Nigeria

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{{Infobox_Country |native_name = Federal Republic of Nigeria |common_name = Nigeria |image_flag = Flag of Nigeria.svg |image_coat = Nigeriaarms22.PNG |image_map = LocationNigeria.png |national_motto = Unity and Faith, Peace and Progress |national_anthem = Arise O Compatriots, Nigeria's Call Obey |official_languages = English |capital = Abuja |latd=9 |latm=10 |latNS=N |longd=7 |longm=10 |longEW=E |largest_city = Lagos |government_type = Federal republic |leader_titles = President
Vice-President |leader_names = Olusẹgun Ọbasanjọ
Atiku Abubakar |area_rank = 31st |area_magnitude = 1_E11 |area= 923,768 |areami²= 356,667 |percent_water = 1.4% |population_estimate = 131,530,000 1 |population_estimate_rank = 9th |population_estimate_year = 2005 |population_census = 88,992,220 |population_census_year = 1991 |population_density = 142 |population_densitymi² =369 |population_density_rank = 53rd |GDP_PPP = $132.1 billion |GDP_PPP_rank = 55th |GDP_PPP_year= 2005 |GDP_PPP_per_capita = $1,000 |GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 213th |sovereignty_type = Independence |established_events = Declared |established_dates = From the United Kingdom
October 1, 1960 |HDI = 0.453 |HDI_rank = 158th |HDI_year = 2003 |HDI_category = low |currency = Naira (₦) |currency_code = NGN |country_code = NGA |time_zone = |utc_offset = +1 |time_zone_DST = |utc_offset_DST = +2 |cctld = .ng |calling_code = 234 |footnotes =1.)Note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected. }} The Federal Republic of Nigeria is a country in Western Africa. The most populated country in Africa, Nigeria re-achieved democracy in 1999 after a sixteen-year interruption by a series of corrupt and brutal military dictators. From 1966 until 1999, Nigeria had been ruled (except the short-lived second republic, 1979-1983) by military dictators who seized (or attempted to seize) power in coups and counter-coups. Nigeria borders the Republic of 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, Ibadan, Calabar, Warri, Port Harcourt, Enugu, Kano, Kaduna, Onitsha, Nnewi, Jos, Ilọrin, Maiduguri, Aba, Bauchi, Owerri, Sokoto, and Benin City.

The country's name first appeared in print in The Times in 1897 and was suggested by the paper's colonial editor Flora Shaw who would later marry Frederick Lugard, the first Govenor General of the Amalgamated Nigeria. The name comes from a combination of the words "Niger" (the country's longest river) and "Area". Its adjective form is Nigerian , which should not be confused with Nigerien for Niger.

Contents

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History

Template:Main Nigeria has had a unique history. More than 2,000 years ago, the Nok people were producing sculptures. In Kano and Katsina, recorded history dates back to around AD 1000. Hausa kingdoms and the Kanem-Bornu Empire prospered as trade posts between North and West Africa. The Yoruba kingdoms of Ifẹ and Ọyọ were founded about AD 700-900 and AD 1400 respectively. The Ifẹ produced the terra cotta and bronze heads the Ọyọ extended as far as modern Togo. The Kingdom of Benin developed an efficient army and renowned artisans. The southeast produced the Onitsha, Nri, and Arochukwu kingdoms. The Nri kingdom reigned before slavery with Divine priests and powerful Ezenri. A prominent town they controlled was Igbo Ukwu which was home to Bronze figures and was a burial site for Kings. Niger Delta kingdoms also flourished, like the Calabar, Opobo, Bonny, Brass, Elem kalabari and others which were controlled by the Ijaw, Efik, Igbo, and Ibibio.

Beginning in the 17th century Europeans established ports for slave trafficking. In the early 19th century the Fulani leader Usman dan Fodio united most areas in the north under the control of an Islamic Fulani Empire centered in Sokoto.

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Demographics

Template:Main Image:Bevölkerungsdichte Nigerischer Bundesstaaten english.PNG Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa but exactly how populous is subject of speculation. One estimate puts the population at 128,771,988, but national census results in the past few decades have been disputed. However, at least 24 cities have populations of more than 100,000. Nigeria has some 250 ethnic groups, with varying languages and customs, creating a country of rich tribal diversity. The major ethnic groups in the population are Hausa and Fulani (29%), Yoruba (21%), and Igbo (18%). Ethnicity and religion were excluded from the 2006 census because these are highly controversial issues. There are also small minorities of whites, East Indians, Chinese, Japanese and Lebanese, mainly located in city areas.

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Politics

Template:Main Nigeria is a Federal Republic, comprising 36 states plus the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja. Each state has a unicameral House of Assembly and an elected Governor, who appoints an Executive Council.

Many consider the biggest problem in Nigerian politics to be that the federal government is seen as unwilling to confront and correct the problems of bribery and corruption — a situation that has led to an international reputation for corruption, e.g., the Nigerian email scam (Offically Advance fee fraud). The government has been criticized as still being heavily influenced by the military, who previously ruled the country. The current president, Olusegun Obasanjo, is a retired general, and he is accused by detractors of maintaining his military contacts.

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Administrative Divisions

Image:Nigeria-karte-politisch english.png Template:Main articles Nigeria is divided into 36 states and one territory. It is further sub-divided into 538 local authorities.

The states include: Abia, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Ẹdo, Ekiti, Enụgụ, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Nassarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Ọsun, Ọyọ, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe, Zamfara, Abuja Federal Capital Territory,

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Geography

Located in western Africa on the Gulf of Guinea, Nigeria has a total area of 356,669 square miles (923,768 km²); of that around 5,000 square miles (13,000 km²) is water. Nigeria has a 2,515 mile (4,047 km) border that it shares with Benin, Cameroon, Chad and Niger.

The highest point in Nigeria is Chappal Waddi at 7,936 feet (2,419 m).


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Economy

Image:Market in Lagos, Nigeria.jpg Template:Main

Mineral resources include petroleum, coal, and tin. Agricultural products include groundnuts, palm oil, cocoa, citrus fruits, maize, millet, cassava, yams and sugar cane.

Right now the Nigerian economy is undergoing a massive reform. The Government is trying to improve the delivery of social services including health and education. The public sector is being reformed. Procurement practises are being tightened up. The authorities are seeking to tackle corruption. Most moribund public utilities have either been privatized or are in the latter stages of being privatized.

Nigeria accumulated a significant foreign debt. However many of the projects financed by these debts were inefficient, bedevilled by corruption or failed to live up to expectations. Nigeria defaulted on its debt and over the years, arrears and penalty interest accumulated and increased the size of the debt.

After a long campaign by the Nigeria authorities, in October 2005 Nigeria and its Paris Club creditors reached an agreement that will see Nigeria's debt reduced by approximately 60%. Nigeria will use part of its oil windfall to pay the residual 40%. This deal will free up at least $1 billion annually for poverty reduction programmes.

Nigeria is infamous for being the source of scam e-mails sent to people all over the world requesting advance payments in order to help the sender relocate funds (419 scam). Those who pay these fees never get any money themselves. This practise of sending scam emails has also spread to several other countries within Africa, including Ghana, Burkina Faso, Benin Republic and most recently South Africa. A new (2006) law is currently being discussed (in Nigeria) that would punish such offenses with up to three years in jail.

Since the return to democratic rule in 1999, there has been massive investment in Nigeria's telecommunications industry, making the country the world's fastest growing telecommunications market. Advances made by the Government in improving the state of the country's economy have led many to predict a bright future for the long moribund economy.

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Public Health Issues

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Polio

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 sterilise 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 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 programmes using vaccines produced in Indonesia, not the US. [1]

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Other risks

The prevalence rate for HIV/AIDS in the adult population was estimated at 5.4% in 2003, a figure that's relatively low when compared to other parts of Africa, especially Southern and Eastern Africa. [2]

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Culture

Template:Main

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References

  • ICOM, Red List, International Council of Museums [3]
  • Fabio Maniscalco, Archaeological Looting and the Protection of Cultural Property in Nigeria, in "Web Journal on Cultural Patrimony", vol. 1, 2006 [4]
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See also

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Culture and religion

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External links

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Government

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Nigeria at UNESCO

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News

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Overviews

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Picture of Nigeria



Countries and territories of Africa
Northern Africa
Image:LocationNorthernAfrica.png 		Algeria · Egypt · Libya · Morocco · Sudan · Tunisia · Western Sahara Western Africa
Image:LocationWesternAfrica.png 		Benin · Burkina Faso · Cape Verde · Côte d'Ivoire · Gambia · Ghana · Guinea · Guinea-Bissau · Liberia · Mali · Mauritania · Niger · Nigeria · Senegal · Sierra Leone · Togo
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Image:LocationCentralMiddleAfrica.png 		Angola · Cameroon · Central African Republic · Chad · Democratic Republic of the Congo · Equatorial Guinea · Gabon · Republic of the Congo · São Tomé and Príncipe Eastern Africa
Image:LocationEasternAfrica.png 		Burundi · Comoros · Djibouti · Eritrea · Ethiopia · Kenya · Madagascar · Malawi · Mauritius · Mozambique · Rwanda · Seychelles · Somalia · Tanzania · Uganda · Zambia · Zimbabwe
Southern Africa
Image:LocationSouthernAfrica.png 		Botswana · Lesotho · Namibia · South Africa · Swaziland Dependencies and other territories:
 UK: Indian Ocean Territory · St. Helena · France: Mayotte · Réunion · Portugal: Madeira · Spain: Canary Islands · Plazas de soberanía
af:Nigerië

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