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1024 The Facts About Nigeria





Population: 129,934,911 (July 2002 est.)
Capital: Abuja
Area-comparative: slightly more than twice the size of California
Climate: equatorial in the south, tropical in the center; generally hotter and drier in the north.
Religion: 50% Muslim, 15% Roman Catholic, 25% Protestant, 10% indigenous beliefs
Languages: English is official; Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, and Fulani are also spoken
Literacy: 57.1% of those 15 years and older can read and write (USA = 97%)
Infant mortality rate: 72.49 deaths/1,000 live births (USA = 6.69)
Life expectancy at birth: 50.59 years
(USA = 77.4 years)
Per capita purchasing power parity: (USA = ,300)
Population below poverty line: 45%



  Nigeria_General Information


Nigeria, on the west coast of Africa, has more people than any other country in Africa. The country consists of a variety of land regions, including hot, rainy swamplands; dry, sandy areas; grassy plains, tropical forests, and high plateaus and rocky mountains.

Nigeria is rich in petroleum deposits, which has brought wealth to the country since the 1960s. The income has been used to develop new industries, improve the educational system and modernize its agricultural system. Petroleum products are the major exports, but palm oil, cacao, rubber and peanuts are also exported.


WHO ARE THE NIGERIAN PEOPLE?

More than 250 ethnic groups live in Nigeria, each with its own language, customs and traditions. More than half the population consists of Hausa and Fulani in the north, Yoruba in the southwest, and Igbo in the southeast.

While 37 percent of the population is urban, the majority lives in rural areas, farming, fishing or herding. Farms usually average one-and-a-half acres, and most farmers use old-fashioned tools and methods.

The rural homes are made of grass, dried mud or wood, with roofs of asbestos cement sheets, corrugated metal or thatch. A typical village has several clusters of houses, with groups of related families living in the same compound. In the far north, high mud walls encircle villages, towns and ancient cities.

Well-to-do city dwellers live in modern houses or apartment buildings, but the poor live in mud huts on unpaved streets. The cities are overcrowded, as many from rural areas have migrated there, hoping to find work.

WHAT IS NIGERIA'S EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM LIKE?

Nigeria does not have enough schools or teachers to provide an education for all school-age children, although six years of schooling is compulsory. Free primary education was established in 1976, and the wealth from petroleum exports has improved the system since then. The government has built new schools, established teacher training institutes and technical and vocational schools. In 1960, when Nigeria became independent, the country had one university. Today, there are more than 30.
As is the case in other parts of Africa, free primary education is a reality in law but not in practice. A host of fees for various programs and school-related needs (some of which are never met despite the fees) make it difficult or impossible for children from poor families to attend public schools.

English is taught in schools throughout the country, although it is not the most widely used language. The majority of Nigerians speak more than one language.

Nigeria States, Capitals and Nicknames


STATE CAPITAL STATE TITLE

1 ABIA Umuahia God's own State
2 ADAMAWA Yola ---
3 AKWA IBOM Uyo Land of promise
4 ANAMBRA Awka Home for all
5 BAUCHI Bauchi ---
6 BAYELSA Yenegoa The Glory of All Lands
7 BENUE Makurdi Food basket of the Nation
8 BORNO Maiduguri Home of peace
9 CROSS RIVER Calabar The people's paradise
10 DELTA Asaba The Big Heart
11 EBONYI Abakaliki The salt of the Nation
12 EDO Benin City The Heart Beat
13 EKITI Ado-Ekiti Fountain of Knowledge
14 ENUGU Enugu Coal City State
15 GOMBE Gombe ---
16 IMO Owerri Land of Hope
17 JIGAWA Dutse The New World
18 KADUNA Kaduna Liberal State
19 KANO Kano Centre of Commerce
20 KATSINA Katsina State of Hospitality
21 KEBBI Birni Kebbi ---
22 KOGI Lokoja The Confluence State
23 KWARA Ilorin ---
24 LAGOS Ikeja Centre of Excellence
25 NASARAWA Lafia The home of Solid Minerals
26 NIGER Minna The power State
27 OGUN Abeokuta The Gateway State
28 ONDO Akure The sunshine State
29 OSUN Oshogbo State of living spring
30 OYO Ibadan The pace setter State
31 PLATEAU Jos Home of peace and tourism
32 RIVERS Port Harcourt Treasure base of the Nation
33 SOKOTO Sokoto Seat of the Caliphate
34 TARABA Jalingo Nature's gift to the Nation
35 YOBE Damaturu The young shall grow
36 ZAMFARA Guasau ---
37 FCT Abuja Centre of Unity










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Nigeria is a military dictatorship supported by oil revenues. Although wealthy by African standards the people see none of this oil wealth and any dissent has been harshly repressed. Currently there has been some political movement toward reform but transition from military rule is always problematic as the military attempt to make themselves immune from crimminal prosecution by democratic courts



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I love Nigeria
I love Nigeria,
The vibrant nation.
I love this ancient land,
Its might and power
Wealth and imperial glory.
I like the undulating landscape
Of many tribes and tongues;
The flora and fauna,
And the rhythm of the land.

I like, as well, the beautiful gardens
Where love began;
And where exotic birds sing the divine melody
Inspiring many
To cleanse their souls. The inner glow!
Boldly ushering in the new era.

The land gives up its secrets;
Hidden treasures revealed.
The trees, vivid green in the sunlight
Adorn the bourgeois neighborhoods.
Happy faces and infectious smiles abound,
A land of endless summer.

I love this ancient land of contrasts.
An enigma of a nation! A land of many colours.
Of authoritarianism and democracy,
Of extreme beauty and deprivation,
Of enlightenment and despair,
Of abundant wealth and blinding poverty,
And little islands of peace and sickening violence.

Yet, Nigeria beckons! Its magnetic force immense
Irresistible!
A sense of inner peace overwhelms me.
I feel energised and alive again. Sparks fly!
Tantalising aromas of soul food tickles my fancy,
sights of markets and bazaars excite me so dearly,
So greatly.

Vendors hawk their wares with gusto,
Beautiful antiques change hands.
Gone are the priceless treasures!
The pain and guilt of a loss so big,
Is assuaged by a fistful of money.
Sleep deserts me
I think of tomorrow.

Then, at dawn, a new state emerges
From the shadows of a fragmented world.
Her majestic beauty liberates my consciousness,
My life is encriched once again. Revival!
A great faith in a nation renewed.