2. • Capital: Abuja
• Nigeria is divided into 36 states and 1 Federal Capital
Territory.
• Lagos is the largest city in Nigeria with a population of
over 8 million people.
3. • Nigeria has a recorded history dating back to 999 A.D.
• The oldest signs of human settlement date back to the
9th century.
• The Kingdom of Nri of the Igbo people started in the
10th century and continued until British colonization in
1911.
• The Spanish and Portuguese began trade in Nigeria
during the 16th century.
• The Spanish, Portuguese, and other Europeans took
part in the slave trade and transported Nigerians to the
Americas.
4. • On January 1, 1901, Nigeria became a British
protectorate, part of the British empire, the foremost
world power at the time.
• Nigeria was divided into 3 provinces: the northern
and southern provinces and Lagos Colony.
• Nigeria fought back against the British in the 19th and
20th century to regain their independence.
• After World War II, there was a growth of Nigerian
nationalism, which led to their independence from
Great Britain on October 1, 1960.
5. • After independence, Nigeria’s government was a
coalition of conservative parties led by Nnamdi
Azikiwe
• In 1963, Nigeria declared itself as a Federal
Republic, with Nnamdi Azikiwe as its first
president.
6. • The corruption of the political process in 1966 led
to back-to-back military coups.
• President Nwafor Orizu was pressured to hand
over the government to the Nigeria Army.
• The Eastern region voted to declare independence
as a state called the Republic of Biafra.
• The Civil War began as Western and Northern
Nigeria attacked the Republic of Biafra, which
resulted in a 30 month war.
7. • Nigeria is a Federal Republic modeled after the
United States.
• In 1999 Nigeria regained democracy, ending 33 years
of military rule.
• The current president of Nigeria is Goodluck
Jonathan.
• The president presides as both Head of State and
head of the national executive and is elected by
popular vote to a maximum of 2 four-year terms.
8. • Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa with
over 160 million people.
• One out of every four Africans are Nigerian.
• In Nigeria, there are over 250 ethnic groups.
• The largest ethnic groups include: Fulani/Huasa,
Yoruba, and Igbo. These 3 ethnic groups account
for 62% of the population.
9. • There are 521 languages in Nigeria, including 510
living languages, 2 second languages, and 9 extinct
languages.
• The official language is English.
• The major languages spoken in Nigeria represent
three major families of African languages, with the
majority being Niger-Congo languages.
10. • Although Nigeria is home to a variety of religions, it is
divided equally between Islam and Christianity.
• 50.4% are Muslim and 48.2% are Christians.
• The majority of Nigerian Muslims are Sunni.
11. • As of 2003, Nigeria has the second largest
newspaper market in Africa, selling an estimated
several million copies daily.
• The Nigerian video-film industry, known as
Nollywood, is the second-largest producer of movies
in the world.
• Nigeria’s national football team, the Super Eagles,
has made the World Cup four times.
• According to the 2010 FIFA World Rankings, Nigeria
was the second top-ranked football team in Africa.
