Time Difference: EST + 5 hours Current Time and Date in Nigeria
Currency: Currency Converter – Nigerian Naira (NGN)
Travel Advisory: State Department Report Nigeria
US Embassy in Nigeria: nigeria.usembassy.gov
Nigeria, 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 in the south lies on the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean. There are over 500 ethnic groups in Nigeria of which the three largest ethnic groups are the Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was coined by Flora Shaw, who later married Baron Lugard, a British colonial administrator, in the late 19th century. The British colonized Nigeria in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, setting up administrative structures and law while recognizing traditional chiefs. Nigeria became independent in 1960. Several years later, it had civil war as Biafra tried to establish independence. Military governments in times of crisis have alternated with democratically elected governments. Nigeria, known as “the Giant of Africa”, is the most populous country in Africa and the seventh most populous country in the world. Nigeria is roughly divided in half between Christians, who mostly live in the South and central parts of the country, and Muslims, concentrated mostly in the north. A minority of the population practice traditional and local religions, including the Igbo and Yoruba religions. Its oil reserves have brought great revenues to the country. It is listed among the “Next Eleven” economies. Nigeria is a member of both the Commonwealth of Nations, and the African Union.
Health: CDC Nigeria
What to pack
Weather: Nigeria Weather
Communications: Dial 011 followed by country code 234
Travel Requirements
- Passport
- Visa required for all US Passport Holders, if you are not a US Passport holder, please consult the embassy in your region.
- Proof of Immunization (Yellow Fever)
Diplomatic Missions
Embassy of Nigeria in Washington, DC
Embassy of Nigeria in the United State
CLIMATE
Warm Season: January to April; Average High Temperature of 92°F – Average Low of 84°F
Cold Season: June to September; Average daily high temperature of 90°F and low of 72°F
Language: English is the Official language
PLACES OF INTEREST
Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove
The dense forest of the Osun Sacred Grove, on the outskirts of the city of Osogbo, is one of the last remnants of primary high forest in southern Nigeria. Regarded as the abode of the goddess of fertility Osun, one of the pantheon of Yoruba gods, the landscape of the grove and its meandering river is dotted with sanctuaries and shrines, sculptures and art works in honour of Osun and other deities. The sacred grove, which is now seen as a symbol of identity for all Yoruba people, is probably the last in Yoruba culture. It testifies to the once widespread practice of establishing sacred groves outside all settlements.
Sukur Cultural Landscape
The Sukur Cultural Landscape, with the Palace of the Hidi (Chief) on a hill dominating the villages below, the terraced fields and their sacred symbols, and the extensive remains of a former flourishing iron industry, is a remarkably intact physical expression of a society and its spiritual and material culture.
Niger Delta Mangroves
The Niger Delta is fringed by a deep belt of mangrove forest, which protects vast areas of freshwater swampland in the Inner Delta. The trees and roots provide rich habitats for a wide range of flora and fauna, much of which is only just beginning to be understood.
Old Oyo
Old Oyo is the site of a large city deserted in about 1837 A.D. The old palace compound and a past water reservoir lie within the 200 ha area enclosed by a 7.5 km long wall. Two concentric outer walls with ditches, l 8 and 28 km long, enclose nearly 3,000 ha: one third of this is covered by the ruins of past mud buildings and one third by sherd scatters presumed to have occurred under more ephemeral housing. Guard houses in the wall gateways, wells, cisterns and grinding hollows provide parallel evidence of a very extensive past settlement. The mud-block construction of the old walls is best exemplified on a 16 km long wall loop, which encloses a further 2.000 ha.