Did you know 1 out of every 4 Africans is a Nigerian? Nigeria is a fascinating country in Northern Africa.It`s capital city is Abuja, and with a population of more than 107 million, it is about twice the size of the state California! The president of Nigeria is Jonathan Goodluck and the type of government is a federal republic. The people of Nigeria belong to a few ethnic groups, including Ibo, Tiv, and Igbo. Igbo also happens to be one of the languages spoken there. Some other languages include English, Husa, and Yoruba. Most of the people are Muslims, who follow the religion of Islam. They wear colorful clothing and caps called fezzes.They also wear large necklaces and earrings, and baggy pants. Believe it or not, some Nigerians live in tents! However, not all Nigerians live tent-wise. Some live in walled compounds. The people of Nigeria like to eat things like rice, tuwo, gari, yams, seafood, and kola nuts. They also eat corn, cereals, vegetables, cassava, soups, and stews. Furthermore, they have fish, chicken, beef, goat, tomatoes, onions, peppers, and, lastly, tropical fruits. They begin grade school at age six, and they wear uniforms. Girls wear a jumper or a skirt with a blouse, and boys wear a shirt and shorts. Classes are held in schools made out of one room or just outside. In secondary school many schools lack adequate facilities. The largest universities are Ahmuda bello university, university of Lagos, Lagos state university and the olabisi onabjo university. Children go to secondary school at age twelve.Nigerians live in these different environments:rivers, good farmland, low and swampy areas, high plains, hills and grassland, swamps, plains, and lagoons with swamps. The natural resources of Nigeria include things like tin, oil, petroleum, coal, columbite, gold,and iron ore. There is also lead, limestone, natural gas and zinc. The crops of Nigeria are things like peanuts,cassava, yams, cocoa, palm oil, cashews, corn, and rice. The livestock most common to Nigeria is chicken and cattle. There are many different animals living in Nigeria. Some of them include lions, leopards, camels, monkeys, elephants, hyenas, gorillas, pigs, antelopes, fish, tsetse fly, mosquitoes, birds, rodents, and insects. The animals of Nigeria are important because pigs, antelopes and monkeys can be hunted for food. Lions, giraffes, elephants, leopards, camels, and hyenas can live in national parks so people can see them and learn from them. Animals that still live in their natural habitats are monkeys, rodents, pigs, crocodiles, fish, birds, insects and snakes. The animals on the endangered list are the African elephant, the Acha tugi long-fingered frog, the African golden cat, lion, the egg frog, and the African gold parrot. These animals are endangered due to humans hunting and habitat destruction.
Sources: Books: Welcome to Nigeria by Ester Kerr and Inka Ismail and Looking at Nigeria by Jillian Powell Databases: http://kids.britannica.com/, http://www.worldbookonline.com, and http://go-kids.grolier.com/main?page=kids.com.