Lifestyle
PHOTOS: The Origin of the Name “Nigeria” Flora Shaw’s Proposal in 1897
The name “Nigeria” first appeared in print on 8 January 1897 in The Times of London, in an article written and signed by Flora Shaw, the paper’s colonial editor. Shaw—who would later marry Sir Frederick Lugard, the future High Commissioner of the Northern Nigerian Protectorate—suggested the name as a concise and practical alternative to the long descriptive titles Europeans then used for the region.
Her proposal gave a single geographical label to an immense and culturally diverse area under increasing British influence. Shaw argued that a shorter name would simplify both administration and international recognition at a time when Britain was expanding its colonial presence in West Africa.
Derivation from the Niger River
Shaw’s name derived from the River Niger, the great waterway that flows through present-day Guinea, Mali, Niger, Benin, and Nigeria before emptying into the Atlantic.
The origin of the word “Niger” itself remains debated. Some scholars trace it to the Latin “niger,” meaning black, a term used by early European geographers to describe the dark waters or the people along the river. Others suggest it came from a local Tuareg phrase—often cited as egerew n-igerewen—used by peoples along the middle reaches of the river. Because neither explanation can be proven conclusively, historians generally present both as plausible.
Pre-Colonial and Early Colonial Descriptions
Before 1897, Europeans referred to the area with a variety of names:
“Central Sudan” or “Niger Sudan,” reflecting its location south of the Sahara.
“Hausa Territories,” in reference to the influential Hausa city-states of the north.
“Niger Empire,” used loosely in nineteenth-century travel literature.
These labels highlighted powerful pre-colonial polities such as the Sokoto Caliphate, Oyo Empire, Benin Kingdom, and others, but none captured the entire territory in a single term.
Colonial Context and the 1914 Amalgamation
Shaw’s suggestion came at the height of British colonial expansion in West Africa. By 1900 the British government had proclaimed the Protectorates of Northern and Southern Nigeria, formalising its control over the region.
In 1914, Sir Frederick Lugard—by then Shaw’s husband—oversaw the amalgamation of these two protectorates to form the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria. The name proposed by Flora Shaw seventeen years earlier became the official designation of the new political entity.
This act of naming exemplified a broader colonial pattern: compressing diverse ethnicities and kingdoms into a single administrative unit for imperial convenience. While the name “Nigeria” would later become a source of national pride, it originated as a tool of British governance.
Path to Independence and Enduring Legacy
The name endured through decades of colonial rule and into the era of nationalism. When Nigeria achieved independence on 1 October 1960, the colonial label became the name of the new Federal Republic of Nigeria, symbolising a modern state forged from many peoples and histories.
Over a century later, “Nigeria” remains more than a geographical term. It is a reminder of how colonial encounters shaped modern African identities and of how Nigerians have since infused the name with their own meanings of sovereignty and unity.
Key Timeline
Pre-1897: Region variously described as Central Sudan, Niger Sudan, Hausa Territories, Niger Empire.
8 January 1897: Flora Shaw publishes the article “Nigeria” in The Times of London.
1900: British government consolidates territories as Northern and Southern Protectorates.
1914: Lugard oversees the amalgamation; the name “Nigeria” becomes official.
1 October 1960: Independence as the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Sources
Flora Shaw, “Nigeria,” The Times (London), 8 January 1897.
Lord Lugard and Flora Shaw
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