Many students think history is just about memorising dates and names, but there's more to it. History helps you understand why things are the way they are today, how empires rose and fell, and what shaped the society you live in. The JAMB History syllabus covers all of this. 

You'll explore topics like the early formation of human societies, powerful kingdoms such as Oyo and Kanem Bornu, the trans Saharan trade, and how Europeans came to Africa. 

You'll also learn about Nigeria's independence movement, the military coups, the civil war, and the country's journey toward unity. We break everything down so you grasp the big picture and know exactly which areas to focus on for your exam.

General Objectives

The aim of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) syllabus in History is to prepare the candidates for the Board’s examinations. It is designed to test their achievement of the course objectives, which are to:

1. Impart knowledge of Nigerian history from earliest times to the present.

2. Identify the similarities and relationships among the peoples of Nigeria as they relate to the issues of national unity and integration;

3. Appreciate Nigerian history as the basis to understand West African and African history;

4. Apply history to understand Nigeria and Africa’s relationship with the wider world;

5. Analyse issues of modernisation and development;

6. Relate the past to the present and plan for the future.

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JAMB Syllabus 2026 for UTME and Direct Entry Candidates

JAMB Syllabus for History 2026

TOPICOBJECTIVES

SECTION A: THE NIGERIA AREA UP TO 1800

1. Land and Peoples of the Nigeria Area:

a. Geographical zones and the people.

b. The people’s relationship with the environment

c. Main physical features and the impact of geography on human activity e.g., hunting, fishing, farming etc.

d. Relations and integration among the peoples of different zones.

2. Early Centres of Civilization:

a. Nok, Daima, Ife, Benin, Igbo Ukwu and Iwo Eleru

b. Monuments and shelter systems: (Kuyambana, Durbi-ta-Kusheyi, city walls, moats and palaces)

3. Origins and formation of States in the Nigeria Area

a. Central Sudan: Kanuri and Hausa, states.

Candidates should be able to:

1. identify the geographical zones and the people within them;

2. establish the relationship between the people and the environment

3. relate the impact of geography on human activity in the specific zones

4. Comprehend the relationships among the various peoples of the Nigeria area.

5. highlight the main features of the early centres of civilization

6. examine the significance of various centres;

7. establish the historical significance of the various
monuments such as caves and rocky formations;

8. relate the different groups of people occupying the various zones to their traditions of origin;

9. determine the interstate relations;

SECTION B: THE NIGERIA AREA 1800 to 1900

1. The Sokoto Caliphate

The Sokoto Jihad: (causes, course and consequences)

a. The causes and the process of the jihad

b. The establishment and administration of the caliphate and relations with neighbours

c. The achievements and impact of the caliphate.

d. The collapse of the caliphate.

2. Kanem Borno

a. The long survival and collapse of the Saifawa dynasty

b. Borno under the Shehus

c. Borno under Rabeh

d. Borno and the Sokoto caliphate.

3. Yorubaland:

a. The fall of the Old Oyo Empire;

b. The Yoruba wars and their impact

c. The peace treaty of 1886 and its aftermath.

Candidates should be able to:

1. examine the causes, and the course of the Jihad;

2. determine the factors that led to the rise of the caliphate;

3. examine the administrative set-up of the caliphate and its relations with its neighbours;

4. examine the impact of the caliphate;

5. trace the internal and external factors that led to the collapse of the caliphate.

6. highlight the factors for the long survival of the Saifawa dynasty;

7. determine the factors that led to the collapse of the Saifawa dynasty;

8. examine Borno under the administration of the Shehus;

9. assess the role of Rabeh in Borno’s history.

10. examine the causes and the implications of the fall of the Old Oyo Empire;

11. examine the causes and effects of the Yoruba wars;

12. assess the impact of the 1886 peace treaty.

DOWNLOAD JAMB SYLLABUS FOR HISTORY 2026

Recommended Texts

  • Adesote S. and Falade, D. (2020) District Comprehensive History for Senior Secondary Schools (1 to 3) Ondo, Unique Mercy and Features.
  • Ayandele, A. E. et al (1986) The Making of Modern Africa, The Twentieth Century Vol 2., Longman.
  • Akinloye, S. A. (1976) Emergent African States: Topics in Twentieth Century African History, Longman.
  • Anene J. C. and Brown, G (1966) African in the 19th and 20th centuries, Ibadan: University Press.
  • Anene, J. C and Brown, G (eds) (1972) African in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries: A Handbook for Teachers and Students, Ibadan: University Press and Nelson.
  • Asiwaju A. I., Crowder, M and Denzel, I. R. (eds) Tarikh 25, Grassroots Leadership in Colonial West Africa, Vol. 7, London: Longman.
  • Barkindo, B. et al (1989) Africa and the Wider World, Vol. 1. Lagos: Longman.
  • Barkindo, B. et al (1996) Africa and the Wider World, Vols. 2 and 3, Lagos: Longman
  • Boahen, A (1969) The Revolutionary years: Africa since 1800 Longman publishers.
  • Coleman, J. S. (1986) Nigeria: Background to Nationalism, Benin: Broburg and Wistrom.
  • Crowder, M. West Africa: An introduction to its History, Longman, 1977.
  • Crowder, M. Nigeria: An introduction to its History, London Longman, 1979.
  • Falola, T. et al (1989) History of Nigeria Vol. I, Lagos: Longman.
  • Falola T. et al (1989) History of Nigeria Vols. 2 and 3, Lagos: Longman.
  • Ikime, O (1977) The Fall of Nigeria: The British Conquest, London: Heinemann.
  • Ikime, O. (ed) (1980) Ground work of Nigerian History, Ibadan: Heinemann.
  • Isichei, E. (1983) A History of Nigeria, London: Longman.
  • Jorre, J. D. (1972) The Nigeria Civil War, London: Hordder and Stoughton.