We all love Nigeria and has she turns 51 next month (October 1st 2011) TODAY"S GIST listed some things you should know about her beloved country. * Nigeria is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory (Abuja).
* Nigeria’s current population, according to a 2010 United Nations report, is 158.3 million.
* Located in West Africa, Nigeria shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in the north.
* Its name was derived from the Niger River running through the country, which was coined by writer Flora Shaw in the late 19th century.
* There are three major tribes: the Hausas in the north, the Yorubas in the west, and the Igbos in the east. Portuguese ships reconnoitered the West African coast south as far as the Niger Delta by 1471, and in 1481 emissaries from the king of Portugal visited the court of the Oba (king) of Benin. They established a slave trade soon after their arrival.
* Lagos, the former capital of Nigeria, was a Yoruba settlement of Awori people. The place initially called Eko was named Lagos after a Portuguese maritime town. It served as a major centre of the slave trade, ruled over by Yoruba kings called the Oba of Lagos.
* In 1841, Oba Akitoye ascended to the throne of Lagos and tried to ban slave trading. Lagos merchants, most notably Madam Tinubu, resisted the ban, deposed the king and installed his brother Oba Kosoko.
* The slave trade resulted in a vast and as yet still unknown loss of life for African captives both in and outside of America. Approximately 1.2 – 2.4 million Africans died during their transport to the New World.
* Most of the slaves passed through Badagry, a port in Lagos.
* Before British rule in 1900, the people in what is now known as Nigeria consisted of four different empires: the Northern Empire, the Calabar Kingdom, the Oduduwa Empire and the Benin Empire.
* In 1914, Nigeria was formed by combining the northern (Hausas) and southern (Yorubas and Igbos) protectorates.
* The Nigerian Civil War, also known as the Nigerian-Biafran, started in 1967. It was the result of the merge between the northern and southern protectorates.
* Africa’s most populous country gained its independence on October 1, 1960, and became a republic in 1963.
* The first national anthem of Nigeria was adopted in 1960 and the lyrics were written by Lillian Jean Williams, a British national.
* Calabar became the first Nigerian capital city following a treaty signed by the Obong of Calabar and the British government in the 17th century.
* Calabar Kingdom was the first kingdom to use a money system in trading in West Africa.
* Nigeria was the last African country to abandon the £sd (pounds, shillings, pence) currency system.
* The naira replaced the pound in 1973 at a rate of N2 to £1.
* The N20 (20 Naira) banknote was the first currency note in Nigeria bearing the portrait of a Nigerian citizen.
* Nigeria has one of the fastest growing economies in the world, with the International Monetary Fund projecting a growth of 9 percent in 2008 and 8.3 percent in 2009.
* The first prime minister was Benjamin Nnamdi Azikwe.
* The Nigerian national flag was a design by a Nigerian student named Michael Taiwo Akinkunmi, chosen in 1959 during a competition from almost 3,000 entries.
* Former president Umaru Yar’Adua became the first civilian leader in Nigeria to take over from another civilian. He was also the first Nigerian leader to be university educated in over 40 years.
* Oil was discovered in Nigeria in 1956, at Oloibiri (Bayelsa State).
* Nigeria’s oil reserves are the ninth largest in the world. In 1987, crude oil reserves totalled 16 billion barrels. It is projected that by 1997, the reserves could rise to 20 billion barrels. Nigeria is a member of OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries). A Nigerian has been elected secretary general of OPEC for a record sixth term.
* Nigeria also has vast largely unexplored natural gas reserves, the world's fifth largest. Dozens of European and American businesses are currently exploring joint venture businesses in gas production.
* According to the Home Office Statistical Bulletin gathered by Philip Danzelman in 2010, 6,955 Nigerians were granted British citizenship in 2009.
* The UK's largest concentration of Nigerians is found in south London – Peckham, Camberwell, Thamesmead, and Abbey Wood.
* The Nigerian film industry, popularly known as Nollywood, is worth hundreds of millions of pounds, with an estimated turnover of US$250 million per year.
* The term ‘419’ comes from section 419 of the Nigerian constitution that deals with financial crimes and fraud. Violators of the code are referred to as 419ers.
* The University of Michigan’s World values survey ranked Nigeria as the world’s happiest country in 2003.
* It is widely believed that the areas surrounding Calabar, Cross River State, contain the world's largest diversity of butterflies.
* Contrary to popular belief, jollof rice did not originate from Nigeria.
* The rivalry between Nigeria and Ghana led to the branding of the ‘Ghana must go bag.’
* The national sport is football.
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