Nigeria Risk country

 Basic Facts:

Culture and language:

The official language is English. Regarding religion, the population is roughly divided in half between Christians, who live mostly in the southern part of the country and the Muslims in the northern part. Indigenous aspect of the religion takes a minor part in the practice of the faith in Nigeria, a minority of the population even practice indigenous religion notably within the Igbo and Yoruba communities.

Long before the creation of the entity called Nigeria, the various peoples that existed independently then had established their own indigenous systems of administration. There were recognized political entities such as the Benin Empire, Kanem Bornu Empire, Sokoto Caliphate, Oyo Empire, to mention a few. The Empires and Kingdoms had established contact with one another and with other peoples, through trading activities[2].
Nigeria is a multicultural and multinational countries, there are almost 500 ethnic groups, the largest are the Hausa, the Igbo and the Yoruba. These groups speak more than 500 different local languages, even if they share some cultural aspects there is a notable variety of cultures.

Repartition of The Population:

Earlier in the 19th Century, the British had conquered the different parts of the present Nigeria at different times, and established control and authority over them. These areas were grouped into Protectorates namely Lagos, Niger Coast (also known as Oi1 River Protectorate), and the Northern Protectorate. For ease of administration and control, the Northern Protectorate, and the Southern Protectorate (made up of Lagos and Niger Coast) were amalgamated in 1914 by the British. Thus come into existence the country presently known as NIGERIA.
Nigeria is divided into thirty-six states and one Federal Capital Territory. Those state are sub-divided into 774 Local Governments[3] Areas. After the independence there were only three states, the ever-increasing number of regions reflect in fact the country's difficulties during the last decades managing such a heterogeneous national entity at all levels of government. However, we can divide the country in six major geopolitical zones: North West, North East, North Central, South East, South South, and South West.
Nigeria is one of the only urban country in Africa. It has eight cities with a population of over 1 million people: from largest to smallest: Lagos, Kano, Ibadan, Kaduna, Port Harcourt, Benin City, Maiduguri and Zaria.
Lagos is the largest city in Africa, with a population of over 18 million in its urban area alone. However, these figures are regularly disputed in Nigeria[4].

Political Organization:

In the Presidential System of Government that is now in place, there is a National Assembly (equivalent of US Congress) comprising two clambers namely the Senate and House of Representatives. There is a State Assembly in each of the 36 States[5]. It is evident from the above political history that the military had dominated power for close to 30 years. The country is still undergoing a learning process and will continue to strive to nurture democracy and all its institutions to full development.

Economy:

Nigeria has Africa’s biggest economy and largest population, some searchers even describe it as the “Giant of Africa”. , Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and the seventh most populous country in the world with 182 million inhabitants. it is growing so rapidly that the United Nations Population Division expects it to overtake America’s by 2050. However, those prospections are based on high fertility rates observed in the past, whereas newer data suggest those rates are falling fast, especially in the south of the country.

[1] Nigeria: Giant of Africa, by Peter Holmes 1987
[2] Embassy of Nigeria in Washington: http://www.nigeriaembassyusa.org/
[3] Counrty studies Nigeria: http://countrystudies.us/nigeria/67.htm
[4] The Economist Special Report Nigeria 2015
[5] Embassy of Nigeria in Washington