Western Nigeria
Physical Features
Western Nigeria has very few physical features. First of all, Western Nigeria sits on the Gulf of the Guinea beside a wide body of water called the Bight of Benin. Also, the Niger River forms on the northern and eastern sides of Western Nigeria. Western Nigeria used to be a rainforest but now that most of the trees have been cleared by loggers, it has become a savanna. A savanna is a place with flat plains and tall grasses covering it. So, most of Western Nigeria is made up of flat plains or savannas. Because of the savannas covering most of the land, many people living in Western Nigeria have moved to more urban areas like cities.
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Climate Western Nigeria's climate is tropical wet and dry. The annual rainfall is much less compared to other parts of Nigeria. The rainy season is very short - only lasting from June to September (four months). This affects how people build their houses. To try to collect rainwater they build steep roofs so the water can drip off the roof into a bucket that they put on the ground. The people who live there do this because the rain doesn’t fall very often, so they collect rainwater when it is raining so they can use it when it is not raining.
Western Nigeria has a very hot and brutal climate (when it isn’t raining) and this can definitely affect the economic activity taking place as well. When it is too hot to grow crops, people can’t sell them or make money. The fertile land is a very important natural resource and when people aren’t able to grow crops on it because of the hot weather, it is really hard to make money. |
Natural Resources/Economy
There are some people living in Western Nigeria who work in the city with a variety of different jobs. People can be engineers, teachers, doctors, factory workers, etc. in the cities. Even with all of the jobs available in the city, some Yoruba people will commute back to the countryside to work on the farms. This is the reverse of what most Nigerians do. The reason they do this is because they want to use the fertile land (which is a natural resource) in order to make crops which they can sell. The women sell homemade things at markets. Some of the things they sell could be cloth, baskets, etc. for tourists. Selling the crops and homemade items is a really good way to help increase economic activity. There are not many natural resources found in Western Nigeria but, people are able to use the few found there for themselves and to help improve the economy.
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Ethnic Group
The largest ethnic group living in Western Nigeria is the Yoruba. Most of the people in that group are Christian while few are Islam or follow traditional beliefs. They came to Western Nigeria in 100 BC. They started by forming villages which slowly became kingdoms. Each kingdom had its own king and dialect. A dialect is a form of a similar language that is spoken throughout a country. Today, the dialects of the kingdoms have become more similar.
One interesting thing the Yoruba do is that they build statues for the kings who have died. Also, the kings would wear everything beaded from head to toe. Some of the well off Yoruba people live in nice apartments in the city while some more rural people live in mud brick houses in the country. The very poor people usually will live in shantytowns. Shantytowns are deprived areas usually just outside a town where lots of people have to live in crude and poor shacks. There is no electricity, fresh water or any sanitation located in shantytowns so you can imagine how awful it’d be to have to live there.
One interesting thing the Yoruba do is that they build statues for the kings who have died. Also, the kings would wear everything beaded from head to toe. Some of the well off Yoruba people live in nice apartments in the city while some more rural people live in mud brick houses in the country. The very poor people usually will live in shantytowns. Shantytowns are deprived areas usually just outside a town where lots of people have to live in crude and poor shacks. There is no electricity, fresh water or any sanitation located in shantytowns so you can imagine how awful it’d be to have to live there.