Nigeria is a West African country bordering Niger, Cameroon, and Benin. It has a diverse landscape, high population growth, and poor quality of life due to health and education issues. The government is similar to the US, with a president and bicameral legislature. The country has a history of ethnic rivalries, secessionist movements, and corruption. Nigeria gained independence in 1960 and has experienced political and economic volatility, including an oil boom in the 1970s. The return to democratic elections in 1999 is threatened by corruption and fighting.
Nigeria, officially known as the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country located in West Africa bordering Niger to the north, Cameroon to the east, and Benin to the west. The southern border is the coast of the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. The largest city, Lagos, is on this coast and the capital city, Abuja, is in central Nigeria. Nigeria is one-third larger than Texas at 356,669 square miles and is home to the lower reaches of the Niger River, after which the country gets its name.
The landscape of Nigeria is diverse and is home to many species of flora and fauna. The south is characterized by coastal plains, hills and mountains in the east and plateaus in the west. The center of the country is characterized by mangroves, rainforests, and temperate to tropical savanna or grasslands. The Sahel Desert runs through the north, which receives less than twenty inches of rain annually.
With high fertility rates and a death rate below the birth rate, population growth in Nigeria continues to grow explosively. The most populous country in Africa and home to twenty percent of the world’s black population, Nigeria’s approximately 150 million people speak a variety of languages, primarily Yoruba, Ibo, and Fulani/Hausa, the languages of the three major ethnicities, and English, the official language language. Likewise, there are several major religions, including indigenous beliefs, Islam, and Christianity.
The quality of life in Nigeria is poor due to the suffering of health and education programs. Lack of clean water and sanitation, as well as epidemics of polio, malaria and cholera contribute to the low life expectancy of about 47 years and the high infant mortality rate of 97 deaths per 1000 live births. Nigeria’s HIV/AIDS rates, however, are much lower than those of African nations such as Kenya or South Africa. The education system is also in ruins, although it has been extended to almost all regions of the country, it is provided free of charge by the government. However, Nigeria has spawned many influential writers and musicians, such as Chinua Achebe and Fela Kuti, and started a lucrative film industry.
The government of Nigeria, a former British colony, is similar in organization to that of the United States, with a president in the executive branch and a bicameral (two chambers) legislative branch called the National Assembly consisting of a Senate and a House of Representatives. The president is elected for four-year terms by popular vote and can serve up to two terms. The current president, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, is the leader of the governing party in the National Assembly, the Nigerian People’s Democratic Party. The opposition party, All Nigeria People’s Party, holds the majority of the remaining seats in the House and Senate, but several other parties are also registered. Both parties are secular and pannational.
Nigeria’s three main ethnicities, the Faluni/Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo, have historically controlled the government and the rivalry between them has led to secessionist movements, a civil war, corruption and rigged politics and elections. In recent years, the imposition of Islamic law and interreligious violence due to poverty and competition for work and land have caused many Nigerian Christians to flee. After the oil boom of the 1970s, Nigeria has become a major oil producer, but the wealth is far from evenly distributed among the citizens. Corruption in oil management, oil thefts and violence in response to the theft have made it difficult for Nigeria to attract much needed foreign investment.
Nigeria has passed through many hands before being the independent, multi-ethnic and pan-national country it is today. From about 500 BC to AD 200, the nation was ruled by the Nok people. Some time later, the Kanuri, Hausa and Fulani peoples migrated there. Nigeria then moved to the Kanem empire, then the Fulani empire, and was then conquered by the British Empire in the mid-19th century.
Nigeria gained its independence in 1960 and joined the United Nations, but was soon rocked by a military coup and the simultaneous massacres of Ibo Christians in the north by Hausa Muslims. The revolt and flight developed into an attempted secession by the Ibo in the east into what they declared as the Republic of Biafra. The following years were characterized by many bloody and bloodless revolutions and great economic volatility, despite the boost of the oil boom in the 1970s. In 1999, the government returned to democratic elections, although the process is constantly threatened by corruption and fighting .
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