HISTORY
In the 16th century, Spanish and Portuguese explorers were the first Europeans to begin significant, direct trade with peoples of the land now called Nigeria, at the port they named Lagos.
Coastal trade with Europeans also marked the beginnings of the Atlantic slave trade. Many people from modern-day Nigeria were taken away and turned into slaves by Europeans, and sent to work in the Americas.
With rising anti-slavery sentiment at home and changing economic realities, Great Britain outlawed the international slave trade in 1807.
In Nigeria the Reverend Samuel Crowther, a former slave, became the first black Anglican bishop in 1865. Crowther was also leader of the Niger Mission whose employees were all African as he believed that the evangelization of inland Africa must be carried out by Africans rather than Europeans.
The British conquest of Nigeria was completed in 1904. 500,000 square miles was controlled by the U.K.
Nigeria gained independence from the United Kingdom as a Commonwealth Realm on October 1, 1960.
The flag of Nigeria was first officially hoisted on October 1, 1960. The two green stripes represent Nigeria's natural wealth, while the white band represents peace.
The former flag of Nigeria features a Jewish Star of David.
Former UK Prime Minister Sir John Major lost one of his kneecaps in the late Sixties during a car crash in Nigeria, where he was working for the Standard Chartered bank.
Nigeria was plunged into a civil war for 30 months between 1967 and 1970. The conflict was caused by the attempted secession of the southeastern provinces of Nigeria as the self-proclaimed Republic of Biafra by the Christian Igbo people.
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| The Republic of Biafra in June 1967, when it declared its independence. By Eric Gaba |
The Civil War kicked off when the official Nigerian government attacked Biafra on July 6, 1967 at Garkem. The conflict, with a long siege of Biafra and its isolation from trade and supplies, ended when the remaining Biafran military officers formally surrendered to the Nigerian federal government on January 15, 1970.
It was the first modern war between black Africans and left the Nigerian economy greatly weakened.
In 1969, Brazilian soccer star Pelé’s visit to Nigeria caused a 48-hour ceasefire in their civil war.
John Lennon returned his MBE to Buckingham Palace in November 1969, partly in protest at Britain’s involvement in the Biafran war in Nigeria.
Since 2002, Nigeria has seen sectarian violence by Boko Haram, an Islamist movement that seeks to abolish the secular system of government and establish Sharia law in the country.
276 schoolgirls were abducted by Islamists Boko Haram (meaning ‘Western education is forbidden’) in Chibok, Nigeria on April 14, 2014.
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan estimated in May 2014 that Boko Haram attacks left at least 12,000 people dead and 8,000 people crippled.
In May 2014 Benin, Cameroon, Chad and Niger joined Nigeria in a united effort to combat Boko Haram in the aftermath of the 2014 Chibok kidnapping of 276 schoolgirls. However, despite the international campaign, Amnesty International reported in April 2023 that 98 girls were still missing.
Nigeria has a population of 182,202,000, which is more than any other country in Africa and the seventh most populous country in the world.
On current trends, by 2050 Nigeria will account for almost 10% of all births in the world, and its population would have overtaken that of the US, despite being one-tenth the size of America.
Nigeria has the highest rate of twin births in the world.
It was the first modern war between black Africans and left the Nigerian economy greatly weakened.
In 1969, Brazilian soccer star Pelé’s visit to Nigeria caused a 48-hour ceasefire in their civil war.
John Lennon returned his MBE to Buckingham Palace in November 1969, partly in protest at Britain’s involvement in the Biafran war in Nigeria.
Since 2002, Nigeria has seen sectarian violence by Boko Haram, an Islamist movement that seeks to abolish the secular system of government and establish Sharia law in the country.
276 schoolgirls were abducted by Islamists Boko Haram (meaning ‘Western education is forbidden’) in Chibok, Nigeria on April 14, 2014.
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan estimated in May 2014 that Boko Haram attacks left at least 12,000 people dead and 8,000 people crippled.
In May 2014 Benin, Cameroon, Chad and Niger joined Nigeria in a united effort to combat Boko Haram in the aftermath of the 2014 Chibok kidnapping of 276 schoolgirls. However, despite the international campaign, Amnesty International reported in April 2023 that 98 girls were still missing.
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| Nigerian states that implement some form of sharia law (in green) By Bohr - |
According to the Open Doors USA 2023 World Watch List, Nigeria is the country where Christians face the most persecution in the world. In 2022, an estimated 60,000 Christians were killed in Nigeria, making it the deadliest year on record for Christians in the country. The violence is largely being carried out by Boko Haram and other Islamic extremist groups.
Other Islamic extremist groups that are targeting Christians in Nigeria include the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and the Ansaru group. These groups have also carried out numerous attacks on Christians, killing and displacing thousands of people.
FUN NIGERIA FACTS
Nigeria has a population of 182,202,000, which is more than any other country in Africa and the seventh most populous country in the world.
On current trends, by 2050 Nigeria will account for almost 10% of all births in the world, and its population would have overtaken that of the US, despite being one-tenth the size of America.
Nigeria has the highest rate of twin births in the world.
Nigerians are from Nigeria and Nigeriens are from Niger. Niger was colonized by the French so it gets the en ending, Nigeria was colonized by the British, so it gets the an.
Nigeria is viewed as a multinational state, as it is inhabited by over 500 ethnic groups, of which the three largest are the Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba
In Nigeria, there are almost equal amounts of Muslims and Christians. Most of the Christians live in the south, and most of the Muslims live in the north.
A goat was arrested in Nigeria in 2009 after being taken to the police and accused of being an armed robber who used black magic to transform himself into a goat after trying to steal a car.
It is estimated that the entire power supply of Nigeria generates only enough electricity to power a single toaster for every 44 people.
Association football is Nigeria's national sport. The national team won the African Cup of Nations in 1980, 1994 and 2013. The country also won the gold medal for football in the 1996 Summer Olympics.
Nigeria has had a huge role in the development of various genres of African music, including Afrobeat, which fuses native rhythms with jazz, highlife music and chanted vocals.
The most famous Afro-beat performer was the controversial Nigerian singer-saxophonist Fela Anikulapo Kuti, whose huge band sometimes included his 27 wives. His political songs led to his spending much time in jail.
The Nigerian film industry, or Nollywood, is second largest in the world in terms of numbers of movies produced.
Cassava is the third largest source of food carbohydrates in the tropics, after rice and maize. Nigeria is the world's largest producer of cassava.
About 60% of Nigerians work in the agricultural sector.
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| A farmers market in Nigeria. |
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