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Top 50 Facts About Nigeria


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On October 1, 1960, Nigeria gained its independence from the United Kingdom. As was the habit of colonialists during that era, no attention was paid to the fact that the “protectorates” suddenly and quite chaotically merged together hundreds of distinct and autonomous ethnicities, or to the fact that some communities were ripped apart by the sudden construction of boundaries that never existed before.

There was never a truly developed sense of singular Nigerian identity. In part, it was this disequilibrium which set the stage in 1966 to several successive military coups. The Northern coup, which was mostly motivated by ethnic and religious reasons, was a bloodbath of both military officers and civilians, especially those of Igbo extraction. The violence against the Igbo increased their desire for autonomy and protection from the military’s wrath.

By May 1967, the Eastern Region had declared itself an independent state called the Republic of Biafra and the 30 month Nigerian Civil War began. More than one million people died, many of them starving to death. During the oil boom of the 1970s, Nigeria joined OPEC and billions of dollars generated by production in the oil-rich Niger Delta flowed into the coffers of the Nigerian state. However, increasing corruption and graft at all levels of government squandered most of these earnings.

Nigeria re-achieved democracy in 1999 and although the elections which brought Obasanjo to power in 1999 and again in 2003 were condemned as unfree and unfair, Nigeria has shown marked improvements in attempts to tackle government corruption and to hasten development. Ethnic violence over the oil producing Niger Delta region and inadequate infrastructures are some of the current issues in the country.

Top 50 Facts About Nigeria In History

  • 1. The most commonly spoken phrase in Nigeria is
    “How far?โ€
  • 2. Nigeria is home to seven percent (7%) of the
    total
    languages spoken on earth. Niger State alone has
    more
    languages than 30 African countries.
  • 3. The Walls of Benin (800-1400AD), in present
    day Edo
    State, are the longest ancient earthworks in the
    world.
  • 4. The First Nigerian indigenous tribe to reach rank of Air Vice Marshal was Nupe by tribe, Air Vice Marshal John Nmadu Yisa Doko.
  • 5. Sarki Muhammad Kanta The Great of Kebbi, was
    the only ruler who resisted control by Songhai,
    West Africaโ€™s
    greatest empire at that time. He founded and ruled
    the Hausa city-state of Kebbi around 1600 A.D.
  • 6. Africaโ€™s oldest known boat is The Dufuna canoe,
    which was discovered in Dufuna village, Yobe State,
    by a Fulani Herdsman in May 1987, while he dug a
    well.
  • 7. Sungboโ€™s Eredo, a 160 km rampart equipped
    with guard
    houses and moats, is reputed to be the largest
    single pre-colonial monument (or ancient
    fortification if you like) in Africa. It is located in
    present-day Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State.
  • 8. The Jos Plateau Indigobird, a small reddish-
    brown bird, is found nowhere else on the planet but
    Plateau State.
  • 9. The Anambra waxbill, a small bird of many
    beautiful
    colours, is found only in Southern Nigeria and
    nowhere else on earth.
  • 10. The Niger Delta (which is the second largest
    delta on the planet), has the highest concentration
    of monotypic fish families in the world, and is also
    home to 60 percent of Nigeriaโ€™s mangrove forests.
  • 11. Nigeriaโ€™s mangrove forests are the largest in
    Africa and
    third largest on earth.
  • 12. According to the World Resources Institute,
    Nigeria is
    home to 4,715 different types of plant species, and
    over 550 species of breeding birds and mammals,
    making it one of the most ecologically vibrant
    places of the planet.
  • 13. Ile-Ife, in present day Osun State, was paved as
    early as 1000AD, with decorations that originated
    from ancient America.
  • 14. Though the country has three dominant tribes,
    Hausa, Yoruba and the Ibo (Igbo) follow by Nupe, Fulani, there are
    over 250 ethnic groups.
  • 15. Nigeria derives her name from the River Niger
    which is the largest and the longest river in West
    Africa and is about 4,180 kilometres long.
  • 16. The Nigerian movie industry which produces
    between
    150-200 movies every week is known as
    Nollywood โ€“ it is ranked as the worldโ€™s second-
    largest producer of movies and trails just behind
    the Indian Bollywood industry.
  • 17. Areas surrounding Cross State River and
    Calabar towards the south of Nigeria are home to
    the largest diversity of butterflies in the world.
  • 18. Sarki Abdullah Burja of Kano (ruled 1438-1452
    AD), the 18th ruler of Ancient Kano, created the
    first Golden Age in Northern Nigeria and ushered in
    a period of great prosperity. During his reign,
    Hausa became the biggest indigenous language
    spoken in Africa after Swahili.
  • 19. Two of the worldโ€™s rarest species of animals
    live in the mysterious Nigerian forests – the Drill
    monkey that lives in the Afi Mountain ranges and
    the lowland Gorilla.
  • 20. Nigeriaโ€™s Golden Eaglets became the first team
    from
    Africa to win a FIFA competition when they won the
    U16
    (now U17) World Cup in China in 1985.
  • 21. Nigeria is the first African nation to have won
    the
    football gold medal of an Olympics achieving this
    feat at
    Atlantaโ€™96.
  • 22. The most tellest masquerade in world can only be found in Nigeria by Nupe people, Ndako Gboya, also known as Igunnuko in Southern Nigeria.
  • 23. The University of Nigeria was the first full-
    fledged
    indigenous and first autonomous university in
    Nigeria. The
    origins of the university are in Yaba College,
    founded in 1932 in Yaba, Lagos as the first tertiary
    educational institute in Nigeria.
  • 24. Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nigeriaโ€™s Finance
    Minister is
    Forbesโ€™ 83rd Most Powerful Woman in the World.
  • 25. Nigeriaโ€™s Mrs Esther Taiwo Olukoya and Mrs
    Emily Kehinde Olukoga-Ogunde,who looked almost
    identical, are probably the third set of twins in the
    world to hit the century age and perhaps the first in
    Africa.
  • 26. A Nigerian man, Aliko Dangote โ€“ founder of
    Dangote
    Group, is the richest man in Africa and richest
    black man in the world.
  • 27. The richest woman in Africa, Folorunsho
    Alakija, is a
    Nigerian. She is worth about $600 million (N97
    billion).
  • 28. Iweโ€“Irohin, Nigeria’s first newspaper was
    established by a missionary, Henry Townsend in
    1859.
  • 29. It is on record that Daily Times Nigeria is the
    only Nigerian newspaper to attain a 500,000 copy
    circulation with one title. The Daily Times had
    emerged a colossus.
  • 30. Nigerian terror sect, Boko Haram carried out its
    first
    known attack in Borno in January 2011.
  • 31. A Nigerian university, Obafemi Awolowo
    University, Ile-
    Ife, Osun State has the most beautiful campus in
    Africa. It was founded in 1962.
  • 32. The Igbos of Eastern Nigeria launched a series
    of massive riots that put paid to Colonialism in
    Nigeria. This was led by the women of Aba,
    protesting the heavy taxation of the colonial lords.
    They marched on the colonial offices and chased
    the administrators away.
  • 33. President Musa Yar’Adua is the first
    democratically
    elected president to die in office.
  • 34. Okobaba Sawmil, situated at Ebute Meta Lagos,
    Nigeria is the largest sawmill in Africa.
  • 35. The largest Christian gatherings in the world
    have been held in Nigeria – (Holy Ghost Festivals;
    Redeemed Christian Church of God; 5 to 12 million
    People).
  • 36. If you go to some areas in the Niger-Delta and
    step firmly on the soil, crude oil will gush out.
  • 37. Goodluck Jonathan is the first democratic
    president that was not elected after assuming the
    mantel of leadership with the death of President
    Musa Yarโ€™Adua in 2010. He went on to win the
    Presidential election a year later.
  • 38. Late Musa Yar’dua was the first president to
    declare his assets according to the provision of
    1999 constitution of Nigeria.
  • 39. The pastor of the largest church in the United
    Kingdom is a Nigerian; Matthew Ashimolow of the
    Kingsway International Christian Centre.
  • 40. Since Nigeria made her first FIFA World Cup
    finals
    appearance at USAโ€™94; she has gone on to appear
    in three other finals but has never gone beyond the
    second round.
  • 41. Liberty Stadium Ibadan Oyo State, Nigeria is
    the first
    stadium to be built in Africa. The stadium was
    opened in
    1960 during the tenure of Chief Obafemi Awolowo
    as the
    Premier of the Western Region.
  • 42. Hubert Ogunde was the first professional
    theatre man in Nigeria who lived entirely by the art.
  • 43. According to reports, the late MKO Abiola sent
    $10m to Youeri Museveni to help topple the
    despot, Idi Amin Dada.
  • 44. Nigerian pidgin (which uses a primary English
    lexicon) is also a common lingua franca. Roughly a
    third of Nigeria’s
    population speak Pidgin English which is a
    simplified form of the language.
  • 45. Some traditional cultural expressions are found
    in the
    various masquerades of Nigeria, such as the Ndako Gboya Masquerade (Nupe Igunnuko), Eyo
    masquerades, the Ekpe and Ekpo Masquerades of
    the Efik/Ibibio/Annang/Igbo peoples of coastal
    south-eastern Nigeria, and the Northern Edo
    Masquerades. The most popular Yoruba wooden
    masks are the Gelede masquerades.
  • 46. The country is listed among the “Next Eleven”
    economies, and is one of the fastest growing in
    the world with the International Monetary Fund
    projecting growth of 9 per cent in 2008 and 8.3 per
    cent in 2009.
  • 47.In Intercontinental Hotel, Nigeria has the tallest
    hotel in
    West Africa built at a cost of N30 billion located in
    Lagos,
    with a 23-storey building containing 358 rooms and
    37
    suites and a Presidential suite.
  • 48. Lagos is the second fastest growing city in
    Africa and the seventh fastest growing city in the
    world. The newest reports of the Nigeria Census
    estimate the population is now 21 million, making
    Lagos the largest city in Africa.
  • 49. Nigeria has the highest maternal mortality rate
    in Africa. Nigeria accounts for 10 per cent of
    maternal deaths in the world, ranking the second
    highest after India.
  • 50. The Power Holding Company of Nigeria
    (PHCN) generates only 3,200 megawatts while the
    nation needs at least 8,000 megawatts.

    Other Interest Facts About Nigeria

  • Nigeria has more writers and authors than the
    rest of
    West African combined. And in Professor Wole
    Soyinka has the regionโ€™s first Nobel Prize winner.
  • Nigeria has the 4th largest number of doctors
    in the
    world.
    There are more Muslims in Nigeria than there
    are in Saudi Arabia – 60 million v 20 million. In
    fact, there are more Muslims in Nigeria than there
    are in any other country in Africa.

    If you are proud of Nigeria, kindly drop your comment…

Comments

One response to “Top 50 Facts About Nigeria”

  1. M Sakhawar Avatar
    M Sakhawar

    Nigeria is very good country. People are very caring and loving I am from Pakistan I have a lot of Nigerian friends all are very nice.
    Thank you for this informational content.