Nigeria
Nigeria is
Africa's most populated nation and in many ways is a microcosm of the continent. Nigeria has a varied climate, ethnic rivalries, vast mineral resources, and a promise of a great future. Coastal swamps in southern Nigeria lead into tropical rain forests; then savanna turns to desert scrub. The nation has an abundance of natural resources including reserves of oil and natural gas, rich soil for farming, and thick forests. Nigeria would be a very prosperous nation if not for several problems that have held the nation back.
Nigeria's many ethnic groups have fought one another for control of both the country's government and natural resources. In 1967, Ibo of southeast Nigeria attempted to form a separate nation they called Biafra. The Hausa controlled government sent troops to stop the uprising and a two and a half-year civil war ensued. More than one million people died from fighting, starvation, and disease during the war.
Nigeria attempted to build its economy around its oil supply. The government borrowed from other nations in the 1970s in order to develop modern cities and attract international businesses. In the 1980s, the price of oil dropped and the economy of the country crashed. Nigeria was unable to pay the debt it owed other nations. Companies refused to do business in the nation because of Nigeria's bad reputation. The many new roads and buildings were unused and quickly fell into disrepair.
Nigeria once had great farms, but many young people left the countryside to find their fortune in the cities. When the oil prices fell and the economy crashed, the onetime farmers were left without jobs or homes. Lagos, the largest city in Nigeria, has a large population of homeless people living in desperate poverty.
Military governments have controlled Nigeria through most of its post-colonial history. A hopeful sign occurred in 1999, when former military ruler Olusegun Obasanjo was elected to the Nigerian presidency twenty years after he voluntarily handed over power to Nigerian civilians. Obasanjo retired to his farm in 1979, but became an outspoken opponent of Nigeria's dictators as the years went by. He was accused of plotting a coup in and was jailed by the military regime then in power for three years.
Obasanjo is an ethnic Yoruba from southwest Nigeria, but he has support among the Hausa of northern Nigeria. Critics accuse him of being too close to the generals and ex-generals who've ruled Nigeria for the past fifteen years. His supporters, though, maintain he is the best man to hold together a complex nation with many ethnic rivalries.
Dowling, Mike, "The Electronic Passport Homework to Nigeria," available from http://www.mrdowling.com/611-nigeria.html; Internet; updated Tuesday, April 30, 2002 . ©2008, Mike Dowling. All rights reserved.