Meanwhile, by the 18th century, the British had displaced the Portuguese as leaders of the slave trade, setting the path for their eventual colonisation of the territories, another historical account by The Commonwealth states.
It must, however, be noted that prior to the arrival of the Portuguese and the eventual British colonisation, the territories on the western coast which would later become Nigeria had “previously existed as autonomous, independent states under indigenous leadership.”
Thus, it is erroneous to claim the Portuguese “discovered” the people on the West coast (now Nigerians). Also, the relationship between the Portuguese was mainly economic, not political.
Nigeria as a nation today is a creation of the British imperialists.
Mr Seun Williams, a PhD student (International History) at The Graduate Institute, Geneva, has stated that “records have it that the Portuguese were the first European peoples to reach Nigeria.”
Regarding the “discovery” claim, Mr Williams said:
“Discover? The thing is people no longer use this kind of terminology again just as it is no longer tenable to say that Mungo Park discovered River Niger.”
