JAMB History Syllabus

TO 1800

1. Land and Peoples of the Nigeria Area:

• a.
• Geographical zones and the people.
• b. The people’s relationship with the environment
• c.
• Main physical features and the impact of geography on human activity e.g., hunting, fishing, farming etc.
• d. Relations and integration among the peoples of different zones.

2. Early Centres of Civilization:

• a.
• Nok, Daima, Ife, Benin, Igbo Ukwu and
• Iwo Eleru
• b. Monuments and shelter systems:
• (Kuyambana, Durbi-ta-Kusheyi, city walls, moats and palaces)

3. Origins and formation of States in the

• Nigeria Area
• a.
• Central Sudan –Kanuri and Hausa, states.

4. Economic Activities and Growth of States:

• a. Agriculture – hunting, farming, fishing, animal husbandry and horticulture.
• b. Industries – pottery, salt-making, iron- smelting, blacksmithing, leather-working, wood-carving, cloth-making, dyeing and food processing.
• c.
• Trade and trade routes: - local, regional, long distance, including the trade in slaves and trans-Sahara trade.
• d. Expansion of states.

5. External Influences:

• a. North Africans/Arabs/Tuaregs
• i. introduction, spread and impact of Islam;
• ii. trans-Saharan trade.
• b. Europeans:
• i. early European trade with the coastal states.
• ii. the trans-Atlantic slave trade (origin, organization and impact)
• iii. impact of early missionary activities in the coastal areas.

1. The Sokoto Caliphate

• The Sokoto Jihad – (causes, course and consequences)
• a.
• The causes and the process of the jihad
• iii. account for their social and political organizations;
• iv. highlight the differences between centralized and non- centralized (acephalous) states.

2. Kanem-Borno

• a.
• The long survival and collapse of the
• Saifawa dynasty
• b. Borno under the Shehus
• c.
• Borno under Rabeh
• d. Borno and the Sokoto caliphate.

3. Yorubaland:

• a.
• The fall of the Old Oyo Empire;
• b. The Yoruba wars and their impact;
• c.
• The peace treaty of 1886 and its aftermath.

4. Benin

• a.
• Internal political and cultural development
• b. Relations with neighbours
• c.
• Relations with the Europeans

5. Nupe

• a.
• Internal political and cultural development
• b. Relations with neighbours.
• c.
• Nupe Imperialism.

6. Igbo

• a.
• Internal political and cultural development
• b. Relations with neighbours.

7. Efik

• a.
• Internal political and cultural development
• b.
• Relations with neighbours.
• iii. examine the administrative set-up of the caliphate and its relations with its neighbours;
• iv. examine the impact of the caliphate;
• v. trace the internal and external factors that led to the collapse of the caliphate.

8. European Penetration and Impact:

• a.
• European exploration of the interior.
• b. The suppression of the trans-Atlantic slave trade.
• c.
• The development of commodity trade and rise of consular authority.
• d. Christian missionary activities.
• e.
• The activities of the trading companies.
• f.
• Impact of European activities on the coast and the hinterland.

9. British Conquest of the Nigeria Area:

• a. The first phase of the British conquest of
• Nigeria 1851 – 1900
• b. Second phase of the conquest and motives
• c.
• Methods of the conquest and its result;
• d. Resistance to and aftermath of the conquest.

1. The Establishment of Colonial Rule up to

• 1914:
• a.
• Pacification and occupation of the territories
• b. Resistance to the pacification and occupation i.e. The Ekumeku Movement in Asaba hinterland 1898 – 1911, The
• Satiru uprising of 1906.
• c.
• Administration of the Protectorates.

2. The Amalgamation of 1914:

• a.
• Reasons
• b. Effects

3. Colonial Administration After the

• Amalgamation:
• a.
• Central Administration: - Legislative and Executive Councils
• b. Indirect Rule – reasons, working and effects

4. iv. The Colonial Economy:

• a.
• currency, taxation and forced labour
• b. Infrastructure (transportation, post and telecommunications)
• c.
• Agriculture
• d. Mining
• e.
• Industry
• f.
• Commerce
• g. Banking.

5. Social Development under Colonial Rule:

• a.
• Western education
• b. Urbanization/social integration
• c.
• Improvement unions
• d. Health institutions

6. Constitutional Developments, Nationalism

• and Independence:
• a.
• The 1922 Clifford Constitution and the rise of Nigeria’s first political party.
• b. World War II and the agitation for independence
• c.
• The rise of nationalist movements;
• d. The Richards Constitution of 1946
• e.
• The Macpherson Constitution of 1951.
• f.
• Party politics – regionalism, federalism and minority question.
• g. Lyttleton Constitution of 1954.
• h. Constitutional Conferences in Lagos in
• 1957 and London in 1958
• i. The general elections of 1959 and independence in 1960.
• iii. assess the effects of indirect rule;
• iv. examine the local administrative units.
• v. account for the anti-colonial movements and their significance.

1. The Politics of the First Republic and

• Military intervention
• a. Struggle for the control of the centre;
• b. Issue of revenue allocation
• c.
• The 1962/63 census controversies
• d. The 1963 Republican constitution
• e.
• Minority agitations
• f.
• The Action Group crisis and the General
• Elections of 1964/65.
• g. The coup d’etat of January 1966 and the counter coup of July, 1966
• h. The Ironsi Regime.

2. The Nigerian Civil War:

• a.
• Causes
• b. Course
• c.
• Effects

3. The Gowon Regime.

4. Murtala/Obasanjo Regime

5. The Second Republic

6. The Buhari Regime

7. The Babangida Regime

8. The Interim National Government (ING)

9. The Abacha Regime

10. Transition to the Fourth Republic

11. Nigeria in International Organizations;

• a.
• Economic Community of West African
• States (ECOWAS),
• b. African Union (AU)
• c.
• Commonwealth of Nations
• d. Organization of Petroleum Exporting
• Countries (OPEC)
• e.
• United Nations Organization.

WORLD SINCE 1800

1. Islamic Reform Movements and State

• Building in West Africa:
• a.
• Relationship between Sokoto and other
• Jihads.
• b. The Jihads of Seku Ahmadu and Al-Hajj
• Umar
• c.
• The activities of Samori Toure.

2. Sierra Leone, Liberia and Christian

• Missionary Activities in West Africa
• a.
• The foundation of Sierra Leone and
• Liberia and the spread of Christianity
• b. The activities and impact of Christian missionaries.

3. Egypt under Mohammed Ali and Khedive

• Ismail:
• a.
• The rise of Mohammad Ali and his reforms
• b. Mohammad Ali’s relations with the
• Europeans
• c.
• Ismail’s fiscal policies
• d. The British occupation of Egypt

1. Ethiopia in the 19th century

• a.
• The rise of Theodore II and his attempt at the unification of Ethiopia
• b. Menelik II and Ethiopian independence.

2. The Mfecane:

• a.
• The rise of the Zulu Nation
• b. Causes, Course and consequences of the
• Mfecane

3. The Great Trek

• a.
• The frontier wars
• b. British intervention in the Boer African relations
• c.
• The Great Trek and its consequences.

1. The New Imperialism and European

• Occupation of Africa
• a.
• The New Imperialism in Africa
• b. European scramble for Africa
• c.
• The Berlin Conference
• d. The occupation and resistance by Africans.

2. Patterns of Colonial Rule in Africa:

• a.
• The British
• b. The French
• c.
• The Portuguese
• d. The Belgians
• e.
• The Germans
• f.
• The Spanish

3. The Politics of Decolonization

• a.
• Colonial policies and African discontent
• b. The impact of the two World Wars
• c.
• Nationalist activities and the emergence of political parties and associations
• d. Strategies for attaining independence

4. Apartheid in South Africa

• a.
• The origin of Apartheid
• b. Rise of Afrikaner Nationalism
• c.
• Enactment of Apartheid laws
• d. Internal reactions to Apartheid and the suppression of African Nationalist movements
• e.
• External reactions to Apartheid, the
• Frontline States, the Commonwealth of
• Nations, OAU and the UN.
• f.
• The dismantling of Apartheid
• g. Post-Apartheid developments

5. Problems of Nation-building in Africa

• a.
• Political and economic challenges and constraints

3) Ondo, Unique Mercy and Features.

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