Editing Nigeria (section)

=== Independence and the Federal Republic ===
{{Main|Federation of Nigeria|First Nigerian Republic|Independence Day (Nigeria)}}

Nigeria gained a degree of self-rule in 1954, and full independence from the United Kingdom on 1 October 1960, as the [[Federation of Nigeria]] with [[Abubakar Tafawa Balewa]] as its [[Prime Minister of Nigeria|Prime Minister]], while retaining the [[Monarchy of the United Kingdom|British monarch]], [[Elizabeth II]], as nominal head of state and [[Queen of Nigeria]]. [[Nnamdi Azikiwe]] replaced the colonial [[governor-general]] in November 1960. At independence, the cultural and political differences were sharp among Nigeria's dominant ethnic groups: the [[Hausa people|Hausa]] in the north, Igbo in the east, and Yoruba in the west.<ref name="JBS2">{{cite journal |author=Udofia, O.E. |year=1981 |title=Nigerian Political Parties: Their Role in Modernizing the Political System, 1920–1966 |journal=Journal of Black Studies |volume=11 |issue=4 |pages=435–447 |doi=10.1177/002193478101100404 |jstor=2784073 |s2cid=143073983}}</ref> The [[Westminster system]] of government was retained, and thus the [[President of Nigeria|President]]'s powers were generally ceremonial.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dawodu.com/const63.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818121408/https://www.dawodu.com/const63.pdf |archive-date=18 August 2021 |title=The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria |date=1963}}</ref> The parliamentary system of government had [[Abubakar Tafawa Balewa]] as Prime Minister and Nnamdi Azikiwe as the ceremonial president. The founding government was a coalition of conservative parties: the [[Northern People's Congress]] led by Sir [[Ahmadu Bello]], a party dominated by Muslim northerners, and the Igbo and Christian-dominated [[National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons]] led by Nnamdi Azikiwe. The opposition consisted of the comparatively liberal [[Action Group (Nigeria)|Action Group]], which was largely dominated by the [[Yoruba people|Yoruba]] and led by [[Obafemi Awolowo]]. An imbalance was created in the polity as a result of the [[Southern Cameroons#Trust territory|1961 plebiscite]]. [[Southern Cameroons]] opted to join the [[Cameroon|Republic of Cameroon]] while [[British Cameroon|Northern Cameroons]] chose to join Nigeria. The northern part of the country became larger than the southern part.
[[File:Abubakar Tafawa Balewa (1962).jpg|alt=Abubakar Tafawa Balewa|thumb|221x221px|[[Abubakar Tafawa Balewa]], Nigeria's first Prime Minister during the 1st Republic. ]]