ABOUT NIGERIA COUNTRY

Nigeria is a country located in West Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, having boundaries with Benin, Chad, Cameroon and the Atlantic Ocean. Nigeria got its independence in October 1^st 1960 from Britain. It is a country with multi-ethnic groups giving rise to so many different languages with English as its central language.

Nigeria’s capital before 1992 was Lagos but it was relocated to Abuja after consideration of some basic factors like defense, since Lagos is located at the boundary, making it prone to attack in case of any invasion.

The country is believed to be the giant of Africa with its enormous natural and human resources including the much popular crude oil that now stand as the country’s chief export trade. Though these resources have never been managed properly, the country still stands outstanding in the history of Africa.

Since independence, the country has been faced with so many challenges, including the continuous invasion of its leadership by the military, which led to so many years of wastefulness and unfruitfulness, rendering the country’s economy shapeless. Despite these challenges, the country has struggled to rise from shabbiness to a state of gradual development, as its leadership was restored back to a civilian one since 1999, after the sudden death of a military dictator who held the country’s economy on the floor.

Since the inception of partial democracy in Nigeria, the country has witnessed some significant changes in both economy and development. I prefer to call it a ‘partial democracy’ because, no free and fair election has been conducted in this country since independence, and history has it. And this is another great challenge the country is facing today. Until such election is held, many stones shall continue to be left unturned in its development and progress.

            The Portuguese reached the coast of what became modern Nigeria, as well as of Ghana, in the fifteenth century. As in Ghana, too, they began a rich trade with the coastal peoples, chiefly with the people of Benin and the neighboring districts. From the sixteenth century onwards, other European traders also came on the scene, to have a share in the rich trade. Treaties were signed with kings of the area. When the slave trade was abolished, trade in palm oil became more and more important in the nineteenth century. Because of the importance of the oil trade, the outlets through which the River Niger flows through its delta and into the sea were known as the ‘Oil Rivers’.

            For a long time, the Portuguese and other European merchants confined their activities to the coastal area. They feared to penetrate far inland because they knew very little about the hinterland of the country. As time passed, however, they extended their trade father along the Oil Rivers.

            This led to the exploration of the River Niger by MungoPark and Hugh Clapperton, but it was through the efforts of the two brothers, Richard and John Lander, that the true course and mouth of the Niger were discovered in 1830. This same move led to the introduction of Christianity in Nigeria, through the European missionaries.

            During these wasteful years, Nigeria was badly exploited by the Europeans, especially the British who used their then technology to intimidate the kings and rulers of the different tribes in Nigeria, just to exploit their natural and human resources.

LIST OF BRITISH MEN WHO RULED NIGERIA DURING COLONIALISM

1.      Sir Fredrick Lord Lugard (1912-1919)

2.      Sir Hugh Clifford (1919-1925)

3.      Sir Cremer Thomson (1925-1931)

4.      Sir Donald Cameron (1931-1935)

5.      Sir Bernard Bourdilion (1935-1943)

6.      Arthur Richard (1943-1948)

7.      Sir John Macpherson (1948-1958)

8.      James Robertson (1958-1960)

"The Nigeria Coat of Arm"

Nigeria coat of Arm is sometime referred to as armorial Bearing. It is a symbol signifying the authority, dignity, strength, unity and worth of the nation.

1. the silver Y represents the two major rivers in Nigeria (River Niger and River Benue)

2. the eagle stands for strength and authority

3. the two white horses are symbols of dignity

4. The black shield stands for the rich Agriculture soil of the country.

¨The six Geopolitical Zones in Nigeria

South-East: this comprises of the states; Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi and Imo

South South: Akwa-Ibom state, Bayelsa, CrossRiver, Delta, Edo and Rivers

Southwest: Ekiti state, Lagos, Ogun, Osun and Oyo

North Central: Benue state, Kgi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger and Plateau

Northeast: Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba and Yobe

Northwest: Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Kastina, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara.

¨Nigeria’s Democracy

Nigeria practices a Federal system of government and Presidential system of government joined.

-A president and a vice

-36 Governors and vice

-774 Local Government Chairperson and vice

-A Senate President of the Senate and a Deputy

-A Speaker of the House of Representatives and a Deputy

-36 Speakers of the State House with vice

-109 Senators

-360 members of the Federal House of Representatives

-1205 Members of the State House of Assembly

- 8540 Local Government Councilors with a Speaker in each of the 774 Local Governments.

¨Indigenous Head(s) of Government of Nigeria Federation

1. Alhaji Sir Abubakar Tafawa Belewa; Prime Minister (1957-1966)

2. Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe; Governor General and a President (1960-1966)

3. Major General Thomas Aguiyi-Ironsi; Head of State (1966)

4. General Yakubu Gowon;Head of State (1966-1975)

5. General Murtala Mohammed; Head of State (1975-1976)

6. General Olusegun Obasanjo; Head of State (1976-1979)

7. Alhaji Shehu Shagari; Executive President (1979-1983)

8. Major General Mohammed Buhari; Head of State (1983-1985)

9. General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida; Military President (1985-19930

10. Chief Ernest Shonekan; Head of Interim National Government (1993)

11. General Sani Abacha; Head of State (1993-1998)

12. General Abdusalami Abubakar; Head of State (1998-1999)

13. Chief Olusegun Obasanjo; Executive President (1999-2003 and was re-elected)

14. Alhaji Umaru Musa Yaradua; Executive President (2008-2010)

15. Dr. Goodluck Jonathan Ebele (2010-date) - first ever Nigeria's acting president and later   president after the death of his successor.

¨Some of the Important Tribes in Nigeria

Nigeria is a country with verse cultural and traditional heritage, and this is because the country is made up of so many different tribes with their various cultures, traditions and language. Among these tribes are: the Ibos, Hausas, Yorubas, Fulani, Efik, Ibibio, Ndoma, Ijaw, Bini, Itsekiri etc.

The Ibos behave more like the Westerners (white men), and they believe more in business and trade. Their major religion is Christianity while the Hausas and the Fulanis practice Islam. Other tribes have no significant religion; theirs is varied.

¨Nigeria’s Population

Nigeria is one of the most populated countries of the world, having a total population of; 140,003,542 (one hundred and forty million, thirty five thousand and forty two) as at 2007. Kano, Lagos and Kaduna are the most populated states in Nigeria, with human population of; 9383689, 9013534 and 6066562 respectively.

¨Major Exports

The major exports of Nigeria include Crude oil (petroleum), aluminum, Cocoa, Palm oil, Cassava, rubber, coal (rarely), cattle, rice and plantain. Much of Nigeria’s population depend much on agriculture and farming for livelihood in the past, but now the country’s economy is becoming more and more diversified as day rolls by.

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¨Memorable Tourist Destinations in Nigeria

Nigeria is a wonderful tourist center for those intending to spend their vacation in Africa. I promise that you will never regret your stay here. The people are friendly, forget what you read on papers or hear on news and those you have been watching on television, it is not the way you think why not explore it yourself and be among those testifying of the goodness of Nigeria.

I myself used to have this same belief about a particular town here in my country, many things have been rumored about this town; they kill human for rituals, they eat human flesh, they hate foreigners, they are robbers while others are frauds. I became tired of these whole stories, so I decided to go on a vacation in this town, I planned this with some friends, it was quite terrifying though, but I was ready to face the consequences of my decision, so we embarked on the journey.

I couldn’t believe myself, when I made good friends from this town before departing from there after we stayed for two weeks. I enjoyed their company, their tradition, culture and company; it was quite exquisite and memorable for me and my friends.

Therefore, I challenge you to visit Nigeria and see things for yourself. I repeat myself; you will never regret your visit to Nigeria. Finally, if you make up your mind to visit Nigeria, and in the process, something tries to discomfort you, feel free to contact me at any time or day, I will be glad to render the best of my sincere assistance to ensure your stay is a memorable and peaceful one while you are in Nigeria.

Lastly, for those who love hospitality in terms of the opposite sex, I think Nigeria can boast of the most beautiful young looking girls in the world, who shall be pleased to be your company for as long as you wish, so you have nothing to fear or worry about, the environment is already loaded with explosives, just waiting for you to explode.

¨Good Investment opportunities in Nigeria today

            As a country that is still struggling to conquer the battle against poverty and weak economy, there are a lot of investment opportunities springing up everyday in all sectors of its economy though; some sectors have the greatest opportunity for investment. It is my great pleasure to bring these wonderful opportunities to your knowledge, as a way of drawing your interest to Nigeria.

            For some years now, Nigeria has been looked upon as a country filled with intense corruption and moral decadence, which truly it was then, but through a continual fight and sensitization by the recent government, has brought some significant changes to the corruption status of the entire population of Nigeria.

            Just like every country, Nigeria was only passing through its time of revolution, which we all know that such time is always tough and rough for every nation that did passed through it, a good example is Russia, Italy, France and America.

            Because of high poverty level and economic deterioration, some unworthy citizens were lured into crime practices like money laundering; drug trafficking, Internet scam, robbery and kidnapping. But all these are turning into glares, as the present government is working very hard to combat all these crimes which had distracted most reputable foreign investors from investing in Nigeria.

            As a matter of fact, I am using this medium to invite all of you who have less or big interest in Nigeria, to come and take a look at the tremendous changes going on everyday in Nigeria. If I were you, I would rush now and utilize the enabling environment that is being created daily before others occupy the better positions.

            This is not just a campaign, but a closer look at what is on ground now in Nigeria. It will be incomplete for me to round up this article without laying an emphasis on the significant changes that have taken place in our power sector. For those who do not know Nigeria too well, in the past three years, we had no good news to tell about our power sector, which was then in a state of total dismay. But recently, it is something to pride of, as the present government under the auspices of President Umaru Musa Yaradua, vowed to restore Nigeria’s power sector to a state of national glory, and he sticked to it.

            Without mincing words, let me move straight to the business, which is the listing of the most outstanding investment opportunities in Nigeria today. Please I want you to note that this is not just a government list to lure you into a regretful investment in Nigeria, it is a well-researched case study that is carried out by me and some highly intellectual Nigerians who are residing here in Nigeria. These include:

-         Banking sector

-         Communication sector (precisely, GSM communication)     

-         Agricultural sector

-         Natural Gas manufacturing using cassava. Cassava is found in huge quantity here in Nigeria, and this has not yet been utilized except for the purpose of human consumption as food. Therefore, if an investor invests in this business, surely he will make it in a short period, and the government is seriously searching for investors to come into this business.

-         Palm oil processing

-         Education sector (we are lacking efficient higher institutions here)

-         Health sector (hospital and drug manufacture)

-         Forestry (we have thick forests with poor management)

-         Recycling industry (this is a hot opportunity because we have no good investors in this sector at all)

-         Building materials manufacturing industry is also needed because new buildings are being constructed hourly, and we have no enough industries that are into this, we mostly import.

-         Wears (clothes and shoes), this is another good opportunity for investors, we have good tailors and local designers, but they have no efficient machines to work with, this is why we patronize Dubai UAE a lot.

-         The movie and music industry is another booming sector to invest your money.

NOTE: Do not send money to any individual or group, in the form of investment opportunity in Nigeria, if you wish to invest here, please kindly contact the Nigeria’s Federal Government Authority for this. Don’t trust your hard-earned money with any body for handling, including i.