ABOUT NIGERIA: A brief introduction

Nigeria is a heterogeneous state comprising of more than 250 ethnic groups and 36 states with a federal capital territory. The main ethnic groups being Hausa/ Fulani in the North, Ibos in the South East and the Yorubas in the South West. About 4000 dialects are spoken in Nigeria. It occupies an area of 923,768 sq. km (356,669 sq. mile), extending 1,127km (700mi) E-W and 1,046 km (650mi) N-S. The size of Nigeria is more than twice the size of California in the United States.

It is the most populated country in Africa and the 10th most populous country in the Whole World, 1 out of every 4 black African is a Nigerian and 1 out of every 5 black people in the Whole World is a Nigerian. The population of Nigeria is believed to be more than that of France and Britain put together, and is about seven times as large as that of Ghana.With its enormous natural endowment and human resources, Nigeria is credited to be Africa’s biggest economy, with Oil being the mainstay of the country’s economy.

Nigeria currently practices a presidential system of government with a federal structure in which power is constitutionally shared between the federal, state and local government. It is one of the largest and most politically and culturally complex nation in Africa and is said to be an artificial creation: the handiwork of nineteenth and twentieth century colonial imperialism.

Nigeria ranks among the weakest countries in terms of institutional quality, commentators sometimes however do refer to it as the ‘giant of Africa.’ Though the many crises that plague the country makes one wonder if this was ever true. Nigeria might have been a product of late nineteenth and early twentieth century imperialism, however its history can be traced back to the precolonial societies that existed long before colonial rule. More on this will be unmasked in subsequent series on the history of Nigeria. Thanks for reading!

Compiled by OLA OGUN

 

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