Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country and the 8^th most populous in the world. The West African country is bounded by Niger and Chad to the North, Cameroon to the East, Benin Republic to the West and the Atlantic Ocean to the South.

Nigeria lies entirely within the tropics and has warm temperatures through most of the year. It has two main climatic seasons; wet and dry seasons. The country is generally low lying with mountains in the southeast and hills and plateaux at the centre. The Niger (Africa’s third longest river) enters the country from the northwest, forms a confluence with river Benue at the centre and empties into the Atlantic ocean through a delta. Nigeria’s vegetation consists of rainforests in the south which gradually gives way to the savannah and semiarid regions of the North.

Like most other African countries, Nigeria has a very vibrant cultural life. The country has over 260 ethnic groups and cultures, some of which have survived thousands of years. The most populous ethnic groups include the Hausas, Igbo, Yoruba, ijaw, Kanuri, Ibibio, Tiv, Efik, Edo, and Itshekiri. Archaeological evidence shows that people have lived in the area now called Nigeria for over 9000years.

The country is divided 36 states and a Federal capital Territory. Abuja is the countries federal capital. Lagos, the former capital, still houses some government offices and remains the country’s economic nerve centre.