Nigeria

The Federal Republic of Nigeria, the home of 250 ethnic groups and the 8th populous country of the world, is situated in Western Africa, bordering Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, Niger in the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the south.

HISTORY:- The Nok people were believed to reside in the land between 500 B.C. to 200 A.D. The Kanuri, followed by the Hausa, the Kanem-Bornu, the Yoruba, the Benin, the Igbo and the Fulani people migrated into the country. In the 13th century, Islam was adopted. The Fulani Empire governed the country until the advent of the British in 1900. Nigeria became a part of the British Empire and a British protectorate in 1901. Unification of the northern and southern provinces and Lagos colony resulted in the formation of the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria in 1914. Following the World War II, independence movements in Nigeria started off which reached to its pinnacle by the mid-20th century. In 1960, Nigeria gained independence from Britain. In 1966’s riots, military leaders seized power. Yakubu Gowon assumed the power which was strongly apposed by the Ibo leaders. Thousands of Ibos took shelter in the eastern region and later declared Republic of Biafra in 1970, which was collapsed in 1970. Civilian rule was reestablished in 1979, when Alhaji Shehu Shagari became the president which was ended in 1984 as the military government returned. In 1999, military rule finally ended with the death of General Sani Abacha. In the same year Nigeria regained democracy.

GEOGRAPHY:- Nigeria is located at 10 00 N, 8 00 E in Western Africa, spanning through 923,768 sq km area in which 910,768 sq km area is captured by land mass and 13,000 sq km area is captured by waters. The coastline is 853 km long bordering the Gulf of Guinea. The lowest point is the Atlantic Ocean (0 m) and the highest point is Chappal Waddi (2,419 m). The southern part of the country is formed of lowlands while the central part is formed of hills and plateaus, the southeastern part is mountainous, and the northern part is formed of plains.

CLIMATE:- The climate of Nigeria varies from equatorial in the south, to tropical in the center, to arid in the north.

GOVERNMENT:- Nigeria is a federal republic. The 1999 constitution was based mostly on the 1979 constitution and came into force on 29th May 1999. The legal system is based on the English common law, the Islamic law and the traditional law. The three principal branches of the government are:

Executive branch comprises the President (chief of state and head of government), and the Federal Executive Council. The president is elected by a popular vote on a 4-year term.

Legislative branch comprises the bicameral National Assembly, consists of the Senate (109 seats) and the House of Representatives (360 seats).

Judicial branch comprises the Supreme Court and the Federal Court of Appeal. The judges of the Supreme Court are appointed by the President while the judges of the Federal Court of Appeal are appointed by the federal government on the advice of the Advisory Judicial Committee.

 Accord Party, Action Congress, Alliance for Democracy, All Nigeria Peoples' Party, All Progressives Grand Alliance, Democratic People's Party, Movement for the Restoration and Defense of Democracy are the major political parties of Nigeria. Suffrage is universal at the age of 18.

President   Umaru Yar'Adua

Vice President   Goodluck Jonathan

Senate President  David Mark

Speaker of the House  Dimeji Bankole

Chief Justice   Idris Kutigi

ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS:- Nigeria is composed of 36 states and 1 territory. These states are further subdivided into 774 Local Government Areas.

CULTURE:- Nigeria is called the “the heart of African music”. Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe, John Pepper Clark, Ben Okri, Buchi Emecheta, Helon Habila, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and Ken Saro Wiwa are the notable Nigerian writers. Football is the national sport of Nigeria. Nigerian cuisine is famous for its richness and flovour.

ECONOMY:- Nigeria is the 12th largest producer, the 8th largest exporter, and owner of 10th largest proven reserves of petroleum in the world. Oil sector provides 20% of GDP, 95% of foreign earnings, and 80% of budgetary revenues. It is a founding member of OPEC. It is listed among the Next Eleven countries, having one of the fastest growing economies in the world.

GDP/PPP (2007 est.): $292.7 billion; per capita $2,000.

Real growth rate: 6.4%.

Inflation: 5.5%.

Unemployment: 4.9%.

Arable land: 33%.

Agriculture: Cocoa, peanuts, palm oil, corn, rice, sorghum, millet, cassava (tapioca), yams, rubber; cattle, sheep, goats, pigs; timber; fish.

Labor force: 50.13 million; agriculture 70%, industry 10%, services 20% (1999 est.).

Budget:  

Revenues: $19.65 billion

Expenditures: $21.68 billion (2007 est.)

Public debt: 14.5% of GDP (2007 est.)

Debt - external: $8.031 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Industries: Crude oil, coal, tin, columbite; palm oil, peanuts, cotton, rubber, wood; hides and skins, textiles, cement and other construction materials, food products, footwear, chemicals, fertilizer, printing, ceramics, steel, small commercial ship construction and repair.

Natural resources: Natural gas, petroleum, tin, columbite, iron ore, coal, limestone, lead, zinc, arable land.

Exports: $61.81 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.): petroleum and petroleum products 95%, cocoa, rubber.

Imports: $30.35 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.): machinery, chemicals, transport equipment, manufactured goods, food and live animals.

Major trading partners: U.S., Brazil, Spain, China, UK, Netherlands, France, Germany (2006).

Monetary unit: Naira

LANGUAGE:- English is the official language of Nigeria. Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo (Ibo), Fulani are also spoken.

CITIES:-  Abuja is the capital of Nigeria while Lagos is the largest city of the country. Other large cities are Kano, Ibadan, Enugu.

POPULATION:- Nigeria is the most populous African nation having an approximate population of 135,031,164 with a growth rate of 2.4%.

Density per sq mi: 384

Literacy rate: 68% (2003 est.).

RACE:-

Hausa and Fulani 29%

Yoruba 21%

Igbo (Ibo) 18%

Ijaw 10%

Kanuri 4%

Ibibio 3.5%

Tiv 2.5%

RELIGION:-

Muslim 50%

Christian 40%

Indigenous beliefs 10%

HEALTH:-

Birth rate: 39.98 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate: 16.41 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate: total: 93.93 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 47.81 years

HIV/AIDS - deaths: 310,000 (2003 est.)

Total expenditure on health per capita (Intl $, 2005): 45

UNICEF:- UNICEF’s priority is prevention of HIV in Nigeria. UNICEF established ‘girl-friendly’, and ‘child-friendly’ schools to improve education system in Nigeria.

TRANSPORTATION:-

Railways: total: 3,505 km (2006).

Highways: total: 194,394 km; paved: 60,068 k; unpaved: 134,326 km (1999 est.). Waterways: 8,600 km (2007).

Ports and harbors: Calabar, Lagos, Onne, Port Harcourt, Sapele, Warri.

Airports: 70 (2007).