun Obasanjo is released from prison.
*February 10,1999 — Former Head of State, Olusegun Obasanjo wins the presidential election.
*May 29,1999 — The Nigerian Fourth Republic is inaugurated. Olusegun Obasanjo is sworn in as the second Executive President of Nigeria.
* December 19,1999 — President Obasanjo orders troops to raid the town of Odi in the Niger Delta, in response to the murders of twelve policement at the hands of local milita; The troops razed the town of Odi.
*January 27,2000 — Sharia law is established in the predominantly muslim Zamfara state; Eleven other states in the north soon follow suit.
*May,2000 — Religious riots erupt in Kaduna over the implementation of Sharia law.
*June 5,2000 — The Obasanjo administration establishes the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to tackle the human and ecological issues in the Niger Delta region of southern Nigeria.
*October 10,2002 — The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled against Nigeria in favor of Cameroon over the disputed oil-rich Bakassi peninsula territory.
*2002 — Religious riots erupt over the Miss World pageant hosted in Abuja; The pageant is subsequently moved to London.
*April,2003 — President Olusegun Obasanjo wins reelection as president.
*May 29,2003 — President Olusegun Obasanjo is sworn in for a second term as president.
*2004 — Ethnoreligious violence erupts in Plateau State; President Obasanjo declares a state of emergency in the state.
* May 16,2006 — The National Assembly of Nigeria votes against a constitutional amendment to remove term limits; President Obasanjo is prevented from contesting a third term in office.
* June 13,2006 — President Olusegun Obasanjo meets with his Cameroonian counterpart Paul Biya, and UN Secretary General, Kofi Anan in New York to resolve dispute talks over Bakassi.
* August 1, 2006 — Nigerian troops begin to pull out of Bakassi; Bakassi becomes Cameroonian territory.
* March 15,2007 — The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) releases the names of 24 candidates for the presidential elections. Vice President Atiku Abubakar is excluded from the list.
* April 21,2007 — Umaru Yar'Adua, Governor of Katsina State, is elected as the President of Nigeria.

References

* [http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IRIN/0aeb0a416fb1f9b4c51f60a0f5ec00d9.htm REUTERS - Nigeria Chronology]
* [http://www.brookings.edu/fp/saban/events/20051207.htm Muslim Civic Cultures and Conflict Resolution: The Challenge of Democratic Federalism in Nigeria — John N. Paden]