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NigeriaThe Federal Republic of Nigeria is a country in West Africa and, by far, the most populated nation in Africa. It borders on Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, Niger in the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the south. Major cities include the capital Abuja, the former capital Lagos, Abeokuta, Ibadan, Port Harcourt, Kano, Kaduna, Jos, and Benin City. The country's name is unrelated to its African heritage, it was proposed by a Times article in 1897. History Main article: History of Nigeria The Kanem-Bornu Empire near Lake Chad dominated northern Nigeria for over 600 years, prospering as a terminal of north-south trade between North African Berbers and forest people. In the early 19th century, Usman dan Fodio brought most areas in the north under the loose control of an Islamic empire centered in Sokoto. The kingdoms of Oyo in the southwest, and Benin in the southeast both developed elaborate systems of political organization in the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries. Ife and Benin are noted for their prized artistic works in ivory, wood, bronze, and brass. In the 17th through 19th centuries, European traders established coastal ports for the increasing traffic in slaves destined for the Americas. Commodity trade replaced slave trade in the 19th century. The Royal Niger Company was chartered by the British government in 1886. Nigeria became a British protectorate in 1901, and a colony in 1914. In response to the growth of Nigerian nationalism following World War II, the British moved the colony towards self-government on a federal basis. Nigeria was granted full independence in 1960, as a federation of three regions, each retaining a substantial measure of self-government. In 1966, two successive coups by different groups of army officers brought the country under military rule. The leaders of the second coup tried to increase the power of the federal government, and replaced the regional governments with 12 state governments. The Igbos, the dominant ethnic group in the eastern region, declared independence as the Republic of Biafra in 1967, leading to a bloody civil war which ended with their defeat in 1970. In 1975, a bloodless coup brought Murtala Ramat Mohammed to power, who promised a return to civilian rule. However, he was killed in an abortive coup, and succeeded by his chief of staff, Olusegun Obasanjo. A new constitution was drafted in 1977, and elections were held in 1979, which were won by Shehu Shagari. Nigeria returned to military government in 1983, by a coup which established the Supreme Military Council as the country's new ruling body. After elections in 1993, Chief M.K.O. Abiola won the June 12, 1993 Presidential Election, which were canceled by the military government of General Babangida. An Interim National Government was step-up, headed by Chief Ernest Shonekan. The Government was declared Illegal and unconstitutional by an High Court and General Sani Abacha took power. He imprisoned Chief M.K.O. Abiola and when he died suddenly in 1998 Abdulsalami Abubakar became leader of the SMC, now known as the Provisional Ruling Council. He lifted the suspension of the 1979 constitution, poisoned Chief M.K.O. Abiola the winner of the 1993 Election. In 1999, Nigeria elected Olusegun Obasanjo as President in its first elections in 16 years. Obasanjo and his party also won the turbulent elections of 2003. Politics Main article: Politics of Nigeria Nigeria is a Federal Republic, comprising 36 states plus the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja. States - Main article: States of Nigeria
- For traditional states, see Nigerian traditional states
Nigeria is divided into 36 states and 1 territory. Each state has a unicameral House of Assembly and an elected Governor, who appoints an Executive Council. Geography Main article: Geography of Nigeria Nigeria is located on the Gulf of Guinea. Its major cities are located in southern lowlands. The central part of the country contains hills and plateaus. The north consists of arid plains. Its neighboring countries are Benin, Niger, Chad and Cameroon. Forest and woodland occurs chiefly in the southern third of the country, which is affected by seasonal rains from the Atlantic which occur from June to September. As one progresses northward the country becomes drier and the vegetation more savanna in type. The northern third of the country forms part of the semi-arid sahel region on the fringes of the Sahara desert. Nigeria is divided roughly in three by the rivers Niger and Benue, which flow through the country from north-east and north-west to meet roughly in the centre of the country near the new capital city of Abuja. From here the united rivers flow south to the sea at the Niger delta. Cities Main article: List of cities in Nigeria''' The principal cities of Nigeria are: Economy Main article: Economy of Nigeria The oil-rich Nigerian economy, long hobbled by political instability, corruption, and poor macroeconomic management, is undergoing substantial economic reform under the new civilian administration. Nigeria's former military rulers failed to diversify the economy away from overdependence on the capital-intensive oil sector, which provides 20% of GDP, 95% of foreign exchange earnings, and about 65% of budgetary revenues. The largely subsistence agricultural sector has not kept up with rapid population growth, and Nigeria, once a large net exporter of food, now must import food. Mineral resources include petroleum, coal and tin. Agricultural products include groundnuts, palm oil, cocoa, citrus Fruits, maize, millet, cassava, yams and sugar cane. Although it has gained notoriety for such a trade, Nigeria is home to the majority of advance fee fraud scammers. It is estimated that anywhere between 100,000 and 300,000 scammers operate out of Nigeria, although many are found elsewhere in the world. Advance fee fraud, also known as "419" after the section of the Nigerian legal code that deals with it, typically accounts for a large majority of all money transfers to the region, and plays a sizable role in the economics of key cities such as Lagos. While in recent years many other countries have had problems with this sort of con, Nigeria remains the center of this type of scam. Demographics Main article: Demographics of Nigeria The most populous country in Africa, Nigeria accounts for approximately one-fifth of Africa's people. Although less than 25% of Nigerians are urban dwellers, at least 24 cities have populations of more than 100,000. The variety of customs, languages, and traditions among Nigeria's 250 ethnic groups gives the country a rich diversity. The dominant ethnic group in the northern part are the Hausa-Fulani, the overwhelming majority of whom are Muslim. Other major ethnic groups of the north are the Nupe, Tiv, and Kanuri. The Yoruba people are predominant in the south. Over half of the Yorubas are Christian and about a quarter are Muslim, with the remainder following mostly traditional beliefs. The predominantly Christian Igbo are the largest ethnic group in the southeast. Roman Catholics are the largest denomination, but Anglican, Pentecostal and other Evangelical denominations are also strong. The Efik, Ibibio/Annang, and Ijaw (the country's fourth-largest ethnic group) communities also comprise a substantial segment of the population in that area. Persons of different language backgrounds most commonly communicate in English, although knowledge of two or more Nigerian languages is widespread. Hausa, Yoruba, and Igbo are the most widely used Nigerian languages. In recent years there have been sporadic clashes between Christian and Muslim groups, particularly in the North of the country, where there has been (possibly micro-politically induced) pressure to introduce Islamic Sharia law. One issue which has been complicated by political chaos has been the effort of the World Health Organization to eradicate polio worldwide. Northern Nigeria was the location of half of all documented polio cases in 2003, but Muslim clerics have repeatedly inveighed against the vaccine as an effort by Westerners to sterilize young Nigerian Muslim girls. The national vaccination program was suspended in several states in August of 2003, and the disease nearly quintupled in frequency (119 cases in first quarter 2004, vs. 24 in 2003). By May of 2004, polio was reported to have spread from there to several other African nations which had previously been declared polio-free. On May 18, the state of Kano agreed to resume vaccination programs using vaccines produced in Indonesia, not the US. http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1084907670277 Culture Main article: Culture of Nigeria Literature Toyin Falola, Nigeria in the Twentieth Century, Carolina Academic Press 2002 See also External links Pictures of Nigeria
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