The desire of Nigeria as an independent country is to give to its citizens a free, just and democratic society where no one is oppressed. This humane philosophy guarantees maximum self realization to all citizens including children with special needs.

Nigeria was not always one country as it is today. The territory according to Iloeje (1981) was formerly made up of various states, empires and small territories. The largest and most influential of these was the Fulani Empire which extended over most of northern Nigeria in the nineteenth century.

As a result of British annexation of territory, Nigeria as a country came into being in 1914 when the then Northern and Southern Nigeria were amalgamated. Britain administered the country as one political unit for forty-six years. In 1960, Nigeria became independent as a federation of three regions - Eastern, Western and Northern, with Lagos as the federal capital. Nigeria now has twenty-one states, each with some degree of autonomy, and an estimated population of 120 million.