EVOLUTION OF NIGERIA’S BOUNDARIES

Nigeria shares Land boundaries with the Republics of Benin, Niger, Chad and Cameroon and Maritime boundaries with the Republics of Benin, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Sao Tome and Principe and Ghana. The Nigerian Federation of 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory has 774 Local Government Areas as the third tier of Government. In each of the 774 Local Government Areas are several other polities – districts, village areas, autonomous Communities, emirates and chiefdoms which like the States and Local Government Areas, operate within more or less jurisdictional areas.  

While European imperialism gave Nigeria and other African and third world countries their international boundaries, British colonialism on the other hand gave Nigeria its first set of internal boundaries. The division of Nigeria into protectorates, provinces, divisions, districts, native authorities, federated communities, etc was done for British administrative convenience. Successive post independence Nigerian constitutions from 1960 to date clearly allowed the creation of more administrative units. This partly explains the phenomenon of the bourgeoning of Regions, States and Local Government Areas etc. In 1963, the Mid Western Region was created out of the defunct Western Region of Nigeria. Four years later (1967), a more drastic restructuring of the nation was undertaken by the Military Administration of General Yakubu Gowon, which broke the country into 12 States structure. This was further followed by another exercise in States creation in 1976 when General Murlala Mohammed gave the nation the 19 States structure. In 1987 and 1991 two and nine additional States respectively were created by the General Ibrahim Babangida Administration. The Military regime of Sani Abacha on its part created another 6 new States in 1996 bringing to 36 the number of States in the country excluding the Federal Capital territory (FCT) of Abuja. All the State creation exercises except that of 1963 were either followed by or done side by side with the creation of more Local Government Areas. The States of their part embarked upon the creation of additional Districts, village Areas, Chiefdoms, Emirates and Autonomous Communities.