Geography of Nigeria

Introduction to Geography of Nigeria

Nigeria, or Federal Republic of Nigeria, a country in West Africa. It is the largest of the West African nations and the most populous in Africa. Nigeria is bounded by Niger, Chad, Cameroon, the Gulf of Guinea, and Benin. The country's area is 356,669 square miles (923,768 km 2). Greatest distances are about 740 miles (1,190 km) east-west and 650 miles (1,050 km) north-south.

Physical Geography

Except for mountains rising to 7,963 feet (2,419 m) along the Cameroon border, Nigeria is a land of plains, hills, and plateaus. Fringing the coast is a narrow lowland of sandy beaches, mangrove swamps, lagoons, and interconnected rivers. Here, too, is the large Niger River delta. North of the coast lies a region, 50 to 100 miles (80 to 160 km) wide, of plateaus and rolling hills.

A broad upland, generally flat to rolling, spans central and northern Nigeria. It averages about 2,000 feet (610 m) in elevation; its highest part, on the Jos Plateau near Jos, rises to 5,843 feet (1,781 m) above sea level.

The principal rivers are the Niger and its main tributary, the Benue. Both are navigable over most of their courses within the country and together drain the greater part of Nigeria. Both offer hydroelectric power potential, some of which has been developed at the large Kainji Dam on the Niger. In the south, rivers tend to be short and carry relatively large amounts of water. In the drier north, many rivers carry water only part of the year. Nigeria shares Lake Chad with Niger, Chad, and Cameroon.

Nigeria lies about 4 to 14 north of the Equator and has a tropical climate that varies from south to north and with elevation. Southern Nigeria faces warm, moist, southwesterly winds from the sea during much of the year and is hot, humid, and oppressive. Temperatures average about 80 F. (27 C.) and have only a small daily and seasonal variation. Rainfall, which is heaviest during the summer months, is about 70 inches (1,780 mm) annually along the western part of the coast and up to 150 inches (3,810 mm) in the east.

Northern Nigeria is dominated most of the year by dry, dusty, northeast trade winds, called harmattans, from the Sahara The climate is drier than that of the south and is marked by a greater range of temperature. The hottest month averages about 90 F. (32 C.); the coolest, 70 F. (21 C.). Summer days are extremely hot, often reaching 100 to 110 F. (38 to 43 C.). Most of central Nigeria receives 25 to 50 inches (635 to 1,270 mm) of rain each year, nearly all of it during the summer. Winger is virtually rainless.

The natural vegetation of Nigeria varies with the climatic conditions, particularly the amount of precipitation Mangrove and swamp forests predominate in the delta and coastal zone; tropical rain forests, in the humid south; and savannas, in the subhumid central zone and the drier north. About one-eighth of Nigeria is covered with forests. Commercial use of the forests, however, is limited by inaccessibility, lack of solid stands, and poor timber quality in the drier areas.

Economy

Agriculture was virtually the only important part of Nigeria's economy until the rapid development of the petroleum industry in the 1960's and 1970's. A petroleum boom resulted, bringing rapid economic growth, including increased manufacturing, trade, and construction. By the late 1970's Nigeria had the most dynamic economy in black Africa. In the 1980's, however, sharply reduced petroleum prices and declining domestic production resulted in a depressed economy, one marked by much unemployment, high inflation, and a large foreign debt. The economy remained depressed during the early 1990's and military coups and political instability have hampered economic recovery.

Despite the diversification of the economy, most Nigerians are still farmers. Food production, nevertheless, is inadequate, largely because of the rapidly growing population—doubling every 20 to 25 years. Large amounts of food must be imported. Most of the farms are small, but there are also large state-owned and corporate farms. Little use is made of machinery, commercial fertilizers, or insecticides.

As in much of the rest of tropical Africa, principal domestic foods include cassava, yams, sorghum, millet, corn, rice, and beans. Among cash crops are peanuts, cacao, palm kernels, cotton, rubber, tobacco, and sesame seed. Nigeria is a leading exporter of cacao.

Goats are the most numerous livestock; next are sheep and cattle. Cattle are raised primarily in the north where tsetse flies are not present. Farm animals supply meat and dairy products, and also hides and skins for export.

Petroleum is the cornerstone of Nigeria's economy and the only major source of government revenues and foreign exchange. In total output and export, Nigeria ranks among the leading nations in the world. Production is mainly from onshore and offshore sites in the delta area of the Niger River. There are enormous reserves of natural gas, little of which is presently used. Other minerals produced include tin and coal.

Manufacturing accounts for almost 10 per cent of the gross domestic product. Sustained growth in manufacturing is hindered largely by Nigeria's heavy dependence on imported raw materials. Investment in manufacturing has come mainly from the government and from foreign multinational firms. Among the chief goods produced are processed foods, textiles, beverages, leather items, cigarettes, and soaps and detergents. Some industries, such as palm-kernel milling, peanut milling, and tin smelting, produce mainly for export. Nigeria's heavy industries include iron and steel manufacturing, petroleum refining, the making of petrochemicals, truck and automobile assembly, and cement making.

Nigeria has one of the better transportation systems in Africa. Hard-surfaced highways and railroads link most of the major cities. Many secondary roads, however, are dirt or gravel and are impassable during the rainiest part of the year. Widely used inland waterways include the Niger and Benue rivers and a network of coastal streams, especially in the deltas of the Niger and Cross rivers. Lagos and Port Har-court are the chief ports. Shipping is conducted mainly by European and West African lines, one of which is the Nigerian National Shipping Line.

Nigeria Airways connects the country's large cities and makes flights to foreign cities. Foreign carriers provide worldwide service, mainly through international airports at Lagos and Kano.

Nigeria conducts most of its foreign trade with the United States, Germany, and other west European countries. Manufactured products and foods make up the bulk of its imports; crude petroleum, most of its exports.

The basic unit of currency is the naira.

The People

Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa. Density is 300 persons per square mile (116 per km 2 ). Although slightly more than half of the population live in rural areas, the urban population is increasing rapidly as many rural people seek better lives in the cities.

Indigenous black African peoples make up nearly all of Nigeria's population. The people belong to some 250 ethnic groups; some show considerable racial intermingling with people of the Mediterranean ethnic group. There are few Europeans. The largest ethnic group consists of the Hausa (21 per cent of the population), who live in the northern section of the country. The Fulani (9 per cent) and the Kanuri (4 per cent) also live in the north. The Yoruba (20 per cent) live in the southwest and the Ibo (16 per cent) in the southeast. Other southern groups are the Tiv, Edo, Ibibio, and Ijaw.

English is the official language. It is spoken in the large cities and used extensively in commerce and by the press. There are some 250 indigenous tongues, but three languages—Hausa, Ibo, and Yoruba—are used in their respective regions as second tongues by other ethnic groups. Many southern Nigerians with little formal education use pidgin English as a second tongue.

Almost half of the population is Islamic. Islam prevails in the north and has a large following in the southwest. About one-third of the population is Christian, approximately evenly divided between Roman Catholics and Protestants. Many of the Protestants belong to churches of African origin that combine Christianity with animist beliefs. Less than one-fifth of the population is wholly animist.

The majority of Nigeria's people are literate. The operation of primary and secondary schools is the responsibility of the states, but the federal government determines overall educational policy. Many of the schools are run by Christian missions and voluntary societies under the regulation of the states.

Elementary education begins at age six and lasts six years. For the first two years the language of instruction is the local tongue; thereafter it is English. The length of secondary schooling depends on the type of program a student pursues. Most secondary students take a general curriculum and finish in three years. Students who qualify for and plan to go to college take the three-year general curriculum followed by two years of college-preparatory work.

Nigeria has one of Africa's largest systems of higher education, with more than 30 universities and about as many colleges and polytechnical schools. About three-quarters of the institutions were founded in the 1970's and 1980's. Most of the institutions of higher learning are under federal control. The leading universities are the University of Ibadan (founded 1948), the University of Lagos (1962), and the University of Nigeria (1960), in Nsukka.

Nigerian crafts have achieved international renown. Cast bronze and brass statues from the medieval Nigerian kingdoms of Ife and Benin rank as some of the finest African art. Today ivory carving and cast-brass sculpturing are highly developed Yoruba crafts. Pottery making and wood carving are superbly developed crafts throughout Nigeria. Especially notable are elaborately carved ceremonial masks.

Much of Nigeria's written literature is based on the country's rich heritage of oral folk tales and poetry. The Yoruba novelist Amos Tutuola became internationally known in the 1950's for his fantasy stories derived from folk traditions. The best-known Yoruba writer is Wole Soyinka, whose novels, poetry, and plays won him a Nobel Prize in 1986. Nigerian music consists largely of indigenous forms used in village ceremonies and religious rites.

Government

Under the constitution of 1999, Nigeria is a federal republic. A popularly elected president serves a four-year term. The legislature is the National Assembly, which comprises a Senate and a House of Representatives whose members are elected to four-year terms. The Supreme Court heads the judiciary.