Igboland

Igboland is the cultural and linguistic homeland of the Igbo people in southeastern Nigeria. It is not a single political unit: it is spread across several southern Nigerian states and is divided by the lower Niger River into a larger eastern section and a smaller western one. The region is bounded by large rivers and by neighbouring peoples such as the Igala, Tiv, Idoma and Ibibio, and lies mostly in the lowland forest zone, reaching savanna near Nsukka in the north and the creeks of the Niger Delta toward the south. Its history includes early settlement dated before 6000 BC, the northern kingdom of Nri from about the 10th century, the Aro Confederacy in the south, incorporation into the Southern Nigeria Protectorate in the late 19th century and the Biafran secession war that ended in 1970.