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  Have you ever considered visiting a country but don’t know a thing about it? Or maybe all you know is from the media. Most times, travellers browse the internet for useful information about a country they plan to visit so they can make better decisions.
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Already we’ve written on 7 things every first-time visitor to Nigeria should know. Here we share some general facts about Nigeria that we believe will be useful to all, including those planning a visit. They include:

Public Holidays

Nigeria is a secular community with a religious mix of Christians, Muslims and Traditionalists. That’s why we tend to have more public holidays than countries that abide by only one major religion.
  • New Year’s Day (Jan 01)
  • Id-el-Kabir
  • Good Friday & Easter Monday
  • Workers/Labour Day (May 01)
  • Democracy Day (June 12)
  • Id-El-Maulud
  • Independence Day (Oct 01) 
  • Id-el-Fitri, Christmas (Dec 25)
  • Boxing Day (Dec 26)
Other celebrations like Valentines (Feb 14), Mothering Sunday (Mar 14), Women’s Day (Mar 8), and Fathers Day (Jun 21) are mainly observed but not national public holidays. Though there are a few holidays that only affect specific members of the public like Teachers Day and Children’s Day (May 27) where children and teachers in Primary and Secondary schools are given a day off.

Time Zone

Nigeria uses the GMT/UTC +01:00 West African Standard (WAT) Time. We are an hour ahead of the Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). But Nigeria does not utilize daylight saving time.

Post Code/ZIP code

Postcodes in Nigeria are numeric and are made up of six digits. The first three are the dispatch district and the last three are the delivery location. Each of the six regions as divided by the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) in Nigeria has its postcode. Some states also have unique postcodes.

Electricity

Power sockets in Nigeria use 230volts (between 220-240 volts) with a standard 50 Hz frequency. The sockets also use either Type D (circular 3 Pin) or type G (rectangular 3 Pin) plugs. That’s why travel appliances like converters and adapters are recommended for those visiting Nigeria from countries using a different voltage range.

Working Days and Hours

In Nigeria, we have five working days (Monday – Friday), 8:00 am – 4:00 pm. There is a popular 9 am – 5 pm working hour’s assumption which doesn’t hold for most organizations these days. Weekends, which is Saturday and Sunday are non-working days.
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Most corporate organizations host training during the weekends while mall and medium businesses may stay open during the weekend. But most major establishments like Banks and Government Offices are closed on Weekends. During the initial COVID-19 pandemic outbreak in Nigeria last year, working hours changed drastically but things are slowing returning to normal.

Climate

Although climate change has affected the regular cycle of the seasons in Nigeria, we still have only two seasons – rainy and dry season. The dry season starts from November to March in the South and Mid-May to September. Temperatures are usually within 34oC in the day time and 20 oC in the evenings. The highest temperature ever recorded in Nigeria is 46.4 degree Celsius in Yola state as far back as 2010. In 2021, NiMET (Nigerian Metrological Agency) forecasts temperatures will be between 28-37oC in the day time and 17-23 oC all year round. Nigeria usually has uniform temperatures Harmattan (the hot, dry/dusty northeast trade wind which blows during dry season) blows for more than three months in the north but rarely for more than two weeks along the coast. Temperatures and Season durations are usually different across the country because of the varied ecological zones in Nigeria.

Telecomms

Our international calling code is +234. We have 9mobile, Airtel, Glo, and MTN mobile networks for phone calls and browsing data in Nigeria. The following are also Internet Service Providers (ISP) who provides internet data for routers, MiFi and WiFi in specific cities in Nigeria: Smile Communications, Spectranet Nigeria, Swift Networks, Netcom Africa, IPNX Nigeria, CobraNet Nigeria, and MainOne. There are others in Nigeria like Tizeti and Cyberspace, but the aforementioned are the most popular because they are the best ISPs in Nigeria. Now that you are abreast with the barest minimum knowledge of Nigeria, is there anything else about Nigeria you would like to know? Featured Image Source: Visit Nigeria Now
Got something you want to read about on our platform? Contact us: editor@connectnigeria.com
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This article was first published on 27th March 2021

jeremiah

Jeremiah is a scholar and a poet. He has a keen eye for studying the world and is passionate about people. He tweets at @jeremiahaluwong.

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