...Nigeria Geographical, Political, and Economic Overview Lyla Snider HUMN 305 - U4WW (WI12) Professor Brian Kasvosve March 11, 2012 Geography and Background The Federal Republic of Nigeria, commonly referred to in short as “Nigeria” is located in Western Africa. It is bordered by Chad, Cameroon, Niger, and Benin. It is also a coast line to the Gulf of Guinea located in the Atlantic Ocean. Nigeria gets its name from the Niger River which flows through the western side of the country and proves as a valuable resource. Nigeria is considered to be Africa’s most populous countries and also one of the most diverse, consisting of approximately 250 ethnic groups. The countries religious views are shared mainly between Muslim and Christian beliefs. The official language of Nigeria is English, however, many different dialects spoken including Hausa, Yoruba, and Fulani (Rosenburg, 2005). Now that you have an understanding some of the demographics of Nigeria, let’s explore a little history. In the late 1800’s Nigeria and British were heavily involved with trade. By 1914, Nigeria was officially united. The growth of education and economic development grew vastly. The drive towards “nationalism” and demands for independence moved Nigeria toward self-government and by 1922 the British introduced direct election into the legislative council By1959, the North had gained self-governing status. These political restructuring, ultimately led to Nigeria gaining full independence on October 1...
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...WRITING SEMINAR With a population estimated at 170 million, Nigeria is the seventh-most populous country in the world. The total area it covers is just over 900,000 square kilometres and it comprises 36 states. Among these many and diverse people, there are over 250 various ethnic groups with different languages, customs, cultures and religions. The three major ethnic groups are Igbo, Hausa / Fulani, and Yoruba. These three alone account for over 60% of the population of Nigeria. Each tribe is located in a specific geographical position in the country. The Igbo ethnic group is located mainly in the Southeastern part of the country and has a population of about 15 million and the language spoken is called Igbo, but it has different dialects in different states such as Delta-Igbo in Delta State, Ikwerre in Rivers State, Ika in Anambra State to mention a few. The Yoruba ethnic group is located mainly in the western part reaching into the central parts and Yoruba is predominantly spoken with Owo, Ikere and Sagamu as minor dialects. Finally, the Hausas are located in all of the northern part of the country which is mostly desert-like, and they are the largest of all the various ethnic groups. Hausa, Fulani and other minor languages such as Tiv, along with Arabic are spoken by the people. Despite all these minor languages, the lingua franca of Nigeria is English. Religion is very diverse among these three ethnic groups. The Igbos are mainly Christians, however, deities such as Amadioha...
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...Shell Nigeria is one of the largest oil producers in the Royal Dutch/Shell Group. 80% of the oil extraction in Nigeria is the the Niger Delta, the southeast region of the country. The Delta is home to many small minority ethnic groups, including the Ogoni, all of which suffer egregious exploitation by multinational oil companies, like Shell. Shell provides over 50% of the income keeping the Nigerian dictatorship in power. In 2000 oil and gas exports accounted for more than 98 % of export earnings and about 83 % of federal government revenue. New oil wealth and the concurrent decline of other sectors, fuelled massive migration to the cities and led to increasingly widespread poverty, especially in rural areas. The Nigerian government hanged 9 environmental activists in 1995 for speaking out against exploitation by Royal Dutch/Shell and the Nigeria government. The most prominent activist was Ken Saro -Wiwa and in 2009 Shell settled the case with a US$15.5 million “humanitarian gesture”. The settlement came days before the start of a trial in New York that was expected to reveal extensive details of Shell's activities in the Niger Delta. There is currently a joint effort by the government and Shell to suppress a growing movement among the Ogoni people towards, environmental justice, recognition of their human rights and economic justice (in the form of wages and equal opportunities). Additionally, Shell has brought extreme, irreparable environmental devastation to Ogoniland...
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...Firstly, since independence in 1960, the Nigerian political system has been volatile, there have been 7 military coups, and this has made the investment climate unattractive because the nation appears insecure for the foreign investor. Secondly, they are too many arbitrary and sudden changes in government policies and regulations which have led to a great deal of uncertainty. Foreign banks are scared from funding any project with a long gestation period. With this fear, most of these banks are now turning to major cash centres, that is, they are basically involved in deposits and disbursement of funds without getting involved in long term project financing. Thirdly corruption is endemic and has spread to every facet of the economy. It is widely prevalent in many government and public agencies and foreign banks believe that business operations may come to a halt if they is “no greasing of palms’’ Another major finding is that of weak legal system, the legal system has also has had its shortfall arising from the executive meddling in their affairs. Those who contravened the laws are not easily brought to book, those involved in trade malpractice or breach of contractual agreements are not properly prosecuted to serve as a deterrent to others. Based on these, most foreign banks tend to be worried about validity and enforcement of contractual agreements. Foreign banks require healthy private sector that can earn reasonable rate of return in a stable economic environment, that...
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...A Look into Nigeria’s Economy The Republic of Nigeria, more commonly known as Nigeria is the largest country in Africa and was under the control of Great Britain until 1960 when they gained independence. In 1999 Nigeria returned to a democratic form of government which has worked well for them until just recently when security concerns began to arise due to the presence of the radical Islamist sect, Boko Haram. Nigeria has the continent’s largest population with 173.6 million people and the largest economy as well. Although Nigeria’s economy is the largest in Africa, 61 percent of the residents are reported to survive on less than $1.00 per day with corruption within the government being the main reason for poverty. Nigeria is also the largest oil producer in Africa and the 10th largest oil producer in the world and as of 2009, the Nigerian film industry was the second largest movie producer in the world. When looking at economic freedom, Nigeria is ranked 120th in the world and 22nd in the Sub-Saharan Africa region and has an Economic Freedom Score of 55.6. The labor force of Nigeria is roughly 54.2 million or 56.1 percent of the population and the unemployment rate is 8%. Nigeria has experienced strong economic growth averaging 6.5 percent within the past ten years and inflation has decreased in recent years to the rate of 8 percent. It is my goal to explore unemployment in Nigeria, the reason for its strong economic growth as well as the improvement and decline in...
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...Shell in Nigeria Shell is a multinational corporation that for 50 years has been intimately involved in Nigeria’s economy, politics and overall development. Company generates billions of dollars in export earnings while providing the federal government with half or more of its revenue. Shell has also been implicated in government military actions that have resulted in the killing of non-violent community, human rights and environmental activists and local villagers, as well as the oppression of ethnic minorities. They’ve been seen as being complicit in widespread corruption and as a large contributor to the self-enrichment of government officials and powerful, local interests. They’ve also been viewed as a principal agent of widespread environmental degradation in what’s recognized as one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots. Urbanization, industrialization and deforestation are taking a heavy toll on the Delta region’s soil, land, water and air. The country’s forest area has been reduced by around half between 1990 and 2008, which is degrading the region’s agricultural productivity and water resources. Local activists and residents, as well as local and foreign scientists and researchers, have decried the fouling of the Delta region’s air, land and water, much of it attributed to pollution associated with oil and gas exploration and production. Shell has been harshly criticized for the effects its exploration and production in Nigeria. Seventy-five percent of oil spill incidents...
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...operations in Nigeria into context. Nigeria, an English speaking country in West Africa, is the most populated country in Africa with 180 million people; and has one of the largest and fastest growing economies in the world with five percent growth in GDP every year. Further, Nigeria is one of the world’s largest producers of oil in the world and is part of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (hereafter “OPEC”). RDS, a British and Dutch multinational gas and petroleum company headquartered in Holland, has many subsidiaries such as the Shell Oil Company (American Subsidiary) and Shell Petroleum Development Company (Nigerian Subsidiary hereafter referred to as “SPDC”). SPDC has been the biggest fossil fuel company in the Nigeria and it accounts for over twenty percent of Nigeria's total oil production. Shell was first established in Nigeria in 1937 and was given a license of exploration in 1938. Four years before Nigeria’s Independence from Great Britain in 1960, Shell Nigeria discovered economically feasible oil in 1956. In 1957, Shell established the first oil field in the Delta region of Nigeria, located in the land owned by the Ogoni tribe. By 1958, Shell had begun exporting oil from Nigeria for the first time commercially. I. Question of Ethical Breach? Since the 1970’s, Shell has consistently been accused of major environmental and human rights violations for its oil activities in Nigeria. The “Ejama-Ebubu...
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...In the beginning Nigeria was controlled and influenced by the British through the 19th century; Nigeria finally earned its independence in 1960. Nigeria is the largest most populated country in Africa. After 16 years of military rule Nigeria’s independence came in 1960. Today Nigeria is by far Africa’s leader in economic power. Nigeria earned its independence from Great Britain on the first of October 1960. The constitution of Nigeria was not written until the May 5, 1999 and it was not effective until May 29th, 1999. Nigeria has a Federal Republic government system. Nigeria has mixed legal system made up of English common law and Islamic in 12 northern states and Traditional law. Nigeria’s Administrative divisions are broken up in 36 states and 1 territory. Nigeria has a bicameral legislative branch consisting of a Senate and a House of Representatives. The Senate has 109 seats each member holding the seat for four years, and the House of Representatives have 360 seats with each member also hold the seats for four years. Nigeria has the world’s eighth largest population; according to ww.cia.gov Nigeria has approximately 174,507,539 as of July 2013. Nigeria is composed of more than 250 ethnic groups. The most prevalent being Hausa and Fulani making up 29% of the population, followed closely behind by Yoruba 21%. Muslim is by far the most popular Religious choice; Christianity is a close second. Nigeria has an average life expectancy of 52 years; this is boosted mostly by...
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...Nigeria is a country that is located in the western part of Africa. It is located south of Niger. The population in Nigeria is fairly large, it contains more than 130 million people. As far as size, it is slightly bigger than Texas, but it has more than five times the people living in it. The weather in Nigeria fluctuates by having rainy and dry seasons, too much rain often causes flooding and periodic droughts in the southern parts. Nigeria was colonized by Britain in the year of 1885. In 1807 Nigeria began with the prohibition of the slave trade to British subjects in 1807. As the collapse of the African slave trade, there was a decline and an eventual collapse of the Oyo Empire. The Oyo Empirestretched from the woodland, grassland in Nigeria to eastern Ghana, going far south to the coast, which was mostly woodland savannah. Britain ruled over Nigeria for 60 years. Nigeria became one of the wealthiest countries in Africa their natural resources such as oil, now a days it's petroleum rather than the palm oil of the previous century. Nigeria became independent on October of 1960. The Nigerian Congress is party dominated by Northerners and those of the Islamic faith. The Igbo is mostly Christians...
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...A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE NIGERIAN BUDGET FROM 1999 – 2013 ONOWA SIMON +2348064034407 Simoncy2k@gmail.com ABSTRACT This study examines the Federal Government budget in Nigeria between 1999 and 2013. The analysis of this study showed that for more than a decade of democratic dispensation in Nigeria, there has been a consistent increase in the total recurrent expenditure of the Federal Government. This has led to budget deficits. Thus a key macroeconomic issue addressed in this study is the rationale underlying government fiscal deficit, the significance of the rational expectation hypothesis in Nigerian economy and the consequences and impact of this action on the economy. Data for this study were collected from CBN statistical bulletin and gazette of the Federal Ministry of Finance. The study employed a descriptive analysis. Government has been allocation more fund to recurrent expenditure over the period under study. Using key fiscal indicators the study recommended that for overall sustained economic growth and development; federal government should increase substantially allocation to capital projects in rural Nigeria to trigger economic growth and development. Introduction A Budget is focused on the Government’s drive to achieve its developmental goals as entrenched in its Vision. It is also anchored on the commitment of the Government to improve the socio-economic status its people by strategically implementing plans and programmes to boost economic activity...
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...Friend or Foe Shell in the Niger Delta Shell in the Niger Delta There is a long and terrible record of environmental destruction and human rights violations in the oil-producing regions of Nigeria. The gross level of environmental degradation caused by oil exploration and extraction in the Niger Delta has gone unchecked for the past 30 years. Evidence shows that the oil companies operating in Nigeria have not only disregarded their responsibility towards the environment but have acted together with the military’s repression of Nigerian citizens. The profit-driven collusion between multinational oil companies and the past and present Nigerian governments has cost many lives and continues to threaten the stability of the region. In the course of writing this paper, based on all the accounts of reports read, interviews conducted, news and report findings, I came to the realization that oil extraction and the related operations of multinational oil corporations pose a serious threat to the livelihood of the people of the Niger Delta. Tensions in the Niger Delta continue to erupt into violence as natural resources vital to local communities’ survival are destroyed by oil operations. Environmental and social justice for the people of the Niger Delta remain central issues for achieving peace in the region. As long as people’s calls for justice continue to be ignored and resisted by both multinational oil corporations and the Nigerian government, the situation...
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...48 Years Of Nigeria’s Underdevelopment: A Fruit Of Failed And Recycled Policy! * By L.Chinedu Arizona-Ogwu * Published 09/27/2008 * Nigeria Matters * Rating: L.Chinedu Arizona-Ogwu Arizona-Ogwu writes from Oyigbo, Rivers State, Nigeria. View all articles by L.Chinedu Arizona-Ogwu All over the world, there has been progress in many areas over the last 48 years -- life-saving medicines, the Internet, oil boom and , under-water exploration, airbus, the advent of mobile phone and whatsoever -- yet the same poor way of doing things as seen within October 1960 looms even today in Nigeria. Instead of coming up with better innovations and development strategies, this government makes life miserable and put across one of the worst ideas ever: confused, drawing plans, postponing and re-introducing bills yet the years were exhausting. Even if our governments are not the only ones that are bad, they have ranked low for decades on most international comparisons of corruption, state failure, red tape, lawlessness and dictatorship. Our platform "nigeria4betterrule" does not recognize such lousy but tyrant government-- this would be an insult to the many of us who risk their lives to protest this government. Instead, corrupt and mismanaged governments inside this country reflect the unhappy way in which our colonial masters artificially created most nations, often combining antagonistic ethnicities. Anyway, the results of states economics by bad states was a near-zero rise in GDP...
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...| | | | | | | | | Language Education In Nigeria | | | LANGUAGE EDUCATION IN NIGERIA: THEORY, POLICY AND PRACTICE | | INTRODUCTION Natural language has many unique properties among which is that it plays dual role in most known formal educational systems. Thus it features, on the one hand, as a subject on the school curriculum, and accordingly permits one to talk of Language Education in much the same way that one would talk of Physics Education, Science Education, Economics Education, etc. On the other hand and completely unlike any of the other subjects on the curriculum, it also serves all over the world as the medium of instruction in all subjects, including itself. This latter role of it is fully captured under the title of Language in Education. Thus, Language Education and Language in Education refer to the two distinct roles that natural language plays in Education. Only the former of these two roles will be touched upon in the present discussion. Early Efforts in Language Education Formal Western type education was introduced into the country by Christian Missionaries just before the middle of the nineteenth century. For about four decades after that initial date, both the nature and main thrust of Language Education in the country were completely left to those missionaries to decide (Taiwo 1980: 10 - 11; Fafunwa 1974:92). And given the well-known belief of most such missionaries, first, that the African child was best taught...
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...TITLE PAGE RELIGIOUS UNREST IN NIGERIA: CAUSES, EFFECTS AND SOLUTION. DEDICATION I want to dedicate this work to those prospective authors that dedicated their time to evaluate files and write about the religious situation in the country and give their general opinions on the matter. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. I want to acknowledge the lord Almighty, for the wonderful work he has done in my life and the aid he rendered me during the research of this work. PREFACE This discusses the solutions causes and effects of the ongoing religious conflict in the country. The religious conflict have taken so many loved ones and destroyed a lot of properties. The text elaborates al these and review the timeline of those events act the number of lives lost the number church and mosques destroyed all for the name of religious conflict. CHAPTER ONE 1. INTRODUCTION Nigeria is known be highly religions each of these groups has its own religious behalf and procures. Religion is the strongest element in traditional background and the greatest influence upon the thinking and living of the people concerned. According to John S. Mbiti “religion are not primarily for the individual but for his community of which he is part. Chapters of Nigerian religion are written everywhere in life of the community and in traditional society there are no irreligious people. To be human is to belong to the whole...
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...Boko Haram in Nigeria Name School Boko Haram in Nigeria Following the September 11, 2001, attack in the United States of America, terrorism took a new dimension, not just in the country, but across the globe. The scale of terrorism spread to other regions, with terror groups increasing their diverse agendas. In addition to this increment, the need to develop new counter-terror campaigns became inevitable. Terrorism is an act of spreading brutality against the civilians with the aim of realizing political or aggressive goals. In the recent past, major continents have been terror victims, driven by different armed groups with various agendas. Defining terrorism is sometimes tricky. This is because they can be seen as freedom fighters to the natives but to the government or civilians, they are terrorists. More often than not, terrorists are driven by hatred that is passed through generations. What aspired towards the September attack towards the United States of America was perceived animosity between the Muslims in the Middle East and the Americans. In fact, the majority of the causalities were the Americans, while the terrorist were affiliated with al Qaeda. As mentioned earlier, what started as hatred against the Americans turned out to be a global catastrophe. The Western part of Africa is no exception, particularly in Nigeria. In the past decade, al Qaeda-affiliated group commonly referred to as the Boko Haram has been on the rampage in Nigeria. Boko Haram is drawn from...
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