Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. With a population of more than 230 million, it is the most populous country in Africa, and the world's sixth-most populous country. Nigeria borders Niger in the north, Chad in the northeast, Cameroon in the east, and Benin in the west.
Map of Nigeria showing the 36 states and capitals
Nigeria is a federal republic comprising 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, where its capital, Abuja, is located.
Nigeria has been home to several indigenous material cultures, pre-colonial states, and kingdoms since the second millennium BC. The Nok culture, c. 1500 BC, marks one of the earliest known civilizations in the region. The Hausa Kingdoms inhabited the north, with the Edo Kingdom of Benin in the south, Igbo Kingdom of Nri in the southeast and in the southwest, the Oyo Empire. The present day territory of Nigeria was home to a vast array of city-states.
The modern state originated with British colonialization in the 19th century, taking its present territorial shape with the merging of the Southern Nigeria Protectorate and the Northern Nigeria Protectorate in 1914. The British set up administrative and legal structures and incorporated traditional monarchs as a form of indirect rule. Nigeria became a formally independent federation on 1 October 1960.
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Nigeria is often referred to as the Giant of Africa by its citizens due to its large population and economy, and is considered to be an emerging market by the World Bank. Nigeria is a founding member of the African Union and a member of many international organizations, including the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Nations, the Economic Community of West African States, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and OPEC.
Nigeria is a federation of 36 states, each of which is a semi-autonomous political unit that shares power with the federal government as enumerated under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. In addition to the states, there is the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), in which the capital city of Abuja is located. The FCT is not a state, but a territory of the federal government, governed by an administration headed by a minister. Each state is subdivided into local government areas (LGAs). There are 774 local governments in Nigeria.
Under the Nigerian Constitution, the 36 states enjoy substantial autonomy but are not sovereign entities, as ultimate authority lies with the federal government. At the state level, the legislature is unicameral, with the number of its members equal to three times the number of legislators it has in the Federal House of Representatives. At the state level, the head of the executive is the governor, who has the power to appoint people to the state executive council, subject to the advice and consent of the state house of assembly (legislature). The Judiciary is one of the co-equal arms of the state government concerned with the interpretation of the laws of the state government.
At the time of independence in 1960, Nigeria was a federal state of three regions: Northern, Western, and Eastern. In 1967, the regions were replaced by 12 states by military decree. From 1967 to 1970 the Eastern Region attempted to secede, as a nation called Biafra during the Nigerian civil war. In 1987 two new states were established, followed by another nine in 1991, bringing the total to 30. During this period, there were 30 states and the Federal Capital Territory. The Federal Capital Territory was established in 1991.
Below is a list of the 36 states in Nigeria and their respective capitals:
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Ugo and Sim Sim - Nigeria 36 States
| State | Capital |
|---|---|
| Abia | Umuahia |
| Adamawa | Yola |
| Akwa Ibom | Uyo |
| Anambra | Awka |
| Bauchi | Bauchi |
| Bayelsa | Yenagoa |
| Benue | Makurdi |
| Borno | Maiduguri |
| Cross River | Calabar |
| Delta | Asaba |
| Ebonyi | Abakaliki |
| Edo | Benin City |
| Ekiti | Ado Ekiti |
| Enugu | Enugu |
| Gombe | Gombe |
| Imo | Owerri |
| Jigawa | Dutse |
| Kaduna | Kaduna |
| Kano | Kano |
| Katsina | Katsina |
| Kebbi | Birnin Kebbi |
| Kogi | Lokoja |
| Kwara | Ilorin |
| Lagos | Ikeja |
| Nasarawa | Lafia |
| Niger | Minna |
| Ogun | Abeokuta |
| Ondo | Akure |
| Osun | Osogbo |
| Oyo | Ibadan |
| Plateau | Jos |
| Rivers | Port Harcourt |
| Sokoto | Sokoto |
| Taraba | Jalingo |
| Yobe | Damaturu |
| Zamfara | Gusau |
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