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Nigeria @61: 61 Great Facts About Nigeria (And Nigerians)

Ikenna Nwachukwu
  As we mark yet another anniversary of Nigeria’s independence, it’s fitting to recall some of the really great things about our country. From its impressive landscapes to the never-say-never attitude of its people, as well as the victories we’ve celebrated across various spheres of life, there’s a lot worth cherishing.
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In this article, we’ll have a look at some of those things—simple, undeniable facts that make us beat our chests about our nation, in spite of the many challenges that come with living within it. To celebrate Nigeria’s 61st Independence Day, here’s our pick of 61 interesting facts about Nigeria and Nigerians, presented in no particular order.

General Facts

  1. Nigeria gained her Independence from the British on the 1st of October 1960
  2. Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country, with an estimated population of about 206 million people (as of 2020).
  3. Nigeria remains a top destination for migrants, particularly from across Africa. In 2020, there were about 1.3 million international migrants in Nigeria, a majority of them from elsewhere in West Africa (ECOWAS states), Lebanon, India and China as well.
  4. The population of immigrants in Nigeria has more than doubled between 1990 and 2020.
  5. The Nigerian flag was designed by Taiwo Akinkunmi in 1959
  6. Lagos is Africa’s largest city, with a population of about 21 million people.
  7. As of 2017, Lagos had an annual GDP of about $136 billion. This was more than the GDP of such countries as Kenya, Ethiopia, and Ghana.
  8. According to the Africa Wealth Report, Lagos has the fourth-highest number of dollar millionaires of any city in Africa, just behind Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Cairo.
  9. Nigeria’s Third Mainland Bridge (also known as the Ibrahim Babangida Bridge) is the longest bridge in West Africa, and the second-longest in all of Africa, measuring about 10.5 km in length.
  10. Nigeria’s tallest building is the NECOM House, located on Marina Road, Lagos Island. It stands at about 160 meters (520 feet).

Business And Economics

  1. Nigeria is Africa’s biggest economy, with a GDP of $432 billion in 2020.
  2. Nigeria has also produced Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, who currently has a net worth of about $12.3 billion.
  3. Lagos, the commercial capital of Nigeria, is commonly referred to as West Africa’s nerve centre, thanks to its importance as the region’s chief industrial and commercial hub.
  4. Lagos’ tech sector is growing fast and is presently ranked Africa’s leading startup ecosystem, according to the Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2021.
  5. Nigeria is the cradle of four tech unicorns (startups worth at least $1 billion): Jumia, Interswitch, Flutterwave, and OPay.
  6. The tech space in Nigeria is attracting a lot of interest from local and international investors. In 2020, Nigerian startups raised a total of $300 million from investors. And in the first seven months of 2021, they secured $276.5 million in funding.
  7. Nigeria is home to Africa’s largest FinTech ecosystem, with more than 200 FinTech startups operating here.
  8. The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) was rated the world’s best-performing stock market in 2020, according to Bloomberg.
  9. Nigerian citizens have continued to take leading positions at global organizations; Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala serves as the Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Akinwunmi Adesina is President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), and Amina J. Mohammed is Deputy Secretary-General at the United Nations.
  10. West Africa’s largest markets for electronics and tech gadgets (Alaba and Computer Village respectively) are located in Nigeria.
  11. Nigeria is the largest producer of rice in Africa, the third-largest producer of ginger in the world, and the third-biggest exporter of sesame seeds on the planet.
  12. Nigeria is the second biggest eCommerce market in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the international payments giant Visa.
  13. Leather tanneries in Nigeria supply leather to some of the world’s biggest fashion brands, including Louis Vuitton and Gucci.
  14. Nigeria makes some of the best cables in the world.
  15. Nigeria’s Innoson, established in 2007, is one of the earliest indigenous automobile brands to have come out of Africa.
  16. Obajana in Kogi State is home to the largest cement plant in sub-Saharan Africa, with a capacity of 10.25 tonnes per year across three lines, and an additional 3 million annual capacity under construction.
  17. A multi-billion naira rice mill in Imota, Ikorodu, Lagos, is set to become the third-biggest rice mill in the world.
  18. Nigeria’s top agricultural exports include sesamum seeds, cocoa beans, cashew nuts, frozen shrimps and prawns, natural cocoa butter, sesame oil, cotton, cut flowers and flower buds, and ginger.
  19. As of 2020, the top destinations for Nigeria’s exports were India ($5 billion), Spain ($3.6 billion), Netherlands ($2.9 billion), South Africa ($2.6 billion), and China ($1.7 billion).

Entertainment

  1. Nollywood is the World’s second-largest movie industry in terms of films produced per year—just behind India’s Bollywood.
  2. The name ‘Nollywood’ was first used in the early 2000s; it first appeared in an article published in the New York Times in 2002.
  3. Nollywood contributes about 2% of Nigeria’s GDP.
  4. Available data suggest that Nollywood generates about $590 million per annum.
  5. The Nigerian movie industry employs more than 1 million people, ranging from actors, producers and directors, to costume makers, caterers and makeup artists, among others.
  6. Taken together, annual revenues from Nigeria’s TV and video segments were put at $732 million in 2018 and was projected to have reached $806 million in 2020.
  7. Major movie production centres in Nigeria include Lagos, Onitsha, Enugu, Abuja, and Asaba. Top distribution centres include these same locations as well as Aba.
  8. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Lagos produced the highest number of movies of any Nigerian city in the second quarter of 2021, with 234 movies put out between May and June. It was followed by Abuja (196) and Onitsha (174).
  9. In 2020, Nollywood produced an impressive 2,599 movies. And in the first half of 2021 alone, it put out 1,051 movies.
  10. To date, Nollywood’s highest grossing movies include Omo Ghetto (₦468 million), The Wedding Party (₦453 million), The Wedding Party 2 (₦433 million), and Chief Daddy (₦387 million).
  11. Nigeria’s music industry’s revenues grew 30% from $26 million in 2014 to $34 million in 2018. Revenue from the industry is expected to reach $44 million by 2023.
  12. Burna Boy (2021), and Wizkid (2021) are the first Nigerians based in Nigeria to win the Grammys.
  13. Nigerian artistes have also won several BET (Black Entertainment Television) awards. They include Innocent Idibia (2Baba), Oladapo Oyebanjo (D’Banj), Wizkid, Ice Prince, Davido, and Burna Boy.
  14. In 2020, Way Maker, a song by Nigerian Gospel Artiste Sinach, won the Song of the Year award at the GMA Dove Awards in the United States. This made her the first Nigerian artiste to win the world’s top awards for Christian music. Way Maker has been covered by international Christian artists like Michael Smith, Leeland, and Bethel Music.

Art, Culture, And Tourism

  1. More than 500 indigenous languages are spoken in Nigeria.
  2. Taraba State in North-East Nigeria has over 80 languages, more languages than 30 African countries.
  3. In Ubang, a community in Cross River State, men and women speak different languages.
  4. Iseyin in Oyo State is known as the centre of the production of Aso Oke, a cloth worn by the Yoruba people of South-West Nigeria. The town produces more Aso Oke than any other location in the region.
  5. The town of Igbo Ora in Oyo State is often called the twin capital of the world because it has the highest incidence of twinning (number of twins) of any town in the world.
  6. Nigeria is one of the most ecologically diverse countries on earth, with 4,715 plant species, and 550 species of birds and mammals.
  7. The Gashaka Gumti National Park in North-East Nigeria and Cross River State in Southern Nigeria both have some of the greatest concentrations of unique butterfly species in the world.
  8. The canopy walkway at the Lekki Conservation Park, Lagos, is the longest of its kind in Africa.
  9. The highest point in Nigeria is Chappal Waddi, towering to about 7,936 feet (2,419 meters above sea level).
  10. Nigeria has fourteen potential World Heritage Sites on the UNESCO tentative list. They include the Niger Delta mangroves, Gahaka Gumti National Park, Idanre Hill, Kano city walls, and the Ogbunike caves.
  11. In 2018, Nigerian-born artist, Njideka Akunyili-Crosby, had her artwork titled Bush Baby sold at New York’s Sotheby’s Auction for $3.4 million—the highest ever for a Nigerian artist.
  12. In 2020, Half a Yellow Sun, a book by Nigeria’s Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, was voted the best book to have won the Women’s Prize for Fiction (the best of the best). Chimamanda had won the Women’s Prize for Fiction (then called the Orange Prize) in 2007.

Science And Technology

  1. Nigeria has the sixth-highest number of internet users in the world (as of the first quarter of 2021) with 126.08 million users.
  2. A Nigerian inventor, Silas Adekunle, built the world’s first gaming robot. His first prototype was built in 2014.

Sports

  1. In 2015, Nigeria’s Wellington Jighere became the first African to be crowned world scrabble champion. He defeated Lewis MacKay in four straight rounds to win the inaugural WESPA Championship.
  2. Nigeria’s national female football team, the Super Falcons, have won the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) eleven times, making them the most successful football team in Africa.
  3. Nigeria is also the most successful country at the FIFA Under-17 football tournament, having won the title five times and finished runners up on three occasions.
  4. In recent times, Nigeria has produced three UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) world champions: Kamaru Usman and Israel Adesanya. Kamaru became the first African to win a UFC title in March 2019. Israel became UFC Middleweight Champion later that year, after defeating the previous titleholder Robert Whittaker.

Final Words

Nigeria remains a country with great potential. We can look ahead with optimism for what positive moments the next years and decades will bring. Nigeria is our country. Together, let us make it great.
Got a suggestion? Contact us: editor@connectnigeria.com
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