As a country that prides itself as the giant of Africa, there are many facts about the country that are hidden from the world. These are some facts about Nigeria that every citizen of Nigeria is aware of but the media doesn’t publish them except when it is used to fight a political opponent.
- Nigeria is the most populated country in Africa and has the highest rate of unemployment in the world
With its population of more than 160 million people (according to the 2016 census), Nigeria is the most populated African country and the eight most populated country on Earth. According to this statistic, for every 7 Africans, there is one Nigerian.This is perhaps one of the reasons for the increase in the rate of unemployment in Nigeria. Recently, Nigeria became the country in the world with the highest rate of unemployment beating India that was formerly the first. This was reported by the Brookings Institution. According to them, about 87 million Nigerians are in extreme poverty due to unemployment compared with the 73 million people in India.
- Nigeria is a wealthy country
Nigeria is a very wealthy country with lots of resources but many of its citizens are unaware of that. However, despite the natural resources present in the country, the citizens still experience a lot of issues like poor electricity, improper educational system, poor health facilities, lack of good roads and many more.Another problem that Nigerians experience is lack of jobs, this is the reason most of the youths look into other ways of generating incomes for themselves other than waiting for the government. Some mineral resources that can be gotten from Nigeria are petroleum, gold, iron ore and bitumen. Aside the natural resources, the richest African, Aliko Dangote and the richest black woman Alakija Folorunsho are both from Nigeria.
- Nigeria is a country ruled by corrupt politicians
Majority of Nigerian politicians are selfless and get into the seat to embezzle the public funds. Majority of them fly out of Nigeria after completing their tenures to avoid being apprehended by the law. Some of Nigeria’s worst convicted corruption cases are:- James Ibori – The former governor of Delta State that was accused of embezzling over $250m while in office, he has finished serving his prison tenures and still receiving chieftaincy titles despite the criminal records.
- Cecilia Ibru – The former CEO of Oceanic Bank that was accused of mismanagement of public funds and fraud. She was charged to court and sentenced to six months in prison after she pleaded guilty to three out of the twenty-five charges that were leveled against her.
- Diepreye Alamieyeseigha - Though late now, when he was alive, he skipped was accused of laundering a whopping $120m. He was the former governor of Bayelsa State Nigeria amd died on the 10th of October 2015 at Port Harcourt, Rivers State Nigeria.
- Diezani K. Alison-Madueke - She is the first female president of Opec and a Nigerian politician. She became the minister of transportation on July 2007 during the regime of President Goodluck Jonathan. After her tenure as the minister of information, she was accuses of embezzling a sum of $90 billion, which is more than Bill Gates net worth then.
These are just a few out of the many similar stories.
- There are over 250 ethnic groups in Nigeria
There are more than 250 ethnic groups and tribes in Nigeria. This is perhaps one of the most interesting facts about the country because all the groups each have their own different languages. However, the most dominant tribes are the Igbos, Hausas and Yorubas.During the elections, most people tend to support their candidates based his or her tribe and not on their achievements. Majority of the supporters of the present president of Nigeria are Northerners, while the opposite was the case in the former regime.
This sometimes causes tribal conflicts and clashes during the elections and campaigns because supporters of one contestant won’t allow the other contestant to campaign in an area that he’s not from.
In the case of the other ethnic groups that do not belong to the major three like the Ijaw, Tiv, Ibibio, Kanuri, Edo and Efik, they support contestants that are from their regions.
The different tribes also have different also have their different cultures like:
- The Igbo people believe in Chukwu and take him as the supreme God. They believe all things come through him.
- The Yoruba tribe worship many gods and each of the gods have a specific power. Olorun is the ruler of the sky and the supreme God. Other gods that they worship are Sango, Olorun, Ibeji, Ogun, Aganju, Erinle, Obatala, Olokun and Shakpana.
- The Hausa people have a slightly different culture from the igbos and Yorubas. Due to the nature of their religion, they don’t have any other Deity apart from Allah. They take him as their supreme just like the other Muslims and pray to him.
- Nigeria is a very religious country
Nigeria is a very religious country with two major religions: - the Christianity religion and the Islam. The Southern Nigeria is mostly occupied by the Christians while the Northern is dominated by the Muslims. However, you’ll also see other religions like the Jews, Hindus, Traditional Worshippers and other religions and organizations carrying out their activities in Nigeria.The religious state of Nigeria makes it one of the easiest ways to control them. Three Nigerian pastors are among the 20 richest pastors in the world and there are many other wealthy pastors not included in the list. Other people that utilize this are the politicians. Even the most corrupt politicians write Bible verses in their campaign vehicles and banner all to win the people’s minds. You’ll also see them quoting the Scriptures while addressing the crowds.
- The name ‘Nigeria’ is gotten from ‘River Niger”
The River Niger is the longest river in West Africa covering a distance of 2,600 miles. The river runs through several countries like Guinea (its source), Niger, Mali, border of Benin Republic, Nigeria and then empties itself into the Atlantic Ocean via the Gulf of Guinea after passing through the Niger Delta.Another great achievement in regards to this is that Nigeria has the longest bridge in West Africa. The Third Mainland Bridge is also the second longest bridge in Africa after The 6th October Bridge in Cairo, Egypt which was completed in 1996.
The Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos runs from Lagos Island to Mainland. It was constructed in 1990 by Julius Berger, a Nigerian construction company with its headquarters in Abuja and additional permanent locations in Uyo and Lagos. Another fact about the Third Mainland Bridge is that trucks are not allowed to use it. Trucks and other big automobiles use the other three bridges that are connecting Lagos Island to the mainland, the Eko Bridge and the Carter Bridges.
- Ogun State Nigeria has the highest number of Universities
Nigeria has a total of 152 universities, 40 Federal Universities, 44 State Universities and 68 Private Universities. Among all the sates in Nigeria, Ogun State has the highest number of Universities with about 14 officially registered institutions.The List of Universities in Ogun State are:
- Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta (FUNAAB)- Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye Also Known as Ogun State University.
- Adetokunbo University, Sagamu
- Covenant University Ota
- Babcock University,Ilishan-Remo
- Chrisland University
- Crawford University Igbesa
- Crescent University
- Elizade University, Ilara-Mokin
- Tai Solarin University of Education
- Redeemer’s University (RUN)
- Mountain Top University
- McPherson University, Seriki-Sotayo
- Bells University of Technology, Ota
Majority of the institutions are owned by churches and private organizations. The number is like this because of the availability of land in the State.
- The Yoruba tribe has the highest density of twins in the whole country
If you enter a Nigerian market on a busy day, you’ll be sure to see lots of twin children. Don’t worry, it is normal and even the person writing this article is a twin. The Yoruba community in Nigeria has the highest incidence of twin births than any other tribe on Earth. According to statistics, the twin ratio in the tribe is 5 out of every 100 deliveries. This even lead to the British Broadcasting Corporation calling the Yoruba tribe the ‘Land Of Twins’.Other countries that you’ll see a great density of twin births are the Benin Republic and the Central Africa.In the Igbo tribe of Nigeria, there was also an old culture of killing twin children by throwing them into the evil forest. This killing of twins had several impacts in the lives of the ancient igbos, for example, it lead them into believing that twins were curse. However, the act was stopped Mary Mitchell Slessor, a Scottish missionary to Nigeria. She stopped the killing of twins in Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria and was later killed by the tribe. She is still remembered in Nigeria today for her great works.
- Nigerians party a lot
The Nigerian entertainment industry is one of the highest rising in Africa. According to the 2017 Afrima Awards, majority of the awards were given to Nigerian artists including the Artiste of the Year which was awarded to Ayo Balogun.This is because the nature of the entertainment industry in Nigeria. If you stay in big cities like Abuja, Port Harcourt, Lagos and Owerri, on weekends the wealthy families leave their houses to visit hotels and clubs for parties.
This is also common in the high institutions; students have several activities like fresher’s night, induction night, burn fire night, birthday parties all to show their love for parties.
In Nigeria, every kind of celebration calls for parties including weddings, house warming, matriculations, graduations and child dedication.
- Football is the most popular sport in Nigeria
The most popular sport in Nigeria is the football and majority of boys participate in it. Almost every primary and secondary school in Nigeria has a football field were the students go out to play during the break periods.This has also contributed to the country’s success in soccer games; it has won the African Cup of Nations three times and also participated in the World Cup a good number of times.
Other games that are popular in Nigeria are tennis, table-tennis, judo, long jump, boxing, weightlifting, wrestling, the sprints and triple jump.
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