Nigeria: Essay On History, Geography, And Indigenous Peoples. (70 Characters)

A country in the Commonwealth of Nations.(Nigeria)

Events that changed the course of history-what made the country what it is today.

Discuss and elaborate on the way people live and how they socialise in Nigeria.

Explain features of history and geography in Nigeria.

Describe and reflect on the situation of indigenous peoples in Nigeria.

The following paper aims a discussion on the commonwealth country of Nigeria. The Federal Republic of Nigeria is commonly known by the name of Nigeria. The country is located in the western part of the African continent. The country is bordered by the country of Niger in the northern side, the country of Benin to the west of the country. The countries of Cameroon and Chad border the eastern boundaries of the country of Nigeria. The southern side of the country is adorned by the Gulf of Guinea that opens in the Atlantic Ocean. The country of Nigeria is composed of the 36 different states (Odeyemi 2014). The capital of the country is Abuja that is located in the Federal Capital Territory. The country has been declared to be a democratic country and is known to be a secular country on the basis of the administrative policies that are followed within the country.

The population of the concerned country in discussion is 190,886,311 people as has been revealed by the census of 2017 (Population.gov.ng 2018). The country is often known as the “Giant of Africa”. This is because of the large size of the population of the country. This in turn influences the matters that are related to the economy of the country. The country in discussion, Nigeria is known for the huge population within the continent of Africa. The concerned country is known to be the seventh most populated country of the world. The youth population of the country is the third highest in the world and is preceded by the population in the countries of China and India. The majority of the population of the country, almost 90% of the population of the country, is aged below 18 years (Population.gov.ng 2018). The people who have been residing in the country are generally observed to have been belonging to 250 different ethnic cultures thereby helping the concerned country to attain the status of a multilingual state (Population.gov.ng 2018). The three major ethnic groups that are found in the country generally refer to the ethnic groups of Yoruba, Igbo and the ethnic group of Hausa.

The climate within the country in discussion is generally known to experience a hot and humid climate. This is generally found to be the climate in the tropical zones. The temperature within the country is found to have been varying in accordance to the seasons that are evident within the country. This is similar to the conditions that exist within the countries that are present within the tropical area. The seasons within the country are determined on the basis of the rainfall that is observed to have been occurring in the concerned areas (Watts 2016). The major seasons that are faced by the concerned country in discussion are the dry seasons and the rainy seasons. The dry season in the country lasts from the month of October to April and the wet seasons within the concerned country is known to last from the month of June to September (Terwase, Abdul-Talib and Zengeni 2014). The summers of the country are recognized to be very hot and dry in nature. The temperatures within the country are known to have risen to around 40? during the dry season that is faced by the country.

Population and Ethnic Diversity

The historical factors that have shaped the country are the factors that have been pertaining to the various colonial powers that have influenced the concerned country. The country is believed to have formed in the duration between the 500 BC and the AD 200. The area was known for the production of the several terracotta figures that were life-sized in their dimension. These sculptures were known to be one of the earliest known sculptures that had been existent in the Sub-Saharan area. The kingdoms of Oyo and Ife of the tribe of Yoruba had gained a major prominence during the 12^th and the 14^th centuries. The middle ages within the country lasted from 1500 until the year 1800. This time period was known for the major factors that are related to the implementation of the progresses in the matters related to the sculpture within the countries (Joseph 2014). This was followed by the colonization of the country by the British people. This helped in the creation of the British Nigeria (Elaigwu 2017). The country then faced the independent federation as well as the first republic within the country. The independence of the country was gained in the year 1960 and was followed by the civil wars. The civil wars within the country lasted for four years since 1967 to the year 1970.

The country had joined the OPEC in the year 1970 thereby leading to the conditions wherein the economy of the concerned country was enriched. The period of the military juntas that existed within the country lasted form the year 1970 to the year 1999 (Hill 2015). This era came to an end with the death of the dictator who had been ruling the country. The country has been undergoing the democratic style of governance since the year 1999.

The major religions that are followed within the country are Christianity and Islam. the followers of the Christianity are majorly found to be residing in the southern regions of the country whereas the people who follow the Islam faith are known to be residing in the northern section of the country (Forde 2017). However, there are also various groups of people who have been known to follow the religious and the ethnic practices that are generally native to the several tribal groups that are present within the country. These cultural factors are generally found to be related to the ethnic groups of the Yoruba and the Igbo (Eze and Chinwuba 2015). The official language that is used in the formal affairs of the country is English. However, the total number of languages that are spoken in the country are almost 521 in number. These include the tribal languages that are practiced within the country.

Climate and Seasons

The economy of the country in discussion, Nigeria is known to be one of the largest economies of the world and is ranked to be the 20^th among the world economies. As per the reports of 2015, the worth of the country was around 500 billion dollars and reached the 1 trillion dollar mark with respect to the terms of the nominal GDP within the country and the parity of the purchasing power within the country (Population.gov.ng 2018). The country had in the year 2014 overtaken the economy of South Africa in order to hold the position of the largest economy in the continent of Africa. The country has been identified as one of the global powers that have been emerging in the current scenarios. The currency that is widely used in the various transactions within the country is the Naira. The economy of the country has faced a huge boost due to the exports of various substances. These might include spices, crude oil, cocoa butter, rubber, textiles honey and other such products. The major source of income through the export refers to the income of the country through the export of the crude oil, the spices and the palm kernel oil (Kendhammer 2016). The concerned country in discussion is known to have defied the norms of the Commonwealth union through the various internal conflicts that had taken place within the country.

Thus, from the above discussion, it might be pointed out that there exist several issues within the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The above study suggests that the government of the country should implement proper measures within the country in order to deal with the issues that are being faced by the concerned country.

References

Elaigwu, J.I., 2017. The politics of federalism in Nigeria. Adonis & Abbey Publishers Ltd.

Eze, O.C. and Chinwuba, U.G., 2015. Organized labour, democracy and good governance in Nigeria, 1999-2007. J. Pol. & L., 8, p.149.

Forde, D., 2017. The Yoruba-Speaking Peoples of South-Western Nigeria: Western Africa. Routledge.

Hill, J.N.C., 2015. Dictators and Democracy in African Development: The Political Economy of Good Governance in Nigeria by A. Carl LevanCambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2014. Pp. 282.£ 60 (hbk). The Journal of Modern African Studies, 53(4), pp.668-669.

Joseph, R.A., 2014. Democracy and prebendal politics in Nigeria (Vol. 56). Cambridge University Press.

Kendhammer, B., 2016. Muslims talking politics: framing Islam, democracy, and law in Northern Nigeria. University of Chicago Press.

Odeyemi, J.O., 2014. A political history of Nigeria and the crisis of ethnicity in nation-building. International Journal of Developing Societies, 3(1), pp.1-12.

Population.gov.ng 2018. NATIONAL POPULATION COMMISSION – data for national planning and development. [online] Population.gov.ng. Available at: https://population.gov.ng/ [Accessed 5 Oct. 2018].

Terwase, I.T., Abdul-Talib, A.N. and Zengeni, K.T., 2014. Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy: International business perspective. International Journal of Management Sciences, 3(7), pp.534-543.

Watts, M., 2016. The political ecology of oil and gas in West Africa’s Gulf of Guinea: state, petroleum, and conflict in Nigeria. In The Palgrave handbook of the international political economy of energy (pp. 559-584). Palgrave Macmillan, London.