Nigerian independence as a Federation of three regions

Nigeria achieved colonial independence in October 1960 as a Federation of three regions — the Northern, Western, and Eastern Regions — with a weak centre, under Prime Minister Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa and a ceremonial President, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe. Each region was large enough in land mass and population to be an independent nation in its own right. The First Republic was plagued from the outset by antagonistic regionalism, ethnicity, declining revenues, and bitter power struggles.