25 Interesting Facts about Nigeria/ Nigerians

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Its journey as an independent nation may have started in the 60’s but its history and culture dates far back to the precolonial era.


Contrary to what several people believe, many aspects of modern day life in Nigeria began to take shape as various states began to thrive and a sudden bloom in the economy saw an increase in the influx of investors. 

• 1.      
  Nigeria was formed under
  Governor Frederick Lugard in 1914.
• 2.      
  Nigerians make up one-fifth of the
  total population of Black Africa.
• 3.      
  The Nigerian currency was
  introduced in 1959.
• 4.      
  With 521 languages, Nigeria is
  the thirdmost multi lingual country in the world according to ethnologue.
• 5.      
  In the 1850s, Kano, one of the
  largest cities in Africa, made 10 million sandal pairs and 5 million hides for
  export annually.
• 6.      
   In 1246 AD the Kanemi of Borno created a
  sensation in Tunisia when he sent a gift of a giraffe to Al-Mustapha, king of
  Tunis.
• 7.      
  In 1000AD, Queen Luwo, the twenty-first
  Ooni of Ile-Ife supervised the design and construction ofthe streets with
  quartz pebble and broken pottery. Originally created to pave the way for the
  queen so as not to soil her clothing and feet during the rainy season. By the
  14th and 15th centuries, apaadiLuwo had become part of the architectural
  heritage of Ife.
• 8.      
  Lord Lugarddescribed Kano:
  ‘Commercial emporium of the western Sudan.’ Of its wall, he said, ‘I have never
  seen, nor even imagined, anything like it in Africa.’ He estimated in 1904 that
  there were 170 walled towns still in existence in the whole of just the Kano
  province of northern Nigeria.
• 9.      
  The Guinness Book of World
  Records (1974) describes the walls of Benin City as the world’s second largest
  man-made structure after China’s Great Wall.“The Walls of Benin City was the
  world’s largest man-made earth structure.” Fred Pearce wrote in New
  Scientist.Finished in 1460, the Benin Iya or moat is a historic world defence
  wonder. Before it was ravaged by the British in 1897, it was known as one of
  the largest man made structure lengthwise and considered as the largest earth
  work in the world by most.
• 10.  
  Established in 1965, Cocoa
  house in the city of Ibadan, Oyo state was once the tallest building in
  tropical Africa.
• 11.  
  Discovered in 1928, Nigeria’s
  North and North Central region hosts West Africa’s oldest civilization; the
  Nok, which flourished between 1000 BC and 300 BC.
• 12.  
  In 1976, 75 kobo exchanged for
  one British Pound and 60 kobo for one US dollar.
• 13.  
  5 of the 10 richest pastors in
  the entire world are Nigerians, with net worth’s according to Forbes, from
  $10-150 million. They include; Pastors, David Oyedepo, E. A. Adeboye, Chris Oyakhilome,
  Temitope Joshua and Mathew Ashimolowo.
• 14.  
  A brand new car sold for N2000
  in 1975.
• 15.  
  A ticket to London was less
  than N100 in 1975.
• 16.  
  Until 1984, travel visa was not
  required to travel to the United Kingdom
• 17.  
  King of Kanem-Bornu,IdrîsAloma
  (1571-1603) went on pilgrimage and came across firearms. He brought some guns
  back, along with Turks to train his army on how to use them.
• 18.  
  The north was the more literate
  part of Nigeria in the past. According to Lord Luggard, there were 25,000
  Qur’anic Arabic schools with about 250,000 pupils in the north.
• 19.  
  Legendary Fela’s mother, Mrs.
  FumilayoRansome-Kutiwas one of the delegates that negotiated Nigeria’s
  independence in Britain.
• 20.  
  The Adubi war in 1918 was a
  major uprising by 30,000 Abeokuta Egba warriors against the colonial government
  for colonization, taxation and slave labor. One British was killed, rail and
  telegraph lines were destroyed. The British rewarded their soldiers with medals
  for quelling the uprising.
• 21.  
  Nigeria’s north (719,000 sq.
  km), makes up 80% of Nigeria’s land mass. It is four times the South in size.
• 22.  
  Repatriated Brazilian and Cuban
  slaves were known as the Amaros; they are the ‘Aguda’ people of Lagos today.
• 23.  
  According to U.S Bureau Census
  data, Nigerian immigrants have the highest education attainment level in the
  United States, surpassing every other ethnic group in the country,
• 24.  
  The Yoruba ethnic group and its
  bloodlines have the highest rate of twins in the world.
• 25.  
  Nigeria’s Aliko Dangote is the
  richest Black person in the world, with a net worth of $16.1bn.