Research Article Open Access www.arjonline.org American Research Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences ISSN: 2378-7031 Volume 6, Issue 1, 1-8 Pages Page 1 CREATION OF STATES IN NIGERIA, 1967-1996: DECON- STRUCTING THE HISTORY AND POLITICS Ejitu N. Ota, Ph.D Department of History and International Relations, Abia State University, Uturu, Nigeria Chinyere S. Ecoma, Ph.D Department of History and International Relations, Veritas University, Abuja, Nigeria Chiemela Godwin Wambu, Ph.D Department of History and International Relations, Abia State University, Uturu, Nigeria E-mail: *ecomachinyere@yahoo.com Abstract: One of the lasting legacies of military rule in Nigeria is the creation of states. This started in 1967 when Yakubu Gowon, the then military Head of State (1967-1975) created twelve states to replace the existing regional arrangement. Almost every subsequent military regime has latched on this precedent to create states, the last being that of General Sani Abacha. In all, political, more than any other consideration informed the creation of states. All the exercises in state creation have also reflected and sustained the numerical dominance of the former northern region over the former eastern and western regions. Using primary and secondary sources in its methodology, this paper historicises state creation in Nigeria and concludes that state creation by military Heads of State since 1967 achieved the prime objective of political, economic and numerical domination of the south by the north. This translates to allocation of enormously higher resources to the north than the south which generates most of the national resources. The paper opines that restructuring the Nigerian state could be a lasting elixir to the ill feelings among ethnic minorities in the country. Key words: States, North, South, Ethno-religious, Military regimes. INTRODUCTION Nigeria became a single country in 1914 following the amalgamation of the then northern and southern protectorates by Frederick Lugard, on behalf of the British Crown. Later in 1949 and as a result of the promulgation of the Richard’s Constitution, the country was divided into three regions, namely, the eastern region, the northern region and the western region. Each of these comprised a multiplicity of ethnic groups, though the Igbo, the Hausa-Fulani and the Yoruba were numerically and politically the dominant ethnic groups in the east, north and west respectively. This led to fears of domination and agitations for separate regions by some ethnic minorities in the various regions. For instance, there was the Calabar-Ogoja-River (COR) State Movement in the east; there were also the Benin and Delta Movements in the western region, as well as the Middle Belt Movement in northern Nigeria. The utmost desire of these groups was to be free from the perceived domination of their numerically stronger partners. It was in reaction to such agitations that the British colonial regime set up the Henry Willinks Commission in 1958. Its mandate was to study the fears of Nigeria’s ethnic minorities and suggest ways to allay such fears, including the creation of separate states for them. However, the Commission did not recommend the creation of states for ethnic minority groups in Nigeria. On the contrary, it held the view that there were other alternatives for addressing their fears, including the entrenchment of human rights, the establishment of special development authorities, and the sustained implementation of