When we visited Nigeria we noticed that this country had a lot of people. After some research it appeared that this country is also the most populous country in Africa with a very strong population growth.
Ethnic groups and religion
Religious joining in Nigeria is strongly related to ethnicity, with rather distinct regional divisions between ethnic groups.
There are over 250 different ethnic groups.
The main ethnic groups are involved in a constant struggle for power, which from time to time leads to violent outbursts. These are the Haussa and Fulani in the north, which are mostly Muslim, the Igbo in the south consist of a large number of Christians, the Yoruba in the west, which practices Christianity, Muslim and sometimes traditional Yoruba religion, and at least the Ijaw. Also the Tiv, the Kanuri and the Ibibio form tribes of respectable size.
Overall statistics indicate that about 50% of the population is Muslim, about 40% are Christian and about 10% practice traditional African religions or no religion at all.
Economy of Nigeria
According to the United Nations Development Programme70.8% of the population in Nigeria lives below the poverty line.
Community Based Poverty Reduction Project for Nigeria wants to improve access of the poor to social and economic infrastructure and increase the availability and management of development resources at the community level.
Apparently Nigeria has a dual economy. They depend on oilearnings, overlaid by a traditional agricultural and trading economy.Agriculture used to be the main source of export earnings and public revenue. The oil sector is now of overwhelming importance to the point of over-dependence. The competition between ethnic and regional groups for power and access to the countrys oil wealth are increasing in intensity.
Because of the rapid population growth, the agricultural sector couldnt keep up with it and now Nigeria, once a large exporter, has to import food. Since the 1970s the economic growth has been irregular. They depend most of the time on the global oil market which fluctuate a lot. Now Nigeria is facing a growing economic decline and the living standards is falling down.
(1) In Dutch we call this Nigeriaanse oplichting aka 419-fraude. This name is derived from the fact that recently many of these scams start in Nigeria. Also non-Nigerians are involved in this type of fraud. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advance-fee_fraud
(2) Nigeria is among the world's 20 poorest countries.
Nigeriaâs politics: Goodluck Jonathan to the change?
Nigerias politics: Goodluck Jonathan to the change?
A flight from Brussels to Lagos of about eight hours, starting with a journey from middle Africa to Norway and writing about politics in Nigeria. Not an easy task to fulfil but not invincible.
Politics in Nigeria frowns eyebrows with most of the people who have nothing to do with the subject.Although, the type of governance is almost completely modelled after the United States: a Federal Republic with influences of the Westminster System. This model is similar to the upper and lower houses of the bicameral legislature in the United Kingdom. The fact that Nigeria is a former colony of the United Kingdom elucidates a lot.[1]
Walking down the streets in Lagos, Im wondering whos the president of Nigeria. A passer-by tells me concisely but vigorously it is Goodluck Jonathan. At first, I thought he wished me good luck on my trip, supposing my name was Jonathan but later I became conscious of the fact that Goodluck Jonathan turned out to be the president of Nigeria.
Goodluck Jonathan[2][3] became acting president in the beginning of 2010 due to a medical treatment of the then president, Umaru YarAdua. In May of that year, the state of health of YarAdua weakened which led to his death. Jonathan was designated officially as the 14th president since Nigerias independency.[4] Considering Nigerias tightly related to the USA on political base, elections are held each four years. In 2011, the year of presidential elections, Jonathan excelled his opponent, Muhammadu Buhari, with approximately 56% of the Nigerian votes. His challenges are to throw overboard the fuel subsidy which is causing a drag on the economy, solve the problems around the terrorism and maintain security[5].
The following day my intentions are moving North-Eastwards to Nigerias capital, Abuja, finding out more about the composition of the parliament with its different parties. Im heading to the National Assembly of Nigeria[6] where I have an appointment with the President of the Senate, David Mark. The parliament is constituted of seven parliamentary parties of which one party definitely shows off with about two-thirds majority. This is the so-called Peoples Democratic Party[7] (PDP) of which current president Jonathan and the man to whom Im speaking are members.
In contrast with the ultra-conservative All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) which is the direct opponent, the PDP is leaning more on the liberal side with a conservative touch. Unity and democracy are two pillars of the party. It is also aiming for a religious freedom but refuses to accept homosexuality, a sensible subject for more parties in entire Africa.
Basically two things are bothering me after my stay in Nigeria. The influences of the colony-period are incalculable and unfortunately is there a predominating conservative way in Nigerias government policy. Goodluck Jonathan has still got a lot of work to do and hopefully is he living up to his name.
We, Jonathan, Laurens, Michèle and Xenia, are traveling around the world and every week we move to a new destination with new adventures and new stories. We will start our journey in Nigeria in the week of 14th February. Our final destination will be, eventually, Norway.
