Nigeria Tips

The best time to visit Nigeria is from December to March when the humidity drops, although the catch is that you may then suffer from the dusty harmattan winds. If a bit of sand in the face doesn’t bother you, go in January when you can attend the Sallah celebrations in northern Nigeria followed by the Argungu Fishing Festival on the banks of the Sokoto River in mid-to-late February. For travel to the south, March to August are the wettest months to visit, and best avoided if possible. As well as the weather, take note of political developments when planning your trip. Although the country is generally calm, local trouble can quickly flare up, so once you’re in Nigeria keep an eye on the news and be prepared to change your plans at short notice if necessary.

Abuja, officially Abuja Municipal Area Council or AMAC, is the capital city of Nigeria. It is located in the centre of Nigeria in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Abuja is a “planned” city, as it was mainly built in the 1980s and officially became Nigeria’s capital on 12 December 1991, replacing the role of the previous capital Lagos. As of the 2006 census, the Federal Capital Territoy has a population of 778,567.

Abuja’s geography is defined by Aso Rock, a 400-metre monolith left by water erosion. The Presidential Complex, National Assembly, Supreme Court and much of the town extend to the south of the rock. “Aso” means “victorious” in the language of the (now displaced) Asokoro (“the people of victory”).

Other sights include the Nigerian National Mosque and the Nigerian National Christian Centre. The city is served by the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, while Zuma Rock lies nearby. Abuja is known for being the best purpose-built city in Africa as well as being one of the wealthiest and most expensive; however, the population on the semi-developed edges of the city are living in shanty towns such as Karu. Karu, built to house the capital’s civil servants and lower income families, has no running water, sanitation or electricity

Nigeria, officially named the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising thirty-six states and one Federal Capital Territory. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in the north. Its coast lies on the Gulf of Guinea, part of the Atlantic Ocean, in the south. The capital city is Abuja.

The people of Nigeria have an extensive history, and archaeological evidence shows that human habitation of the area dates back to at least 9000 BC.^[1] The Benue-Cross River area is thought to be the original homeland of the Bantu migrants who spread across most of central and southern Africa in waves between the 1st millennium BC and the 2nd millennium AD.

Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and the eighth most populous country in the world with a population of over 140 million. The country is listed among the “Next Eleven” economies, and is one of the fastest growing in the world with the IMF projecting growth of 9% in 2008 and 8.3% in 2009