<P> Following the Napoleonic wars, the British expanded trade with the Nigerian interior . In 1885, British claims to a West African sphere of influence received international recognition; and in the following year, the Royal Niger Company was chartered under the leadership of Sir George Taubman Goldie . In 1900, the company's territory came under the control of the British Government, which moved to consolidate its hold over the area of modern Nigeria . On 1 January 1901, Nigeria became a British protectorate, part of the British Empire, the foremost world power at the time . </P> <P> In 1914, the area was formally united as the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria . Administratively, Nigeria remained divided into the Northern and Southern Provinces and Lagos Colony . Western education and the development of a modern economy proceeded more rapidly in the south than in the north, with consequences felt in Nigeria's political life ever since . Following World War II, in response to the growth of Nigerian nationalism and demands for independence, successive constitutions legislated by the British Government moved Nigeria toward self - government on a representative and increasingly federal basis . On 1 October 1954, the colony became the autonomous Federation of Nigeria . By the middle of the 20th century, the great wave for independence was sweeping across Africa . On 27 October 1958 Britain agreed that Nigeria would become an independent state on 1 October 1960 . </P> <P> The Federation of Nigeria was granted full independence on 1 October 1960 under a constitution that provided for a parliamentary government and a substantial measure of self - government for the country's three regions . From 1959 to 1960, Jaja Wachuku was the First Nigerian Speaker of the Nigerian Parliament, also called the "House of Representatives ." Jaja Wachuku replaced Sir Frederick Metcalfe of Britain . Notably, as First Speaker of the House, Jaja Wachuku received Nigeria's Instrument of Independence, also known as Freedom Charter, on 1 October 1960, from Princess Alexandra of Kent, The Queen's representative at the Nigerian independence ceremonies . </P> <P> The Federal government was given exclusive powers in defence, foreign relations, and commercial and fiscal policy . The monarch of Nigeria was still head of state but legislative power was vested in a bicameral parliament, executive power in a prime minister and cabinet, and judicial authority in a Federal Supreme Court . Political parties, however, tended to reflect the makeup of the three main ethnic groups . The Nigerian People's Congress (NPC) represented conservative, Muslim, largely Hausa and Fulani interests that dominated the Northern Region . The northern region of the country, consisting of three - quarters of the land area and more than half the population of Nigeria . Thus the North dominated the federation government from the beginning of independence . In the 1959 elections held in preparation for independence, the NPC captured 134 seats in the 312 - seat parliament . </P>

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