28/08/2025
š§ Understanding History: A Clarification on Regional Identity in Nigeria
By Builder Lawal Isa Muhammad
What many people fail to understand is this:
Before the creation of Plateau Stateāand many other states in Nigeriaāthe country was divided into just three major regions:
The Northern Region
The Eastern Region
The Western Region
There were no individual states like we have today. Everyone living in what we now call the āNorthāāincluding Plateau, Benue, Nasarawa, and othersāwas officially regarded as a Northerner.
This includes the Hausa and Fulani, who have long been indigenous to various parts of the North. They were not strangers or settlersāthey were in their own region, their ancestral homeland. The suggestion that they ācame from somewhere elseā is historically incorrect when you understand Nigeriaās early structure.
(š The Main Point)
The Igbo and Yoruba migrated from the Eastern and Western Regions respectively into the Northern Region, which included Plateau and surrounding areas. This migration occurred mostly during the colonial and post-colonial periods, driven by:
Economic opportunities
Mining activities
Civil service appointments
Administrative assignments
That is how cities like Jos, Kaduna, and Kano became melting pots of cultures, with southerners settling in the Northānot because the North was āanyone elseās land,ā but because Nigeria operated then as three large regions, not multiple states.
So when we say āthe Hausa and Fulani were already at homeā, it is not to cause division. It is a reminder of Nigeriaās historical realitiesāhow things were before the 1967 state creation exercise and the subsequent restructuring of our country.
š Legal & Constitutional References
āļø 1963 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
This was Nigeriaās first Republican Constitution, and it legally recognized the three regional structure.
> Section 2 (1): āNigeria shall be a Federation comprising Regions and a Federal Territory.ā
At this time, the only recognized subdivisions of the country were:
The Northern Region
The Eastern Region
The Western Region
(and later, the Mid-Western Region, added in 1963)
This confirms that people living in present-day Plateau, Nasarawa, and Benue were all constitutionally part of the Northern Region.
āļø 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (As Amended)
This is the current constitution, which reflects the structure of 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
> Section 2(2): āNigeria shall be a Federation consisting of States and a Federal Capital Territory.ā
The 1999 Constitution did not erase the past. Rather, it restructured Nigeriaās administrative boundaries, transitioning from regions to states for better governance. However, history remains importantāand that includes knowing that Plateau and many others were once part of a unified Northern Region.
(šļø A Message of Unity)
If this truth is hard to accept, my brother and sister, then I, Builder Lawal Isa Muhammad, honestly donāt know what else to say.
But one thing is clear:
> We must tell our history correctlyānot to divide, but to educate, unify, and build mutual understanding as Nigerians.
Let us respect our past so that we can shape a future rooted in truth, peace, and national unity.
