Info4Migrants NIGERIA PROFILE 1 AREA 923 768 km2 POPULATION 174,5 million GDP per capita $3416 CURRENCY NAIRA Language ENGLISH 2 MAIN INFORMATION “Nigeria - Location Map (2013) - NGA - UNOCHA” by OCHA. Licensed under CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/ File:Nigeria_-_Location_Map_(2013)_-_NGA_-_UNO- CHA.svg#mediaviewer/File:Nigeria_-_Location_Map_ (2013)_-_NGA_-_UNOCHA.svg Location: Federal Republic of Nigeria is a country in Western Africa. It borders wtih Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, Niger in the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the south. Capital: Abuja. The biggest city is Lagos. Flag Climate: semi-dry in the northern part of the country, while in the southern parts it can be characterized with high levels of humidity. Ethnicity: Nigeria is the most populated African country and holds 8th place in the world in terms of number of population. There are three main ethnic groups co- inhabiting on its territories – Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba, and along with them hundreds of other ethnicities and tribes with small numbers. Coat of Arms Religion: the religious belonging of the Nigerian population is almost equally distributed between Islam (50%) and Christianity (40%). The other 10% of the population follow traditional religions. Government: presidential republic. “Coat of Arms of Nigeria” by Lumia1234 - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Coat_of_ 3 Arms_of_Nigeria.svg#mediaviewer/File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Nigeria.svg FOREIGN RELATIONS After gaining its independence in 1960, Nigeria defines unity of Africa as its main goal in its foreign policy. The only exception from the focus on Africa is the tight relations which the country maintains with Israel in the 60s, when Israel finances and controls the building of the government offices in Nigeria. Nigeria supports the African National Congress. The country is one of the founders of the Organization for African Unity (today called African Union) and has a great influence in Africa. Nigeria is the founder of several regional initiatives for cooperation in Western Africa, among which the Economic Community for West African States (ECOWAS) and ECOMOG, the respective economic and military organization. During the 70s Nigeria supports several pan-African movements, as well as movements for self-governance in countries like Angola, Namibia and Mozambique. In the end of November 2006 Nigeria organizes in Abuja a meeting between Africa and South Africa. Nigeria is a member of the International Court of Justice and the Commonwealth of Nations (a unity of countries which in the past have been part of the British Empire). In 1995 Nigeria is temporarily excluded from the Commonwealth of Nation due to Abacha’s regime. Nigeria plays a key role in the petrol industry even back in the 70s of the last century and is an OPEC member since 1971. This role of important producer of petrol leads to frequent changes in the relations between Nigeria and countries like the USA, China, Jamaica, Ghana and Kenya. Due to the economic difficulties in the country, many Nigerians have emigrated to Europe, North America and Australia. Over one million Nigerians live in the USA. 4 Photo by Teasmileland at freedigitalphotos.net FACTS ABOUT NIGERIA Coat of Arms The coat of arms of Nigeria is a black shield (a symbol of the fertile soil) with two white lines that form in a “Y” shape – Niger and Benue Rivers. There are two white horses around the shield, representing the dignity of the nation. They have stepped on a green field with red flowers - costus spectabilis – the symbol flower of Nigeria. There is an eagle above the shield that represents the strength and under it is the Nigerian motto “Unity and faith, peace and progress”. “Coat of Arms of Nigeria” by Lumia1234 - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons. wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Nigeria.svg#mediaview- er/File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Nigeria.svg Language The official language in Nigeria is the English – the aim of choosing it was to encourage the cultural and linguistic unity of the country. In addition to the English language, over 500 local languages are being spoken in Nigeria; some of the most widely used ones’ being Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba. The languages that are spoken in Nigeria belong to three families of African languages – Afro-asiatic, Nilo-Saharan and Niger-Congo. Some of the languages are still not classified and are being spoken from a very small number of people in the village regions of the country. Governance Nigeria is a presidential republic. The president is the head of the executive power. The president of Nigeria is elected by the people for a period of four years, and cannot be elected for more than two consecutive mandates. The National Assembly is bicameral and includes a Senate and a House of Representatives. 5 FACTS ABOUT NIGERIA Abuja Abuja is a planned city, built almost entirely in the 80s of the previous century, after a decision was taken that the capital of Lagos, is not longer functional enough. Abuja became officially the capital of Nigeria on 12.12.1991. Abuja is situated in central Nigeria on a place which is considered neutral by all the tribes of the country; the goal was for the city to symbolize the unity of the nation. Its location was determined by the two rock monoliths – Aso and Zuma, formed after erosion. Today the city is an important cultural and “Nigeriahouseofreps” by Shiraz Chakera - The administrative center with a modern look, which House of Representatives. Licensed under CC attracts more and more inhabitants from all over the BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://com- mons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nigeriahouseofreps. country. jpg#mediaviewer/File:Nigeriahouseofreps.jpg In the antiquity The earliest data about settlers on the territory of Nigeria dates back to 9000 BC. There is proof for the existence of shepherds and farmers, as well as pottery work around 4000 BC. Furnaces for melting metals, dating back to 4th century BC have been found in Taruga – probably the oldest ever found. These lands have been in the heart of a large commercial network in ancient Africa. Until the 16th century dozens of kingdoms have been formed, the biggest one being kingdom Nri, founded in 9th century. It exists for about 1000 years, and despite its small territory it has a huge cultural and political influence over southeastern Nigeria. With the time “Yoruba-bronze-head” by WaynaQhapaq - English Wikipedia. Licensed under Public Domain via Wi- more powerful countries emerge, like Yoruba, Ife, kimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia. org/wiki/File:Yoruba-bronze-head.jpg#mediaview- Oyo and Benin Empire, Calabar Kingdom and a er/File:Yoruba-bronze-head.jpg number of city-states. 6 FACTS ABOUT NIGERIA Biodiversity Nigeria has a large diversity of plants and animal species. The region around town Calabar is considered to have the richest diversity of butterflies in the world, and the drill monkey inhabits only the southeastern parts of Nigeria and the northwestern regions of neighboring Cameroon. The border mountain regions to the southeast are rich in animal species, some of which are the cross-river gorilla, the extremely rare Nigerian chimpanzee, the endemic country bird Ibadan Malimbe. Three main ecosystems can be distinguished clearly in the country – semi-desert and savannas to the north, equatorial forests in the central and southern parts of the country, and coastal ecosystems along the ocean cost or river basins. Economy Nigeria has the third largest economy in Africa, after Egypt and the Republic of South Africa. Nigeria has the largest natural gas reserves in Africa and the 7th biggest in terms of volume in the world, as well as the 10th biggest in terms of petrol volumes. It is the biggest OPEC member state and exports the 5th biggest volume of petrol in the world, overpassing countries like Iran, Iraq and Norway. The economic development of the country has been detained in the past by numerous war conflicts, corruption and bad governance, but the gradual introduction of democracy and the successful Photo by meepoohfoto at freedigi- reforms allow Nigeria to develop its economic talphotos.net potential. During the last couple of years the GDP has risen with 8-9%, which is one of the highest in the world. 7 FACTS ABOUT NIGERIA Food independency Agriculture is the main source of sustenance for more than 60 million people inhabiting the village areas of Nigeria. Many important vegetable crops that are widely used in agriculture (especially in Africa) have emerged in Nigeria - sorghum, yams and West African rice. The main agricultural crops that are raised here are: millet, palm oil, cocoa, peanuts, sugar cane, rice and others. Photo by africa at freedigitalphotos.net Religion The religious identity of the Nigerian population is almost equally distributed between Islam (50%) and Christianity (40%). The other 10% of the population follow traditional religions. The Muslim population is concentrated in the north; while the Christians are disperses in the southern parts of the country. Since 1953 the number of Christians has increased, the Christians in that year have been 13%. Most of them are Protestants, minor part are Catholics. Hausa tribe is the main part of the Photo by artur84 and Vichaya Kiaty- population that adheres to Sunni Islam. ing-Angsulee at freedigitalphotos.net National identity The colonial rulership of Great Britain for the first time leads to the union of the Nigerians. Their mutual fight makes them stop thinking about themselves in terms of belonging to Hausa, Igbo or Yoruba, but rather as being a unified nation. The urbanization and education also contribute to the unification of the Nigerians and they gradually realize that they have much more things in common than they have supposed.