Nigeria is divided into four regions, forming bands running east to west: the hot, humid, swampy coastal belt; subtropical rain forest; relatively dry woodland and savanna (which make up most of the country); and arid semidesert known as the Sahel (in the extreme north). The country's only mountains are in the east, along the border with Cameroon. The country is divided into three regions by its two great rivers; the Niger and the Benue that meet and form a Y in the south of the country, effectively dividing the three dominant ethnic groups. The Yoruba in the southwest, the Igbo in the southeast, and the Hausa-Fulani in the north.
Like much of Africa, what's now called Nigeria is the product of misguided colonial geography. The country's borders enclose many ethnic groups and several separate kingdoms. Some of its older cultures can be traced back 2,000 years. Today the dominant ethnic groups are the Yoruba in the southwest, the Igbo in the southeast and the Hausa-Fulani in the north.
The Portuguese were the first to arrive in the region in the 15th century, when they instigated the trans-Atlantic slave trade from West Africa. Missionaries arrived on the southern coast in the middle of the 19th century and spread Christianity. The north had been Muslim for a millennium, a legacy from the Arabs that had crossed the Sahara to trade in West Africa.
In 1885, Britain claimed Nigeria as a sphere of influence. It became a formal colony in 1914, but by the end of World War II, Nigerian nationalism began to build momentum. Full independence came in 1960.
Cultural differences and economic inequality led to the Biafran civil war (1967-1970), which pitted the Igbo separatists of the southeast against the rest of the country. It also led to one of the worst famines ever seen in West Africa: the Nigerian government simply starved the Igbos into submission. Some 3 million lost their lives from famine and fighting. The legacy of that war was a terrible cycle of military rule.
The new government is Nigeria's fourth attempt at democracy since independence. Retired Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo is the only Nigerian military leader to cede power—willingly—to civilians (he did so in 1979). He was elected president in 1999, and again in 2003 for a final four-year term (according to the constitution). His greatest accomplishment thus far has been to lessen the thug mentality that characterized previous military regimes. Controlling corruption, establishing confidence in a civilian government, maintaining peace among Nigeria's various ethnic groups and delivering a modicum of prosperity to its people constitute larger, more elusive goals.
In more recent years, Nigeria has witnessed violence between Christians and Muslims. Since 2000, nine of the northern Islamic states have adopted Sharia Law as their criminal code. Sharia punishments, such as amputation for theft and death by stoning for adultery, only apply to Muslims but it has antagonized many Christians living in the north. It has also caused a predicament for the government, as Sharia opposes federal law. Since 2000, more than 10,000 people have been killed in religious clashes, mostly by mob violence and hand-to-hand fighting. It remains to be seen how this conflict will be resolved.
Among the attractions in Nigeria are the conglomeration of diverse peoples, cultures, languages and religions, a rich artistic heritage, wonderful music, ancient walled cities, desert settlements and shopping.
Even though Nigeria has begun to stabilize, we are not terribly enthusiastic about it as a tourist destination, and it is a challenging country to travel in. There is little to see in the way of conventional sightseeing. Nigerians themselves have little interest in preserving their historical or natural legacies, and Nigeria has never had any tourist industry to support them. We enjoyed parts of Nigeria, but we think other West African countries have more interesting sights in less stressful environments. If you do go, be prepared for delays, inconveniences, poor sanitation, bribery and corruption. Many areas are noisy, dirty, polluted, crowded and relatively expensive (if you want to remain healthy). The cities of Lagos, Abuja and Ibadan have very high crime rates, particularly for armed robbery.
On a more positive note, however, Nigerians are warm and friendly to visitors.
Walk down the street anywhere in Nigeria and you'll likely see people selling everything from peanuts to car parts. Many of these vendors have no shop and sell their wares on the side of the road or amongst the heaving traffic. More than half of all working Nigerians make a living as traders in this informal economy.
One of the most distinctive features of Nigeria is how many people live there. The U.N. sets the population at 130,236,000. About 20% of all Africans who reside south of the Sahara live in Nigeria and about one in six of all Africans are Nigerian. Lagos is one of the largest cities in the world with a population of roughly 13 million. In reality, these figures could be much higher, as there has not been an official population census in Nigeria since 1991.
In 2004, Nigeria was rated as the third most corrupt nation in the world by Transparency International. The late dictator Sani Abacha alone squirreled away more than US$1 billion of oil money during his term as president in the 1990s.
In theory, Nigeria's electricity is supplied by NEPA (Nigerian Electric Power Agency). Nigerians themselves call it Never Expect Power Again and for good reason: The electricity supply is precariously erratic and there are frequent power cuts.
Hotels often describe a room with one double bed as a single room. In the same way, a double room has two double beds, and a family room has beds so vast they are wider than they are long.
If someone calls out, "Hey, batour'ay" or "Oyibo," they may be addressing you. Both these terms mean "white person" in the north and south of Nigeria respectively.
People with carefully scarred faces may belong to either the Hausa or Yoruba ethnic groups.
Pidgin or broken English is spoken and understood by most people in the south. It is a language of slang using a mixture of English and indigenous Nigerian words. When a person speaks of his brudda (brother), he may be speaking of any man with whom he has close ties. He will call any woman sistah (sister).
Chop means meal. A small chop is a snack, and a chop house is a restaurant. Food-is-ready is food that has already been cooked. Food-isn't-ready is something that has to be ordered off a menu, and you have to wait for it to be cooked.
If you're offered antique Benin bronze statues, there's a good chance they've been artificially aged (they're buried in dirt for a few weeks). If they're really old, they won't be allowed out of the country.
On Islamic holidays, the northern cities of Kano, Katsina and Zaria hold colorful parades and festivals known as Durbars, when fabulously attired lines of horsemen pay tribute to the local emirs. Another interesting festival is the Argungu Fishing and Cultural Festival south of Sokoto (February) when hundreds of men and boys jump into the river at an allotted time in a competition to catch the biggest fish.
Wole Soyinka is one of Nigeria's most prolific writers and won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1986. For many decades he used his voice, through books and poetry, against the various authoritarian governments, which resulted in a spell in jail when he spoke out against the Biafran War and being thrown out of the country by Sani Abacha in the 1990s.
Nigeria's national dish is obe ata or pepper soup—a very hot relish served with meat. Be prepared for your nose to explode and your eyeballs to melt.