GEOGRAPHY

Nigeria is located in the Gulf of Guinea on the eastern part of the west coast of Africa with a total land mass of about 923,768sq km.

The Republics of Niger and Chad border Nigeria on the north, on the east by the Republic of Cameroon, to the west by the Republic of Benin and to the south by the Atlantic Ocean.
Nigeria enjoys very friendly and brotherly relations with these countries and the ties with each of them predate colonial times.

There are two major rivers in the country which confluent at Lokoja: the Rivers Niger and Benue.
They have many tributaries, which make the hinterland very accessible. These rivers were the major trade routes through which the country had early contacts with European merchants. They are the Rivers Cross, Oshun, Ogun and Yobe. Others include Rivers Kaduna, Sokoto, Gongola, Katsina Ala, Imo and Anambra.

The Country is also blessed with big natural lakes such as Lakes Chad and Oguta, and a big man-made lake at Kanji.
Nigeria’s total population is over 140 Million (2006 Census) which consists of diverse ethnic groups in what is considered the biggest rainbow coalition of cultures in the whole universe. There are 250 ethnic nationalities speaking more than 400 different dialects.

Nigeria enjoys a long coastline of about 823Km. She is equally endowed with a good mix of vegetation, which ranges from the mangrove swamp around the Niger Delta to the tropical rain forests in southern Nigeria.
The middle belt region is made up mainly of Guinea Savannah vegetation, while the extreme north consists of sahel savannah and a stretch of arid land.

Within Nigeria are also mountainous regions and plateaus, which cut across various parts of the country.

The Adamawa Mountains cut across sections of northeastern Nigeria down to the Cross River State in the south. Within this belt are two of Nigeria’s temperate areas: the Mambilla Plateau and the Obudu Plateau. The Chappal Waddi Mountains in Taraba State is Nigeria’s highest peak at 2400m above sea level.

The Jos Plateau adds to the rich mix of Nigeria’s vegetation. It offers a rich mix of pleasant and soothing temperate climate, and a rich variety of mineral resources.

Coffee, tea, groundnuts, sesame seeds, grains and root crops, along with citrus fruits, grow easily in the Guinea Savannah belt, while cotton, gum arabic, grains and legumes are crops found in abundance in the sahel savannah. Oil palm, rubber and cocoa thrive in the rain forest region.

Cassava is a major economic and food crop, which grows in almost all parts of Nigera. Wheat, apple, tea and coffee, combined with animal husbandry and dairy farming, excel in the temperate areas.