Interesting Facts About Nigeria cannot be limited in anyway. In Spite of the international identification misconception, there are lots of good stuff about Nigeria every other country hardly have.
Interesting Facts About Nigeria
There are many reasons why Nigeria has become the love of millions of people around the world especially her citizens.
From our fabulous lifestyle to our sense of humour, amazing destinations to our foods, we are indeed a blessed country of extraordinary variety. Nigeria may not be a perfect country, of course; we’ve got no perfect country in the world and this is why we feel compelled to stand up for the nation of our birth.
Nigeria, officially named the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a diverse West African country. Nicknamed the “Giant of Africa,” Nigeria is home to hundreds of different ethnicities, languages and butterfly species. Below are some Interesting Facts About Nigeria.
Interesting Facts About Nigeria
1. Nigerian have entrepreneurial mindset
There is nothing we appreciate than being creative and this drives us to make things come to life. There is no part of the world where you would not see us.
We are extremely good when it comes to entrepreneurship. We create business out of nothing and survive the worst economic recession because we are smart entrepreneurs.
This is why we see small businesses flourish from that tiny hut in a remote village to the companies around the country.
2. Jollof rice
This mouth-watering tomato-based rice dish is a party staple. There are many ways to cook it, involving endless permutations of meat, spices, chilli, onions and vegetables.
While it’s widely accepted that Senegal invented this dish, the concept spread to West African countries. The most notable are Ghana and Nigeria two nations that have vied with one another for supremacy in a never-ending battle known as the jollof wars.
3. Nigerians are gifted and talented
When it comes to talents and brains, we are like number one in the world. This is no exaggeration!!
4. Traditional weddings
In Nigeria, if you’ve reached your 30th birthday and are still unhitched, the elders will harass you down the aisle, which is why barely a week goes by without someone staging a traditional wedding ceremony somewhere.
Weddings are a sacred part of cultural life, but also an excuse to show off cuisine, fabulous clothing, music and dance moves in one life-affirming, chromatic bonanza.
With 250-odd ethnic groups, the ceremonies come in a variety of styles, depending on your region.
In the southwest, the groom and his friends might prostrate themselves at the start.
However, in the southeast you’ll see them dancing their way into the ceremony, wearing bowler hats and clutching walking canes.
In other regions, the bride and groom’s families send each other letters of proposal and acceptance before getting down to dowry negotiations.
Once the serious stuff is done, it’s back to music and dancing and, best of all, the tossing of banknotes in the air to make money literally rain down on the newlyweds.
5. Religion
While there are a number of different religions practiced in Nigeria, the majority of the population is either Christian or Muslim.
Nollywood films
Only Hollywood and India’s Bollywood make more movies than Nigeria. Known as Nollywood, our film industry is big business — so big it contributes 5% to national GDP.
With average flicks churned out in under a two weeks, Nollywood films are famous for their poor (albeit improving) production values.
But what they lack in sophistication they make up for in story lines that are an entertaining window on Nigerian moral values and byzantine social dynamics.
Narratives exploring servant-master relationships, the supernatural, corruption and infidelity are delivered with lashings of shouty, eye-bulging overacting.
6. Nigerians are happy people
It doesn’t matter if we are living on some floating slums like Makoko in Lagos or the government of the day is not living up to our expectation; one thing that hardship can never take away from us is our happiness.
In the midst of fear, challenges, difficulties, pains, frustrations and anger, we still find one reason to be happy.
7. Nigerians are very optimistic
Life can be cruel but this doesn’t have anything to do with what we believe in. We are very optimistic which is why we are able to translate every negative situation to something positive. We see the good in every situation we find ourselves.
8. Igbo-Ora
The town of Igbo-Ora is known as the nation’s home of twins. Many of the local Yoruba people believe their consumption of yams and okra leaves to be the cause of their high birth rate of twins.
While some fertility experts believe that certain yams contain a natural hormone that could cause multiple ovulation, there is no scientific evidence of this phenomenon.
9. Multiethnicity
Nigeria is a diverse multiethnic country with more than 520 spoken languages. While English is the official language, Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo are also major languages in the country.
10. Population
Nigeria is the seventh-most populous country in the world, home to more than 200 million people. While that may be a lot of people, population numbers would likely be even higher if it weren’t for the country’s high mortality rates and low life expectancy.
11. Lagos Nigeria
Lagos, the former capital of Nigeria before being moved to Abuja, is the country’s largest and most populous city and has been dubbed “Africa’s Big Apple,” in reference to New York City.
12. Nigeria is beautiful
Nigeria have a lot of breath taking destinations you can visit that stretches from Lagos Bar Beach to Obudu Cattle Ranch; destinations where you can feel Mother Nature, see rare species of plants and animals and enjoy the beauty of tranquility and tourism.
13. Nigerians believe God at the centre of lives
Faith takes the centre of our everyday lives as Nigerians. We believe that God is at helm of everything we do. It doesn’t matter what you really believe in, you can worship your God how you please without getting persecuted for what you believe in.
14. Nigeria has rich in culture
The impact of Nigeria’s entertainment and culture cannot be underestimated. We have a very rich culture that has become a hallmark of our day to day activities even outside Nigeria. It is very difficult to resist the allure and beauty that come from our culture.
15. African Billionaire
Nigeria is home to Aliko Dangote, the richest man in Africa. Dangote’s business interests in agriculture, banking, cement, manufacturing, salt and sugar have earned his net worth of more than $12 billion.
16. Economy
Largely due to its export market, Nigeria is the largest economy in Africa. While the agricultural industry accounts for approximately 70 percent of the country’s employment, petroleum products are the primary export—accounting for more than 90 percent of Nigeria’s exports.
