Nigeria
Nigeria, is a country so rich in diversity, yet constantly bedeviled with political unrest, but the citizens still map out a safe haven for themselves. Nigeria is the giant of Africa, and in the whole of West Africa, it is the most populous country, so amusing in a culture that one visit is never enough. The alternation of seasons makes everything bright and blue, from the green on the field to the positive vibes from its populace, Nigeria is still a wonderful place to visit nonetheless.
History
- European slave traders arrived in Nigeria in the 15th century in order to purchase slaves. Badagry was the first port for transporting these slaves being acquired by local merchants. In 1901, Nigeria became a British protectorate, In 1914, the North and Southern protectorate of the country was merged together, by Lord Lugard, the husband of Flora Shaw. The indirect rule system was practiced through traditional rulers, chiefs in different regions of Nigeria. In 1960 Nigeria gained its independence from British rule on October 1st, 1960, With Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa as the first prime minister and later Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe was the first president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as at then.
Portuguese explorers were the first to begin direct trade with Nigeria in the 16th century,
In the 19th century, Usman dan Fodio led a successful jihad against the Hausa kingdom and established its central caliphate in Sokoto till today.
- In 1963, Nigeria became a republic by succumbing to military rule three years later. While in 1967, there was a civil war that lasted for three years as a result of a bloody coup d’état by Biafra.
In 1983, the military seized power and ruled for ten years under Major General Sani Abacha when Nigeria was in her third republic.
- In 1998, General Sani Abacha died and the fourth republic was formed, the fourth republic is still in execution till the present under the rulership of President Muhammad Buhari.
Culture
- The Nok culture in Jos plateau, the North central part of Nigeria, predates as far back as 1500BC TO 200 AD, their activities as far back produced life-sized terracotta figures that are some of the earliest known monuments in Nigeria, iron was also smelted by them as far back as 550 BC. Evidence of their irons melted where excavated at a remote spot in Nsukka, Enugu.
Comprising of 36 states, 774 local governments, Nigeria has 250 ethnic groups speaking about 500 diverse languages. There are three key languages in Nigeria which include, Hausa, Yoruba, and Igbo Language. However, the English language is the official language chosen to smooth communication.
The two key religions are Islam and Christianity.
Islam spread in the 7th century, areas like Daura, Hadeija, Kano, Katsina, Rano, Zzzzau, and Gobir became known as Bilad Al Sudan (land of blacks).
The earliest sign of settlement of Yoruba was in Ile-Ife and Oyo in the southwestern part of Nigeria as far back as the 12th and 14th century With Oduduwa as the father of the earliest Yoruba settlers.
Geography
- Located in the western part of Africa, Itshare border the Benin republic, Cameroon, chad, Niger. Lying on latitude 4◦ 14◦ north and longitude 2◦ and 15◦East, Theauspiciousname was given by Flora Shaw, the wife of Lord Lugard in 1897. The map of Nigeria displays River Niger and River Benue in the shape of “Y” cutting through the center and they both flow together as one.
The South–South region of Nigeria has the largest oil fields.
There are Untapped natural resources such as natural gas, coal bauxite, gold, tin, ore, limestone, niobium, zinc in Nigeria despite enormous sum.
Nigeria has 6 Geo-political zones.
Economy
- In 1970, Nigeria enjoyed oil boom, and this thwarted their attention from agriculture to being increasingly dependent on Oil revenues and as a means of export till date. With the fall in oil prices in 1980 as a result of oil glut, Nigeria over the years has being struggling to keep up with debt payment, interest portions on loan, Paris club debt, devaluation of currency, exchange rate volatility and poor performance of foreign exchange market. The silver lining is that besides oil glut and its shock in 2020 as a result of Covid-219, Nigeria is still home to the largest leading telecommunication network in Nigeria which is MTN telecommunications. Commercial activities to a large extent are predominate in Nigeria with Kano a state in Nigeria heralding the slogan “center of commerce”. Fintech, mobile banking and several innovative means of simplifying the activities of banking activities are also present in Nigeria.
Fraudulentactivities in regards to housing sector of Lagos state are being curbed to ensure smooth running of the sector.
Gold and jewelry dealers are predominant in kano state and it host a gigantic market for gold and jewelry transactions in the whole of west Africa.
Jim Ovia has the largest bank in Nigeria known as Zenith bank and this bank helps to speed up activities in the banking sector.
The volatility in exchange rate has crippled currency exchange rate with dollar and other higher currencies around the world.
Nigeria failed in the bilateral trade agreement with Nigeria last year thereby making Nigeria vulnerable and still dependent on Oil exportation.
Famous Personality
- The famous people cut across diverse sectors such as music, movies, government, producers, and lots more while some are in Nigeria others are nationals outside Nigeria. The famous people are:
John Boyega, is a British Nigerian film actor, film producer, television actor. He starred in the movie “Star Wars.”
Helen Folasade Adu, fondly known as Sade is an English singer. Arranger, record producer. She is the lead vocalist of London’s English band,” Sade” formed in 1982.
Hugo Weaving is a Nigerian/Australian film actor, voice artist, storyteller.
Davido a Nigerian recording artist, musician, songwriter was born in the United States, Georgia.
Ahmed Musa is a Nigerian Footballer born in Nigeria, Plateau State.
Adedeji Adeleke is a Nigerian-based businessman, owner of Adeleke University.
Wizkid formally known as Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun is a singer-songwriter. He gained international recognition from the song he featured with Beyonce Knowles titled” Brown Skin girl”
Aliko Dangote is the richest man in Africa, the largest multinational in the whole of West Africa to date.
Mike Adenuga is the third richest man in Africa with his prominent telecommunication industry branded as Globacom.
Famous Places To Visit In Nigeria
- Want to see fascinating places in Nigeria, look no further:
1. Lekki Conservation center: located at Lekki Lagos State, Nigeria. The center was set up to help secure wildlife and mangrove forest within the southwest region from threats that might occur as a result of municipal setup. Efforts have been made to secure uncommon species of animals like bushbucks, crocodiles, mona monkeys, monitor lizards, hogs, giant rats, etc.
2. Tarkwa Bay Beach: Located at Tarkwa bay, Lagos state. Tarkwa is accessible by boat, the environment is serene and calm and perfect for relaxation when one wants to avoid the hustle and bustle of everyday life. During the week is the best time to visit because there will be fewer people there and you can sit and draw inspiration from nature while sipping coconut.
3. Kajuru Castle: This is an aged castle built in the ’80s by a German expatriate residing in Kaduna, Nigeria during the ’80s. Kajuru castle is privately owned and is capable of hosting close to 150 guests, amazing right? It also has a swimming pool inside. I guess Rapunzel’s castle didn’t have one, lol. Pay a visit and be intrigued at what 80’s masterpiece still has to offer.
4. Idanre hills- Have you ever imagined houses built around an aged rock? Look no further, Idanre Hills is the one. Located at Ondo State, Southwestern part of Nigeria, the view of this rock leaves one in the wonder of the beauty in nature. The name was gotten from a royal member from a town named Ife who visited the community long before civilization, on seeing the rock he was so amazed that he screamed in the exclamation “Idan re” (magical). That was how the town became known as Idanre or OkeIdanre.“Oke” stands for Mountain’s/hills according to the Yoruba language.
5. Ikogosi Warm Spring- So beautiful is the spring that you can actually see cold and warm water meeting each other but they do not mix. Super amazing! This spring is located at Ikogosi, Ekiti State. Fascinated by this spring tourists come from far and wild to also see how cold and extremely cold water meet but do not mix to flow with the same degree Celsius.
6. Arochukwu long Juju Slave route- Imagine being in a cave so deep you can hardly feel anything familiar, only the smell of something unfamiliar and the imagination of what is not and what may not be. It is situated in Abia State Arochukwu. It is a lasting artifact of the trans-Atlantic slave trade back then in the 15 century when Britain colonized Africa. The long juju shrine was located in Arochukwu and the shrine was used to passed judgment on criminals back then. The ancient beauty is worth be holding because the sight of it opens one a little to what it was like to be sold as a slave in your father’s land.
List Of Presidents And Prime Ministers
- Nigeria till today had only 1 prime minister and it was in the 60s, his name is Sir Tafawa Balewa. List of Presidents till date are given below;
| S/N | Names of Presidents | Year |
| 1 | Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe | 1st Oct 1963-16th Jan. 1966 |
| 2 | Major Gen.JohnsonAguiyi-Ironsi | 16th Jan 1996-29th July 1966 |
| 3 | General Yakubu Gowon | 1st Aug 1996 – 29th July 1975 |
| 4 | General Murtala Muhammad | 29th July 1975 to 13th Feb. 1976 |
| 5 | General Obasanjo Olusegun | 13th Feb 1976 to 1 Oct 1979 |
| 6 | President Shehu Shayari | 1 Oct 1979 to 31 Dec. 1983 |
| 7 | General Muhammad Buhari | 31st Dec 1983 -27th Aug 1985 |
| 8 | General Ibrahim Babangida | 27th Aug 1985-26th Aug 1993 |
| 9 | Ernest Shonekan | 26th Aug 1993-17th Nov 1993 |
| 10 | General Sani Abacha | 17th Nov 1993-8th June 1998 |
| 11 | General Abdulsalami Abubakar | 8th June 1998-29th May 1999 |
| 12 | Olusegun Obasanjo | 29th May 1999-29th May 2007 |
| 13 | Umar Musa Yar’Adua | 29th May 2007-5th May 2010 |
| 14 | Goodluck Ebele Jonathan | 29th May 2010-29th May 2015 |
| 15 | President Muhammad Buhari | President as today. |
Nigerian Defense And Police
Nigeria as a nation-state has a ministry of defense saddled with the responsibility of providing managerial and support services, judiciously and excellently so that the armed forces can build and equally uphold a contemporary, solid, robust, qualified, arm that is always alert and ready for any unforeseen. The ministry of defense in Nigeria is divided into military, civilian, and other components, they are;
Military components; defense quarters, the Nigerian Army, the Nigerian Navy, the Nigerian Airforce
Civilian Components; Army Affairs, Navy Affairs, Procurement, Human resources, Internal Audit, Legal, Office of the permanent secretary, etc.
The Nigerian Police was designated in accordance with the 1999 constitution, their responsibility includes the protection of docks, watercourses, railways, and airfields. It is the major law enforcement agency in Nigeria. Police in Nigeria goes by a popular Nigerian saying: “Police is your friend” with this idea, they hope to be accessible and welcoming to all.
Law And Order
- Nigeria as a country is being guided by constitutions that encompass principles, rules necessary for maintaining, tranquility and order in the republic. By 1963 there was a switch British parliamentary to the presidential model.
Nigerian constitution was enacted in 1999
According to the constitution, the federal government majorly has 3 arms of government which are the legislative, judiciary, and executive arms
The supreme judicial powers of Nigeria are vested in the Nigerian judiciary system encompassing the tribunals.
The constitution in 1914 fashioned a legislative council of the colony with the sole aim of making laws for the Lagos colony while other laws were made by the governor-general.
Arthur Richard Constitution was adopted in 1964.
- Sir Joh Macpherson’s constitution was adopted but the constitution lacked vital institutional framework, leadership style, and supervision.
International Relations Of Nigeria With Other Countries
- After independence, the focus of Nigeria shifted to improving the lives of its citizen, and thee it has done despite the bedeviling circumstances such as weak institutional quality, political instability, devaluation, and the likes also over the years international relations with other countries has been reinforced.
Nigeria is the founding member of the Organization for African Unity
Nigeria mobilized its influence in support of the Popular Movement for the liberation of Angola (MPLA).
Nigeria helped to create ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) for the sole aim of harmonizing trade and other investment practices embarked upon by the member countries.
With the aim to support Peace in Africa, Nigeria provided the majority of hordes for peacekeeping in Sierra Leone.
When the son of the Togolese president wanted to assume leadership by boycotting the electoral process, President Olusegun popularly known as OBJ, countered the process and refused him from forcefully taking the presidency seat since the seat is not a monarchy has died.
Top 13 Interesting Facts About Nigeria
Nollywood, which is Nigeria’s film producing company is the largest film producer in the world after Bollywood.
Aliko Dangote the richest man in Africa hails from Nigeria, the Northern part.
The music industry has produced singers like Davido and Wizkid and international musicians that featured in Beyonce’s song brown skin girl.
The University of Oxford England was the first institution to include the Igbo language as a course to be taught in universities in the UK with Emmanuel Umeonyirioha as the first official Igbo lecturer
The first black man to win a gold medal at Commonwealth games was Emmanuel Ifeajuna
The coca house in Ibadan the southwestern part of Nigeria was the largest ever built as far back as 1965
Nigeria has a vertical flag displaying two colors which are green and white. The green stands for agriculture and white stands for peace.
Lagos, which was the former capital of Nigeria, is the largest city in the whole of Africa.
Nigeria has the lowest life expectancy rate according to World Bank.
Since 2009 a jihadist organization known as Bokoharam has been constantly fighting a low-slung level war against Christian and Muslim communities, killing thousand in both North and other parts of Nigeria.
Wole Soyinka was the first African to win the Nobel Prize for literature in 1986.
Nigerian Model AgbaniDarego was the first woman to win Miss World pageantry in 2001. Since then she has appeared in magazines like Elle, Allure, Trace, Essence and till today, her beauty knows no bounds. She was also the wife of Colonel OdumegwuOjukuw the man that started the Biafra movement.
In 2018 Nigeria became the first African country to qualify for the Olympics. The athletes’ names were Seun Adigun, Ngozi Onwumere, and AkuomaOmeoga they also competed during the winter Olympics.
Florence
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