Introduction
The green, red and purple map is showing a map of the cultural regions in Nigeria. As you can see, the Hausa and Fulani are in the north, the Yoruba are in the west, and the Igbo are in the east.
The pink map is showing the old states of Nigeria. At this point in time, there were 21 states in Nigeria. |
Did you know that Nigeria is home to over 250 ethnic groups? And none of them are the same! Nigeria is a fascinating place full of all sorts of cultures, religions, natural resources, etc. We hope that you’ll join us on this journey through Nigeria or the “Land Of Promise” to see just what the ethnic groups are like in their everyday lives.
Many ethnic groups live in Nigeria to trade and farm. Ethnic groups are groups of people who share a common way of life and a religion that they believe in. Nigeria has such ethnic diversity which would make it very confusing to group all of the regions together. Ethnic diversity is a variety of people from different ethnic groups. Geographers divide the country into cultural regions to make studying it less confusing. Dividing an area apart from other places based on the ways of life of the people that live there is called a cultural region. On the maps of the regions you’ll notice that there are main ethnic groups that the majority of the people in that region are. These are the Hausa and Fulani (in the north), Yoruba (in the west) and the Igbo (in the east). You’ll be able to see what makes these ethnic groups so different. One thing that makes people different is the fact that some have more money and have gotten a better education. For example, the Igbo people have made more money than other groups and as a result have used that money to go to universities and colleges. Some of these groups are also linguistic groups or a group of people who share a common language. You will learn about what their lifestyle is like, the natural resources that are found there, their climate, physical features located where they live, their religion, and much more! |
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How did Nigeria become its own country?
The British used to rule over Nigeria. This was a form of colonialism which is a system in which one country rules over another as a colony. The ruling country will control trades for their own benefit. Because of this colonialism, the British gained important natural resources like oil and gold. The Igbo went along with the British and got better jobs and a better education. Other ethnic groups who refused to work protested and rose up against the other groups. This tension between the groups erupted into some pretty large wars until finally Nigeria gained independence on October 1st, 1960.
Many years after gaining independence they adopted a stable government in 1999 and were able to elect a president. The president they elected ended up being Olusegun Obasanjo. After electing a president, Nigeria got divided up into 36 different states. Each ethnic group has its own language and this has caused some conflict as each group wants their language to be used throughout the country.
There are also many different religions in the ethnic groups. Most people are Christian, Islam, Muslim, and some even follow traditional beliefs. These differences divide the ethnic groups even more. Nigeria started out under the rule of England but has fought and worked hard to become their own country even though the people of the different ethnic groups may still not get along that well.
Many years after gaining independence they adopted a stable government in 1999 and were able to elect a president. The president they elected ended up being Olusegun Obasanjo. After electing a president, Nigeria got divided up into 36 different states. Each ethnic group has its own language and this has caused some conflict as each group wants their language to be used throughout the country.
There are also many different religions in the ethnic groups. Most people are Christian, Islam, Muslim, and some even follow traditional beliefs. These differences divide the ethnic groups even more. Nigeria started out under the rule of England but has fought and worked hard to become their own country even though the people of the different ethnic groups may still not get along that well.