Nigeria

Nigeria (in English): [na strung strung ]( listen)), officially Federal Republic of NigeriaIt is a West African country, which borders Niger to the north, with Chad in the northeast, with Cameroon in the east and with Benin in the west. Its southern coast is located in the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean. The federation comprises 36 states and 1 federal territory, where the capital is located, Abuya. The constitution defines Nigeria as a secular democratic state.

Nigeria has been home to various ancient and indigenous kingdoms and states for millennia. The modern state originated from British colonial rule, beginning in the 19th century, and took its current territorial form with the merger of Southern Nigeria Protectorate and Northern Nigeria Protectorate in 1914 by Lord Fredrick Lugard. The British established administrative and legal structures while practicing indirect rule through traditional chiefdoms. Nigeria became a formally independent federation in 1960. It experienced a civil war from 1967 to 1970. It subsequently alternated between democratically elected civilian governments and military dictatorships until it achieved stable democracy in 1999, with the 2011 presidential election being the first to be considered. as reasonably free and fair.

Nigeria is often referred to as the 'Giant of Africa', due to its large population and economy. With 206 million people, Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and the seventh most populous country in the world. Nigeria has the third largest youth population in the world, after India and China, with more than 90 million of its population under the age of eighteen. Nigeria is the 20th largest economy in the world as of of 2015, worth more than $500 billion and $1 trillion in nominal GDP and purchasing power parity terms, respectively. The 2013 debt-to-GDP ratio was 11 percent.

Nigeria is a multinational state, inhabited by 250 ethnic groups, of which the three largest are the Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba. These ethnic groups speak more than 500 different languages and identify with a wide variety of cultures. The official language of Nigeria is English, chosen to facilitate linguistic unity at the national level. Nigeria is divided roughly evenly between Christians, who live mainly in the southern part of the country, and Muslims, who live mainly in the north. A minority of the population practices indigenous Nigerian religions, such as those native to the Igbo and Yoruba ethnic groups.

Nigeria is considered an emerging market by the World Bank; it has been identified as a regional power on the African continent, a middle power in international affairs, and also as an emerging global power. However, it ranks 158th in the Human Development Index globally. Nigeria is a member of the MINT group of countries, which are widely seen as the next "BRIC" of the world. It is also among the "next eleven" economies that will become the largest in the world. Nigeria is a founding member of the African Union and a member of many other international organizations, including the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Nations, and OPEC.

Etymology

The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River that flows through the country. This name was coined in the late 19th century by the British journalist Flora Shaw, who later married Lord Lugard, an administrator british colonial. The origin of the name Niger, which originally applied only to the middle reaches of the Niger River, is uncertain. The word is probably an alteration of the name egerew n-igerewen (river of rivers) used by the inhabitants along the middle reaches of the river around Timbuktu before the European colonialism of the XIX.

History

The Kanem-Bornu Empire near Lake Oiiee dominated northern Nigeria beginning in the 13th century for almost 600 years, prospering thanks to north-south trade with the northern Berbers. In the early years of the 19th century, most of the northern areas came under the control of an Islamic empire based in Sokoto.

The kingdom of Oyo in the southwest and the kingdom of Benin in the southeast developed elaborate systems of political organization in the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries. Ife and Benin are known for their precious works of art in ivory, wood, bronze and brass.

Territorial situation in West Africa by 1875

Illustration of Benin City, present Nigeria.

In the 17th and 19th centuries, European traders established coastal ports for the slave trade destined for the Americas. Merchandise trade replaced the slave trade in the 19th century.

The Royal Niger Company was established by the British government in 1886. Nigeria became a British protectorate in 1901, and a colony in 1914. In response to the growth of Nigerian nationalism after World War II, the British replaced the colony for a kind of autonomy on a federal basis.

The name Nigeria first appeared in print in The Times newspaper in 1897. It was named by Flora Shaw, the future wife of Baron Lugard, a 19th-century British administrator XIX.

Nigeria was granted full independence on October 1, 1960, as a federation of three regions, each retaining a substantial degree of autonomy.

In 1966, two successive coups by different groups of army officers brought the country into military rule. The leaders of the second coup tried to increase the power of the federal government and replaced the regional governments with 12 state governments. The Igbos, the dominant ethnic group in the eastern region, declared independence as the Republic of Biafra in 1967, followed by persecutions in the northern states that led to the extermination of 30,000 Igbos. After the declaration of independence of Biafra, the war broke out with the Federal Government. Under Brigadiers Adekunle, Obasanjo and Murtala Mohammed, a systematic and amphibious plan of attack involving heavy aerial bombardment and starvation forced the Biafran rebels to capitulate. On January 15, faced with the option of surrender and the total destruction of the Biafran population, Philip Effiong, Chief of Staff of the rebel army, agreed to terms of surrender to Yakubu Gowon, Chief of the federally dominated North.

In 1975 a bloody coup overthrew Gowon and brought Murtala Ramat Mohammed to power, who promised a return to civilian rule. However, he was assassinated in an aborted coup, and was succeeded by his chief of staff, Olusegun Obasanjo. A new constitution was drawn up in 1977, and elections were held in 1979, which were won by Shehu Shagari.

Nigeria returned to military rule in 1983, through a coup that established the Supreme Military Council as the country's new governing body. Boss M.K.O. Abiola won the June 1993 presidential election, which was canceled by the military government of General Ibrahim Babangida. An interim national government was established, headed by Chief Ernest Shonekan. The Government was declared illegal and unconstitutional by a High Court, and General Sani Abacha assumed power. He imprisoned Chief M.K.O. Abiola and looted the National Treasury. Many people were killed during the Babangida and Abacha regime; among the most notable is Ken Saro-Wiwa. Ken Saro-Wiwa was an internationally known and respected journalist whose murder shocked many inside and outside the world of journalism. His family went to trial and filed charges against the Nigerian government through the New York court system.

Abacha's reign of terror came to an end when he died suddenly and in 1998 Abdulsalami Abubakar became head of the Provisional Ruling Council.

Lifted the suspension of the 1979 constitution to free Chief M.K.O. Abiola, the winner of the 1993 election before the latter died in July 1998, a fact that medical experts initially attributed to natural causes; later, this death was considered as death by poisonous substance. Court cases since Abiola's death have brought to light that he was poisoned.^{[citation needed]}

In 1999, Nigeria elected Olusegun Obasanjo as president in its first elections in 16 years. Obasanjo and his party also won the turbulent elections of 2003. The success of the democratic dream in Nigeria raises serious doubts after the assassination of the former Minister of Justice, Bola Ige, a lawyer for peace, justice and political openness; and in particular due to the 2007 legislative and presidential elections that presented irregularities and due to a series of confrontations that caused the death of several people.

Politics

Nigeria is a federal republic modeled on the United States, with executive power exercised by the president and with features of the Westminster System model in the composition and management of the upper and lower house of the legislative system. The current president of Nigeria is Muhammadu Buhari, who succeeded Goodluck Jonathan in 2015. The president is the head of state and head of the executive branch, under the 1999 constitution, the president is elected for a four-year term, renewable once.

Nigerian National Assembly Headquarters

Muhammadu Buhari, who ruled the country for two years after a military coup in 1983, is the current president of the country, winning by absolute majority with 53.23% of the valid votes cast in the elections held on 28 March 2015. Buhari had already been a presidential candidate and defeated in the 2003, 2007 and 2011 elections.

The first elections after the 1983 military coup were the 1992 Nigerian parliamentary elections.

The parliament, whose members are elected by universal suffrage for four years, is bicameral; The House of Representatives has 360 deputies and the Senate has 109 members.

Political Parties

In 2022, the Nigerian Senate and House of Representatives are dominated by three parties:

The Popular Democratic Party (People's Democratic Party) was the ruling party for the first 16 years of the Fourth Republic. He is striving to rehabilitate his negative Jonathan-era image before the 2015 anti-corruption election. In this regard, leading candidate Abubakar appears to be dealing with maverick state governors from his own party (especially Governor Wike) rather than his political opponents.

The All Progressives Congress is a coalition of smaller neoliberal parties formed to oppose President Jonathan, considered by some of his opponents to be corrupt. The Progressives swept Muhammadu Buhari to the presidency in 2015 and have been the ruling party ever since. With the generally respected ministers Fashola (Public Works) and Amaechi (Transport), the progressives present themselves as a competent alternative.

The Nigerian Labor Party (Labor Party) has so far been an outsider in the Fourth Republic. This could change with the 2023 presidential election, as Labor candidate and businessman Peter Obi (as of October 2022) leads significantly in some opinion polls. On National Day, October 1, 2022, the Labor election rally in Lagos was well attended. There were also "million marches" in a dozen other cities such as Aba, Kaduna and Asaba.

Laws

Nigerian Senate Building

The Constitution of Nigeria is the supreme law of the land. There are four distinct legal systems in Nigeria, including English law, common law, common law, and sharia (applied only in some parts of Nigeria):

• English law in Nigeria consists of the collection of British laws of the colonial era.
• Anglo-Saxon Law is the set of judicial decisions authorized in the field of civil law (the so-called precedents) that have been made in the country concerned, in this case Nigeria. (This system is mainly found in Anglo-Saxon countries; in continental Europe, however, the coded civil law predominates and, to the extent possible, abstracted, as in the Napoleon Code in France.)
• Customary law derives from indigenous traditional norms and practices, including dispute resolution meetings of pre-colonial Yoruba land secret societies and Èkpè and Okónkò of Igboland and Ibibioland.
• Sharia (also known as Islamic law) was only used in northern Nigeria, where Islam is the predominant religion. Muslims also use it in the states of Lagos, Oyo, Kwara, Ogun and Osun. Muslim penal codes are not equal in all states and differentiate in punishment and crimes according to religious affiliation (e.g., alcohol consumption and distribution).

The country has a judiciary, the highest court of which is the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

Nigeria Air Force

Defense

The Nigerian Armed Forces have various elements that combined are responsible for guaranteeing the country's sovereignty. Nigeria. They are made up of three branches of uniformed services: the Nigerian Army, the Nigerian Navy and the Nigerian Air Force. The President of Nigeria acts as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, exercising his constitutional authority through the Ministry of Defence, which is responsible for the management of the armed forces and their personnel. The operational head of the AFN is the Chief of the Defense Staff, who reports to the Nigerian Defense Minister. With a force of more than 223,000 active personnel, the Nigerian Army is one of the largest uniformed combat services in Africa.

Nigeria has 143,000 armed forces (army 100,000, navy 25,000, air force 18,000) and another 80,000 for "gendarmerie and paramilitaries" in 2020, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies. By comparison, Poland has 114,500 armed forces and "paramilitaries" and Germany 183,500, according to the same source.

The Nigerian Navy NNS Thunder (F90)

Nigeria spent just under 0.4% of its economic output, or $1.6 billion, on its military in 2017. By 2022, $2.26 billion has been budgeted for the Nigerian military, which it accounts for just over a third of Belgium's defense budget ($5.99 billion).

The Chief of the Defense Staff since January 2021 is General Lucky Irabor, an expert in the fight against terrorism. The Defense Staff also includes the Army Chiefs of Staff, Lieutenant General Faruk Yahaya, of the Air Staff, Marshal Isiaka Oladayo Amao, and Navy Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo.

Human Rights

In terms of human rights, regarding membership of the seven bodies of the International Bill of Human Rights, which include the Human Rights Committee (HRC), Nigeria has signed or ratified:

Status of major international human rights instruments

Nigeria	International treaties
	CESCR		CCPR			CERD	CED	CEDAW		CAT		CRC			MWC	CRPD
	CESCR	CESCR-OP	CCPR	CCPR-OP1	CCPR-OP2-DP			CEDAW	CEDAW-OP	CAT	CAT-OP	CRC	CRC-OP-AC	CRC-OP-SC		CRPD	CRPD-OP
Pertenence
Signed and ratified, signed, but not ratified, neither signed nor ratified, without information, it has agreed to sign and ratify the body concerned, but also recognizes the competence to receive and process individual communications from the competent bodies.

Cadets of the Nigerian Police Academy

The radical Islamic extremist group Boko Haram, which operates mostly in northern Nigeria, has been responsible for numerous serious terror attacks with thousands of casualties since mid-2010. Since then, according to the Council on Foreign Relations Nigeria Security Tracker, more than 41,600 lives have been lost in this conflict (as of October 2022). The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, counts around 1.8 million internally displaced persons and some 200,000 Nigerian refugees in neighboring countries fled fighting in northeastern Nigeria.

States affected by Boko Haram agreed in February 2015 to establish an 8,700-strong Multinational Joint Force to jointly fight this radical group. By October 2015, Boko Haram had been expelled from every city it controlled and almost every county in north-eastern Nigeria. In 2016, Boko Haram broke away and by 2022 40,000 fighters had surrendered. The ISWAP (Islamic State in West Africa) splinter group is still active.

The fight against Boko Haram, other sectarians and criminals has been accompanied by an increase in police attacks. The Council on Foreign Relations' Nigeria Security Tracker counted 1,086 deaths from Boko Haram attacks and 290 deaths from police violence in the first 12 months since its inception in May 2011. In the 12 months after October 2021, 2,193 people died from police violence and 498 by Boko Haram and the ISWAP, according to the NST. The Nigerian police have a reputation for taking justice into their own hands.

The Niger Delta suffered intense attacks on oil infrastructure in 2016 by militant groups including the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), the Niger Delta People's Volunteer Force (NDPVF), the Congress National Ijaw (INC) and the Pandelta Forum of Niger (PANDEF). In response, the new Buhari government pursued a dual strategy of repression and negotiation.

Embassy of Nigeria in Bern, Switzerland

Foreign Relations

After gaining independence in 1960, Nigeria made African unity the lynchpin of its foreign policy. An exception to the African focus was the close relationship Nigeria developed with Israel throughout the 1960s. Israel sponsored and oversaw the construction of the Nigerian Parliament buildings.

Nigeria's foreign policy was tested in the 1970s after the country emerged united from its civil war. He supported movements against white minority governments in the southern African sub-region. Nigeria backed the African National Congress by taking a committed line of firmness with the South African government. Nigeria was a founding member of the Organization for African Unity (now the African Union) and has enormous influence in West Africa and Africa in general. Nigeria founded regional cooperation initiatives in West Africa, acting as a flag bearer for the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and ECOMOG (especially during the civil wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone), which are economic and military organizations, respectively..

With this Africa-focused stance, Nigeria did not hesitate to send troops to the Congo at the behest of the United Nations soon after independence (and has remained a member ever since). In the 1970s, Nigeria also supported various pan-African and self-rule causes, such as support for the Angolan MPLA, Namibian SWAPO, and opposition to the racist minority governments of Portuguese Mozambique and Rhodesia. Nigeria remains a member of the Non-Aligned Movement. In late November 2006, he organized an Africa-South America Summit in Abuja to promote what some attendees called "South-South" on various fronts. Nigeria is also a member of the International Criminal Court and the Commonwealth of Nations. She was temporarily expelled from the latter in 1995, when the Abacha regime governed.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nigeria

Nigeria has remained a key player in the international oil industry since the 1970s and maintains its membership of OPEC, which it joined in July 1971. Its status as a major oil producer looms large in its relations international, sometimes volatile, relationships with developed countries, especially the United States, and with developing countries.

Since the year 2000, trade relations between China and Nigeria have increased exponentially. There has been an increase in total trade of more than $10.384 billion between the two nations from 2000 to 2016. However, the structure of the Sino-Nigerian trade relationship has become a major political issue for the Nigerian state. This is illustrated by the fact that Chinese exports account for about 80% of the total volume of bilateral trade, which has led to a severe trade imbalance, as Nigeria imports ten times more than it exports to China. Subsequently, the Nigerian economy is becoming excessively dependent on cheap imports from China to sustain itself, resulting in a clear decline of Nigerian industry under such arrangements.

Continuing its Africa-focused foreign policy, Nigeria introduced the idea of a single West African currency known as the Echo under the assumption that it would be led by the naira. But on December 21, 2019, Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara, Emmanuel Macron and multiple other UEMOA states announced that they would simply rename the CFA franc rather than replace the currency as originally intended.. In 2020 it was announced that the Eco currency would delay its implementation until 2025.

Territorial organization

Nigeria is organized into 36 states and one federal district: the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja. In turn, the states are divided into Local Government Areas (774 in total).

States
Abia, Adamawa, Akua Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Gombe, Imo, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Nasarawa, Niger, Ogún, Ondo, Osún River, Sokoba

The oba de Lagos, the traditional ruler of the city.

Traditional governance

In Nigeria there are a series of traditional titles, whose origin is in the forms of government (the Oba in the kingdom of Benin, the Obong among the Ibibios, the Emir among the Hausa Muslim states...) pre-existing in the current Nigeria before its colonization by the British Empire. Many are hereditary and comparable to the noble titles of ancient Europe. Although they are not recognized by the Nigerian constitution, they do have some influence in Nigerian politics and society. In many cases they serve as mediation between the government and the population. Furthermore, as authority figures and resolvers of minor conflicts, they provide relief for an often inadequate government Administration.

Geography

Roca Zuma, a monolith of rock that is considered a natural monument of the country.

Nigeria has large valleys where agriculture is important.

Major cities include the capital Abuja, the former capital Lagos, Abeokuta, Port Harcourt, Kano and Benin City.

Nigeria is situated in North Africa on the Gulf of Guinea and has a total area of 923,768 km², making it the 32nd largest country in the world (after Tanzania). It is comparable in size to Venezuela. It shares a 4,047-kilometre border: 773 km with Benin, 1,497 km with Niger, 87 km with Chad, 1,690 km with Cameroon, and has a coastline of about 853 km.

The main rivers of Nigeria are the Niger and the Benue which converge and flow into the Niger Delta, the largest in the world.

The relief of Nigeria is dominated by the valleys of these rivers in the shape of a "Y", the coastal plain is formed by fluvial contributions and its width varies between 20 and 100 km, towards the To the north, the terrain slopes down towards the region of the miada and Lake Chad, which are only 250 m above sea level and whose shores constitute a swampy region. The highest point in Nigeria is Chappal Waddi with 2,419 m, located in the southeast, near the border with Cameroon, further north rises the Bauchi plateau, granite in nature, which connects with the great system of highlands of Niger and Chad. and that in some of its points, such as the Murchison mountains, exceed 2,000 meters.

Climate

Nigeria has a warm climate with a low annual temperature range. In the coastal strip there are intense rains that oscillate between 1,500 and 2,000 mm per year (see Pluvisilva); the atmosphere is very humid. Inland, rainfall decreases (Kaduma, 1227 mm). In the far north, rainfall does not usually exceed 600-700 mm (Katsina, 710 mm).

Climate change

This section is a climate change extract in Nigeria.[chuckles]edit]

Climate classification map of Köppen planned for Nigeria for 2071-2100.

This woman sells fruits to the side of the road, depending on the seasonal fruit. she brings her child to help her every time she is on vacation at school.

Climate change in Nigeria is evident from rising temperatures, variability of precipitation (increasing precipitation in coastal areas and declining rainfall in continental areas), drought, desertification, sea level rise, erosion, floods, electric storms, lightning, forest fires, landslides, degradation and loss of biodiversity. This will continue to negatively affect human life and ecosystems in Nigeria. Although depending on the location, the regions experience climate change with significantly higher temperatures during dry seasons, while rains during rainy seasons help keep the temperature at smoother levels.

There are some comprehensive reports and documents that provide useful evidence and discussion on the various impacts of climate change across Nigeria. However, the vast majority of literature providing evidence of impacts and responses to climate change focuses on the agricultural sector and individual agricultural communities in particular regions of the country. The discussion of other mitigation and adaptation measures in literature often takes the form of recommendations, rather than examples of what has already been achieved.

This is probably due to the need for much greater implementation of mitigation and adaptation measures in Nigeria. Furthermore, while there is some discussion on capacity-building needed at the individual, group and community levels to participate in climate change responses, much less attention is paid to higher levels of capacity at the state and national levels.

The challenges associated with climate change are not the same throughout the country due to the two precipitation regimes: high precipitation in parts of the south-east and south-west and low precipitation in the north. These regimes can result in aridity, desertification and drought in the north; erosion and flooding in the south.

Ecology

The dominant biomes in Nigeria are savannah in the north and center and jungle in the south.

According to WWF, the main savannah ecoregions in Nigeria are the western Sudanese savannah in the north and the Guinean jungle-savanna mosaic in the center of the country. The far northeast is occupied by the Sahelian acacia savannah and, on the shores of Lake Chad, the Lake Chad flooded savannah; The Hadejia-Nguru wetland also belongs to this last ecoregion, at the confluence of the Hadejia and Jama'are rivers, in the center-north of the country. In the Mandara massif, on the border with Cameroon, is the mosaic of the Mandara massif.

The rainforests of southern Nigeria are categorized, from east to west, into Cameroon Range Forest, Cameroon Range, bordering Cameroon; Cross-Sanaga and Bioko coastal forest, between the Cross River and the border with Cameroon; Cross-Niger transition forest, between the Cross and Niger rivers; Niger Delta swamp forest, and Nigerian lowland forest, between the Niger River and the Benin border.

Most of Nigeria's coastline is framed by central African mangrove swamps, and the country's ecological diversity is rounded out by the montane grassland of the Jos Plateau jungle-grassland mosaic.

Infrastructure

First Nigerian port with a depth of 16.5 m, state of July 2022 (at the bottom of the free trade zone)

Sea ports

Until now, there is no port in Nigeria deeper than 13 meters. This is going to change with the deep water port of Lekki. The port is expected to be fully completed in September 2022 and to come into operation at the end of the same year. It has a depth of 16.5m, can service Post-Panamax vessels and will increase Nigeria's port capacity by five times.

Bridges

The second bridge over the Niger in Onitsha

In 2022, 37 bridges will be maintained and repaired throughout the country, some of which have been pending payment for decades. Among them is the bridge that connects the mainland with the island of Bonny, from where crude oil is loaded from the same name. Also the Loko-Oweto Bridge project, the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos, the Murtala Mohammed Bridge in Koton Karfi and the Isaac Boro Bridge in Port Harcourt. Others are the Chanchangi bridge, in the state of Niger, and the Tambuwara bridge, in Kano.

The second bridge over the Niger at Onitsha is nearing completion (in January 2022).

Rail transport

Railway network, Nigeria, 2022

"Nigerian Railway Corporation" registered record revenues of 2,120 million naira (about 4,664 million euros) in the first half of 2021, representing an increase of 31% over the same period in 2019, in which the previous revenue record was recorded. Within this, revenue from freight transport declined, with profit coming mainly from passenger transport between Lagos and Ibadan on the new standard gauge.

Rail network

None of the NRC lines are electrified. 157 kilometers are double track. They lie between Lagos and Ibadan. The railway lines are mostly built with rails with a weight per meter of 29.8 kg, 34.7 kg or 39.7 kg. In total, the NRC network is almost 4,000 kilometers in length. The government is studying the possibility of converting the existing track network from gauge to standard gauge.

Cape Gauge

The Nigerian Railway Corporation operates a network of 3,505 kilometers of lines on Cape gauge.

As of 9 March 2021, the 1,443 km Eastern rail line between Port Harcourt and Maiduguri is under construction, including renewal or reconstruction of existing lines. The project also includes new branches to Owerri and Damaturu, increasing the total length to 2,044 km. Completion is scheduled for 2024.

Financing for the Lagos-Calabar railway line along the Nigerian coast, to be built under Chinese management, was released in early 2021, but the start of works appears to be pushed back to a date after the general election Nigerians of 2023.

The line to Gusau has been closed since a bridge collapsed in 2002.

The NRC network is not yet connected to the rail network of neighboring states. However, in February 2021, with commissioning scheduled for 2023, construction began on a full gauge line from Kano to Maradi, the second largest city in Niger, under the auspices of the Portuguese company Mota-Engil. SGPS SA, which will be one of the first railway lines in Niger.

The city of Lagos is building a light rail network with a "Blue Line" and a "Red Line". The works are well advanced (as of February 2022) and the start of operations is scheduled for the last quarter of 2022. The first two trains were purchased from the Spanish manufacturer Talgo.

Standard Gauge

The new central station of Lagos, Mobolaji Johnson

Inland, a standard gauge network is being developed.

The New Agege Train Station, Babatunde Fashola

The oldest standard gauge line is the original 217-kilometre line that runs from Oturkpo to the Ajaokuta steel works. A previous 51.5 km standard gauge line ran between the Itakp mines and the Ajaokuta steel works. On 29 September 2020, an extension, the Warri-Itakpe railway, was officially inaugurated by President Muhammadu Buhari in a virtual ceremony. In 2018, China Civil Engineering Construction employees working on the project had been attacked in two occasions by 'bandits'. Passenger trains have been running on the standard gauge line since October 2020 and freight trains since April 2021. There are also plans for an extension here: from Ajaokuta to Abuja. In this way, the line would have a length of 500 kilometers. Another planned route runs from Port Harcourt to Makurdi over a length of 463 kilometers.

Abeokuta's new train station

In February 2011, the Chinese construction company CCECC started the construction of the Abuja-Kaduna line and its inauguration finally took place on July 26, 2016. The total cost was 870 million of dollars. The 186.5-kilometre line, which starts at Idu 20 kilometers west of central Abuja, requires two hours of travel for high-speed trains with a maximum speed of 100 km/h. In August 2020, the NRC reported that about 50% of the revenue of its entire rail network (about 4,000 km) would be generated by the Abuja-Kaduna standard gauge line (186 km) Which Nigerians like to take the train between the capital, Abuja, and the next largest city, Kaduna, also has compelling reasons. In fact, the "highway" between the two cities is a constant target of raiders. Traveling by train is, therefore, the safest alternative to the car for the inhabitants of both cities. In 2019, a train traveler says: "I have been kidnapped and now I only travel by train!" Celebrities are affected too: As recently as November 20, 2021, the candidate to the governorate of Zamfara state, Sagir Hamidu, was killed in a mugging on the Abuja-Kaduna highway. Train traveler Agatha Ameh says: "Some people continue to travel by road because it is cheaper. I prefer the train service any day and at any time. It's safer, easier and even faster". He especially praises the e-ticketing platform on the Abuja-Kaduna route.

The new train station in Ibadán

The double track line Lagos-Ibadan has been built by the CCECC since March 2017 and was inaugurated at the new Lagos central station on June 10, 2021. It is 157 km long and passes through Abeokuta. It is the first standard gauge double track line in West Africa. A Lagos-Ibadan trip lasts two and a half hours, half the equivalent trip by car. All compartments (standard class, business class and first class) have air conditioning and three overhead screens. The window seats are equipped with power outlets and USB charging stations. Criticisms include the fact that tickets are not available online and are only paid for in cash, and that there are only two trips a day in each direction. Existing gauge tracks will be used by the "Red Line" of the Lagos Light Rail, currently under construction.

Modern station buildings have been built on all new standard gauge lines. The new mainline station in Lagos, Mobolaji Johnson, for example, offers air-conditioned waiting rooms, disabled track access, airport-like departure time display boards, clean toilets, trained emergency staff medical etc

Rolling stock

Talgo 8

The NRC owns nearly 200 diesel locomotives, up to 75% of which are not in service. In addition, it has 54 shunting locomotives, 480 passenger wagons and 4,900 freight wagons. Less than 50% of the wagons are in operational condition.

For passengers, passenger trains run with sleeping cars, 1st class cars with air conditioning and 2nd class cars without air conditioning. Trains going to and from Lagos also have dining cars.

In 2010 the fleet of traction units was renewed. The NRC purchased 25 new C25 type six-axle locomotives from General Electric.

The Governor of Lagos State purchased two 8 series trains from the Spanish manufacturer Talgo in January 2022. These will be in service on the new "red line" of the Lagos light rail at the end of the year.

Technical details

The NRC uses the so-called ABC coupling, which is derived from the Janney coupling. The braking system used by the NRC is a vacuum braking system, which is also used by other railway companies around the world.

Economy

Lagos is now a modern and densely populated city.

Since oil was discovered in the 1960s, coinciding with ceasing to be a colony of the United Kingdom, the Nigerian economy went from being agricultural and pastoral to industrial, heavily conditioned by oil. With 15.6 billion barrels of crude oil reserves and more than 3 million m³ of natural gas, it is one of the most developed African countries. However, the strong dependence on oil and that it is in the hands of foreign companies Royal Dutch Shell, ExxonMobil, Agip, Total S.A., and Texaco (now merged with Chevron) in partnership with the government causes serious social inequalities; most Nigerians live on less than a dollar a day. The balance of payments is positive thanks to the export of crude oil that is conducted through gas pipelines from the interior to the Atlantic ports.

The petrochemical, automobile and refinery industries also stand out. As for the rest of the productive activity, only cocoa is of some importance, to which 50% of the arable land is devoted and which is directed entirely to export. Agriculture and livestock occupy 50% of the population but can barely supply internal demand itself.

Agriculture

As of 2021, about 23.4% of Nigeria's GDP is accounted for by agriculture, forestry and fisheries. As for cassava, Nigeria is the world's largest producer. [Other major crops include beans, sesame, cashews, cocoa beans, peanuts, acacia, kolanut, maize, melon, millet, palm kernels, palm oil, bananas, rice, rubber, sorghum, soybeans and yams. Cocoa is the main source of non-oil foreign exchange. Rubber is the second non-oil foreign exchange source.

Crop in northern Nigeria

Before the Nigerian civil war, Nigeria was self-sufficient in food. Agriculture used to be Nigeria's main source of foreign exchange. Agriculture has been unable to keep up with the rapid growth of the Nigerian population, and Nigeria now relies on food imports to sustain itself[citation needed] Spends $6.7 billion annually in food imports, four times more than earnings from food exports. The Nigerian government promoted the use of inorganic fertilizers in the 1970s.

Nigeria's rice production increased by 10% between 2017/18 and 2021/22, to reach 5 million tonnes per year, but was barely able to keep up with rising demand. Therefore, rice imports remained constant at 2 million tons per year. In August 2019, Nigeria closed its border with Benin and other neighboring countries to stop rice smuggling into the country as part of efforts to boost local production.

Until now, Nigeria exported unhusked rice, but had to import husked rice, the country's staple food. - The Imota rice mill, near Lagos, aims to take care of the corresponding processing in the country, improve the trade balance and the labor market, and save unnecessary transportation and intermediary costs. When fully operational in late 2022, the plant, the largest south of the Sahara, is expected to employ 250,000 people and produce 2.5 million 50kg bags of rice per year.

Fossil fuels

Nigeria is the twelfth largest oil producer in the world, the eighth largest exporter and has the tenth largest proven reserves. Oil plays an important role in the Nigerian economy, accounting for 40% of GDP and 80% of government revenue. However, agitation for greater control of resources in the Niger Delta, its main oil-producing region, has led to disruptions in oil production and prevents the country from exporting at 100% capacity.

Oil installations in Niger Delta in Nigeria

The Nembe Creek oil field in the Niger Delta was discovered in 1973 and produces from mid-Miocene delta sandschists in an anticlinal structural trap at a depth of 2–4 km. In June In 2013, Shell announced a strategic review of its Nigerian operations, hinting that it might divest assets. Although many international oil companies have operated there for decades, by 2014 most were moving to divest themselves of their interests, citing a range of problems, including oil theft. In August 2014, Shell stated that it was terminating its interests in four Nigerian oil fields.

Nigeria has a total of 159 oil fields and 1,481 wells in operation, according to the Department of Petroleum Resources. The most productive region of the country is the Niger Delta coastal basin, in the Niger Delta region o & #34;sur-sur", covering 78 of the 159 oil fields. Most of Nigeria's oil fields are small and scattered, and in 1990 these small fields accounted for 62.1% of all Nigerian production. This is in contrast to the sixteen largest fields, which produced 37.9% of Nigeria's oil at the time. Gasoline was Nigeria's main import product until 2021, accounting for 24% of the import volume.

The supply of natural gas to Europe, threatened by the war in Ukraine, is driving projects to transport Nigerian natural gas through pipelines to Morocco or Algeria. However, as of May 2022 there are still no results in this regard.

Demographics

Countrymeters estimated the 2017 population at around 190,000,000. With this, Nigeria is by far the most populous country in Africa (the continent's country preceding it is Egypt with around 104,239,000 inhabitants).) and the seventh most populous country in the world, has approximately one sixth of the population of the African continent. Although less than 50% of Nigerians live in urban settlements, there are more than 80 cities with populations greater than 100,000. The variety of customs, languages and traditions given by the 250 ethnic groups that coexist in Nigeria give the country a great diversity. The dominant ethnic group in the northern region is the Hausa-Fulani, a large majority of whom are Muslim. Other important ethnic groups in that area are the Nupe, Tiv, and Kanuri.

Demographic developments between 1961 and 2003

The Yoruba ethnic group predominates in the south. More than half of the Yorubas are Christians and about a quarter are Muslims. The rest mostly follow traditional beliefs. The predominantly Christian Igbo group is the largest ethnic group in the South East. Most are Catholic, although Anglicans, Pentecostals and other evangelical denominations are also important.

The Efik, Ibibio, Annang, and Ijaw communities (the four largest ethnic groups in the country) also make up a substantial segment of the population in the area. People with different languages generally communicate in English, although knowledge of two or more Nigerian languages is common. The most widespread languages are Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo. In recent years there have been sporadic clashes between Christian and Muslim groups, particularly in the north of the country, where there has been pressure to introduce Islamic or Sharia law.

Although Nigeria has a relatively low number of emigrants, thousands of people leave the country each year, with the European Union as their main destination, especially the United Kingdom, although in recent years the number of Nigerians leaving has increased. have settled in Ireland. The United States is another common destination for Nigerian emigration.

In the wake of political chaos, the World Health Organization's effort to eradicate polio from the planet has been hampered. Half of all reported polio cases in 2003 were located in northern Nigeria, yet Muslim clerics have repeatedly protested against the vaccine, accusing it of an attempt by Westerners to sterilize Muslim girls.. The national vaccination program was suspended in several states in August 2003, and the disease nearly quintupled (119 cases in the first quarter of 2004 against 24 cases in 2003). By May 2004, it was reported that polio had spread from there to many other African nations, which had previously been declared free of the disease. On May 18, Kano State agreed to resume vaccination programs using Indonesian-created vaccines.

As of 2007 Nigeria has a population of 135,000,000 inhabitants. The average number of children per woman is 5.45, one of the highest rates in Africa, which is causing a population growth never seen in the country's history. It is estimated that by the year 2050 this country will have 458,100,000 inhabitants..

Languages

Language map of Nigeria.

The number of languages listed in Nigeria is currently estimated at 516. This number includes 510 living languages, two second languages with no native speakers, and nine extinct languages. In some areas of Nigeria, ethnic groups speak more than one language. The official language of Nigeria, English, was chosen to facilitate the cultural and linguistic unity of the country. The choice of English as the official language is partly related to the fact that a part of the Nigerian population speaks English as a consequence of the British colonization that ended in 1960.

The main languages spoken in Nigeria represent the three major families of African languages. Most are languages of the Niger-Congo group, such as Yoruba and Igbo; the Hausa language is Afroasiatic, and Kanuri, spoken in the northeast, mainly in Borno State, a member of the Nilo-Saharan language family.

Although most ethnic groups prefer to communicate in their own language, English, as the official language, is widely used for education, business transactions, and official purposes. English as a first language, however, remains the preserve of a small minority of the country's urban elite, and is not spoken at all in some rural areas. As the majority of Nigeria's population is concentrated in rural areas, the main languages of communication in the country remain indigenous languages, some of which are recognized as national languages. Some of the most widespread, notably Yoruba and Igbo, have evolved into standardized languages from a number of different dialects and are spoken by various ethnic groups. Nigerian Pidgin English, often known simply as "pidgin" or "broken" (Broken English), is a creole language derived from English and also a popular lingua franca, although with different regional influences in dialect and slang. Pidgin English is widely spoken in the Niger Delta regions, predominantly in Warri, Sapele, Port Harcourt, Agenebode, Ewu, and Benin City.

Religion

According to a 2020 report, 50.7% of Nigeria's population are Muslim, 28.3% are Christian (Protestant or Catholic), and 19.6% practice other religions. Among Christians, the 27.8% are Catholic, 31.5% are Protestant and the rest belong to other Christian denominations. A study published in 2022 estimates that in 2010 there were 600,000 Christian converts from Islam in the country.

The north is majority Muslim, there are large numbers of Muslims and Christians in the Middle Belt, including the Federal Capital Territory. In the west of the country, especially the Yoruba, the population is said to be evenly divided between Muslims and Christians, while in the south-eastern regions they are mostly Christian, with broad traditional beliefs, Catholics, Anglican Communion (Church of Nigeria), Methodists and are the majority with few traditional beliefs, while the Niger Delta region is mainly Christian.

Culture

The most relevant personality of Nigerian culture is Chinua Achebe (Ogidi, November 16, 1930). Novelist, poet and literary critic, he is mostly known for one of his works: "Everything Falls Apart"; (Things Fall Apart), one of the most widely read African novels in the world. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is another prominent Nigerian novelist who is the author of 'Yellow Half Sun' among others.

In the musical field, the multi-instrumentalist, composer and human rights activist Fela Kuti (1938–1997) stands out.

There are three types of marriage in Nigeria today.

Religious Marriage: Generally they are Christians or Muslims, they are celebrated in accordance with the norms of the respective religious teachings and they take place in a church or mosque.

Traditional Marriage: They are usually held at the wife's home and are celebrated in accordance with the customs of the ethnic group involved.

Civil Marriage: Civil weddings are held in a government office. (Men are only allowed one wife in a civil wedding regardless of religion.)

Cinema

With the oil boom, Nollywood was born, the Nigerian film industry, which has become the second largest in the world, ahead of Hollywood and behind Bollywood, with more than 7,000 titles in 13 years.

Music from Nigeria

Nigerian music includes many kinds of African traditional and popular music. It relates to multiple ethnic groups in the country, each with their own techniques, instruments and songs. Little is known about the country's music history before European contact, although some bronze carvings that have been found date back to the 16th and 17th centuries and depict musicians with their instruments.

Nigeria has been called "the heart of African music" due to its role in the development of African music, highlife (Ghana and Sierra Leone) and palm-wine or maringa (Sierra Leone), which blends native rhythms with techniques imported from Congo for the development of various popular genres that they are genuine from Nigeria, like apala, fuji, jùjú and yo-pop. Subsequently, Nigerian musicians created their own genres derived from American hip hop culture featuring hiplife, (see Nigerian hip hop) and Jamaican reggae (see Nigerian reggae). Nigeria's musical expansion has been well received internationally as is the case with songs like Joro or Jerusalema not only in the fields of traditional and popular music, but also in Western music in general by composers like Fela Sowande.

British singer Sade was born in Nigeria to a Nigerian father and a British mother.

The winner of the OT2018 musical talent show, Famous Oberogo, was born in Nigeria.

Gastronomy

Nigerian cuisine, like the rest of West Africa, is known for its variety and richness. Various spices, herbs, and flavorings are used in conjunction with palm and peanut oil to create rich-flavored sauces and soups, which are often very spicy thanks to the flavor of peppers and chilies. Nigerian feasts are colorful and diverse, while aromatic markets and roadside food stalls serve up barbecues and a wide variety of fry-ups.

Sports

The most popular sport in Nigeria is soccer and it has its own Premier League. They have qualified for 6 World Cups: 1994, 1998, 2002, 2010, 2014 and 2018. In addition, they have won the African Cup of Nations on 3 occasions: 1980, 1994 and 2013.

Other popular sports among Nigerians include basketball, cricket and track and field. Nigeria has competed in the Olympic Games since Helsinki 1952 and has won medals in disciplines such as boxing, soccer, track and field, weightlifting and taekwondo. The Nigerian Olympic Committee is in charge of representing the country at the Olympic Games. Nigeria has yet to participate in any edition of the Winter Olympics. Usman, who is the No. 1 weight by weight in the UFC is born in Nigeria. The famous basketball player Hakeem Olajuwon is originally from Nigeria.