Nigeria History and Current Affairs
Nigeria Origination, Information and Statistics

* Government and Political Area
- Conventional Long Form: Federal Republic of Nigeria
- Conventional Short Form: Nigeria
- Data Code : NI
- Flag: Three equal vertical bands of Green (hoist side)
White and Green
* Capital : Abuja
- Administrative Divisions :36 States and 1 Federal Capital
- Independence :1st October 1960 ( From the UK )
- Constitution : NA 1999 New Constitution was adopted
- Legal System : Based on English Common Law, Islamic
and Tribal laws.
- Suffarge : 18 years of age universal
- Cabinent :Federal Executive Council
- Legislative Branch: Bi-Cameral National Assembly :
Senate and House of Representatives
- Judicial Branch : Supreme Court, Federal High Court,
Federal Court of Appeal, High Court,
Magistrate Court, Customary Court.
* Geography
- Location: Western Africa bordering on the Gulf of Guinea
between Benin and Cameroun
- Boarders: South (Atlantic Ocean) - North (Niger Republic)
East ( Cameroun) - West (Benin Republic)
- Major Rivers : River Niger and River Benue
- Largest State : Niger (76,363 square kilometers)
- Smallest State : Lagos (3,345 square kilometers)
* Overall Area
- Total Area: 923,768 Sq km
- Land Area: 910,768 Sq km
- Water: 13,000 Sq km
- Coastline: 853 km
Area Comparative: Slightly more than twice the size of
California in the United States of America.
Land Boundaries: 4,047 km all together.
* Population
- 167million people
- Africa’s most populated country having over 250 tribes
* Official Language
- English
* Currency
- Naira and Kobo
* Time
- GMT + 1
* Demonym
- Nigerian
* Internet TLD
- .ng
Border Countries: On the west by the Republic of Benin 773km,
and east, Cameroun 1,690km, north by Niger 1,497km and Chad Republics 80km, and south by the Atlantic Ocean.
Maritime Claims:
- Continental Shelf: 200m depth or to the depth of exploitation
- Exclusive Economic Zone: 200NM
- Territory Sea: 12NM
Climate: Varies; Equatorial in the South, Tropical in the Center
and in the North.
Terrain: Southern Lowlands merges into Central Hills and
Plateaus, Mountains in South-East, Plains in North.
Natural Resources: Petroleum, Tin, Columbite, Iron Ore, Coal,
Lead, Limestone, Zinc, Natural Gas, Hydropower and
Arable Land.
Land Use: Arable Land: 33%, Permanent Crops: 3%, Permanent
Pastures: 44%, Forests and Woodland: 12%, Others 8%,
Irrigated Land, 9,570 sq km (1993 est.)
Major Cities
- Lagos, Abuja, PortHacourt, Kano, Kaduna, Aba, Ibadan, Enugu.
Geopolitical Zones : 6
North Central States : Benue, Plateau, Kwara, Nassarawa, Niger,
Kogi and Abuja
North Eastern States : Borno, Yobe, Bauchi, Gombe, Adamawa
and Taraba
North Western States: Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfara, Katsina, Kano,
Jigawa and Kaduna
South Eastern States : Anambra, Imo, Abia, Enugu, Ebonyi
South Western States: Ekiti, Ogun, Ondo, Lagos, Osun and Oyo
South Southern States: Cross River, Delta, Bayelsa, Edo, Rivers
and Akwa Ibom
Democratic Institution
- 1 President
- 36 Governors
- 109 Senators
- 360 Members, House of Representatives
- 774 Local Government Chairmen
- 1205 State Assembly Legislators
- 8540 Elected Councilors
Environmental-International Agreements:
Party to Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping,
Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection,Wetlands.
Membership
Nigeria is a member of the following:
ACP,AFDB,AU,CCC,ECA,ECOWAS,FAO,G-15,G-19,G-24,G-77, IAEA,IBRD,ICAO,ICC,ICRM,IDA,IFAD,IFC,IFRCS,IHO,ILO,IMF,
IMO,IOC,ISO,INMARSAT,INTELSAT,INTERPOL,ITU,MINURSO,
NAM,OPCW,OPEC,PCA,UN,UNCTAD,UNESCO,UNHCR,UNIDO,
UNIKOM,UNITAR,UNMIBH,UNMIK,UNMOP,UNMOT,UNU,UPU,
WCL, WFTU,WHO,WIPO,WMO,WTO,WTRO.
<NEXT PAGE>
<PREVIOUS PAGE>
1