The period of military rule in Nigeria has brought fundamental changes in the country's administrative system, which foreshadow further significant ones to come. This is a useful point at which to summarise the changes so far made and consider what major problems remain.

Nigeria achieved independence from colonial rule in i960 with a federal system of government in which the administrative system was largely modelled on that of Britain. The Federation consisted at that stage of three Regions, the smallest of which was larger in terms of population than all but six of the 48 mainland countries in Africa. The federal and regional administrations were organised along lines familiar to the British civil service: the centrally deployed staff of the ministries and departments were divided into administrative, executive, secretarial, clerical, and miscellaneous classes, while specialised classes existed for those in the professional and technical grades. In addition, statutory corporations were established at both federal and regional levels to operate public enterprises, notably for marketing and development finance.