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chidi

Saturday, October 20, 2007

STATE ATTRACTIONS [NIGERIA]

STATE ATTRACTIONS
ABUJA Nicon-Noga Hilton Hotel
Zuma Rock

ABIA National War Museum: displays relics of the Nigerian civil war and
inventions.
Aba: foremost electronics and indigenous technology
Akwette: Blue River Tourist Village
Uwana Beach Akwette: Famous for it's unique weaving industry.
Aba Central Market
Arochukwu Shrine (The long Juju)

ADAMAWA Three Sisters Hill: Three hills that stand side by side

AKWA IBOM Ibeno: famous for yatching and swimming
Oron Museum: collection of fine African carvings
Opobo Boatyard: Natural sand beaches at Ikot Abasi

ANAMBRA Anambra state is historically known for great craftmanship.
Ijele masquerade from Aguleri
Omaba festival
Yearly yam festival
Odinani Museum at Nri
The River Niger with the famous Niger bridge links the bustling
commercial town of Onitsha with ports at Port Harcourt, Burutu and Warri in
Delta State.
Ofala festival.
Rogeny Tourist Village at Oba (a stadium that is equipped with
recreational activities including a swimming pool, zoo, shrine, soccer stadium,
etc.)

BAUCHI Wikki Lame Burra game reserve (with warm springs)
Tomb of first prime minister (Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa)
Yankari game reserve, which has a huge range of African animals to see.

BAYELSA Part of "old-RIVERS state"
BENUE Scenic view of the confluence of the rivers Niger and Benue
Ushango Hills
Enemebia Falls
Kwaghir theatrical display
Ingongh Dance
Pleasant beaches
Numerous fishing festivals (pictures of fishing festivals can be seen
on the attractions part of the pictures page)

BORNO Kyarimi Park: sightseeing for animal and bird lovers
Shehu of Borno's Palace
Lake Chad
Sambisa Game Reserve
Fishing festival at Gahsua
Ngeji Warm Springs
Leather tanning and ornamental leather work.

CROSS RIVER Obudu Cattle Ranch
Agbokin Falls
Kwa Falls
Game Reserve at Okwangwo in Obudu local government
Boshi Game Reserve
Mary Slessor Cottage
National Museum

DELTA Sandy beaches of Asaba Koko Port Ajagbododu
Olu's Palace
ATP Timber and Plywood Factory
Itsekiri Juju Festival
Okere Juju Festival
Agbasa Juju Festival

EBONYI Part of "old-ENUGU state"
EDO The capital of Edo is Benin city, which is famous for its unique
bronze, brass and ivory works of art and you can see some of them on the
artwork part of the pictures page. This is in addition to the following
attractions:
Royal Palace of Benin
Benin Museum
Benin Moat
Emotan Statue
Somorika Hills
Udo Tourist Center
Ogba zoo

EKITI Part of "old-ONDO state"
ENUGU Miliken Hill
Nike Lake
Iva Valley Coal Mines

GOMBE Part of "old-BAUCHI state"
IMO Oguta Lake Holiday resort with its sand beaches
Rolling hills of Okigwe
Owerri Amusement Park
Nekede Botanical and Zoological Gardens
Palm Beach Tourist Village at Awomama
Afikpo: famous for it's pottery and mask making
Akwete Textile Center in Akwete

JIGAWA Birnin Kudu Rock Paintings: one of the oldest rock paintings in
Nigeria.

KADUNA Nok culture site at Kwo in Jema local government area
Kufena Hill in Zaria Legendary Lord Lugard Bridge in Kaduna town Durbar
Hotel and Hamdala Hotel in Kaduna
Mait Sirga Falls in Kafanchan
Palace of the Emir of Zaria

KANO Kano is popular for its traditional arts and cracts, including
leather work, weaving, pottery and wood carving.
Emir's palace
Baturiya Birds Estuary
Ayanduwa fishing festival
Ancient city walls and gates, first build about 900 years ago
Gidan Makaman Museum
Kofar Mata Dyeing pits (believed to be the oldest in Africa)
Kano Zoological Garden at Gankum Albaba
Kurmi Market
Kazaure Rock Ranges
Famous Tiga Dam (and Bagauda Lake Hotel)
Folgore Games Reserve

KATSINA Wall surrounding Katsina, 900 years old with seven different
gates
Emir's palace
Kusugu well in Daura

KEBBI Kebbi is famous for traditional arts and crafts, beads, swords,
and glassware.
Argungu Fishing and Cultural Festival: a major week-long international
event including
art and craft exhibits
cultural dances and music
agricultural fair
local drama
traditional boxing and wrestling
archery competition
racing events: bicycle races, donkey races, boat races
motor rally
Kabanci display: series of water events during the festival, including
canoe races, swimming, long deep diving competitions, bare hand
fishing, wild-duck hunting.
Grand finale fishing show
Kanta Museum in Argungu

KOGI Kogi is famous for "okene" cloth, woven with rich thread into
exquisite styles of varying colors.
Old buildings used by the royal Niger company when it had a royal
charter over Nigeria
Iron of Liberty: In the compound of the first primary school in
Northern Nigeria
Confluence of Rivers Niger and Benue at Lokoja
Borgu Game Reserve
Ekuechi festival of the Ebirras

KWARA Esie Museum of stone figures.
Kainji dam
Jebba dam
Mungo Park Monument
OWU water falls (in village called Owa- Kajola in Ifelodun)

LAGOS Lagos hosts over half of the total industrial investment in
Nigeria and the commercial activities.
Seaside attraction and resorts at Bar Beach, Victoria Island
Badagry: the first missionary post and houses the first two-storey
building in the country
Lekki Conservation Centre
National Museum: which houses important relics such as the traditional
Benin Bronzes and the replica of the Festac '77 symbol.
Didi Museum
Tarkwa Bay Beach
National Theater, Iganmu, Lagos
Jankara Market on Lagos Island
Eyo Masquerade: held to celebrate memorable occasions or the death of
an important person.
Murtala Muhammed Memorial Botanical Garden

NASSARAWA Part of "old-PLATEAU state"
NIGER Gurara falls in Boru Village: dramatic rock gorges with a scenic,
sloping landscape with high rising sprays of water running down on
them from different directions.
Zugurma park
Shiroro Hydroelectric dam
Mungo Park's Cenotaph
Bida town: noted for its handicrafts made from beer bottles and
coloured glass jars
Kainji Lake and National Games Park, with a wide variety of animals to
see.

OGUN Oba's Palace at Ake:
built in 1854 as the official residence of the Alake, the traditional
ruler of Egbaland
famous for its heavy concentration of antiquities and relics
Centenary hall at Abeokuta
Birikisu Sungbo Shrine in Ijebu-Ode
Olumo Rock
Isara-Remo: a natural holiday resort.
Agemo festival
Obinrin Ojowu festival
Egungun festival
Oro festival
Igunnuko Masquerades

ONDO National Museum at Owo: has many wood and ivory carvings, brass
and bronze works, etc.
Ikogosi warm springs: a natural formation of warm and cold waters,
rolling down over a hilly landscape and at the end forms a continuous
stream.
Idanre Hills
Igbokodo water front
Ipole-Iloro Water falls
Oke Marie Hills at Oka-Akoko
Ebomi Lake at Epinmi-Akoko
Aiyetoro Holy Apostle Community
Olumirin Waterfalls

OSUN One of the cities here, Ile-Ife, is believed to be the origin of
the Yoruba people.
Osun Shrine at Oshogbo (which also houses some decorated calabashes)
Opa Oranmiyan at Ile-Ife
Palaces of Owa Obokun in Ilesha
Ife city walls at Ile-Ife
Ooni of Ife's place at Ile-Ife
Osun festival: a week-or-more-long festival mainly in honor of the
ancient gods.
Ife museum: has many bronze and terracotta sculptures dating back to
the 13th century.
Erin-Ijesa water falls

OYO Ibadan University Zoo
Agodi Zoological garden
Upper Ogun Games Reserve
Mbari Arts Center
Egungun festival
Ode-Ibadan festival
International Institute of Tropical Agriculture

PLATEAU National museum of Jos: The oldest in the country
Museum of Tradition Nigerian Architecture: contains various
architectural designs of major Nigerian ethnic groups.
Jos Wildlife Safari Park
Zoological gardens
Assop falls
Kura falls
Wase Rock
Kerang Volcanic Mountain: where the Swan brand spring water is
produced.
Shere hills
Riyom Rock

RIVERS Isaac Boro Park: a zoo with a wide variety of animals
Nigeria's first petroleum refinery at Elesa Elema
Water Glass Boatyard
Isaka Holiday Cruise Island
Oil well at Oloibiri
Riverine town of Bonny with the beautiful Finima Beach
Monument of King Jaja of Opobo
Relics of Akassa raid of 1859
Slave transit hall at Akassa
Ogidi Shrine at Nembe
Onne port
Masquerade display at Abonema

SOKOTO The state is also famous for it's dyeing of clothes (mostly
Fulani attires). Also, famous Moroccan leather products of trans-Saharan
trade era has it's roots in Sokoto.
Museum
Emir's palace
Gibadi rocks: has ancient fossils
tomb of Usman Dan Fodio

TARABA Mambilla Plateau Gashaka
Gashaka-Gumpti National Parks
Karimbela Game Reserves

YOBE Bir Plateau

ZAMFARA Part of "old-SOKOTO state

MARRIAGE IN IGBO LAND

MARRIAGE IN IGBO LAND





The inspiration for this piece came from my friend Emeka and his
long-time bride-in-waiting Ngozi (not their real names) who have been
planning to get married for some time now.

Emeka lives in the UK and hasn't been to Nigeria in a long while, and
so he wanted to find out from me how much weddings (traditional and
white) cost these days in Nigeria. Obviously he wanted me to share some
of
my July 2005 experiences with him.

As a long time friend, I obliged him and started by telling him that
wedding costs will vary amongst Nigeria's many tribes, and that it was
an
entirely different matter in Igbo land, a special case if you like,
being that Igbo native customs and traditions make traditional weddings
and the associated events seem like a haggling affair in a typical Nkwo
Nnewi motor parts shop.

The impression one normally gets was that the bride-to-be was being
sold, hence many eligible brothers now walk down the aisle later than
they
would have wished, as time is usually required for the brother to get
his act together, graduate from university (at the mercy of striking
lecturers), get a job (at the mercy of banks, telecom and oil
companies),
build a house in the village (depending on the part of Igbo land the
brother is from, and also on his socio-economic background).

Emeka however insisted that I give him a rough estimate which I
eventually obliged him. On hearing this he screamed out aloud, I
thought he
was having a heart attack. I however reassured him that he didn't have
to
spend that much, after all if those artisans, farmers and low income
earners in Nigeria can do it, then he too could since he was living in
the UK and acquiring the almighty pounds. I reminded him that he
shouldn't forget the saying about people cutting their coat according
to their
clothes (not their size) when it comes to weddings.

We engaged each other in a lengthy banter over the double standards in
most Igbo towns and villages, where it seems that different rules are
applied in marriage matters to potential suitors, one set of rules (the
flexible one) for the home-based and another (the more expensive one)
for the akata suitor.

Emeka was troubled because he and his bride-to-be are Igbo, he is
neither a 419er or a fraudster and earns his money the hard way doing
you
know what in the UK, and so he just couldn't understand why he should
spend all that money, (savings from months if not years of sweat) in
what
he termed a 'ritualistic wedding ceremony'.

When he called me again a few days later, I knew that trouble was
brewing, and that probably our conversations may have stirred up some
troubles in his household, or should I say his heart.

'I think I know what I'm gonna do', Emeka said, in his fake Britico
accent

'What then'? I enquired

'I will simply go to Nigeria, and meet my in-laws, if they won't come
down to my level and accept me the way I am, then I will call the
marriage off'.

'It's not that simple as you think, also the matter is beyond your
in-laws, it is an umunna (kindred) matter'.

'To hell with umunna', he retorted. 'I don't care about them'

'Anyway, take it easy', I cautioned. 'I understand your frustration
but if you love your woman, you can't simply walk away because of the
demands of tradition, no matter how expensive they are. 'And how does
Ngozi feel about this whole matter'? I enquired

'She feels sad but there is really nothing she can do. Anyway, we may
just have to postpone the wedding' Emeka said.

'That's not a good idea, anything can happen, you never know' I
pleaded.

'But that is not to say that I should pay through my nose because I
want to marry' he replied. 'You live in this country and you know how
hard
life here is'.

'No one is forcing you to marry' I almost told him, but felt that he
wouldn't find it funny.

'Well, what more can I say, pray about it'? I finally advised him.

'Unless my in-laws will be willing to accept credit card for the dowry
and other expenses'.

When he said this, I burst out laughing; he joined me in the laughter
as well.

Afterwards, I told Emeka what a brilliant idea it was and how it would
actually make life easier for brothers and sisters living abroad who
are used to the buy-now-pay-later arrangements, if potential in-laws
can
be made to accept credit cards for dowry and other bridal expenses. But
at the same time, I knew that the idea will never fly in Nigeria, why?

Many suitors and potential sons-in-law may end up marrying people's
daughters with fake or stolen credit cards, a situation that may lead
to
the in-laws sending 'repo' men after them to repossess their daughters,
as they would normally cars, houses and other items purchased on credit
with default payments.

Back to Emeka and Ngozi, they should have been getting married this
Christmas (2005), but have since postponed the date indefinitely for
economic reasons.

Emeka is not alone though, this issue currently affects many young
eligible Igbo men, the women are also not spared because they won't
leave
their parents' homes until they are well into their late 20s and 30s,
maybe it is time for our elders to re-visit some of our customs and
traditions to see how today's singletons can be encouraged, and not
discouraged from saying I do. The attached list below is just an
example of a
typical traditional marriage list in Igbo land; the list though may
vary
from village to village.


MARRIAGE LIST IN IGBOLAND

1. Ego maternity---------N1, 000.

2. Body cream; lux soap; big towel-------1 each

3. Ego ogo cherem---------N50, 000.

4. Yams-20; Eju (snails) -20; Okporoko (stockfish) -1; big tray-1

FOR IHE NGWA EFERE

1. YAMS---------------40PIECES

2. Okporoko (stockfish) -----2

3. Ukwu anu ewu (goat leg) ---------2

4. Morning rose powder-------24

5. Pomade-----------20

6. Sugar---------10packets

7. Ovaltine--------2big size

8. Bar soap--------1 carton

9. Tablet soap--------1 carton

10. Tin milk --------1 carton

11. Bread----------24 loaves

12. Salt-----------2 bags

13. Rice-------1bag

14. Tomatoes Tin--------1 carton

15. Red (palm) oil---------1 tin

16. Groundnut oil----------1 rubber

17. Kerosene------------1 tin

18. Maltina Drink---------2 cartons

19. Soft drink-------6 crates

20. Onions--------------40 bulbs

21. Ego ala abo (cash) ------N10, 000

22. Ego nfotu ite (cash) -------N1, 000.

23. Big basin----------2

24. Big umbrella-----2

25. Piece George--------2

26. Hollandis--------2

27. Blouse-------2

28. Head ties---------2

29. Wrist watch--------1

30. Shoes--------2pairs

31. Big Box--------1

32. Lamp-------1

33. Hand bag---------1

34. Nigerian wax-------1piece

35. Gold necklace and ear-ring-------1 piece

MARRIAGE LIST FOR UMUADA (ALL KINDRED DAUGHTERS)

SECTION A------SMALL WINE

1. 8 Kola nuts or cost price

2. 8 Gallons of palm wine or cash equivalent

3. 8 Heads of tobacco with potash

4. 1 Goat for umunna

5. 2 crates of minerals

6. 1 carton of maltina

7. 2 cartons of star beer

8. 1 carton of Guinness small stout

9. 8 packets of Benson and Hedges

10. 2 bottles of Ground snuff

11. Lump sum (ogwe ego) ---------N2,000

12. 2 bottles of seaman's schnapps (Millennium Brand)

SECTION B NMANYA UKWU (BIG WINE)

1.16 Kola nuts or Cash equivalent

2.20 Gallons of palm wine or cash equivalent

3. 2 Crates of minerals

4. 2 Cartons of maltina

5. 2 cartons of Guinness small stout

6.10 cartons of star Beer

7. One roll of Benson and Hedges

8.12 Heads of Tobacco with potash

9. 4 Bottles of seaman's schnapps (millennium brand)

10. 4 Bottles of Ground Snuff

11. "Ego Ala Ezi"-----------N1, 500

12. Officers money -----------N1, 000

SECTION C OPENING OF GATE

1. 32 Kola nuts or cost price (CP)

2.30 Gallons of palm wine or CP

3. 2 Crates of minerals

4. 2 cartons of maltina

5. 2 cartons of Guinness small stout

6. 10 crates of star beer

7. 2 rolls of Benson and Hedges

8. 32 Heads of tobacco with potash

9. 4 bottles of seaman's schnapps (millennium brand)

10. "Umunna Ahuna Ego"-------------N1, 500

11. Toasting of wine (Ncha kishi udu) -------------N1, 000

12. 1 bottle of seaman's schnapps + N500 for Onye Eze (village chief)

13. "Ego Umuama" ---------N1, 000

14. "Ogwe Ego" (Lump sum) --------N1, 500

15. "Ego mpatu Anya"(Jealousy money) ------N1, 200

16. "Ikpo Onu Aku Nwanyi" (BRIDE PRICE) --------? (negotiable)

CUSTOMS OF NIGERIA

Custom, then, is the great guide of human life,” wrote Scottish
philosopher David Hume. Knowing the customs of a country is, in effect, a
guide to understanding the soul of that country and its people. The
following Sidebar is intended to provide a glimpse into the unique world of
this nation’s customs: how people marry, how families celebrate holidays
and other occasions, what people eat, and how they socialize and have
fun.



Customs of Nigeria

Marriage and Family


Marriage customs vary, but the payment of a bridal token or dowry is
common throughout the country. The groom is expected to give money,
property, or service to the family of the bride. Western-style dating is not
common in rural areas, but it is practiced by some young people in
urban areas. Women usually marry by the time they are 20 and men marry in
their mid-20s. Marriage is often considered a process rather than an
event, so couples may live together before or instead of a formal
marriage ceremony. Many couples simply find a wedding to be too expensive.


Although specific details of the family structure vary from one ethnic
group to another, Nigerian families are generally male dominated.
Polygamy is practiced, but its popularity varies according to region, ethnic
group, and education. Educated, Christian women living in urban
centers, for example, are less likely to marry a man with other wives than
other women might be.


While the status of Muslim women in Nigeria is similar to that in other
Islamic countries, most other women enjoy a great degree of
freedom—they influence family decisions, engage in open trade at the marketplace,
and account for about a third of the labor force. Large families
traditionally share the workload at home. Nigerians have deep respect for
their elders.

Eating


The mainstays of the Nigerian diet are yams, cassava, and rice, and the
people are fond of hot, spicy food. Meals are normally accompanied by
a pepper sauce made with fish, meat, or chicken. The main meal of the
day is eaten in the evening. A wide selection of fruit and vegetables
supplements the diet. Because of the tsetse fly, which carries a disease
fatal to cattle, dairy cattle are scarce in the coastal regions, but
canned margarine, cheese, and powdered milk are used.


Eating habits vary among ethnic groups. Nigerians often eat with their
hands, especially when eating fufu, a porridgelike food made of ground
cassava or yams. Fufu is rolled into small balls and dipped into a
sauce with the right hand only. Nigerians may use utensils for other
dishes.

Socializing


In Nigeria, greetings are highly valued and neglecting to greet another
is a sign of disrespect. Because of the diversity of cultures,
customs, and dialects in Nigeria, English is widely used throughout the
country for exchanging greetings. “Hello” is the most common greeting, while
“Good morning,” “Good afternoon,” and “Good evening” are also
appropriate. Objects are passed with the right hand or both hands, but not with
the left hand alone.


It is common to visit relatives frequently. Unexpected guests are
welcome, because planning ahead is not possible in many areas where
telephones are not widely available. Hosts endeavor to make guests feel
comfortable and usually offer them some refreshments. Invited guests are not
expected to bring gifts, but small gifts are appreciated. For social
engagements or other planned activities, a starting time may be indicated,
but late guests are anticipated and they do not disrupt the event.

NIGERIA POPULATION CENSUS

POPULATION
In case you didn't know, most Nigerians are 'black'. (Yes, I know that
is not 'politically correct'. Yes, I also know it is not accurate
either...my hair is 'black', my skin is 'brown'.) Population figures in
Nigeria have never been reliable. They are usually estimated, and even
these can differ. I have seen an estimate of 101 million people from the
ABC Country Book, 114 million from the World Bank, 127 million from the
United Nations estimate, all for the year 1995. 140 million by nigeria
population census 2006'is estimated that It has one of the highest
population densities in the world (at one time, it had the third highest
population densities), and roughly 1 out of
every 4 Africans is a Nigerian.

OIL AND COUPS IN NIGERIA

Oil and Coups

Given the bitterness of the civil war, the restoration of peace and the
reintegration of the Igbo into Nigerian life were remarkably rapid.
Aiding the resumption of normalcy was a booming oil trade (by the
mid-1970s, Nigeria was the fifth largest producer of petroleum in the world).
However, along with rapid growth came shortages of key commodities,
crippling congestion in the ports, and demands for redistribution of
wealth. Although a national development plan resulted in some
redistribution, the bulk of Nigeria’s income remained in the hands of an urban few.

In 1974 Gowon announced that the return to civilian rule would be
postponed indefinitely. His timing was poor: High prices, chronic shortages,
growing corruption, and the failure of the government to address
several regional issues had already created a restless mood. On July 29,
1975, Brigadier Murtala Ramat Muhammed overthrew Gowon in a bloodless
coup. Muhammed moved quickly to address issues that Gowon had avoided. He
replaced corrupt state governors. He purged incompetent and corrupt
members of the public services. He instigated a plan to move the national
capital from industrial, coastal Lagos to neglected, interior Abuja.
Civilian rule, he declared, would be restored by 1979, and he began a
five-stage process of transition.

The reforms made Muhammed extremely popular with many Nigerians. On
February 13, 1976, he was assassinated in a coup attempt, but his
administration remained in power. His successor, Lieutenant General Olusegun
Obasanjo, continued Muhammed’s reforms, including the move toward
civilian rule. Obasanjo also created seven new states to help redistribute
wealth and began a massive reform of local government. In 1977 he convened
a constitutional assembly, which recommended replacing the
British-style parliamentary system with an American-style presidential system of
separate executive and legislative branches. To ensure that candidates
would appeal to ethnic groups beyond their own, the president and vice
president were required to win at least 25 percent of the vote in at
least two-thirds of the 19 states. The new constitution took effect in
1979. The restructured administration was called Nigeria’s Second
Republic.

THE NIGERIA CIVIL WAR IN 1967

NIGERIA CIVIL WAR

In May 1967 Gowon announced the creation of a new 12-state structure.
The Eastern Region, populated mostly by Igbo, would be divided into
three states, two of them dominated by non-Igbo groups. The division would
also sever the vast majority of Igbo from profitable coastal ports and
rich oil fields that had recently been discovered in the Niger Delta
(which until then was a part of the Eastern Region). The leaders of the
Eastern Region, pushed to the brink of secession by the recent anti-Igbo
attacks and the influx of Igbo refugees, saw this action as an
official attempt to push the Igbo to the margins of Nigerian society and
politics. On May 27, 1967, the region’s Igbo-dominated assembly authorized
Lieutenant Colonel Odemegwu Ojukwu to declare independence as the
Republic of Biafra. Ojukwu obliged three days later.
The Biafran civil war was precipitated by an attempt by the Nigerian
government to lessen the political power of certain Nigerian ethnic
groups by dividing the country’s 4 existing regions into 12 states. The
former Eastern Region declared itself independent in May 1967 as the
Republic of Biafra, left, and the civil war ensued. By January 1970 the
Biafran forces controlled only a small portion of Biafra, right, and
surrendered.
War broke out in July 1967 when Nigerian forces moved south and
captured the university town of Nsukka. Biafran troops crossed the Niger
River, pushing deep into the west in an attempt to attack Lagos, then the
capital. Gowon’s forces repelled the invasion, imposed a naval blockade
of the southeastern coast, and mounted a counterattack into northern
Biafra. A bitter war of attrition followed, prolonged by France’s military
support for the Biafrans. In January 1970 the better-equipped federal
forces finally overcame the rebels, whereupon Gowon announced he would
remain in power for six more years to ensure a peaceful transition to
democracy.

HISTORY OF NIGERIA

HISTORY

People have lived in what is now known as Nigeria since at least 9000
bc, and evidence indicates that since at least 5000 bc some of them have
practiced settled agriculture. In the early centuries ad, kingdoms
emerged in the drier, northern savanna, prospering from trade ties with
North Africa. At roughly the same time, the wetter, southern forested
areas yielded city-states and looser federations sustained by agriculture
and coastal trade. These systems changed radically with the arrival of
Europeans in the late 15th century, the rise of the slave trade from
the 16th through the 19th century, and formal colonization by Britain at
the end of 19th century. Nigeria achieved independence in 1960 but has
since been plagued by unequal distribution of wealth and ineffective,
often corrupt governments.





A. Precolonial History of the Savanna


Nok Sculpture

Nok Sculpture
This terra-cotta sculpture of a female head was created by Nok
artisans. The Nok people inhabited the Jos Plateau of central Nigeria between
900 bc and ad 200.
The Nok culture, which flourished between 500 bc and ad 200, is the
earliest identifiable civilization in Nigeria’s north; the Nok are also
the earliest of West Africa’s known ironworkers. (Their real identity
unknown, the Nok are named for a village where miners first unearthed
their artifacts.) Their famous figurines—finely crafted people and animals
in terra-cotta—have influenced centuries of central Nigerian sculpture.
Today the art of several central Nigerian peoples continues to reflect
Nok style.











1. The Kanem-Bornu Empire

The northern region’s first well-documented state was the kingdom of
Kanem, which emerged east of Lake Chad in what is now southwestern Chad
by the 9th century ad. Kanem profited from trade ties with North Africa
and the Nile Valley, from which it also received Islam. The Saifawas,
Kanem’s ruling dynasty, periodically enlarged their holdings by conquest
and marriage into the ruling families of vassal states. The empire,
however, failed to sustain a lasting peace. During one conflict-ridden
period sometime between the 12th and 14th centuries, the Saifawas were
forced to move across Lake Chad into Bornu, in what is now far
northeastern Nigeria. There, the Kanem intermarried with the native peoples, and
the new group became known as the Kanuri. The Kanuri state, centered
first in Kanem and then in Bornu, is known as the Kanem-Bornu Empire,
hereafter referred to as Bornu.

The Kanuri eventually returned to Chad and conquered the empire lost by
the Saifawas. Its dominance thus assured, Bornu became a flourishing
center of Islamic culture that rivaled Mali to the far west. The kingdom
also grew rich in trade, which focused on salt from the Sahara and
locally produced textiles. In the late 16th century, the Bornu king Idris
Alooma expanded the kingdom again, and although the full extent of the
expansion is not clear, Bornu exerted considerable political influence
over Hausaland to the west. In the mid- and late 18th century, severe
droughts and famines weakened the kingdom, but in the early 19th century
Bornu enjoyed a brief revival under al-Kanemi, a shrewd military
leader who resisted a Fulani revolution that swept over much of Nigeria.
Al-Kanemi’s descendants continue as traditional rulers within Borno State.
The Kanem-Bornu Empire ceased to exist in 1846 when it was absorbed
into the Wadai sultanate to the east.




2. The Hausa-Fulani

The Hausa cultures, which as early as the 7th century ad were smelting
iron ore, arose in what is today northwestern and north central
Nigeria, to Bornu’s west. The origin of these cultures, however, is a mystery.
Legend holds that Bayajidda, a traveler from the Middle East, married
the queen of Daura, from whom came seven sons. Each son is reputed to
have founded one of the seven Hausa kingdoms: Kano, Rano, Katsina,
Zazzau (Zaria), Gobir, Kebbi, and Auyo. Various Nigerian groups explain
their origins in similar legends involving migrations southward across the
Sahara or from the east or west through the savannas, followed by
intermarriage and acculturation. These legends serve to highlight the
importance of such interchanges in the cultural, economic, and political
development of many Nigerian societies.

However founded, the seven city-states developed as strong trading
centers, typically surrounded by a wall and with an economy based on
intensive farming, cattle raising, craft making, and later slave trading. In
each Hausa state, a monarch, probably elected, ruled over a network of
feudal lords, most of whom had embraced Islam by the 14th century. The
states maintained persistent rivalries, which at times made them easy
prey to the expansion of Bornu and other kingdoms.

A perhaps greater, if more subtle, threat to the Hausa kingdoms was the
immigration of Fulani pastoralists, who came from the west to make a
home in the Nigerian savanna and who permeated large areas of Hausaland
over several centuries. In 1804 a Fulani scholar, Usuman dan Fodio,
declared a jihad (holy war) against the Hausa states, whose rulers he
condemned for allowing Islamic practices to deteriorate. Local Fulani
leaders, motivated by both spiritual and local political concerns, received
Usuman’s blessing to overthrow the Hausa rulers. With their superior
cavalry and cohesion, the Fulani overthrew the Hausa rulers and also
conquered areas beyond Hausaland, including Adamawa to the east and Nupe
and Ilorin to the south.

After the war, a loose federation of 30 emirates emerged, each
recognizing the supremacy of the sultan of Sokoto, located in what is now far
northwestern Nigeria. The first sultan of Sokoto was Usuman. After
Usuman died in 1817, he was succeeded by his son, Muhammad Bello. Militarily
and commercially powerful, the Sokoto caliphate dominated the region
throughout the 19th century.






B. Precolonial History of the Forest and Coast

Nigeria’s oldest archaeological site lies in its forested region, at
Iwo Elero near Akure in southwestern Nigeria. Stone tools and human
remains at the site date from 9000 bc.



1. The Yoruba


Beaded Crowns of the Yoruba

Beaded Crowns of the Yoruba
Beaded crowns and other beaded objects were traditionally used by kings
of the Yoruba, southwestern Nigeria. The Yoruba are known for their
crafts, especially woodcarving and bronze casting, an art form they have
practiced since about the 13th century.
The first well-documented kingdom in what is now southwestern Nigeria
was centered at Ife, which was established as the first of the Yoruba
kingdoms in the 11th or 12th century. Over the next few centuries, the
Ife spread their political and spiritual influence beyond the borders of
its small city-state. Ife artisans were highly skilled, producing,
among other things, bronze castings of heads in a highly naturalistic
style. Terra-cotta, wood, and ivory were also common media.

Shortly after the rise of Ife, the kingdom of Benin emerged to the
east. Although it was separate from the Yoruba kingdoms, Benin legends
claim that the kingdom’s first rulers were descended from an Ife prince. By
the 15th century, Benin was a large, well-designed city sustained by
trade (both within the region and, later, with Europe). Its cultural
legacy includes a wealth of elaborate bronze plaques and statues recording
the nation’s history and glorifying its rulers.

At about the same time as Benin’s ascendance, the major Yoruba
city-state of Oyo arose. Situated northwest of Ife, Oyo used its powerful
cavalry to replace Ife as Yorubaland’s political center. (Ife, however,
continued to serve as the spiritual center of Yorubaland.) When the
Portuguese first arrived in the late 15th century, it was the Oyo who
controlled trade with them, first in goods such as peppers, which they secured
from the northern interior lands and transferred to the southern coast,
and later in slaves. In Oyo, as elsewhere throughout coastal West
Africa, the traffic in slaves had disastrous results—not just on those
traded, who were largely from the interior, but also on the traders. As
African nations vied for the lucrative commerce, conflicts increased, and
other forms of advancement, both agricultural and economic, fell by the
wayside. As a result, when Britain banned the slave trade in the early
19th century, Oyo was hard-pressed to maintain its prosperity. The Oyo
state of Ilorin broke away from the empire in 1796, then joined the
northern Sokoto caliphate in 1831 after Fulani residing in Ilorin seized
power. The Oyo empire collapsed, plunging all of Yorubaland—Oyo, Ife,
and other areas—into a bloody civil war that lasted for decades.



2. The Igbo

In southeastern Nigeria, archaeological sites confirm sophisticated
civilizations dating from at least ad 900, when fine bronze statues were
crafted by predecessors of the modern-day Igbo people. These early
peoples, who almost certainly had well-developed trade links, were followed
by the Nri of northern Igboland. With these exceptions, Igboland did
not have the large, centralized kingdoms that characterized other parts
of Nigeria. A few clans maintained power, perhaps the strongest of which
was the Aro; the Aro lived west of the Cross River, near present-day
Nigeria’s southeastern border, and rose to prominence in the 17th and
18th centuries. The Aro were oracular priests for the region and used
this role to secure large numbers of slaves. The slaves were sold in
coastal ports controlled by other groups such as the Ijo.




C. Colonial Expansion

Compared with other parts of West Africa, Nigeria was slow to feel the
penetration of Europe. Unlike in Ghana and Senegal, no European
fortifications were built along the coast, and Europeans—mostly British—came
ashore only briefly to trade weapons, alcohol, and other goods in return
for slaves. It is not clear what portion of the vast number of slaves
taken from West Africa (estimates range from about 10 to 30 million)
came from Nigeria.

In 1807 Britain abolished the slave trade and enlisted other European
nations to enforce the ban. Britain’s motivations were partly
humanitarian—there was a reform movement at home—and partly economic: The British
Empire no longer had American colonies whose economic growth depended
on slaves, and moreover the rise of industrialization meant Britain
needed Africa’s raw materials more than its people. Consequently, trade in
products such as palm oil, which Europeans valued highly as an
industrial lubricant, replaced the trade in humans. Most of Nigeria’s former
slave-trading states were weakened by the loss of income. A few managed
to continue a much-reduced contraband slave trade until the 1860s.
Others used slave labor to farm plantations of oil palm.

British trading companies such as the United Africa Company took
advantage of the weakened empires and established depots at Lagos and in the
Niger Delta. Meanwhile, explorers such as Mungo Park and Hugh
Clapperton of Scotland, John and Richard Lander of England, and Heinrich Barth
of Germany charted the Niger River and its surroundings. The explorers,
some of them funded by trading companies, laid the groundwork for the
eventual expansion inland of the trading companies. Missionaries also
facilitated the process of replacing the noxious slave trade with
“Christian commerce.” Some inland peoples took advantage of new opportunities
to produce goods for the Europeans, but most resisted and were forcibly
subjugated.



1. The Scramble for Africa

In 1884 and 1885 European powers carved Africa into spheres of
influence at the Berlin West Africa Conference. Britain, its claim to Nigeria
affirmed, moved quickly to consolidate its territory. The colony of
Lagos, first declared in 1861, was expanded, and in 1887 a new
protectorate, Oil Rivers (later the Niger Coast Protectorate), was created in the
Niger Delta. The British also waged bloody and ruthless war on resisting
coastal and forest peoples, particularly in Benin, Nupe, and Ilorin.
Its hold in the south was secure by 1897.

While Britain was consolidating these areas, it granted the Royal Niger
Company a trading monopoly in the north. In return the company agreed
to advance British interests, economic and political. The company set
up headquarters at Lokoja, located at the confluence of the Niger and
Benue rivers in central Nigeria, and extended its trade northwest up the
Niger and northeast up the Benue. Treaties were signed with several
African states, including Nupe, Sokoto, and Gwandu, thus depriving French
and German rivals access to the northern region.

In 1900, with the south secure, Britain revoked the Royal Niger
Company’s charter and declared that a colonial government would administer
Nigeria as two protectorates: one in the south and one in the north.
(Lagos was incorporated into the southern protectorate in 1906.)
Simultaneously, Britain went to war against the Sokoto caliphate in the northwest,
conquering it by 1903. Remaining pockets of resistance within the
caliphate and elsewhere in northern Nigeria were quelled over the next few
years. In 1914 Britain joined the two protectorates into a single
colony, and in 1922 part of the former German colony of Kamerun was attached
to Nigeria as a League of Nations-mandated territory.


2. Indirect Rule

Britain governed Nigeria via indirect rule, a system in which native
leaders continued to rule their traditional lands so long as they
collected taxes and performed other duties ensuring British prosperity.
Uncooperative or ineffective leaders were easily replaced by others who were
more compliant or competent, and usually more than willing to enjoy the
perks of government. Britain was thus saved the huge economic and
political cost of running and militarily securing a day-to-day government.

Indirect rule operated relatively smoothly in the north, where the
British worked with the Fulani aristocracy, who had long governed the
Sokoto caliphate and who were able to administer traditional Islamic law
alongside British civil law. In the south, however, traditions were less
accommodating. In Yorubaland indirect rule disrupted historical checks
and balances, increasing the power of some chiefs at the expense of
others. Moreover, although the Yoruba kings had long been powerful, few had
collected taxes, and citizens resisted their right to do so under
British mandate. In the southeast, particularly in Igboland, many of the
societies had never had chiefs or for that matter organized states.
Consequently, the chiefs appointed by Britain received little or no respect.
In Nigeria’s culturally fragmented middle belt, small groups were
forcefully incorporated into larger political units and often ruled by
“foreign” Fulani, who brought with them alien institutions such as Islamic
law.

The British carried out a few reforms, including the gradual
elimination of domestic slavery, which had been a central feature of the Sokoto
caliphate. They also provided Western education for some of Nigeria’s
elite; however, in the main Britain limited schooling as much as
feasible.

Britain redirected almost all of Nigeria’s trade away from Africa and
toward itself, a move that undermined the northern region’s large,
centuries-old trade across the Sahara. Britain further changed the economy
by introducing new crops and expanding old ones, such as oil palm,
cotton, groundnuts, and cacao, almost all of which were sold for export.
Iron and tin were also mined, and railroads were built to transport
products. Because Britain required Nigerians to pay taxes in cash rather than
goods, most Nigerians had little choice but to grow cash-yielding
export crops or to migrate seasonally to areas where paying jobs could be
found.



3. Opposition to the British


Throughout the early 20th century, Nigerians found many ways to oppose
foreign rule. Local armed revolts, concentrated in the middle belt,
broke out sporadically and intensified during World War I (1914-1918).
Workers in mines, railways, and public service often went on strike over
poor wages and working conditions, including a large general action in
1945, when 30,000 workers stopped commerce for 37 days. Ire over
taxation prompted other conflicts, including a battle in 1929 fought mainly by
Igbo women in the Aba area. More common was passive resistance:
avoiding being counted in the census, working at a slow pace, telling stories
ridiculing colonists and colonialism. A few political groups also
formed to campaign for independence, including the National Congress and
the National Democratic Party, but their success was slight. In 1937 the
growing movement was given a voice by Nnamdi Azikiwe, an Igbo
nationalist, who founded the newspaper West African Pilot.

World War II (1939-1945), in which many Nigerians fought for or
otherwise aided Britain, increased the pace of nationalism. The growing
anticolonial feeling was most strongly articulated by two groups, the
National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC), led by Azikiwe and
supported mostly by Igbo and other easterners, and the Action Group, led by
activist Obafemi Awolowo and supported mostly by Yoruba and other
westerners. By the early 1950s, other parties had emerged, notably the
Northern People’s Congress, a conservative northern group led by the
Hausa-Fulani elite. The regional power bases of these parties foreshadowed the
divisive regional politics that would follow colonialism.

Pressure for independence from within Nigeria was complemented by
pressure from other nations, and from reformers in Britain and in other
colonies. In 1947 the British responded by introducing a new constitution
that divided Nigeria into three regions: the Northern Region, the
Eastern Region, and the Western Region. The Northern Region was mainly
Hausa-Fulani and Muslim; the Eastern Region, Igbo and Catholic; and the
Western Region, Yoruba and mixed Muslim and Anglican. The regions each had
their own legislative assemblies, with mainly appointed rather than
elected members, and were overseen by a weak federal government. Although
short-lived, the constitution had serious long-term impact through its
encouragement of regional, ethnic-based politics.

The constitution failed on several counts, was abrogated in 1949, and
was followed by other constitutions in 1951 and 1954, each of which had
to contend with powerful ethnic forces. The Northern People’s Congress
(NPC) argued that northerners, who made up half of Nigeria’s
population, should have a large degree of autonomy from other regions and a large
representation in any federal legislature. The NPC was especially
concerned about respect for Islam and the economic dominance of the south.
The western-based Action Group also wanted autonomy; they feared that
their profitable western cocoa industries would be tapped to subsidize
less wealthy areas. In the poorer east, the National Council for Nigeria
and the Cameroons wanted a powerful central government and a
redistribution of wealth—the very things feared by the Action Group.

The eventual compromise was the 1954 constitution, which made Nigeria a
federation of three regions corresponding to the major ethnic nations.
It differed from the 1947 constitution in that powers were more evenly
split between the regional governments and the central government. The
constitution also gave the regions the right to seek self-government,
which the Western and Eastern regions achieved in 1956. The Northern
Region, however, fearing that self-government (and thus British
withdrawal) would leave it at the mercy of southerners, delayed the imposition
until 1959.

In December 1959, elections were held for a federal parliament. None of
the three main parties won a majority, but the NPC, thanks to the size
of the Northern Region, won the largest plurality. Sir Abubakar Tafawa
Balewa, head of the NPC, entered a coalition government with the
eastern NCNC as prime minister. The new parliament was seated in January
1960.



D. Independence


Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa

Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa
Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa served as prime minister of Nigeria from
1960, when Nigeria gained independence from British rule, to 1966, when
Balewa was killed in a military coup.
Nigeria became independent on October 1, 1960. In 1961 the Cameroons
trust territories were split in two. The mostly Muslim northern Cameroons
voted to become part of the Northern Region of Nigeria, while the
southern Cameroons joined the Federal Republic of Cameroon.

Regional and ethnic tensions escalated quickly. The censuses of 1962
and 1963 fueled bitter disputes, as did the trial and imprisonment of
leading opposition politicians, whom Prime Minister Balewa accused
dubiously of treason. In 1963 an eastern section of the Western Region that
was ethnically non-Yoruba was split off into a new region, the Midwestern
Region. Matters deteriorated during the violence-marred elections of
1964, from which the NPC emerged victorious. On January 15, 1966, junior
army officers revolted and killed Balewa and several other
politicians, including the prime ministers of the Northern and Western regions.
Major General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, the commander of the army and an
Igbo, emerged as the country’s new leader.

Ironsi immediately suspended the constitution, which did little to ease
northern fears of southern domination. In late May 1966 Ironsi further
angered the north with the announcement that many public services then
controlled by the regions would henceforth be controlled by the
federal government. On July 29 northern-backed army officers staged a
countercoup, assassinating Ironsi and replacing him with Lieutenant Colonel
Yakubu Gowon. The coup was followed by the massacre of thousands of Igbo
in northern cities. Most of the surviving Igbo sought refuge in their
crowded eastern homelands.

GOVERNMENT OF NIGERIA

Government of Nigeria

Form of government Federal republic
Head of state President
Head of government President
Legislature Bicameral legislature:
House of Representatives, 360 members
Senate, 109 senators
Voting qualifications Universal at age 18
Constitution 5 May 1999
Highest court Supreme Court

Nigeria emerged from 16 years of military rule in 1999, when a new
constitution was adopted. Under this document, Nigeria is a federal
republic with a democratically elected government made of separate executive,
legislative, and judicial branches. The constitution guarantees
Nigerians freedom of expression and religion, and prohibits discrimination
based on ethnicity, religion, sex, or place of origin.



A. Executive

The president is elected to a four-year term by receiving a plurality
of the total vote and at least one-fourth of the vote in at least
two-thirds of the states. The president’s running mate becomes vice president
for the same term. Cabinet appointments, made by the president and
approved by the Senate, are constitutionally required to reflect Nigeria’s
“federal character,” that is, the country’s cultural diversitY.


B. Legislature

The constitution calls for a two-chamber National Assembly with members
elected to four-year terms. The upper chamber, or Senate, contains 109
seats: three for each of Nigeria’s 36 states and one seat for the
Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The lower chamber, or House of
Representatives, contains 360 seats.


C. Judiciary

Nigeria’s highest court of appeal is the Supreme Court, which comprises
a chief justice and up to 15 associate justices. Below the Supreme
Court sits a Federal Court of Appeal. Each state has a High Court, with
judges appointed by the federal government. The Federal Capital Territory
and states with large Islamic populations have the right to establish
Sharia Courts of Appeal to administer Islamic civil law.


D. Political Parties

Since independence, political parties have been variously banned and
allowed, according to the whim of the leaders in power. Since the death
of Sani Abacha, the last military ruler, several new political parties
have emerged. The largest party in the legislature is the People’s
Democratic Party. The largest opposition parties are the All Nigeria
People’s Party and the Alliance for Democracy.



E. State and Local Governments

Nigeria is divided into 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
State governments consist of an elected governor, a deputy governor
chosen by the governor, and a directly elected state assembly. The governor
also nominates commissioners, who are confirmed by the assembly. The
Federal Capital Territory is headed by a minister, who is appointed by
the president.

The creation of new states has been a periodic feature of Nigerian life
since 1967, when 12 states replaced the previous 4 regions. The
creation of new states was immensely popular in previously neglected areas,
which were given a greater share of oil wealth and other development. As
a result, Nigerians routinely call for more states, using arguments
about the ethnic and population balance to bolster their economic
motivations. The federal government has responded by creating seven new states
plus the Federal Capital Territory in 1976, two more in 1987, nine in
1991, and six in 1996. As the states have become smaller, they have
become less viable and more dependent on federal government transfers.

As in the case of the states, there has been continuous lobbying for
new local government areas, which in 1997 numbered more than 700. Until
1976, traditional authorities controlled local governments, but reforms
have since relegated traditional rulers to a mostly ceremonial role. In
their place are democratically elected government councils with
responsibility for things such as primary health care and primary education.




F. Defense

Nigeria’s defense forces, which peaked at 300,000 at the end of the
civil war in 1970, had 78,500 personnel in 2003, which was still large and
expensive compared to the region’s other countries. The army numbered
62,000 with major divisions based in Lagos, Ibadan, Enugu, Kaduna, and
Jos. The air force consisted of 9,500 personnel in four air commands,
in Ikeja (near Lagos), Kaduna, Ibadan, and Makurdi. The 7,000-person
navy is centered in Lagos and Calabar and has been strengthened in recent
years to provide security for oil installations. The Nigerian Defence
Academy is located at Kaduna. Nigeria has participated in peacekeeping
operations of the United Nations (UN). It has also provided the majority
of soldiers for the joint West African peacekeeping force in Liberia
(since 1990) and Sierra Leone (from 1997 until 2000, when a UN
peacekeeping force that included many Nigerian troops took over). Military
service is voluntary






G. Social Services

Nigeria has no state-supported social welfare system. Instead, most
people rely on their extended families in difficult times and in old age.
Medical care is provided to government employees and to most workers in
large industrial and commercial enterprises, but it is wanting among
the rest of the population. Despite several attempts at reform, many
Nigerians lack access to primary health care, in large part because the
great majority of treatment centers are located in large cities.
Facilities are often understaffed, underequipped, and low on medications and
other medical supplies. Patients must generally pay user fees and buy
their own supplies and medications, which they often cannot afford.

The result has been an infant mortality rate of 99 per 1,000 live
births and a life expectancy of 47 years. Malaria is the leading cause of
death and is likely to remain so, due to the growing resistance both of
the malarial parasite to drugs as well as of the mosquito, which
transmits malaria, to insecticides. Other preventable ills that the government
has been unable to halt include measles, whooping cough, polio,
cerebrospinal meningitis, gastroenteritis, diarrhea, tuberculosis,
bronchitis, waterborne infectious diseases such as schistosomiasis, and sexually
transmitted infections. Infection with the human immunodeficiency virus
(HIV) that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is
becoming more and more prevalent. In 2003 3.6 million Nigerians were estimated
to be infected with HIV and 170,000 Nigerians died of AIDS.




H. International Organizations


Commonwealth of Nations

At independence in 1960 Nigeria joined the United Nations (UN) and its
affiliated agencies. It also joined the British Commonwealth of
Nations. Its membership in the Commonwealth was suspended from 1995 to 1999 to
protest human rights abuses and the slow rate of democratization by
the Abacha government. Nigeria is also a member of the Organization of
Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the World Trade Organization (WTO),
the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the Nonaligned Movement
(NAM). A founding member of the African Union (AU), Nigeria took the lead
in opposing the apartheid regime in South Africa. It is also the
dominant partner in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)
and a member of the African Development Bank and the Lake Chad Basin
Commission.



VII. HISTORY

People have lived in what is now known as Nigeria since at least 9000
bc, and evidence indicates that since at least 5000 bc some of them have
practiced settled agriculture. In the early centuries ad, kingdoms
emerged in the drier, northern savanna, prospering from trade ties with
North Africa. At roughly the same time, the wetter, southern forested
areas yielded city-states and looser federations sustained by agriculture
and coastal trade. These systems changed radically with the arrival of
Europeans in the late 15th century, the rise of the slave trade from
the 16th through the 19th century, and formal colonization by Britain at
the end of 19th century. Nigeria achieved independence in 1960 but has
since been plagued by unequal distribution of wealth and ineffective,
often corrupt governments.

CURRENCY AND BANKING

Currency and Banking

The national currency of Nigeria is the naira, which is divided into
100 kobo (129.22 naira equal U.S.$1; 2003 average). Exchange rates have
been allowed to fluctuate since 1995, when the government abandoned a
disastrous, short-lived attempt to fix the rate at 22 naira per dollar.
Currency and banking are supervised by the Central Bank of Nigeria,
founded in 1958 and located in Lagos. Several foreign banks have branches
in Nigeria; since 1976, all have been required to have at least 60
percent Nigerian ownership. The Nigerian Stock Exchange, founded in 1960, is
located in Lagos and is supervised by the Nigerian Securities and
Exchange Commission.

TRADE

TRADE

Nigeria depends on foreign trade to meet many of its needs, although in
recent years it has achieved a healthy trade surplus. In 2000 exports
amounted to $27.1 billion, while imports were $6 billion. The
volatility of the global oil market and changes in fiscal and import policies
cause large year-to-year fluctuations in the balance of trade. Officially
recognized trade is supplemented by considerable smuggling of
agricultural produce and manufactured goods to and from neighboring countries.

Petroleum accounts for virtually 100 percent of exports, in terms of
value. Cacao, rubber, and shrimp are also exported. Nigeria’s major trade
partners for exports are the United States, India, Spain, France, and
Brazil. Major imports are base metal manufactures, including motor
vehicles and industrial machinery; basic manufactures, including iron,
steel, paper, and cement; chemicals and related products; and food and live
animals. Major trade partners for imports are the United Kingdom,
United States, France, China, and Germany. Only a small percentage of
Nigerian exports and imports are traded with other African countries.

Despite its positive trade balance, the Nigerian economy is burdened
with massive external debt amounting in 2002 to $31.6 billion, most of it
owed to other governments and multilateral agencies. The government
has had difficulty meeting its yearly debt payments. Nigeria’s yearly
debt-servicing bill, including arrears and interest, can rival the
country’s total export earnings. Most of the debt stems from extravagant
government megaprojects prior to the mid-1980s and from imports of consumer
goods. The sudden collapse of oil prices in the early 1980s made
Nigerian financial matters worse. In recent years international lenders have
forced Nigeria to introduce reforms to restructure its economy.

COMMUNICATIONS

Communications

The first newspaper was founded in Lagos in the 1830s. Today, Nigerians
choose from dozens of daily and weekly newspapers published across the
country, most in English, but several in Nigerian languages,
especially Hausa and Yoruba. The Daily Times, published in Lagos, is the
newspaper with the largest circulation. Despite sporadic government censorship
and partial government ownership of some newspapers, the press has
remained relatively free and has often been outspoken in its criticism of
the government.

The national government began broadcasting in 1957, when it established
a chain of radio stations. Most of the country’s numerous radio and
television stations continue to be operated by the government. Programs
are available in English, Hausa, Yoruba, and several other Nigerian
languages. The country’s international radio service, Voice of Nigeria,
also broadcasts in several languages.

In 2003 there were only 6.9 telephone mainlines for every 1,000 people
in Nigeria. About one-third of the telephones were in Lagos. Major
cities in all parts of the country are linked by a system of domestic
satellites, microwave towers, and coaxial cables.

TRANSPORTATION

Transportation

Nigeria has 194,394 km (120,791 mi) of roads. Most Nigerians travel by
bus or taxi both between and within cities. During the 1970s and 1980s
federal and state governments built and upgraded numerous expressways
and transregional trunk roads. State governments also upgraded smaller
roads, which helped open rural areas to development. However, by the
mid-1990s lack of investment had left most of the roads to deteriorate.

Nigeria has 3,505 km (2,178 mi) of operated railway track. The main
line, completed in 1911, links Lagos to Kano, with extensions from Kano to
Nguru, from Zaria to Kaura Namoda, and from Minna to Baro. The use of
railways, both for passenger and freight traffic, has declined due to
competition from the road network.

Nigeria’s largest ocean ports are at Lagos (Apapa and Tin Can Island),
Port Harcourt, Calabar, Sapele, and Warri. The main petroleum-exporting
facilities are at Bonny and Burutu. Transportation along inland
waterways, especially the Niger and Benue rivers, was very important during
the colonial era. In the late 1980s the government upgraded river ports
at Onitsha, Ajaokuta, Lokoja, Baro, Jebba, and Yelwa. Locks have been
constructed at Kainji Dam to facilitate navigation. River transport is
used mainly for shipping goods.

Nigeria has three international airports: in the Lagos suburb of Ikeja,
in Abuja, and in Kano. Internal flights serve the majority of state
capitals, of which Kaduna, Port Harcourt, and Enugu are the busiest.
Nigeria Airways, the national carrier, offers both domestic.

ENERGY

Energy

Petroleum, natural gas, and hydroelectricity are Nigeria’s major
sources of commercial energy; they are slightly outpaced by the largely
noncommercial consumption of fuelwood and charcoal. Despite major programs
to extend electricity to homes, only a small portion of rural households
are electrified. Demand for electricity outstrips supply, in part
because of mismanagement in the government agency overseeing energy
production. In the late 1990s periodic power outages cost Nigerian factories
countless hours of operation. The major thermal electrical installations
are at Igbin, Afam, and Sapele. Hydroelectricity is generated at
Kainji Dam and in lesser quantities at Shiroro Gorge on the Kaduna River, at
Jebba, and at several smaller sites. Only a small

FORESTRY AND FISHING

Forestry and Fishing

The bulk of Nigeria’s forest production is fuelwood, consumed either as
wood or as charcoal. In 2003 fuelwood production was 60 million cubic
meters (2.1 billion cubic feet), harvested mostly near dense urban
areas. By contrast, annual lumber production—mostly hardwoods such as
mahogany, iroko, and obeche—averaged 2 million cubic meters (71 million
cubic feet), almost all from the tropical forest zone. Consequently,
Nigeria, once a significant exporter of timber, is a net importer. Ongoing,
rapid deforestation makes it unlikely the situation will improve
appreciably.

Nigeria’s 2001 fish catch was 476,500 metric tons live. Slightly less
than half the catch was from inland waters, mainly Lake Chad, the Niger
Delta, and Kainji Lake. Various species of catfishes, tilapias, and
Nile perch, among others, are harvested using small-scale and traditional
methods. Sardinellas, bonga shad, and shrimp are harvested from the
Atlantic Ocean. In 1975 the government established the Nigerian National
Fish Company to enter into joint fishing ventures with foreign
companies. Most of Nigeria’s 330 vessels larger than 100 gross registered tons
are concentrated inshore;
deep-sea fishing is still dominated by foreign boats

MANUFACTURING

Manufacturing

In 2003, manufacturing accounted for 4 percent of the GDP, down from 13
percent in 1982. Preindependence Nigeria, its large population
notwithstanding, had very little industrial development—a few tanneries and
oil-crushing mills that processed raw materials for export. During the
1950s and 1960s a few factories, including the first textile mills and
food-processing plants, opened to serve Nigerians. During the 1970s and
early 1980s industrial production increased rapidly, principally in
Lagos, Kaduna, Kano, and Port Harcourt. Factories also appeared in smaller,
peripheral cities such as Calabar, Bauchi, Katsina, Akure, and Jebba,
due largely to government policies encouraging decentralization
(although these policies sometimes ran counter to solid economic criteria).

Nigeria’s major manufactures are food and beverages, cigarettes,
textiles and clothing, soaps and detergents, footwear, wood products, motor
vehicles, chemical products, and metals. Smaller-scale manufacturing
businesses engage in weaving, leather making, pottery making, and
woodcarving. The smaller industries are often organized in craft guilds
involving particular families, who pass skills from generation to generation.

In an attempt to broaden Nigeria’s industrial base, the government has
invested heavily in joint ventures with private companies since the
early 1980s. The largest such project is the integrated steel complex at
Ajaokuta, built in 1983 at a cost of $4 billion. The government has also
invested heavily in petroleum refining, petrochemicals, fertilizers,
and implements for assembling automobiles and farm equipment. Government
policies have hampered industrial development by making it difficult
to obtain sufficient raw materials and spare parts. Partly as a result,
only a fraction of the country’s manufacturing capacity is currently
utilized. In the mid-1990s the government introduced a series of reforms,
including an allowance for greater foreign ownership in Nigerian
industries, a loosening of controls on foreign exchange.

MINING

MINING


Petroleum dominates the Nigerian economy: Virtually 100 percent of
export earnings and about four-fifths of government revenues are derived
from petroleum. Fluctuations in world oil prices therefore have a
dramatic effect on the Nigerian economy. Discovered in 1956, petroleum was
produced at a rate of 774 million barrels in 2002 from more than 150 oil
fields, mostly in the Niger Delta. About one-fifth of the oil fields are
offshore. Although Nigeria’s petroleum is expensive to produce, it
commands a high price because of its low sulfur content. Half of all
exports go to the United States, and most of the other half to Europe
Nigeria has Africa’s largest reserves of natural gas, most of which are
associated with the oil fields. Despite efforts to develop markets for
natural gas—including investment in gas-fired electrical installations, a
liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant, and fertilizer and chemical
ventures—about three-quarters of gas production is burned off rather than
diverted for use.

Production of coal has declined to about 63,000 metric tons, far less
than the late 1950s production, largely because the Enugu coalfields are
almost exhausted. The government is attempting to boost production by
developing new fields at Lafia and Obi in Benue State. Also in sharp
decline are production of tin (2,000 metric tons per year) and columbite,
which have been mined from alluvial gravels on the Jos Plateau since
1905 but which now yield about 1 percent of their late-1960s levels.
Other major mining operations include iron ore, which is exploited for the
steel industry.