1. Nigeria was a former British colony, was amalgamated in 1914, got her independence on the 1st of October 1960, which serves as her national day till date.

2. Abuja is the political capital of Nigeria while Lagos is the former capital of Nigeria and is now the commercial capital. It is the fastest growing city in the world and the UN projects that it would be the 3rd largest city in the world by 2010 with a projected population of 20.2 million.

3. Naira and Kobo are the currency used in Nigeria.

4. Nigeria’s flag consists of three vertical strips of green white and green. The green strips represent the agricultural potential of the country white the white strip represents peace.

5. Nigeria is a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), with petroleum accounting for 95 percent of its export income.
Nigeria is the 12th largest producer of petroleum in the world and the 8th largest petroleum exporter.
Nigeria has the 10th largest proven reserves of petroleum, in the world.

6. Nigeria has the largest population of any country in Africa. Approximately 1 out of every 2 West Africans, 1 out of every 4 Africans, and 1 out of every 5 persons of African origin is a Nigerian, that also makes it eight most populous country in the world.

7. “Nollywood” is the term used to describe the Nigerian Film industry, a new exciting phenomenon that has taken Africa by storm. Reputedly the 3rd largest film industry after Hollywood and Bollywood, it has grown from almost nothing to a $250 million industry in 13 years and in the process making stars out of people like Genevieve Nnaji, Regina Askia, Nkem Owoh, Richard Mofe Damijo and others.

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8. Although Nigeria is generally considered to be a hot tropical country, the highlands around Jos in central Nigeria have a very temperate weather with an average temperature of 20o C.

9. The largest National Park in Nigeria is the Gashaka Gumpti National Park. It is 6,670 sq. Km (about 10 times the size of Singapore) and is in the Adamawa state of Nigeria in the north east of Nigeria.

10. One of Nigeria’s most famous musician is the late Fela Anikulapo Kuti (1938 – 1997) popularly known as ‘Fela’. A Pioneer of a unique fusion of Jazz and West African Highlife music dubbed Afrobeat, Fela was a prolific song writer and a spectacular stage performer. Some of his productions include: Shakara, Gentleman, Zombie, Suffering and smiling and Palaver

11. The playwright and social critic Wole Soyinka is Nigeria’s only Nobel Prize winner. He won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1986. A prolific and perspective writer, his works include Kongi’s Harvest, Death and the King’s Horsemen, Ake : the Years of Childhood and The Man Died : Prison Notes.

12. The oldest university in Nigeria is the University of Ibadan, which was founded in 1948 as a college of the University of London. It became an independent University in 1962.

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