Nigeria is often called the "Giant of Africa". The name comes from the vastness of its land, the diversity of its peoples and languages, its huge population (the largest in Africa), its oil and other natural resources.

Nigeria (Federal Republic of Nigeria) is a patchwork of different regions, including deserts, plains, swamps, mountains and steamy jungles. Nigeria's area is 923,768 square kilometers. The most significant mountain range in Nigeria is the Cameroon Highlands. Nigeria also has one of the largest river systems in the world, which includes the Niger Delta, the third largest delta on Earth.

Most of Nigeria is covered with plains and savannas. These tropical grasslands extend as far as the eyes can see.

Nigeria has at least 250 languages, and perhaps more than 400 nationalities. The official language of this state is English. Music and art are very developed here due to tribal traditions.

Nigeria's population exceeds 17 million people. At least 60 percent of Nigerians live below the poverty line, subsisting on less than one dollar a day. Unfair distribution of the country's oil wealth, as well as political, ethnic and religious conflicts pose an existential threat to Nigerian society.

The high slopes of the southern mountains of Nigeria are covered with dense tropical forests. Green plants grow everywhere, blurred by colorful flowers, fruits, birds and butterflies. It is home to the rare western lowland gorillas, once thought to be extinct in Nigeria.

Nigeria's diverse landscape makes it ideal for a wide range of plants and animals. Many animal species are endemic. Unfortunately, Nigeria does not have many national parks and competition for living space with humans has left many animal species listed as endangered.

Many years ago, the savannas of Nigeria were filled with giraffes, elephants, lions, cheetahs and large herds of antelope. Today, most of these animals have been killed by hunters or their habitats have been destroyed.

Since Nigeria only gained independence from Britain in 1960, it has long suffered from corrupt leaders and haphazard military rule. In 1999, the country adopted a new constitution and held its first democratic elections in 20 years.

Nigeria is the most important country politically and economically in West Africa. It is richer than all other West African nations and has considerable power.

Nigeria's most important export is oil, more than half of which goes to the United States. Rubber and cocoa are also important export products.

Option 2

The Federal Republic of Nigeria is the largest country in Africa in terms of the number of people living there.

The name of the state is associated with the Niger River flowing there, flowing into the Gulf of Guinea. The climate here leaves the best results. In Nigeria, the weather is hot all year round and there is almost always high humidity. The settlements are located near an evergreen swamp forest, which is being hastily cut down. However, in the northern side the terrain rises, but it is also quite hot here. Dense forests turn into savannah. The country's fauna is quite rich and diverse. On the outskirts of the forest and savannah you can meet elephants, rhinoceroses, fleet-footed antelopes and proud predators - cheetahs. And hippopotamuses and menacing crocodiles swim in the rivers. Wandering through the forest, you can see chimpanzees and mischievous monkeys of various breeds jumping on the branches.

The population of the state is mainly engaged in agriculture. In the southern part of the country, farmers grow yams, manisca and sweet potatoes. It is these cultures that can only be found in such a sultry area. It is interesting that the roots and tubers of plants are enormous in weight. In addition to these crops, peasants are engaged in the cultivation of cocoa and oil palm, which reaches up to 15 meters and produces more than 200 kg of fruit. Palm oil is obtained from these fruits. In addition, the population of the northern part of the state raises sheep, goats and zebu, and plants fields with rice, corn and peanuts. Nigeria is very rich in mineral resources. Its most important value is oil, which is successfully supplied to the world market.

Abuja, being the capital of the republic, attracts many tourists with its beautiful places. Particularly attractive to both guests and residents of the state is the National Mosque, which includes not only a prayer hall, but also a hall for conferences and meetings and a religious school. In general, in Nigeria, although different faiths predominate, people still worship different gods. Africans have widespread national clothing made from homespun or factory-made materials.

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Federal Republic of Nigeria

Area: 923.8 thousand km2.

Population: 115 million people (1998).

Official language: English, French.

Capital: Abuja (379 thousand inhabitants, 1998).

Currency: Naira.

Member of the UN since 1960, OAU, etc.

The state is located in West Africa. In the south it is washed by the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. It borders on Benin in the west, Niger in the north, Chad in the northeast, and Cameroon in the east and southeast.

The transport network is well established. Railways - 4.3 thousand km. The length of roads is 112 thousand km, of which 31.5 thousand km are with bitumen coating. There are 6 seaports, 5 international airports, 14 domestic airlines.

The ethnic composition is extremely complex - there are more than 250 ethnic groups. More than half of the total population is made up of three peoples - Hausa, Yoruba, and Igbo. The common languages ​​are Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, Ibibio, Kanuri, etc. The peoples of Nigeria differ from each other in language, culture, and level of development. The main occupation of the residents is agriculture. Land is widely considered to be the property of the entire community. Control over the distribution of land is exercised by the chief, the village elder, and the head of the family. Work is strictly divided between men and women. Men perform the most labor-intensive work associated with clearing a new plot of trees and bushes and preparing it for sowing. Women do the planting, weeding and harvesting.

The houses are either adobe (in the north) or wooden. Most of the dwellings are one-story, rectangular in plan. The roof is gable or hipped, made of wood, palm leaves, straw, and less often of corrugated iron. Since ancient times, Nigerians have developed crafts - blacksmithing, pottery, weaving, weaving. Handicraft gold, silver, and bronze jewelry, figurines carved from solid wood, wooden masks, and terracotta items are still in great demand. National theater, literature, and cinematography are developing. Most rural residents cannot do without dancing to tom-toms in the evenings.

In Nigeria there are about 30 cities with a population of over 100 thousand people. Approximately 35% of the total number of Nigerians are urban dwellers.

Abuja is located 800 km north of the former capital, Lagos. In Abuja there is a modern complex of administrative buildings, hotels, and an airport of international importance.

Lagos (6 million inhabitants) remains the main economic, scientific and cultural center of the country, one of the largest trading ports in West Africa. The National Theatre, administrative and residential buildings made of glass and concrete were erected in Lagos.

Ibadan (over 2 million inhabitants) is one of the largest commercial and industrial centers in the country. In the north, for many centuries, the Hausa have had large cities - Kaduna (531 thousand), Kano (420 thousand), Zaria (224 thousand). It is not at all similar to the ancient Hausan cities of Kaduna (translated as “place of crocodiles”) - a European-style city with modern buildings, wide streets, flowering alleys.

Nature reserves, national museums and well-equipped ocean beaches are worthy of travelers' attention.

Nigeria is characterized by smoothed relief forms: 2/3 of the territory are leveled plateaus, the rest are plains. The highest plateau is Joye (1735 m). The climate is equatorial-monsoon with wet and dry seasons. Dust storms are common during the harmattan period. Precipitation ranges from 500 mm in the north and northeast to 4000 mm in the Niger Delta and southeast. In the interior regions, the temperature ranges from +20" C to +33 ° C, on the coastal plain +24... + 28 "C. Tropical forests predominate in the south and savannas in the north. Elephants, rhinoceroses and antelopes are preserved in the savannas, there are many monkeys in the tropical forests, and hippopotamuses in the floodplains.

Before the arrival of Europeans, states already existed in the space of modern Nigeria. The colonial takeover ended by the end of the 19th century. In 1914, British possessions along the coast of the Gulf of Guinea were united into one colony - Nigeria, named after the Niger River. Since October 1, 1960, Nigeria has been an independent state; since October 1, 1963 - a federal republic. The civilian government was in power for 10 years, and the military ruled the country for 28 years. Olesegun Obasanjo, who led the military regime, subsequently voluntarily transferred power to the civilian government. In February 1999, he won a landslide victory in the presidential elections.

Nigeria is a federal republic. The federation consists of 36 states and the Federal Constituency of Abuja. The head of state is the president. The highest legislative body is the National Assembly, consisting of two chambers.

About half the population is Muslim, more than 35% are Christian, and the rest adhere to traditional beliefs.

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Africa Tur → Reference materials → WEST AND CENTRAL AFRICA → Nature of Nigeria

Nature of Nigeria

The country's nature is rich and varied, stretching from the coast of the Gulf of Guinea to Lake. Chad. Thanks to its diverse natural conditions, Nigeria is called West Africa in miniature. Indeed, almost all types of landscapes in the region are found in the country.

If you cross Nigeria from north to south, you can see how gradually desertified and dry savanna turns into high-grass wet savanna, then park forests and, finally, wooded savanna and evergreen moist forest appear. In the northern part of the country, a dry, sultry desert wind, the harmattan, blows most of the year, bringing clouds of sand and dust. And in the south, where the humid southwestern monsoons dominate, there is a lot of precipitation and relative humidity reaches almost 100%.

Relief, minerals. If you look at the physiographic map of Nigeria, you can see that the river. The Niger and its Benue tributary divide the country into two parts. To the south of the valleys of these rivers, most of the territory is occupied by the Maritime Plain, and to the north low plateaus predominate.

The coastal plain is the most extensive lowland region of the country, stretching for hundreds of kilometers from west to east. The plain is formed by river sediments. The slightly indented sea coast is not very convenient for mooring ships. In the west, a chain of sand spits stretches along the seashore, forming lagoons. The lagoons are connected by narrow channels to each other and to the Gulf of Guinea. The largest of them is Lagos, on the banks of which is the capital of Nigeria and the country's main seaport.

To the north of the Primorskaya Plain, the terrain gradually rises and turns into a plateau: to the west of the river. Niger is the Yoruba plateau, to the east of it is the Udi plateau. Further, behind the valleys of Niger and Benue, the vast Northern Plateau rises in steps: first to 400-600 m, and then to 600-1000 m and more than 1000 m. The plateau is composed of ancient crystalline rocks, which were subjected to the destructive effects of wind and flowing waters. Above its leveled surface, isolated hills of outcrops rise here and there, reaching 1500 m. Where ancient crystalline rocks come to the surface, the outcrops have a dome-shaped shape. In areas where sedimentary rocks are distributed, low outcrops with a flat top have formed.

The most elevated central part of the plateau is the Joye Plateau, where traces of volcanic activity have been preserved: dilapidated cones, frozen lavas. The highest point of the plateau, Mount Shere, rises to a height of 1735 m. In the northwest, the Northern Plateau smoothly passes into the Sokoto Plain, in the northeast into the Borno Plain.

Nigeria is rich in a variety of mineral resources. Ancient crystalline rocks contain ores of non-ferrous and rare metals: tin, niobium, tungsten and molybdenum, zirconium, tantalum, uranium, gold and silver. Deposits of hard and brown coal, oil, gas, and limestone were found in sedimentary rocks.

The main wealth of the country is oil. Its importance in the economy is growing every year. The search for oil in Nigeria began in 1937. Oil-bearing formations were discovered on the coast of the Gulf of Biafra, and then the Gulf of Benin. Currently, intensified development of underwater oil reserves on the continental shelf is underway. The main explored deposits are located in the river delta. Niger. Reliable reserves of “black gold” at the beginning of 1976 were estimated at 2.7 billion tons.

Deposits of tin, niobium and tantalum ores are located on the Joye Plateau and to the north of it on the Bauchi Plateau. The highest content of these minerals is observed in granites. The total reserves of tin ore are estimated at 110 thousand tons, the metal content is 72-74%. Reserves of tantalonium-obium ores amount to 31 million tons. Deposits of tungsten and radioactive minerals - pyrochlore, thorite, monazite - are also associated with granites. In the crystalline rocks of the Northern Plateau, along the valleys of the Niger and some of its tributaries, on the Yoruba Plateau, gold is found in small quantities. The country has significant reserves of lead and zinc. The main deposit is located in Aba Kaliki, in the southeast of the country. Iron ore deposits have been explored near Lokoja and Enugu. Total reserves - 300 million tons, iron content - 42%.

Nigeria is the only country on the Guinea coast that has industrial deposits of coal and natural gas. The main reserves are concentrated in the Primorsky Plain area. Coal was discovered at the beginning of the 20th century. in the Enugu-Udi basin. New deposits of hard coal, including coking coal, have been explored in the central part of the country. Total reserves are estimated at 500 million tons. Large reserves of brown coal have been discovered along the banks of the lower reaches of the Niger, near Asaba and Onitsha, as well as north of Benin. The Benin deposit is considered the largest. Lignite outcrops are also known in the north-west of the country. According to estimates, in 1976 natural gas reserves amounted to 1.2 thousand trillion. cube m. Limestones are widespread; near Nkalagu, east of Enugu, the limestone thickness reaches 5 m. Limestones suitable for cement production are also found near

Abeokuta, Sokoto, Benin. Limestone reserves are estimated at almost 1 billion tons. Significant deposits of phosphorites have been discovered near Abeokuta. Productive strata lie at great depths, only in some places they come to the surface. Phosphorites are unsuitable for the production of superphosphate, but in highly crushed form they can be used as fertilizer. According to some reports, phosphate rock reserves in Nigeria are estimated at almost 1 billion tons.

There are deposits of table salt near the border with the Niger Republic. In the river valley Benue has mineral springs, including hot ones. In the lake basin Chad, north-west of Potiscum, contains extensive deposits of diatomite. In addition, the country has known deposits of asbestos, barite, graphite, ceramic clay, mica, talc and other minerals.

Climate. Most of Nigeria has an equatorial monsoon climate. When comparing maps of annual precipitation and vegetation, it is clear that the forest zone receives the greatest amount of precipitation - from 1500 to 3000 mm per year (more than 4000 mm falls in the Niger Delta and in the southeast of the country). In the savannah zone, the amount of precipitation decreases from south to north. In the central part, 1000-1400 mm falls (on the Joe plateau - more than 1500 mm), and in the extreme northeast - only 500 mm.

In summer, humid southwestern monsoons blow from the Atlantic Ocean towards the Sahara. At this time, a low pressure zone forms over the hot desert sands. The wet season is coming. In the south as a whole it lasts eight months or more, but in a narrow strip of the coast it is humid and hot all year round. In winter, when high pressure sets in over the Sahara, a dry, hot harmattan wind comes from the desert, bringing dust and heat. The dry season begins, which lasts six or more months in the northern part of the country and four to five in the central and southern parts.

Average annual temperatures everywhere exceed 25°. In the north, the hottest months are March-June, in the south - February-April with an average maximum temperature of 30-32°; During the rainy season the temperature drops slightly. August is the rainiest and therefore least hot month. Daily temperature fluctuations are significantly greater than annual and monthly ones. They are especially large in the north of the country during the harmattan period, when the heat is unbearable during the day (more than 40°), and it becomes cold at night (less than 10°).

People have a hard time with the dry season. The mucous membrane of the nose and larynx dries out, lips crack, dust gets into the eyes and mouth. Occasionally, outbreaks of cerebrospinal meningitis occur, claiming and crippling many human lives.

Harmattan causes great damage to agriculture. It often destroys plantings of cultivated plants. The exceptional dryness of the air leads to strong evaporation of soil moisture, so dense crusts form on the soil surface, making it difficult to cultivate. Such crusts are difficult to break with a hoe - still the main agricultural tool of the Nigerian peasant. But, breaking through to the coast for one or two days, harmattan brings great relief to people suffering here from excessive humidity. That's why they call him "doctor" here.

Short periods of heavy downpour occur during the changing seasons. The day before the shower, the bright blue sky is covered with black low clouds. Continuous flashes of lightning are accompanied by powerful peals of thunder, heard 20-30 km away. Rainfalls are especially heavy in the northern part of the country, where they are called “gadari”. They often bring great disasters: they uproot trees, wash away roads; a sharp drop in temperature (by 10°C or more) often leads to colds.

Inland waters. The abundance of rainfall in the southern part of the country contributes to the emergence of many rivers flowing into the Gulf of Guinea. The main river, the Niger, is also fed by rains.

For 1,400 km, the river flows through the country, receiving tributaries Sokoto and Kaduna. In the area between their river mouths. The Niger carves its way through hard crystalline rocks, forming roaring rapids. (After the construction of the Kainji hydroelectric power station, the rapids were flooded.) When it flows into the ocean, the Niger is divided into 14 branches, forming a giant delta, with an area equal to the Nile delta. From above, the Niger Delta looks like a vast “green ocean”, cut through by silvery ribbons of branches and the channel of the main river, the banks of which are densely overgrown with oil palm trees. In the past, these shores were called Olive. Some branches were accessible to large ocean-going vessels, but subsequently they became shallow. Currently, the Escravos and Forcados branches are used for navigation, but dredging work is constantly being carried out here too.

Within the country on the river. Niger experiences floods twice a year. The main flood coincides with the summer rains, the additional one occurs at the height of the dry season, when the hollow waters of the upper Niger reach the lower reaches. During a flood, the water level in the river rises by 9-10 m.

In the center of the country, near Lokoja, where the river. The Niger turns south and its largest tributary, the river, flows into it. Benue, whose origins lie outside the country, on the northern slopes of the Cameroon Highlands. In the upper reaches the river is swift and stormy, but when it reaches the plain, it calms down and flows for almost 1000 km in a wide valley with marshy banks. Floods in Benue occur once a year, in August - September.

There are few rivers in the far north. During the dry season, they become very shallow and do not always carry their waters to the lake. Chad. Many of them remain waterless for most of the year.

Soils. In general, Nigeria's soils are not very fertile. Their humus content is low or average at best. The most extensive area is occupied by red lateritic soils of seasonally wet (mixed) forests and tall grass savannas, which, when applied with phosphate fertilizers, produce relatively high yields of grains, legumes, root crops, etc. To the south of the zone of red lateritic soils, red yellow lateritic soils of permanently humid tropical forests are common. . These soil types west of the lower Niger are favorable for the growth of the cocoa tree. To the east of the lower Niger, under the influence of heavy rainfall, nutrients from lateritic soils are quickly washed out, resulting in the formation of highly leached soils suitable only for such unpretentious crops as oil palm, cassava, etc. In the delta. Niger has developed mangrove soils on which rice can be grown, but its yields are low due to salinity. To the north of the zone of red lateritic soils there is a zone of red-brown dry savannas, into which areas of black dry savanna soils are wedged along the depressions. Black soils, difficult to cultivate, are, however, among the most fertile in the tropics; They are especially good at growing cotton. The alluvial soils of river valleys are also of considerable economic value, on which mainly rice is sown in the wet season, and vegetables are grown in the dry season.

Vegetation and fauna. Nigeria is a country of forests and savannas. Once upon a time, a large part of the territory was covered by dense tropical rainforests that rush towards the sun. The sun's rays hardly penetrate through the dense green canopy formed by tree crowns. Among the most valuable species in such forests are kaya and sapele, iroko and opepe, agba and obeche. All of them provide ornamental and construction wood. In depressions of the relief, on the banks of freshwater lagoons, in inland swamps and in the Niger Delta (where salt water does not penetrate), the appearance of the forest is somewhat different. The trees here are lower and not as diverse. Many of them are also used on the farm. Abura, for example, a tree with a short trunk but very large leaves, has wood that can be easily processed. The leaves of the candelabra-shaped pandanus are an excellent material for weaving mats and baskets; raffia palm leaves are used as roofing material, while the trunks go to the rafters. Raffia also produces fiber - pias sava, which is used to make brushes. Constant cutting down and burning of areas for crops has led to a strong reduction in the area of ​​forests that now occupy approximately Uz territory.

Tall, multi-tiered tropical forests have been preserved mainly along the right bank of the lower reaches of the river. Niger and in the river valley Cross. Trees 40-45 m high form the first, upper tier. Such giants with powerful plank-shaped roots radiating from the base of the trunk are not afraid of the elemental forces of nature. The trees of the second and third tiers are especially densely dotted with epiphytes, intertwined with lianas, and cattails. The sap of the wine palm is used to make palm wine.

In the north of the forest zone, where the annual precipitation does not exceed 1600 mm, conditions for forest growth deteriorate. The relative humidity here is lower and the soils are drier. Some trees shed their leaves during the dry season. These are the so-called dry tropical forests. They are also multi-tiered, but less dense, their undergrowth is difficult to pass through. Even further to the north, the forests become increasingly sparse, and finally the expanses of savannah open up to the eye.

Almost half of Nigeria's territory is occupied by wet, so-called Guinean tall-grass savanna. There is an average of 1000-1400 mm of precipitation per year here. Areas of these savannas alternate with park savannas and gallery forests bordering river banks. The grass reaches enormous heights, in which not only a person, but also a large animal can hide. Among the grasses, different types of so-called elephant grass predominate. Groups of trees rise above the sea of ​​grass: drought-resistant kaya, isoberline, mitragyna. Some of them have trunks bent from annual fires. In the first half of the dry season, the savanna looks lifeless, the trees are bare. In the middle of this season, a smoke screen rises over the savannah: dry grass is burning, which is burned out year after year in order to prepare the land for crops. With the first rains, succulent shoots of young grass appear, and trees become covered with leaves. Savannah awakens.

To the north of the Guinean savannah zone, where precipitation decreases to 500-1000 mm and the dry season lasts more than six-seven months, there is a Sudanese savannah zone with dense but low grass cover. Various types of acacias with an umbrella-shaped crown and thorny bushes give the landscape its characteristic appearance. The young shoots of these shrubs are readily eaten by camels, and the leaves are used in folk medicine. It is difficult to imagine the Sudanese savannah without baobabs; Next to them you can find doum palms, ceiba, and whitish acacia, which sheds its leaves in the rainy season, and in the dry season it is covered with fresh leaves that serve as feed for livestock. In general, the natural conditions of the Sudanese savannah are favorable for the development of agriculture and cattle breeding. Herds of cattle, sheep and goats graze on extensive grazing lands. Thanks to the dry climate, there are no tsetse flies here.

In the extreme northeast of the country, where rain is very rare, there is a desertified, or, as it is called, Sahelian savannah with sparse vegetation cover. At the lake Chad, however, the colors change: lush thickets of papyrus and reeds sparkle in the sun with bright green, the blue surface of the lake sparkles, the air is filled with a chorus of birds.

The Nigerian forests and savannas are home to a variety of fauna. 100-200 years ago, huge herds of large mammals could be found here: elephants, giraffes, rhinoceroses, etc. Now few of them have survived. In natural conditions, the fauna is well represented in national parks and reserves, in particular in the Yankari Nature Reserve, on the Bauchi Plateau.

Of the large predatory animals in savannas, the most common is the leopard, which can sometimes be found near human habitation. Of the smaller ones there are many jackals and hyenas. Antelopes are extremely diverse: there are about three dozen species. The dwarf antelope dik dik, which weighs no more than 3 kg, lives in the forests. Far from populated areas, buffalo graze in large herds; Scaly anteater is found.

Tropical forests are the kingdom of climbing animals, primarily monkeys (chimpanzees and even gorilla have survived). There are many different species of baboons, monkeys, and also prosimians - lemurs. In rivers and lakes. Chad has hippopotamuses in the river delta. Niger is a pygmy hippopotamus. In large rivers there is an almost extinct mammal on earth - the sea cow. The waters of Nigeria are the habitat of crocodiles, of which there are especially many in the tributary of the river. Niger-Kaduna, whose name means "crocodile river" in the local language.

The world of birds is very diverse. There are many colorful parrots, red-headed woodpeckers, and hoopoes in the forests. A lot of birds nest in thickets near rivers. Scoters fly up in countless flocks, lazy pelicans walk in a long line, majestic flamingos flaunt themselves, and kingfishers tirelessly jump from branch to branch, sparkling with brilliant plumage. Of the birds of prey, African black kites are the most abundant; There are also hawks and vultures, a secretary bird, and a hornbill.

There are thousands of different species of insects in Nigeria. Among them there are also carriers of such serious diseases as yellow fever, malaria, and sleeping sickness.

The natural conditions and natural resources of Nigeria are favorable for economic activity. The relief, with the exception of some inaccessible areas of the plateau and eastern highlands, does not interfere with human settlement. Climatic and soil conditions are quite suitable for the cultivation of peanuts, cotton, cocoa, oil palm, rubber and other tropical crops. The use of artificial irrigation and the introduction of rational mechanization can make it possible to expand cultivable lands, and the eradication of the tsetse fly can make it possible to use the expanses of the Guinean savannah for cattle breeding. Full-flowing rivers, numerous lagoons, river delta. Niger and the Gulf of Guinea have enormous fisheries wealth.

Until recently, the rivers of Nigeria were used mainly for navigation and only to a very small extent as a source of irrigation. Now on the river Niger operates the country's largest hydroelectric power station. The presence of large reserves of hydropower, deposits of hard and brown coal, oil and natural gas favors the development of the energy industry.

Significant timber reserves in tropical forests contribute to the construction of modern enterprises in the timber processing, wood processing and pulp and paper industries. The diversity of mineral raw materials allows the development of the mining and manufacturing industries.

During the colonial period, the country's natural resources were ruthlessly plundered. All valuable raw materials went overseas, to the metropolis. After achieving political independence, Nigeria for the first time had ample opportunities to use the country's rich natural resources in the interests of developing its national economy.

Capital

Population

Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa - 115 million people. More than 200 different nationalities, the most numerous being the Ibo (or Igbo), Yoruba, Hausa, Edo, Ibibio, Tiv, etc. Many of the Yoruba, the most numerous people, are distinguished by three deep cuts on the skin of the cheeks made in childhood. The Hausa, inhabitants of the northern provinces, mostly Muslims, are descendants of Arabs and Lebanese.

Language

English and French are spoken, and local dialects are widely used in the province.

Religion

All Nigerians are quite religious, Muslims make up up to 40% of the population, Christians - 40%, the rest are adherents of local beliefs.

Geography

One of the largest countries in West Africa. It borders with Benin, Niger, Chad (along Lake Chad) and Cameroon. From the south it is washed by the Gulf of Guinea. The total area is 923.8 thousand square meters. km.

Climate

Equatorial monsoon and subequatorial, with high humidity. Average annual temperatures everywhere exceed +25 C. In the north, the hottest months are March–June, in the south - April, when temperatures reach +30–32 C. The rainiest and “coolest” month is August. The greatest amount of precipitation falls in the Niger Delta (up to 4000 mm per year), in the central part of the country - 1000–1400 mm, and in the extreme northeast - only 500 mm. The driest period is winter, when the harmattan wind blows from the northeast, bringing daytime heat and sharp daily temperature changes from the desert areas of the mainland (during the day the air warms up to +40 C or more, and at night the temperature drops to +10 C).

Political state

Federal Republic. Member of the Commonwealth. The head of state and government is the president. Legislative power belongs to the bicameral National Assembly (Chamber of Deputies and Senate). The role of the military in the political life of the country is extremely large.

Currency

Naira equal to 100 kobo (1 US dollar equals approximately 86-100 naira). The circulation of other currencies is officially prohibited, although in reality almost all hard currencies in the world are accepted in markets and private shops. Using credit cards and tourist traveler's checks is difficult and is only possible in the capital. Currency exchange can only be done in banks and official exchange offices. Everywhere, both in the market and in stores, you can and should bargain. Nigeria is a country with a difficult crime situation; it is not recommended to enter into conflicts with the local population, carry large sums of money with you or leave them in a hotel room, or use a taxi in the dark, especially when there are strangers in it besides the driver. Fraud is quite common, especially when using foreign currencies, so it is advisable to exchange some naira in small denominations in advance for everyday use.

Time

It is 2 hours behind Moscow. From the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in September - for 3 hours.

The content of the article

NIGERIA, Federal Republic of Nigeria. State in West Africa. The capital is Abuja (approx. 500 thousand people - 2003). Territory– 923.77 thousand sq. km. Administrative division– 36 states and the Federal Capital District. Population– 128.77 million people. (2005, evaluation). Official language- English. Religion– Islam, Christianity and traditional African beliefs. Currency unit– naira. National holiday– Independence Day (1960), October 1. Nigeria is a member of approx. 60 international organizations, incl. The UN since 1960, the Organization of African Unity (OAU) since 1963, and since 2002 its successor - the African Union (AU), the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) since 1975, the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) since 1971 , The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the Commonwealth (an association of countries that were part of the British Empire).

Geographical location and boundaries. Continental State. It borders in the west with Benin, in the north with Niger, in the northeast with Chad, in the east and southeast with Cameroon, and in the south it is washed by the waters of the Gulf of Guinea of ​​the Atlantic Ocean. The length of the coastline is 853 km.

Nature.

Terrain and water resources.

Nigeria is located on a low plateau with an altitude of approx. 600 m above sea level The country's territory is divided into large blocks by the valleys of the Niger and Benue rivers and is separated from the ocean by a narrow belt of coastal swamps. The width of this belt usually does not exceed 16 km, with the exception of the Niger Delta, where it reaches 97 km. A complex network of lagoons and channels located behind a barrier of sandy beaches forms a system of protected shallow waterways through which small vessels can pass from the Benin border in the west to the Cameroon border in the east without entering the ocean. Further inland, the Nsukka-Okigwi escarpment rising above the Cross River valley, the Jos and Biu plateaus, and the Adamawa Mountains are clearly visible. The generally flat surface of the plateau, composed of crystalline rocks in the north and west of the country and sandstones in the east, is in many places dotted with island mountains (inselbergs), i.e. rocky outlier hills with steep slopes. In the northeast, the surface gradually decreases towards Lake Chad, the level of which is 245 m above sea level.

The main rivers of Nigeria are the Niger, from which the country takes its name, and its largest tributary, the Benue. The main tributaries of the Niger and Benue - Sokoto, Kaduna and Gongola, as well as rivers flowing into Lake Chad, begin on the Jos Plateau, which is the hydrographic center of Nigeria. Navigation on these and other rivers, such as the Imo and Cross, is limited due to rapids and waterfalls, as well as sharp seasonal fluctuations in water levels. In Niger, ship traffic is maintained all year round to the city of Onitsha (where a bridge was built across the river), and from June to March - to Lokoja. During the wet season, boats operate as far as Jebba. Along the Benue, steamships go as far as Yola, but navigation is carried out only for four months - from July to October.

Climate.

The climate is influenced by two air masses - equatorial sea air associated with moisture-carrying winds, and tropical continental air associated with the dry and dusty harmattan wind, which blows from the Sahara Desert. There are two seasons - wet (March - September), which in the south of the country is separated by a short dry interval in August, and dry (October - February). There is more precipitation in the south than in the north. The average annual precipitation on the coast is 1800–3800 mm, and on the northern edge of the country it is less than 25 mm. Sweltering heat and severe thunderstorms herald the beginning and end of the wet season, but between May and August, when most of the rainfall occurs, severe, short-lived thunderstorms give way to more persistent rainfall. Average temperatures are high and approximately the same in the north and south of the country. In the south, humidity is also high with constant heat, although temperatures rarely exceed 32 ° C, while in the north there are seasonal differences, and during the dry season there are significant daily temperature fluctuations. In the northeast, temperatures in the shade can reach 38° C. There are also frosts.

Soils and minerals.

Almost all soils in Nigeria are acidic. In a number of areas in the east of the country, intensive leaching of soils formed on sandstones led to the formation of the so-called. “acid sands”, which are easy to process but quickly deplete. The soils of the far north were formed from desert sands and are easily destroyed. They differ sharply from the fertile soils that formed on the heavy loams of many river floodplains, in the cocoa belt and in the Niger Delta. In some densely populated areas, intensive farming and grazing have caused soil erosion.

Vast areas of Nigeria are composed of sedimentary rocks enriched in iron. There are many iron ore deposits, but they are not being developed. The largest deposits are located in Mount Patti near Lokoja and in Sokoto. In the 1980s and 1990s, the country produced oil and natural gas in the Niger Delta and offshore, tin and columbite (niobium ore) on the Jos Plateau near Enugu, and limestone (for cement production) in Nkalagu, Abeokuta, Sokoto, Ukpilla and Calabar .

Other minerals - asbestos, bauxite, tungsten, graphite, precious stones (sapphires, topazes), gold, coal, kaolin (clay), columbite, manganese, tin, natural gas, lead, mica, uranium, phosphates, zinc, etc. .

Flora and fauna.

Mangrove and freshwater swamp forests dominate the coastline, but then give way to a belt of dense tropical forest, in which the main tree species are kaya (mahogany), Chlorophora high and Triplochitone durum. The oil palm grows wild in tropical rainforests; in densely populated areas, shrubby thickets of this palm have replaced the forest. In more northern areas, the forest thins out and is replaced by tall grass. This is the Guinean savannah, in which trees such as baobab, false locust and tamarind grow. More open savannas occur north of the line marking the northern limit of root crop production, while desert landscapes predominate in the far northeast. Acacia (a source of gum arabic) and mimosa are common there.

The area of ​​state forest reserves is 21 thousand square meters. km (out of a total tropical forest area of ​​133.7 thousand sq. km).

In the fall of 2005, the government promulgated a decree on the conservation of endangered plant species (there are about 400 of them).

The placement of animals depends on the vegetation. The southern swamps and forests are home to crocodiles, monkeys and snakes, while the north contains antelope (several species), camels, hyenas, and the occasional giraffe and lion. Other animals native to tropical forests and wet savannas are elephants, gazelles, gorillas and leopards. The rivers are home to numerous species of fish, crocodiles and hippos. The variety of birds is amazing, especially along the edges of the forests. African bustards, vultures, kites, hawks, snipes, quails, pigeons, ostriches and parakeets live here.

Population.

Nigeria is the largest country in terms of population on the African continent. It is one of the 10 most populated countries in the world. High population density is characteristic of the southeastern states. The average population density is 130.9 people. per 1 sq. km (2002). Its average annual growth is 2.37%. Birth rate – 40.65 per 1000 people, mortality – 17.18 per 1000 people. Infant mortality is 98.8 per 1000 births. 42.3% of the population are children under 14 years of age. Residents over 65 years of age – 3.1%. The average age of the population is 18.63 years. The fertility rate (average number of children born per woman) is 5.5. Life expectancy is 46.74 years (men – 46.21, women – 47.29). The purchasing power of the population is 1 thousand US dollars. (All indicators are given in estimates for 2005).

Nigeria is a multi-ethnic state. There are more than 250 nationalities and ethnic groups. The largest of them are Hausa-Fulani (29%), Yoruba (21%), Igbo (Ibo - 18%), Ijaw (10%), Ibibio (3.5%), Tiv (2.5%), Bini etc. Hausa-Fulani, Yoruba and Igbo make up approx. 70% of the population. The Hausa are the heirs of the ancient northern Nigerian civilizations (the early feudal states of Zaria, Kano, Katsina, etc.). Their language is the most widely spoken in West Africa. The Yoruba were among the first in Nigeria to develop ties with the West, which greatly influenced their culture and value system. Yoruba form the majority in the country's middle class as well as among educated Nigerians. Intensive processes of ethnic consolidation and integration continue. Counts approx. 400 local languages ​​and dialects, the most common languages ​​are Hausa, Yoruba, and Igbo. Given the ethnic diversity of the country's population, English continues to be the official language.

In con. In the 1990s, ethnic and religious tensions intensified in the country. In 1999, clashes took place between representatives of the Itsekiri, Urhobo and Ijaw ethnic groups, which resulted in the death of approximately. 200 people.

The southwestern states of the country are the most urbanized. The urban population is approx. 38% (2004). Large cities - Lagos (13 million people - 2002), Abeokuta, Zaria, Ibadan, Iwo, Ilesha, Ilorin, Kano, Ogbomosho, Onicha, Oshogbo, etc.

There are migrant workers from Niger in Nigeria. Nigerian refugees and labor migrants work in Gabon, Cameroon (about 4 million people) and Cote d'Ivoire. During the ethno-confessional conflicts in 2001–2002, associated primarily with the introduction of Sharia courts in the north of the country, they were displaced about 750 thousand Nigerians Since the beginning of the 2000s, Nigeria (along with the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Senegal) has been one of the first places in Africa in terms of the number of emigrants and refugees to Europe.

Religions.

OK. 50% of the country's population are Muslims, 40% are Christians (the majority are Protestants), approx. 10% of Nigerians adhere to traditional African beliefs (animalism, fetishism, cult of ancestors, forces of nature, etc.) - 2002.

The penetration of Islam began in the 12th century. AD during the period of existence of the centralized state of Kanem-Bornu (the territory of modern Northern Nigeria). Islam of both Sunni and Shiite denominations is widespread. Islam is practiced by the vast majority of modern Yoruba and Hausa-Fulani. Christianity began to spread in the beginning. 19th century Christians live primarily in the southern states. The majority of Ibibios, Igbos, Ijaws and Tivs are Christian adherents. The position of the Catholic Church is strongest among the population of the eastern part of the country. The religious situation in the country is characterized by competition between Islam and Christianity. The activities of both Muslim and Christian organizations sometimes go beyond purely religious interests and acquire political overtones. Thus, in October 2005 in Kano, the Islamic Movement of Nigeria organized a demonstration of Shiite Muslims in support of the call of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to “wipe Israel off the face of the earth.” There are a number of Christian African churches that arose on the basis of schismatic movements that opposed, in particular, the domination of the church hierarchy by foreign missionaries.

In the Yoruba system of traditional African beliefs, several cults are distinguished, incl. associated with the god of thunder Shango and Ogun - the god of iron and war. Ogun belongs to the most powerful and revered deities of the Yoruba pantheon. The cult of the warlike Ogun in modern Nigeria has transformed into the cult of the patron god of soldiers, blacksmiths, hunters, as well as the guardian of marriage and healthy offspring. In the city of Ile-Ife (Ondo State), festivities are held annually in honor of Ogun, in which not only adherents of traditional beliefs take part, but also Muslims and Christians from other states of Nigeria, as well as foreign guests.

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

State structure.

Federal presidential republic. There is a constitution in force, adopted on May 29, 1999. The head of state and commander-in-chief of the armed forces is the president, who is elected by direct universal elections (by secret ballot) for a 4-year term. The presidential candidate who receives at least 1/4 of the votes in at least 2/3 of the states and the Abuja metropolitan area wins the election. The President can be elected to this post no more than two times. The vice president is appointed by the president from among the members of the political party from which he ran. Legislative power is exercised by a bicameral parliament (National Assembly), which consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The 360 ​​members of the House of Representatives are elected by universal direct and secret elections. The Senate, consisting of 109 senators (3 senators from each of the 36 states and 1 senator from the capital district), is elected by popular vote. The work of the House of Representatives is led by its chairman, and the Senate by the speaker. The term of office of both chambers of the National Assembly is 4 years.

The President is Obasanjo Olusegun. Elected on April 19, 2003. Previously served as president in 1976, and was also elected head of state in 1999.

Vice President – ​​Atiku Abubakar.

State flag.

A rectangular panel consisting of three vertical stripes of the same size - two green and one (between them) white stripe.

Administrative device.

Since 1996, the country has been divided into 36 states and the Federal Capital District of Abuja (created in 1979, the capital of the state was transferred to Abuja in December 1991 from Lagos). States – Abia, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bayelsa, Bauchi, Benue, Borno, Delta, Jigawa, Gombe, Zamfara, Imo, Yobe, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kwara, Kebbi, Kogi, Cross River, Lagos, Nasarawa , Niger, Ogun, Oyo, Ondo, Osun, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti and Enugu. The states are headed by governors who are elected for a 4-year term, subject to receiving at least 25% of the votes in at least 2/3 of the local government districts. By law, state governors have immunity from national justice authorities.

Judicial system.

There are the Supreme Court, the Federal Court of Appeal, the Federal Court of First Instance, as well as state trial courts. In some states (mainly in the north of the country) there are Sharia or ordinary courts of appeal, which hear cases related to Islamic law or traditional law (chieftain's courts), respectively.

Armed forces and defense.

Nigeria's national armed forces are one of the largest in Africa and the largest in sub-Saharan Africa. In 2002 they numbered 78.5 thousand people. (ground forces - 62 thousand people, air force - 9.5 thousand people, naval forces - 7 thousand people). Military service is carried out on a voluntary basis; men from the age of 18 are conscripted. Nigerian military units form the backbone of ECOMOG, the peacekeeping force for conflict resolution in West Africa created within ECOWAS. Nigeria was among the African countries that, according to the decision of the US Department of Defense, adopted in July 2005, will receive assistance in training military personnel. Defense expenditures in 2004 amounted to $544.6 million (0.8% of GDP).

Foreign policy.

Aimed at strengthening the country's authority in the international community after its isolation due to the long period of military dictatorship. The basis of foreign policy is the policy of non-alignment. The main direction of the Obasanjo government's foreign policy is to strengthen friendly partnerships with African states. President Obasanjo became one of the four authors of the NEPAD (New Partnership for African Development) program. Nigeria is an active member of the Niger River Commission. Good neighborly relations are developing with neighboring countries, primarily with Benin and Niger. (In the summer of 2005, Nigeria sent 1 thousand tons of grain to Niger, which began to famine due to prolonged drought and locust invasion). Cooperation is developing with the Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, with which it has a joint oil production zone. However, in 1994–1997 there were military clashes with Cameroon due to disputes over the ownership of the oil-rich Bakassi Peninsula.

Cooperation has been established with China. With his technical assistance, a thermal power plant was built in Egbina. In the beginning. In the 2000s, agreements on cooperation in the field of oil production were signed between the countries. In January 2006, China National Offshore Petroleum Corporation and the Nigerian oil company South Atlantic signed an agreement on the joint exploitation of Nigeria's offshore oil resources in the Niger Delta region.

Nigeria (along with South Africa) is Britain's main foreign policy partner on the African continent. Relations between the countries deteriorated after General S. Abacha came to power (1993), who annulled the results of the presidential elections. The active actions of official London led to the suspension of Nigeria's membership in the Commonwealth in 1995, as well as the introduction of EU trade sanctions against it. Relations with the UK and the EU were normalized in 1999 after Nigeria returned to civilian rule (President Obasanjo's inauguration ceremony was attended by Prince Charles and Deputy Foreign Secretary T. Lloyd). In the same year, the country's membership in the Commonwealth was restored. In 2000, Great Britain allocated 12 million pounds sterling to support democratic reforms in Nigeria. In February 2002, T. Blair visited Nigeria.

Nigeria is an active member of the UN. Supporting the process of reforming this organization, the country advocates giving Africa two seats of permanent membership in the updated UN Security Council (while claiming one of them, competing with Egypt, South Africa, Angola, Kenya, Libya and Senegal).

Diplomatic relations between the USSR and Nigeria were established on November 25, 1960. The Soviet Union provided Nigeria with military and material assistance during the civil war of 1967–1970. The result of bilateral cooperation in the field of trade and economic relations was the construction of two oil pipeline systems with a total length of more than 900 km, and the construction of a metallurgical plant in the city of Ajaokuta. In 1971–1980, Soviet doctors worked in the country.

In December 1991, Nigeria recognized the Russian Federation as the legal successor of the USSR. A system of regular exchanges of messages at the highest level has been established. In March 2001, President Obasanjo paid an official visit to Moscow. In 1999, a bilateral Agreement on cooperation in the fight against illicit trafficking in psychotropic substances and narcotic drugs was signed. In May 1998, the Nigerian-Russian Chamber of Commerce was created, which included approx. 160 companies and businessmen. There are 4 companies with Russian participation in the country (2004). In February 2001, a Russian-Nigerian commission was established to study ways to develop joint military-technical cooperation. On September 19–23, 2005, as part of the development of bilateral trade cooperation, an exhibition of Nigerian goods was held in Moscow.

Bilateral cooperation has developed and continues to develop especially actively in the field of training national personnel for Nigeria, as well as in the field of science and culture. Since 1975, a bilateral Russian-Nigerian agreement on the equivalence of diplomas and scientific degrees has been in force. Over the years of cooperation in the USSR/RF, 10 thousand Nigerians received higher education. In 2001–2003, the Program of Bilateral Cultural and Scientific Cooperation was successfully implemented. ITAR-TASS has a representative office in Lagos. Exchanges are carried out through the Russian Academy of Sciences; In November 2005, a delegation of scientists from the Institute of African Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences visited Nigeria.

In the spring of 2004, an incident arose related to the case of 12 Russian sailors from the crew of the African Pride tanker, which sailed under the Panamanian flag, but belonged to the Greek company Azora Service. The tanker was detained 31 miles off the Nigerian coast on suspicion of transporting smuggled oil. After lengthy legal proceedings and approvals at the highest level, Russian sailors are finally ready. 2005 were released and returned to their homeland.

Political organizations.

A multi-party system has developed in the country (about 30 political parties are registered – 2003). The most influential of them:

– « People's Democratic Party», NDP(People's Democratic Party, PDP), chairman - Ogbe Audu (Audu Ogbeh), national secretary - Nwodo Okwesilieze (Okwesilieze Nwodo). The ruling party of President Obasanjo, created on August 26, 1998;

– « All-Nigerian folk the consignment», GNP(All Nigeria People's Party, ANPP), leader - Garba Ali Yusuf (Yusuf Garbah Ali). Party founded October 19, 1998;

– « Union for Democracy», SD(Alliance for Democracy, AD), chaired by Ahmed Abdulkadir. Party created October 19, 1998.

Trade union associations. "Nigerian Labor Congress", NLC (Nigerian Labor Congress, NLC). It is the single central trade union organization of the country. Created in 1978, it unites 29 industry trade unions. The Chairman is Oshiomhole Adams.

ECONOMY

Nigeria belongs to the group of poorest countries in the world. The basis of the economy is the oil industry (85% of foreign exchange earnings - 2005). There is a significant scale of “shadow” business. OK. 60% of the population is below the poverty line. GDP per capita in 2005 was $390 (according to World Bank (WB) data).

Labor resources.

In 2005, the country's economically active population was 57.21 million people (in 2001 – about 46.45 million people).

Agriculture.

The share of the agricultural sector in GDP is 26.8% (2005). 31.29% of land is cultivated (2001). From Wednesday Since the 1980s, there has been a decline in agricultural production; the agricultural sector does not provide the country's population with food in full. The stagnation of the sector was largely contributed to by droughts, migration to the city and the reorientation of part of the population towards imported food products as a result of increased income from oil sales. The main export crops are cocoa beans, peanuts, soybeans, rubber, oil palm, sugar cane and cotton. Nigeria is one of the main producers of peanuts, cocoa beans and soybeans on the African continent. The constant demand for Nigerian cocoa (the country ranks 4th in the world in its production) is explained by its high taste. Most farms are focused on growing cocoa beans; Falling world cocoa prices usually lead to sharp declines in income and impoverishment in rural areas. Pineapples, bananas, legumes, potatoes, cassava, corn, mangoes, papaya, millet, rice, sorghum, tobacco, tomatoes, citrus fruits and yams are also grown. Livestock farming (breeding camels, goats, cattle, horses, sheep, donkeys and pigs), due to the spread of tsetse flies throughout most of the country, develops mainly in the northern states. Poultry farming is also developing. In forestry, timber is harvested (including valuable tropical varieties) and lumber is produced. Fishing is carried out in the waters of the Gulf of Guinea, rivers and the island of Chad. The average annual catch of fish and seafood is approx. 250 thousand tons

Industry.

Its share in GDP is 48.8% (2005). The mining sector is developed. The basis is the oil industry. Nigeria ranks 8th in oil production in the world (2.5 million barrels per day) and 1st in Africa. In March 2005, Nigeria's oil reserves amounted to 35 million barrels. In January 2006, Special Adviser to the President of Nigeria on the Oil Industry, Edmond Daukuru, became Chairman of OPEC. Oil exploration and production is carried out by Nigerian and foreign oil companies. According to experts, Nigerian oil is of high quality, which determines the demand for it on the world market. Although one of the leading oil-producing countries in the world, Nigeria nevertheless faces fuel shortages. On Wednesday In 2005, the level of daily consumption of petroleum products in the country amounted to 14 million liters of oil. 50% of the required fuel has to be imported, since the total capacity of the country's oil refineries is only approx. 7 million liters of oil per day. Industrial production of natural gas is underway (Nigeria ranks 10th in the world in terms of its reserves). Coal, bauxite, iron ore, gold, tin, gypsum and columbite are also mined. In 2005, the development of deposits of semi-precious stones (aquamarines, etc.) began in Oyo State (southwest of the country).

Manufacturing industries - metallurgy, oil refining (4 plants), liquefied gas production (the 5th plant was put into operation in January 2006), automobile assembly (cars, trucks, tractors, television and radio equipment), food processing (palm oil production, sugar, flour, beer, canned food, etc.) tobacco, textile and chemical industries, as well as construction.

International trade.

In terms of foreign trade turnover, Nigeria occupies one of the leading places on the African continent. Foreign trade is one of the main sources of foreign exchange earnings in the country's economy. The volume of exports is twice the volume of imports: in 2005, exports (in US dollars) amounted to 52.16 billion, imports - 25.95 billion. The basis of exports (95%) is oil; In terms of its export volume in 2005, Nigeria ranked 6th in the world. Natural gas, cocoa and rubber are also exported. The main export partners are the USA (47.4%), Brazil (10.7%) and Spain (7.1%) - 2004. The main imports are petroleum products, machinery, chemical products, vehicles, industrial goods, food products and live cattle. The main import partners are China (9.4%), USA (8.4%), Great Britain (7.8%), the Netherlands (5.9%), France (5.4%), Germany (4.8 %) and Italy (4%) – 2004. Official data on foreign trade turnover are not complete, because there is a problem of smuggling trade operations with neighboring countries.

Energy.

The country's energy system is underdeveloped; demand for electricity is noticeably ahead of supply. Electricity is provided approx. 40% of the population, the rest use wood and petroleum products as fuel. Electricity is generated at thermal power plants (in Egbina (Lagos State), Ogbia (Kogi State), Sapele (Delta State), etc.) powered by oil, natural gas or coal, as well as hydroelectric power stations (the largest is Kainji on the Niger River ). In 2000, 64% of electricity was generated by thermal power plants. The Energy Research Center (Zaria) is working on the possible use of nuclear energy in the country. Electricity production in 2003 amounted to 15.59 billion kilowatt-hours, exports - 40 million kilowatt-hours. There are periodic problems in the power system, which leads to power outages or interruptions in supply to consumers. For this reason, almost every business and many residential buildings have their own generators.

Transport.

In terms of transport availability and density of the road network, Nigeria occupies one of the leading places in Tropical Africa. Air and sea communications connect it with many countries of the world. The main mode of transport is road, which provides approx. 95% of freight and passenger traffic. The first roads were laid in the beginning. 20th century mainly on the site of traditional trade routes. The total length of roads is 193.2 thousand km (59.9 thousand km of roads are paved, 1194 km of them are expressways) – 2001. The country has practically no road safety system, and there is also a very simplified procedure for obtaining driver's licenses (4.32 million were issued in 1998–2004). As a result, approx. 30 thousand road accidents in which from 8 to 10 thousand people die. In the summer of 2005, in the city of Kano (north of the country), where the Muslim population predominates, separate transportation of male and female passengers was introduced on public transport (some mixed-type vehicles were retained for Christians). The first railway - Lagos - Abeokuta - was built in 1895-1898. The total length of railways (mainly narrow gauge) is 3557 km (2004). The average maximum speed by rail is 65 km/h. OK. 50% of the locomotive fleet has exceeded its optimal service life and needs to be replaced. In con. In the 1990s, China provided financial assistance for the reconstruction of railways.

The country has a well-developed maritime transport system, which includes the Niger Delta port complex (Warri, Koko and Sapele), ports in Calabar, Lagos (Tin Can and Apapa), Onne and Port Harcourt. Bonny and Burutu have dedicated seaports for oil shipments. The merchant fleet consists of 303 ships, incl. 29 oil tankers and 4 tankers designed to transport chemical products (2002). The length of river waterways (shipping along the Benue, Cross, Niger rivers, as well as along the island of Chad and along the coast of the Gulf of Guinea) is 8.6 thousand km (2004). Freight transport is carried out mainly by waterways. Air transport is developing intensively. There are 70 airports and runways (36 of them are paved) - 2005. International airports are located in the cities of Lagos (Murtala Muhammad), Abuja, Calabar, Kano and Port Harcourt. There is one specialized port for helicopters. The pipeline system, established in 1958, is well developed: an oil pipeline (3638 km), a gas pipeline (1896 km), as well as a pipeline for pumping gas condensate (105 km) and refined petroleum products (3626 km) - 2004.

Finance and credit.

The currency is the Nigerian Naira (NGN), divided into 100 kobos. In October 2005, a new 1 thousand naira banknote was issued. In December 2005, the national currency exchange rate was: 1 USD = 132.59 NGN. There are more than 90 merchant, industrial and commercial banks operating in Nigeria.

Tourism.

Foreign tourists are attracted by the beauty of natural landscapes, historical and architectural monuments, rich museum collections and the original culture of local peoples. The best time to holiday in Nigeria is December-March. A yellow fever vaccination is required. In addition to guests from African countries (mainly from Niger, Benin, Ghana and Cameroon), the country is visited by the French, Germans, Italians, etc. In 2001, 1.75 million foreign tourists visited Nigeria.

Attractions - National Museum (Lagos, founded in 1957), Old City, Emir's Palace, Kurmi Market and Gidan Makama Museum in Kano, Yankari National Park (east of Jos), considered one of the best reserves in West Africa, government buildings in Abuja, etc. In 2005, a dense untouched forest called “Ogun”, located on the outskirts of Oshogbo (south of the country), was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List. The Yoruba people consider this forest sacred because... it contains sculptures and artistic works dedicated to the god Ogun and other deities.

SOCIETY AND CULTURE

Education.

The first missionary schools opened in the southern regions of the country in the 1830s. On Wednesday In the 1950s, the adult illiteracy rate was 90%.

Since 1992, 6 years of primary education have been compulsory, which children receive at the age of six. Primary school education is free. Secondary education (6 years) begins at the age of 12, takes place in two stages of 3 years each (the so-called three-year secondary and three-year higher secondary education). There are private schools, their work is regulated by government agencies. There are 56 teachers' colleges and 26 polytechnics. According to data released by the Nigerian Ministry of Finance in September 2005, approximately 8 million school-age children.

The higher education system includes 33 universities; studies (in English) last for 4 years. Many of the universities have the status of federal universities. The oldest is the University of Ibadan (Ibadan in Oyo State), founded as a university college in 1948, received university status in 1962. The largest universities:

– Lagos State University (Apapa – a suburb of Lagos, created in 1983). 553 teachers worked at 6 faculties and 36.7 thousand students studied;

– University of Lagos (Lagos, founded in 1961). There are 900 teachers and 35.1 thousand students at 8 faculties;

– Ahmadu Bello University (Zaria, Kaduna State, established in 1962). There are 2064 teachers and 29.8 thousand students at 12 faculties;

– University of Nigeria (Nsukka, Enugu State, founded in 1960). There are 1 thousand teachers and 23.8 thousand students at 14 faculties;

– University of Benin (Benin City, Edo State, created in 1970). There are 848 teachers and 22.9 thousand students in 10 faculties;

– University of Ibadan. There are 1077 teachers and 20.4 thousand students at 12 faculties;

– Ambrosie Alli University (Ekpoma, Edo State, founded in 1981). There are 454 teachers and 16 thousand students in 10 faculties;

– University in Ilorin (Kwara State, established in 1975). There are 572 teachers and 15 thousand students at 8 faculties. (Data for 2002).

The listed universities have large libraries. The collections of the National Library of Nigeria (Lagos, established in 1964) contain 158 thousand volumes. Nigerians also receive higher education abroad, mainly in the UK and the USA. The Russian Federation annually allocates 50 scholarships for undergraduate and graduate students from Nigeria; in 2004, 289 Nigerians studied at Russian universities. Nigeria's education system is financed primarily from the government budget. In 2001, 7.5% of budget funds were allocated for education needs. The Nigerian Academy of Sciences has been operating since 1977, with about a hundred active members. There are more than 20 research institutes and scientific centers (including at universities) conducting research in the field of agronomy, veterinary medicine, geology, medicine, energy, etc. In 2003, 68% of the population were literate (75.7% of men and 60.6 % women).

Healthcare.

Architecture.

Vernacular houses in different parts of Nigeria differ in architectural form and building materials used. In the north of the country they have a rectangular shape, the walls are made of adobe, and the roof is flat. In the southern, southwestern and southeastern states, located in the tropical forest zone, huts are built rectangular in plan, with windows covered with carved shutters. The walls are made of clay or wattle; palm leaves or straw are used as roofing material for the gable roof. The Yoruba and Igbo place their residential and outbuildings around the perimeter of a rectangular courtyard, which is surrounded by galleries of carved wooden pillars. In the central states, vernacular dwellings are generally circular in shape. The walls are also made of clay, and the conical thatched roof is decorated with geometric relief patterns and ceramic plates.

A special layer of modern architecture is the construction of mosques. Houses in cities are built from brick, reinforced concrete structures and glass. Business districts of cities are built up with multi-storey buildings. Construction work is often carried out without complying with standards, as well as using low-quality materials. As a result, building collapses occur.

Fine arts and crafts.

The origin of fine art on the territory of modern Nigeria dates back to the 1st millennium BC. (terracotta sculpture from the Nok culture). The sculpture of the Yoruba people is one of the world's masterpieces. She is an important part of West African art. During archaeological excavations begun in 1938 on the territory of the ancient state of Ife, a number of terracotta heads and figurines were found. The oldest finds are over 800 years old. Bronze products from the Ife culture are also world famous (statues of rulers, striking in their naturalism, multi-figure compositions, ritual vessels, etc.) and bronze from Benin (portraits of members of the royal family, relief plates with images of people and animals, etc.). The various wooden masks of the Igbo people are original.

Professional fine art has been developing since the middle. 1950s In its formation on local traditions with the use of modern European trends, an important role was played by sculptors I. Aye, O. Idah, F. O. Idehen, Felix Idubor, D. Nwoko, E. O. Emokpe and Ben Enwonwu, as well as artists J. Akolo, Y. Grillo, Rufus Ogundele, O. O. Ozadebe, W. Egonu, A. Ekong, Ben Enwonwu. A. Onabolu is considered the founder of the national school of painting. The work of artists Kolade Oshinowo and Rufus Ogundele has received international recognition. Contemporary Nigerian artists (Abiodun Olaku, K.K. Karunwi) and sculptors (Alli Olayinka, Olabisi Onawale Fakiye, Patrick Agose) have exhibited their works abroad, including in USA. Many of them took part in the exhibition of contemporary Nigerian artists, sculptors and photographers, held in 1995 in Geneva, as well as in the Africa 95 festival of African art, held the same year in the UK.

Almost all universities in Nigeria have established arts faculties that train national cadres of artists, graphic artists, sculptors and designers. There are numerous exhibition centers and art galleries. In Lagos alone there are more than 70 of them, incl. Aaragon Gallery, Art and Objects Gallery, Didi Museum, etc. The National Gallery of Modern Art operates in Lagos at the National Theater. Cultural centers operating in Nigeria from the UK, Germany, Russia (in 1995–1998, the center helped organize about 30 personal and collective exhibitions), the USA and France take part in organizing the exhibitions.

The National Museum of Benin (Benin City, founded in 1973), as well as national museums located in the cities of Lagos, Kano (1959), Ife (1971), Kaduna (1975), Jos have rich collections of African traditional and modern art. (1982), etc. Objects of ancient art of Nigeria are presented in exhibitions and private collections of many museums around the world, incl. Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera) in St. Petersburg.

Crafts and artistic crafts are well developed - wood carving (production of various household items, decorated with ornaments, as well as sculptural images of people and animals; wooden sculpture by Yoruba masters stands out), pottery (products of craftsmen from Ilorin are especially popular), jewelry making (production of gold and silver jewelry with embossing), weaving and batik (especially developed among the Yoruba), embroidery (multicolor), weaving baskets and mats from reeds and straw, making ornamented dishes from colored glass, vessels from dried pumpkins (“calabashes”) , as well as leather goods (belts, bags, saddles, shoes and pillows). The traditions of bronze casting and ivory carving have been preserved. Many products are decorated with beads and beads. Wooden fans with burnt patterns or covered with leather decorated with appliqué are popular among tourists.

Literature.

Based on the rich traditions of oral creativity (myths, songs, proverbs and fairy tales) of local peoples. Modern literature develops in English and the languages ​​of the Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo, etc. peoples. Literary records of folklore appeared in the 1940s. One of the first literary works is the story of Amos Tutuola A palm wine drinker and his deceased cupbearer in the city of the dead(in the literature there is also an abbreviated title for the story - Drunkard), published in London in 1952. Novel by Cyprian Ekwensi City people(1954) is considered one of the first major national works in prose.

Nigerian writer, poet, novelist, playwright and master of political polemics, Wole Soyinka is one of the most prominent representatives of modern African literature. He is the Nobel Prize laureate in literature (1986), the first African laureate. His book Interpreters, published in 1990, also aroused the interest of Nigerian and foreign readers.

The novelist Chinua Achebe has been working fruitfully for more than 40 years. His first novel is And destruction came... (1958) - became a classic and brought him worldwide fame. Achebe's novels have been translated into more than 30 languages, and he has been nominated for the Nobel Prize several times. In June 2007, Chinua Achebe won the International Booker literary prize.

Ben Okri, who was awarded the British Booker Literary Prize for 1991, received worldwide recognition. Other writers are Clement Agunwa, T.M. Aluko, Nkema Nwankwo, Flora Nwapa, Onuora Nzekwu, Ifeoma Okoye, Sonala Olumense, Ken Saro-Wiwa. The novel was published in 2004 Purple hibiscus young writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (born 1977), which addresses the problems of modern Nigerian society and Christianity. The works of contemporary writer and playwright Tolu Ajayi are popular.

Poetry has been evolving since the 1940s. The founders of national poetry - Christopher Okigbo, V. Soyinka (poetry collections Ogun Abibiman (1976), Mandela Land and other poems(1988)) and J.P. Clark. Other poets are B. N. Azikiwe, Gabriel Okara.

Music.

The national musical culture is diverse and was formed as a result of the interaction of traditions of numerous peoples. Professional musical art developed during the existence of the medieval states of Hausa, Yoruba, and others. The palace orchestras of the Yoruba rulers numbered up to 200 musicians. There was a special “drum language” (these instruments were considered symbols of supreme power), in which musicians addressed the people on behalf of the rulers. The influence of Arab culture is evidenced by the presence of some musical instruments. Spread in the 19th century. Christianity contributed to the extinction of cult music, which was one of the main types of local musical culture. European church music has had a significant influence on the vocal traditions and musical instrumentation of Nigeria. In turn, the music brought by Yoruba slaves to the New World influenced the culture of Brazil and some Caribbean countries.

In the musical instrumentation of Nigeria, a variety of drums occupy a central place, among them the 2-membrane cylindrical hourglass drums and the 1-membrane drums (worn around the neck while playing) stand out. Algaita (a type of trumpet), tambourines, lutes, ngedegwu (xylophone), oja (flute), saxophones, oboye flutes, zithers, etc. are also common.

There is its own school of composition; famous composers - S. Akpabot, A. Bankole, T. Oyelana, F. Sowande, A. Yuba. In Nigeria, musical culture is inextricably linked with theater. Composer A. Fiberesima - author of the first Nigerian opera Orukoro. Folk musical traditions are being studied at Ibadan, Lagos and other universities in the country. The National Ensemble of Nigeria in 1960–1980 successfully performed on tours in many countries of Africa, Europe and America. The National Arts Festival has been held since 1970. In 1977, the 2nd World Festival of Negro Art was held in Lagos (called FESMAN, held on the initiative of Senegal since 1966).

From Wednesday In the 1980s, the work of some Nigerian musicians, most notably King Sani Ade, who performs juju music, began to influence world popular music. The art of Nigerian musicians and theater groups was widely represented (1/4 of the exhibits and participants) at the Africa 95 African Art Festival, held in the UK in 1995.

In 2001, Nigerian musician Femi Kuti was awarded the international music prize “Kora” (the name of a West African stringed musical instrument), which is awarded to performers from Africa and representatives of the African diaspora in Europe, the United States and the Caribbean.

Some famous Western artists have Nigerian roots. Among them is the British singer Sade (real name Helen Folsade Adu), whose father is a Nigerian from the Yoruba people. In 2004, among the stars of world pop music, she took part in a large concert in support of African refugees from Sudan and Chad, which took place in London at the famous Royal Albert Hall. Nigerian by birth, the famous contemporary singer from Great Britain Tunde Bayeu is the ex-vocalist of the famous British duo called Lighthouse Family. In 2005, he released his first solo album, named after him. Performs songs in soul style.

Nigerian composer Tunde Yegede is taking part in a continental project to create the first African opera, called Opera of the Sahel (he is co-writing the music with composers from Senegal, Guinea-Bissau and Comoros). Completion of work on the music for the opera is planned for June 2006.

Theater.

Modern national theatrical art is formed on the basis of rich traditional creativity. Elements of theater were present in numerous rites and rituals that were performed on various holidays. Modern theater began to take shape in the middle. 19th century – theater groups were created at Christian missions and schools. On Wednesday In the 1940s, traveling musical and theatrical groups were created in Lagos, led by Hubert Ogunde and Kola Ogunmola. In the beginning. In the 1960s, the Duro Ladipo National Theater was created in Oshogbo (named after its creator - an actor, director and playwright).

The development of amateur dramatic theater is associated with the University of Ibadan, where the Dramatic Society was created under the leadership of director J. Axworthy, invited from Great Britain. The University of Ibadan was the first African university to introduce a course in theater arts (in 1962). The name of the writer Wole Soyinka is closely associated with the theater. Upon returning to the country (while living in London, he was an actor and director of the London Royal Court Theatre) he created the theater groups “Masks 1960” and “Orizun Repeaters”, and also directed the drama school at the University of Ibadan. Author and director of plays Lion and pearl, Swamp Dwellers, Dance of the forest, Game of Giants and others. Some of Soyinka's plays entered the repertoire of English theaters. Since the 1990s, the plays of contemporary playwright Tolu Ajayi have been popular.

Cinema.

Several documentaries were made in the 1940s. The 1960s saw the development primarily of documentaries and television adaptations of theatrical plays. First full-length feature film Two people and a goat filmed by director G. Jones in 1966. Nigerian directors - O. Balogun (one of the largest in the country), F. Spida, E. Ugboma, A. Khalila and others. The film college created in 1982 became the first educational institution of this type in Tropical Africa . The country's filmmakers participated in the international film festival in Tashkent.

Press, radio broadcasting, television and Internet.

The first Nigerian newspapers began to be published in Lagos in the 1830s. Published in English:

– official government bulletin “Gazette”;

– government daily newspaper “New Nigerian”, daily newspapers “The Guardian”, “Daily Sketch”, “Daily Times” (Daily Times), Evening Times, Nigerian Tribune, Nigerian Observer ), “National Concord” and “The Punch”;

– weekly economic newspaper “Business Times” (Business Times);

– Sunday government newspaper “Sunday New Nigerian”, Sunday newspapers “Sunday Observer”, “Sunday Punch” , “Sunday Sketch” (Sunday Sketch) and “Sunday Times” (Sunday Time);

– the weekly newspaper “Irohin Yoruba” (News of the Yoruba People) is published in the Yoruba language.

Many universities in the country publish their own journals. In Nigeria there are approx. 40 publishing houses. Since 1965, the Nigerian Publishers Association has been operating in Ibadan.

The government news agency “News Agency of Nigeria”, NAN (New Agency of Nigeria, NAN) has been operating since 1978 and is located in Abuja. The government broadcasting service Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) was created in 1978 and is located in Abuja. Television has been working since the beginning. 1960s The government's Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) has been operating in Lagos since 1976. There are 32 television stations. Radio broadcasts are broadcast in English and 12 local languages. Nigeria was one of 12 African states (along with Angola, Burkina Faso, Gambia, DRC, Cape Verde, Mauritania, Namibia, Sao Tome and Principe, Swaziland, Togo and Chad) participating in the project to connect the African continent to the Internet, partially financed by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). In 2003, there were 750 thousand Internet users in Nigeria.

STORY

Nigeria since ancient times.

Many of the modern peoples of Nigeria migrated to its territory from the north 4 thousand years ago. Around 2000 BC. the majority of the autochthonous population adopted some farming and animal domestication skills from the newcomers. The transition to settled agriculture entailed the creation of permanent settlements that served as protection from external enemies. It was in such villages that the creators of the city dating back to 2000 BC lived. Nok culture. Numerous evidence discovered in the North allows us to conclude that the people of the Nok culture were familiar with the technology of smelting and processing tin and iron. These skills allowed them not only to revolutionize agricultural production, but also to begin making weapons with which they conquered territories and created larger political entities.

State formations of the savannah zone.

The first large centralized state on the territory of Northern Nigeria was Kanem-Bornu, the emergence of which dates back to the end of the 8th century. AD It was originally located outside of modern Nigeria, north of Lake. Chad, but then quickly expanded its borders south into Bornu territory. By the 13th century. Kanem-Bornu was known in Egypt, Tunisia and Fezzan. The basis of the state's wealth was its intermediary role in the trans-Saharan trade in salt, beads, textiles, swords, horses and European goods from North Africa, which were exchanged for ivory and slaves. To the west, the states of Katsina and Kano, competitors of Kanem-Bornu in the trans-Saharan trade, were the most significant of the seven Hausa states that emerged at different times in the early 2nd millennium AD. Other Hausa states were Daura, Gobir, Rano, Biram and Zaria, the latter being a major supplier of slaves. Despite the legend of descent from the same ancestor and the similarity of cultural traditions, the Hausa states developed autonomously and sometimes even fought with each other. Kano and most of the eastern Hausan lands were tributaries of Kanema-Bornu.

Both Kanem-Bornu and the Hausa states had a well-functioning system of government, the population regularly paid taxes, and there was a standing army, the striking force of which was cavalry. By the 15th century Islam, brought here through the desert by Muslim traders, strengthened in the states of this region. Since the 12th century. all the Mai, the rulers of Bornu, were Muslims. The influence of Islam in the Hausa states affected the system of government and justice, and also contributed to the creation of a Muslim elite.

In the first two decades of the 16th century. the great Songhai Empire, which sought to establish control over all the Hausa states, made Kano and Katsina its tributaries. In 1516–1517, the Songhai vassal Kanta, the ruler of Kebbi, after attacking the state of Air, declared himself a sovereign ruler and subjugated all the Hausa lands. This caused Kanta's conflict with the Bornu ruler, and he defeated the Bornu army twice. After Kanta's death in 1526, the Hausa alliance collapsed, and the threat to Bornu's western borders disappeared.

Around 1483, after two centuries of internal strife, the capital of Kanema-Bornu was moved to Ngazargama in what is now Nigeria. In the 16th century Kanem-Bornu strengthened its position and after the collapse of the Songhai Empire as a result of the invasion of Moroccan troops in 1591, it became the most powerful state in Western Sudan. The apogee of the development of this state came during the reign of Mai Idris Aluma (d. 1617), known as an Islamic reformer and a skilled military leader.

The disunity of the Hausa states continued throughout the 16th and 17th centuries. During this period, their main rivals were the states of Nupe, Borgu and Quororofa located to the south.

State formations of the forest zone.

In the southern part of modern Nigeria, two great empires flourished, Oyo and Benin. The state apparatus of these empires was as developed and well-functioning as that of the states of the North, but forests made contact with the outside world difficult, and horses could not be used because of the tsetse fly.

The founders of the dynasties that ruled in Oyo and Benin came from Ife, which became world famous thanks to bronze and terracotta items discovered on its territory. Benin already existed as a state entity when its rulers invited Prince Ife Oranyan to the kingdom, who became the founder of the dynasty of kings of Benin. Faced with difficulties in governing Benin, Oranyan handed over power to his son, born of a Benin woman, and settled in Oyo.

By the 17th century the rulers of Oyo managed to establish control over most of the Yoruba and Dahomey. The power of the Alafin, the ruler of Oyo, was directly dependent on the combat effectiveness of his large regular army. Oyo's tributary states were governed by local rulers who were controlled by a permanent representative, the Alaafin. In the 18th century Oyo was faced with the problem of maintaining its power over the vassal states, most notably Dahomey. The situation was complicated by the internal struggle for power that was waged between the Alafin and his council, headed by the Bashorun.

Oyo sought to expand its influence westward, and the kings of Benin were interested in the areas south and east of the river. Niger. At the end of the 15th century, when the Portuguese explorer d'Aveiro visited here (1486), Benin was at the zenith of its power. The state had a complexly organized administrative apparatus, a large regular army and a highly developed art of bronze casting. The Portuguese began trade relations with Benin with the purchase of pepper , but soon switched to the slave trade.For a long time, slaves became the object of purchase and sale in Benin and along the rest of the coast.

Slave trade.

Benin had everything necessary for the slave trade. His army conquered neighboring nations, and his captives were sold to European slave traders. Before the slave trade began, there were no centralized states on the east coast. The few Ijaw fishing communities in the Niger Delta supplied the Ibo and Ibibio of the interior with salt and dried fish in exchange for vegetables and tools. However, during the slave trade, some of the fishing settlements grew into small city-states. The prosperity of the state of Bonny, New Calabar and Okrika was based on the exchange of imported European goods - textiles, metalwork, tools, cheap salt, which was used as ballast in ships, and dried fish from Norway - for slaves and vegetables from the interior. Even further to the east, in the upper reaches of the Cross River, the Efik, for the convenience of trade with Europeans, created a union of cities known as Old Calabar.

The main supplier of slaves was the Aro, one of the Ibo groups. Using their control over the widely feared Aro-Chukwu oracle, the Aro could move freely throughout Ibo territory, and other Ibos did not feel safe outside their home village or alliance of villages. By bringing trade under their control and gaining access to European goods, the Aro strengthened their position as priest-traders. Slaves came not only from the immediate interior, but also from areas downstream of the Niger and Benue. Africans controlled the slaves until they were brought to the coast, where they were sold to European slave traders.

Nigeria in the 19th century.

Two events in the first decade of the 19th century, one internal, the other external, changed the situation in Nigeria. In 1807 Great Britain banned the slave trade. In 1804, Osman dan Fodio began jihad, a holy war, in the Hausan lands. Dan Fodio, unlike the Fulbe nomads, lived in the city, was a devout theologian, and over time began to criticize the incorrect, in his opinion, application of the norms of Islam. After the ruler of Gobir began to persecute Osman dan Fodio and his followers for their reform ideas in 1804, the latter declared jihad against the Hausan rulers. Osman dan Fodio relied on the oppressed Hausa peasants and Fulani nomads. When he died, his supporters conquered almost all of the Hausan lands, and the traditional ruling dynasties of the Hausan states were overthrown. His son Bello became the first caliph of the Sokoto Caliphate, which continued to expand southward. Taking advantage of internal strife in the Oyo Empire, Sokoto captured part of its territory. The main obstacle to Sokoto's territorial expansion was the state of Bornu, ruled by the reformer al-Kanemi, who after 1811 successfully repelled all Fulani invasions. The reformation of Islam became a determining factor in the strengthening of the Fulani empire, and in the 19th century, during the period of Fulban rule in Northern Nigeria, there was a flourishing of Muslim culture unprecedented in the history of Western Sudan.

The prohibition of the slave trade by Great Britain, hitherto the largest buyer of slaves on the West African coast, and the use of British ships in the fight against slave traders did not at all lead to an end to the export of slaves. If the Niger Delta states and their hinterland populations turned to the palm oil trade, the result of Fulani conquests and internal strife in Yoruba lands was the creation of significant numbers of slaves. One of the main markets for the trade of these slaves was Lagos, and Great Britain captured this island in 1861. By 1884, the British National African Company had established an almost complete monopoly on the palm oil trade in the Niger Valley, and British missionaries, educators of the future Nigerian elite, settled in Southern Nigeria. British consuls intervened in civil strife in the Niger Delta region, and British troops were periodically sent into Yoruba lands to stop internal fighting. At the Berlin Conference of 1884–1885, Great Britain demanded recognition of its right to the territory of modern Nigeria. This was largely possible thanks to the energetic actions of the head of the National African Company, George Goldie, who managed to conclude a number of agreements beneficial for Great Britain with the local rulers. Somewhat later, having headed the privileged Royal Niger Company (KNK), Goldie received a royal charter to manage new territories.

From 1885 to 1904, Britain gained control over most of Nigeria. A significant part of the Yoruba lands, weakened by internecine wars, were annexed to the Lagos colony. The areas in the southeast that were outside the KNC administration were captured by the authorities of the Niger Coast Protectorate. Often such seizures were carried out with the help of military force, an example being the occupation of Benin in 1896.

The Sokoto Caliphate also came under the control of the Royal Niger Company, but Goldie managed to capture only Nupe and Ilorin. The KNC was then embroiled in territorial disputes with France. Since its monopoly position and policies caused sharp discontent among European and African traders, in 1900 the British government deprived the CNC of its royal charter. The task of capturing Northern Nigeria was entrusted to Frederick Lugard. Superiority in weaponry allowed him to conquer the vast Fulani empire with relative ease. In 1903, the capital of the caliphate, Sokoto, capitulated, and the caliph fled to the east. By 1906, Great Britain controlled the entire territory of modern Nigeria.

Nigeria under British rule.

In Northern Nigeria, Lugard introduced a system of indirect government, i.e. used the local ruling nobility, the so-called, in colonial administration. "native authorities". Their responsibility was to collect taxes, and part of the funds collected went to finance the “native authorities” themselves. In 1914, the protectorates of Northern Nigeria and Southern Nigeria were united into one administrative unit in order to create a unified railway system and redistribute funds in favor of the North.

The unification of the two protectorates did not bring Southern and Northern Nigeria closer together, since two independent administrations continued to operate there, the work of which was coordinated by the Governor of Nigeria, who led several all-Nigerian departments. During the First World War, the system of indirect control was extended to Western Nigeria. In Eastern Nigeria, it was introduced in 1929, after the Aba riots, when the British realized the fallacy of governing through appointed chiefs who were not connected to the system of traditional authority.

With the exception of the Legislative Council of Southern Nigeria, created in 1922, to which four representatives of the local population were elected, there were no elected bodies of government in Nigeria. This situation continued until 1946, when the first of three constitutions that preceded Nigeria's independence was introduced. By this time, significant progress had been made in the development of the colony's economy. Export-import trade flourished, almost entirely controlled by European trading companies and Lebanese traders. Railways linked Lagos and Port Harcourt to the North, a network of roads ran between East and West and between North and South, and significant quantities of groundnuts were transported by water across Niger and Benue. Palm oil, peanuts, tin, cotton, cocoa beans and timber were exported to Europe. The process of formation of the Nigerian liberation movement was taking place, which was largely facilitated by the opportunities that opened up for Nigerians to travel abroad and see the world with their own eyes, as well as the anti-colonial sentiment that intensified during the Second World War. Nigerian politicians demanded not only acceleration of the country's economic development, but also greater opportunities for them to participate in governance. Both of these demands were understood by Great Britain.

In 1947, the metropolis allocated funds for the implementation of a ten-year plan for the economic development of Nigeria, and in 1946 the Constitution of Nigeria came into force. The Constitution became the object of criticism from Nigerian politicians of anti-colonial orientation, who rightly saw in the creation of separate Legislative Councils for the North, West and East the intention to maintain the fragmentation of Nigeria. The procedure for selecting members of regional legislative councils, where a majority was guaranteed to representatives of the “native authorities,” was also criticized.

The new constitution of 1951 retained the principle of regional legislative councils, but provided for the election of their members. British regionalization policies contributed to the emergence of regional-ethnic political parties. Led by Nnamdi Azikiwe, the National Council of Nigeria and Cameroon (NCNC) acted from an all-Nigerian position, but relied mainly on the Ibos of Eastern Nigeria. Among the Yorubas, the main people of Western Nigeria, the Action Group (AG) was popular. In the North, the Northern People's Congress (NPC) was beyond competition. After the abolition of the constitution in 1952, which did not last even a year, representatives of all three major political parties in Nigeria developed the 1954 constitution, which strengthened the positions of the regions. After making some amendments, it was this constitution that became the main document, according to which Nigeria became an independent state on October 1, 1960, and in 1963 it was proclaimed a republic.

Nigeria after independence. The first government of independent Nigeria was based on a coalition of the parties NSNC and SNK, the representative of the SNK, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, became prime minister. After Nigeria was declared a republic in 1963, Azikiwe took over as president. The opposition was represented by the Action Group led by Obafemi Awolowo. Regional governments were headed by: in the North - the leader of the NNC, Ahmadu Bello, in the West - S. Akintola from the Action Group and in the East - the representative of the NNC, M. Okpara. In 1963, a fourth region, the Midwest, was created in the eastern part of Western Nigeria. In the elections held in 1964 in this region, the NSNK won.

In the early 1960s, political alliances created during the struggle for independence fell apart amid growing instability. This first happened in 1962 in the Western region, when, after the split of the Action Group, one of its factions led by S. Akintola created the Nigerian National Democratic Party (NNDP), which, having entered into an alliance with the NCNC, came to power in the region in January 1963 . By 1964, a split had emerged in this coalition regarding the assessment of the results of the 1963 population census, which demographers and the leadership of the NSNC considered falsified. They believed that the population of the North was deliberately inflated by 10 million people, which guaranteed representatives of this region a majority in the country's parliament. Somewhat later, a final split occurred, and on the eve of the December 1964 elections, a new alignment of forces arose: the SNK formed a coalition with the newly created PPDP as opposed to the alliance between the NSNK and the Action Group. The SNK-NNDP bloc won the elections, which were accompanied by numerous violations, which led to a constitutional crisis and an intensification of the struggle for power. In January 1965, a new federal government was formed, which included representatives of the Council of People's Commissars, NNDP and NSNK, and Baleva retained the post of prime minister. A new political crisis erupted in October 1965, when, as a result of fraudulent elections in the Western Region, the PPNP returned to power, which provoked a wave of unrest in this part of the country.

In January 1966, a group of army officers, consisting mainly of Ibos, carried out a military coup. The Federal Government handed over the reins of government to the Commander of the Nigerian Army, Major General J. Aguiyi-Ironsi, also an Ibo. In May, the military government promulgated decrees banning political parties and turning Nigeria into a unitary state. The four existing regions were divided into provinces. These measures confirmed Northern fears about the threat to Ibo hegemony, and a wave of Ibo pogroms swept the North. At the end of July, army units, consisting mainly of northern soldiers, carried out a new military coup, during which Aguiyi-Ironsi and a number of other officers were killed. On August 1, Lieutenant Colonel (later General) Yakubu Gowon became head of state and government. In September, the government promulgated a decree returning the country to a federal system, and a constitutional conference was held in Lagos, at Gowon's suggestion, to develop a formula acceptable to all for maintaining unity. But persecution of the Ibos resumed in the North, with thousands of people killed, leading to a mass exodus of the Ibos to the East. In this situation, representatives of Eastern Nigeria left the conference. In Aburi, Ghana, Gowon met with the head of the regional government of Eastern Nigeria, Lieutenant Colonel Odumegwu Ojukwu. Gowon agreed to radically decentralize the federal system, but the agreement never came into force. On May 27, 1967, on behalf of the regional government, Ojukwu announced the creation of the independent Republic of Biafra in Eastern Nigeria, after which Gowon declared a state of emergency in the country and divided Nigeria into 12 states, three of which were in the East. Three days later, Biafra seceded from Nigeria. In July, with artillery and air support, federal troops launched an offensive against Biafra. Federal troops quickly established control over areas inhabited by non-Ibos, but the Ibo themselves put up a desperate resistance despite widespread starvation due to the blockade of the ports. On January 15, 1970, Biafra surrendered.

Having ended the internecine war, Gowon began to resolve inter-ethnic tensions and restore the destruction caused by the war. However, Gowon failed to fulfill his promises to return the country to civilian rule by 1976 and end corruption. In July 1975, as a result of a bloodless military coup, he was removed from power. Brigadier General Murtala Mohammed became the new president of Nigeria and commander of its army.

Muhammad's government was in power for ca. 200 days, but managed to do a lot. The controversial results of the 1973 census were annulled, a broad campaign was carried out to cleanse the state apparatus and army of corrupt officials, the number of states was increased and a decision was made to create a new federal capital territory. In February 1976, Muhammad was killed during a failed military coup. Muhammad's replacement as head of state, Lieutenant General Olusegun Obasanjo, confirmed the continuity of the political course and the intention of his government to ensure the transition to civilian rule within the established time frame. In 1979, a new constitution came into force, providing for direct elections of the president and head of the executive branch. The elections held in August were won by northern Muslim Shehu Shagari.

Shagari's attempts to increase food production by increasing investment in agriculture met with some success. But other economic development plans could not be implemented, since due to the global decline in production in 1981, government revenues from oil sales began to decrease. Some projects had to be abandoned completely, while others were frozen or implemented on a smaller scale, such as the construction of the new federal capital in Abuja. In order to create jobs for Nigerians, two million West Africans (half of them from Ghana) were expelled from the country in early 1983.

Years of military rule.

In mid-1983, elections were held, accompanied by numerous irregularities, and Shagari again became president. On the night of December 31, 1983, a coup took place in Nigeria - the fourth in the country's history. Some articles of the constitution were suspended and political parties were dissolved. Major General Muhammad Buhari became the head of the federal military government. Buhari was overthrown in another military coup in August 1985, and the state was led by Major General Ibrahim Babangida. Appealing to the national sentiments of Nigerians, Babangida's government refused to continue negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to provide Nigeria with a loan of $2.5 billion.

During his eight years in power, Babangida achieved some success in strengthening central power, creating nine new states and dealing harshly with political opponents. The continued fall in world oil prices contributed to the destabilization of the situation in the country. Those involved in attempted military coups in 1985 and 1990 were executed, and the five-year timetable for a return to civilian rule, the "Third Republic", was repeatedly extended. Some Muslim groups advocated the creation of an Islamic state in the country, which did not meet with sharp rebuff from the military government, the majority of which were northerners. In October 1989, two political parties were created by government decree (the military believed that two parties were quite enough for the country), which was supposed to somehow reduce the intensity of contradictions between the three main ethnic regions. In all elections between 1990 and 1992, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) won victories over the slightly more conservative National Republican Convention party.

The protracted transition to civilian rule ended with presidential elections on June 12, 1993. Voter turnout was low, but voting went smoothly. The final official results of the election were never released, but Moshood Abiola, a wealthy Yoruba businessman, is believed to have won. His victory is noteworthy for several reasons. Firstly, for the first time since the late 1970s, the country's leader was not from the North, and for the first time in the history of Nigeria, the government was headed by a civilian from the southern states. Nevertheless, Abiola enjoyed strong support from the population of all regions of Nigeria, including the North, the homeland of his rival Bashir Tofa.

However, despite the historical significance of these elections, further events took an unexpected turn: on June 23, the military leadership of Nigeria announced the annulment of their results. Throughout the summer, the country, especially the southwestern part of Abiola's homeland, was paralyzed by numerous strikes and strikes. The political crisis eventually forced Babangida to hand over power to the Provisional National Government on August 26, 1993. The head of government, Ernst Shonekan, was unable to withstand the political crisis and, as a result of a military coup carried out on November 17, 1993 by Defense Minister Sani Abacha, was removed from power.

Abacha's reign (1993–1998) turned out to be the darkest period in the history of independent Nigeria. Abacha initially enjoyed significant support from many prominent political figures, partly due to his lack of a clear political agenda. However, over the course of the year, civilian ministers in Abacha's government were gradually removed from important matters, and it became clear that the country was in the grip of a brutal personal dictatorship. The most striking manifestation of the political evolution of the new head of Nigeria was the imprisonment of M. Abiola. Abiola actively campaigned for recognition of the results of the presidential elections, and on June 12, 1994, on the first anniversary of the elections, he declared himself the legitimate president of Nigeria and was arrested. In a show of support for Abiola, in the summer of 1994, workers in the gas and oil industry went on strike, which paralyzed the entire country for nine weeks, but was suppressed by force.

The years of Sani Abacha's rule were marked by numerous human rights violations in Nigeria. Constant repression of the opposition, including arrests and torture, and several high-profile incidents led to the country's international isolation. In March 1995, former head of state Olusegun Obasanjo was arrested on controversial charges of plotting a coup. On November 10, 1995, after a show trial before a military tribunal, Ken-Saro Wiwa, a writer and rights activist for the Ogoni, an ethnic group of the Ibibio people, was executed. In June 1996, Abiola's wife Kudirat was shot dead in Lagos, and although the crime was never solved, many in Nigeria believe it was carried out by the military. At that time, many famous Nigerians, in particular the writer Wole Soyinka, were expelled from the country.

Due to corruption and government mistakes, the Nigerian economy has not been able to recover from stagnation. Abacha managed to maintain macroeconomic stability - control inflation and the exchange rate of the national currency - but there was no real economic growth, since the funds allocated for economic development were stolen by the military. The full scale of corruption under the Abacha regime became known after the government of Abdusalam Abubakar took a number of tough measures to return at least part of the stolen money to the state treasury.

Abacha's reign was marked by a series of foreign policy failures. Due to numerous human rights violations, the United States imposed economic sanctions against Nigeria and its membership in the Commonwealth of Nations was suspended. Particularly unpleasant for the Nigerian authorities was the criticism of the abuses of the military regime, which South African President Nelson Mandela made at a meeting of the heads of state of the Commonwealth. Already strained Nigerian-American relations deteriorated further when, in September 1997, the military dispersed participants in a reception in honor of the departing US Ambassador to Nigeria, Walter Carrington, which in itself was a blatant violation of diplomatic protocol. In West Africa, Nigeria has achieved some success and strengthened its position as a regional leader. The Inter-African Armed Forces, the backbone of which is Nigerians (ECOMOG), made a significant contribution to stabilizing the situation for the 1997 elections in Liberia. Even more successful was the Nigerian military intervention in Sierra Leone. In June 1997, Nigeria took military action against the military junta of Sierra Leone, which seized power on May 25, 1997. In February 1998, with the help of Nigerian troops, the former legally elected civilian government was restored.

Officially, the main political goal of the Abacha regime, like that of his predecessor Ibrahim Babangida, was to ensure a gradual transition to democracy. During the transition period, it was planned to hold a conference on a new constitution, elections to local authorities, and registration of political parties. However, as October 1, 1998, the date for the transfer of power to a civilian government, approached, it became increasingly clear that the whole transition period was just a cover for Abacha's intention to consolidate his own power. Independent political parties were outlawed, pro-regime organizations received financial subsidies from the regime, and potential rivals to Abacha's presidential bid were harassed and arrested. The final evidence of the true intentions of the ruling regime was the nomination of Sani Abacha as a candidate for the presidential post in early 1998 by all five official political parties. This led to a barrage of criticism from a number of civil society organizations, in particular the Zi group created by Alex Ekwueme, which included prominent politicians, as well as university teachers and former leaders of the country, including Muhammad Buhari, Ibrahim Babangida and Ernst Shonekan.

Abacha's successor, General Abdusalam Abubakar, distanced himself from the abuses of the previous regime. Political prisoners were released, and the new authorities began to review the program for the transition to democratic rule. However, two main problems remained unresolved: the annulled June 12 election results and the imprisonment of Moshood Abiola. On July 7, a few days before his expected release, Abiola died of a heart attack. Although an autopsy carried out by international experts did not reveal signs of violent death, many attributed Abiola's death to the poor conditions in which he was detained for four years.

Political tensions that arose after Abiola's death subsided after July 20, when General Abubakar unveiled a new program for the transition to civilian rule, according to which power in Nigeria would be transferred to the civilian government elected on May 29, 1999. As the internal political situation liberalized, prominent Nigerian dissidents began to return from emigration to their homeland. In particular, Wole Soyinka came to Nigeria in October.

The US and UK governments positively assessed the new program for the transition to democracy and began to discuss the possibility of lifting sanctions. Abubakar was invited to speak at the UN and also visited South Africa.

On February 28, 1999, presidential elections were held in Nigeria. They were won by the candidate from the People's Democratic Party, former head of state and retired General Olusegun Obosanjo, who collected over 60% of the votes.

Period of independent development.

In 1996, the government lifted restrictions on the activities of foreign investors in the country. First of all, the creation of companies with 100% foreign capital was allowed, as well as the export of financial resources by them outside the country. The new president's policy was aimed at fighting corruption, attracting foreign investment and strengthening the country's foreign policy position. In 1999, at the request of the Nigerian government, the fortune of former dictator Sani Abacha and his clan was blocked in Swiss banks. (The clan of the former dictator, who died in 1998, embezzled $2.2 billion, authorities said.) In 1999, the Commission for Combating Economic and Financial Crimes (KBEFC) was created. In the 1990s, on the initiative of O. Obasanjo, the Forum of African Leaders (Nigerian political science research center) was created, the main task of which was to study the national characteristics of political leadership in African countries. In 2000, Obasanjo joined the development of The Millennium Partnership for the African Recovery Program (MAP), put forward by South African President T. Mbeki and Algerian President A. Bouteflika. In October 2001 in Abuja, at the first meeting of the Program Implementation Committee (by that time the so-called “Omega Plan” of Senegalese President A. Wade had been integrated into it), amendments were made to the document and it was approved called the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD).

Nigeria in the 21st century

The parliamentary elections on April 12, 2003 were won by Obasanjo's party, the People's Democratic Party (PDP), which received 213 seats in the House of Representatives and 73 seats in the Senate. The All Nigeria People's Party (ANP) won 95 and 28 parliamentary seats, respectively. In the presidential elections held on April 19, 2003, Obasanjo won (61.94% of the votes), his main rival from several candidates, Muhammad Buhari (representative of the GNP), received 32.2% of the votes.

An increase in retail gasoline prices in 2004 led to mass strikes, due to which the country's economy was practically paralyzed. In the same year, the government adopted a new labor relations law, which tightened the conditions for holding strikes - in order to carry out a strike, it now must be approved by a majority of the members of the given trade union.

According to the classification of the international organization Transparency International, Nigeria is considered one of the most corrupt countries in the world. Obasanjo devotes the central place to his activities as president of the country to the fight against corruption in the state apparatus. In his opinion, the fight against corruption is necessary, first of all, to reduce the country’s external debt. 2002–2003, after being convicted of bribery, the head of the Senate, several ministers and state governors were dismissed. According to some Nigerian publications, the late wife of the president, Stella (died in October 2005), and his businessman son, Gbenga, are involved in various matters related to corruption. The search for possible abuses by the president, which was conducted in Nigeria by 3 highly paid accountants and auditors from Israel invited by parliament, did not find confirmation of the accusations. In November 2004, Obasanjo announced the income (the first of the country's government leaders) from the business he owned. An agricultural farm located in the south of the country brings in 30 million naira (250 thousand US dollars) monthly. In April 2005, the president officially called on anyone who has facts incriminating him or members of his family of corruption to make them public.

In March 2005, a special committee was created, the activities of which should stimulate efforts to correct the negative image of Nigeria created abroad. The committee included 16 prominent bankers, industrialists and officials. In addition to corruption, serious damage to the prestige of the country is caused by a well-established system of financial fraud on an international scale by Nigerian criminals, the essence of which is to send by mail and e-mail a large number of tempting offers of “profitable cooperation”, subject to the transfer of payment for intermediary services to the account of one of the Nigerian banks . In October 2005, within the framework of the Commission for Combating Economic and Financial Crimes, a special unit was created that investigates such crimes. In the fall of 2005, thanks to the efforts of this commission, the fraudsters brought to justice for the first time returned the funds stolen from her account to the victim (a citizen of the People's Republic of China).

In 2004–2005, in the Niger Delta, the main oil region of the country, illegal actions by a number of ethnic groups (primarily representatives of the Ogoni and Ijaw ethnic groups) became more frequent, creating obstacles to the activities of foreign investors. In September 2005, the government approved a draft law to combat terrorism.

In July 2005, Obasanjo, during a meeting with the president of the World Bank (WB), confirmed his intention and readiness to step down as president after the end of his term in 2007. However, Obasanjo's supporters actively campaigned for a constitutional amendment that would allow him to run for office. to the presidency for the third time. In January 2006, the Senate opposed such an amendment. In the beginning. 2006 The protests of a number of ethnic groups in the Niger Delta resumed. As a result of the actions of rebels advocating the withdrawal of foreign companies from oil production areas, it decreased by 10%.

The government is carrying out reforms in agriculture to increase its profitability. The situation in the industry was aggravated by the drought that hit some states in July 2005. Nigeria's main financial donors are the UK, the USA and France. The amount of external debt in 2004 amounted to 34 billion US dollars. In 2005, the Paris Club of creditor countries wrote off 60% of Nigeria's total debt. GDP is 132.1 billion US dollars, its growth is 5.2%. Inflation rate - 15.6%, investment - 23.1% of GDP, unemployment growth - 2.9% (data for 2005, estimate). In February 2005, the Federal Court of Nigeria decided that the money of the Abacha clan must be returned. On November 9, 2005, Switzerland returned another tranche of $180 million to Nigeria (previously, out of a total amount of $700 million found in Swiss banks, amounts of $200 million and $290 million were returned).

On October 12, 2005, a conference of the African Union (AU) was held in Abuja, dedicated to the problem of forming a unified government of the continent. Obasanjo, who was the president of the AU (his mandate was valid until January 2006; on January 24 of the same year, Congolese President Sassou Nguesso became the new head of the AU), led the work of the committee of African heads of state, created to develop the structure, program and schedule for the creation of a unified AU government.
In July 2005, Obasanjo, during a meeting with the president of the World Bank (WB), confirmed his intention and readiness to step down as president after the end of his term in 2007. However, Obasanjo's supporters actively campaigned for a constitutional amendment that would allow him to run for office. to the presidency for the third time. In January 2006, the Senate opposed such an amendment. The general election held on April 21, 2007 was won by 55-year-old Umaru Yar'Adua, the former governor of the northern Muslim state of Katsina. He was officially sworn in as head of state on May 29, 2007. This was the first time there was a peaceful transfer of power from one democratically elected president to to another in the 46-year history of independent Nigeria, marred by numerous coups. Yar'Adua's election campaign used slogans similar to Obasanjo's program; in addition, Obasanjo is the leader of the People's Democratic Party, of which the new president was a representative. Umaru Yar'Adua died on May 5, 2010, after a long illness. Before his death, Nigeria found itself in a situation of political crisis, since it was unclear how seriously ill Yar'Adua was and who should take the place of head of state during his departure for treatment abroad. It was only in February 2010 that the Nigerian Senate decided to appoint Vice President Goodluck Jonathan as interim head of state until the situation was clarified. Jonathan's opponents criticized his appointment, calling it a coup. Nigerians protested against the current situation, demanding either the return of President Yar'Adua or the holding of democratic elections. At the end of February, Yar'Adua returned to Nigeria, but there were conflicting reports about his health. And about. President Goodluck Jonathan disbanded the cabinet of the elected head of state in March 2010 and then appointed new ministers from his team. On May 6, 2010, after the death of Yar'Adua, the inauguration ceremony of Goodluck Jonathan as the new president took place.
In the elections held on April 16, 2011, the country's current president, Goodluck Jonathan, received enough votes to win in the first round of elections (to win in the first round, a candidate must win a majority of the votes and at least a quarter of the votes in 24 of Nigeria's 36 states ).

On March 28-29, 2015, presidential elections were held in Nigeria. A total of 14 candidates were registered, but the main contenders were the incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan and the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate Muhammadu Buhari. He received 53.95% of the votes. Major General Muhammad Buhari already led the country in 1984-1985. He himself came as a result of a military coup, and was subsequently also overthrown. Goodluck Jonathan became the first president of the country who left not as a result of a military coup or his death, but as a result of elections.

Lyubov Prokopenko

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