By Balogun Kamilu Lekan
Nigeria is a wonderful country with outstanding citizens from many different cultures. As we commemorate the nation’s 62nd anniversary of independence, let’s look at 62 facts about the nation.
- Aliko Dangote of Nigeria is the wealthiest Black individual in the world
- Nigeria is the seventh most populated country in the world and the most populous black nation.
- Yoruba people and bloodlines have the highest rate of twinning (giving birth to twins) worldwide.
- According to the 2006 Census, Americans of Nigerian descent have the highest level of education.
- One-fifth of all black Africans live in Nigeria.
- Malam Umaru Altine, a northern Fulani man, was the first elected mayor of the eastern city of Enugu and won a second term.
- The Nigerian Coat of Arms was designed by Messrs Beverley Pick Associated, London.
- In 1911, Nigeria had a population of only 16 million people. It is projected to surpass the United States and become the world’s fourth largest by 2050.
- Lagos now has a population that is larger than the total population of all Eastern states combined.
- Mrs Fumilayo Ransome-Kuti, legendary Fela’s mother, was one of the delegates that negotiated Nigeria’s independence from Britain.
- Nigeria has the fourth-highest number of languages in the world, with 521. There are 510 languages still spoken today, two non-native second languages, and nine extinct languages.
- The northern region of Nigeria was once the most educated region in Nigeria,, with about 25,000 Qur’anic Arabic schools in the north with approximately 250,000 students.
- Kaduna Nzeogwu, a 29-year-old military lieutenant, conducted Nigeria’s first coup, killing Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa and many other key figures.
- According to Forbes, five of the world’s ten richest pastors are Nigerians, with net worth ranging from $10 to $150 million. They include Pastors David Oyedepo, E. A. Adeboye, Chris Oyakhilome, and Mathew Ashimolowo, amongst others.
- Before 1984, you didn’t need a visa to visit the United Kingdom.
- According to the National Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria has the world’s fourth-highest number of poor people living on less than a dollar daily.
- Nigeria, Africa’s third-largest economy, ranks 160th out of 177 countries in the HDI (Human Development Index).
- Nigeria has the world’s highest-paid parliamentarians.
- Nigeria is the most corrupt country in the world based on the amount squandered out of an annual income of $81 billion.
- In Accra, there is a Yoruba chief of Nigerian ancestry. Chief Brimah is the sole foreign Chief in Ghana’s traditional council.
- Sungbo Eredo in Ogun state is a 100-mile system of tunnels and walls up to 70 feet deep that surrounds Ijebu-Ode. Its queen, Bilkisu Sungbo, is said to be the Biblical Queen Sheba
- Kano once produced 10 million sandal pairs and 5 million hides for export per year in 1851.
- Today, Queen Hajiya Haidzatu Ahmed reigns over Kumbwada in Niger State, with a population of up to 500,000 subjects. Males are kept off the throne by a throne curse that causes them to become ill and die.
- In the administration of The Gambia, Nigerians are part of their national official.
- Professor Wole Soyinka, a Nigerian, was the first African to get the Nobel Prize in Literature.
- The excellent quality and very sophisticated bronze work of the Benin Kingdom, which dates back to the 13th century, is a world marvel. Wondrous works in iron, wood, ivory and terra cotta illustrate the empire’s impeccable history.
- The military rule of Obasanjo transitioned Nigeria from a parliamentary to a presidential government.
- Africa’s richest woman, Folorunso Alakija, is a Nigerian.
- The Yoruba tribe of Nigeria has the highest rate of twins in the world.
- Previously, Africa’s tallest tower was the Cocoa House in Ibadan. It was completed in 1965.
- Nigeria’s Muslim population is larger than Saudi Arabia’s.
- The Redeemed Christian Church of God hosts the largest yearly Christian meeting in Africa, known as the Holy Ghost Convention.
- Nigerian immigrants in the United States are among the best educated.
- The Niger Delta is the world’s second-largest delta.
- Taraba state has more languages than at least 30 countries combined.
- The Nigerian movie industry is the world’s second-largest producer of films. It is bigger than Hollywood.
- Every week, approximately 200 Nollywood films are made.
- The Third Mainland Bridge was Nigeria’s longest bridge until 1996, when the October 6 Bridge in Cairo was finished.
- Benin’s walls are the world’s most extended ancient structures, encompassing 500 villages over a 6500-square-kilometre area.
- Agbani Darego, a Nigerian University student, became the first African woman to win the Miss World Beauty Pageant.
- Nigeria was the first African country to win an Olympic gold medal in football.
- Nigeria has the world’s sixth fastest-increasing internet population.
- Emmanuel Ifeajuna was the first black African to win a Commonwealth Games gold medal.
- Chappal Waddi is Nigeria’s highest point, standing at 7936 feet.
- Nigerians account for one in every four Africans.
- In 2015, Nigeria became the first African country to rid itself of the Ebola danger.
- Lagos is Nigeria’s largest metropolis, but it is not Nigeria’s capital.
- Nigeria is Africa’s greatest producer of oil and gas.
- Nigeria has one of the most diverse butterfly populations on the planet.
- Nigeria has Africa’s oldest dye pit.
- The Jos Plateau Indigobird, a little reddish-brown bird, is found only in Plateau state, Nigeria.
- According to the World Resources Institute, Nigeria is home to 4,715 plant species and over 550 species of breeding birds and mammals, making it one of the planet’s most ecologically diverse regions.
- Humans have been present in Nigeria since 11,000 BC.
- The Aba Women’s Riot of 1929 was one of the world’s greatest women’s revolts.
- Jelani Aliyu, a Nigerian from Sokoto, works as a senior creative designer for General Motors in the United States. He created the Chevrolet Volt, which has become one of the most admired American vehicles in the world.
- Nigeria is the 12th largest oil producer and the 8th largest crude oil exporter.
- The oil business is one of the most important sectors of the Nigerian economy.
- Many historians believe that the word Nigeria was coined by English journalist Flora Shaw in a piece she published for the Times of London in 1897.
- Philip Emeagwali, a full-fledged Nigerian whose patent was obtained in 2015, created the world’s fastest supercomputer.
- The country generally has a climate with two distinct seasons: wet and dry. Each lasts almost half a year.
- Football is one of Nigeria’s most popular sports (soccer).
- Nigeria’s national basketball team qualified for the 2012 Olympics, and the country has exported several players to the NBA, notably Hakeem Olajuwon.
