Nigeria is a country on Africa’s western coast. Nigeria’s terrain is diverse, with climates ranging from dry to humid tropical. Nigeria’s most diverse trait, though, is its people. Yoruba, Igbo, Fula, Hausa, Edo, Ibibio, Tiv, and English are among the hundreds of languages spoken in the country. The country is endowed with an abundance of natural resources, particularly vast amounts of petroleum and natural gas.
The national capital is Abuja, which is located in the Federal Capital Territory, which was established by decree in 1976. Lagos, the former capital, continues to be the country’s most important commercial and industrial centre.
Nigerian languages are divided into three large linguistic groups: Niger-Congo, Nilo-Saharan, and Afro-Asian. The vast Niger-Congo group is further subdivided into nine major branches, including the Kwa subgroup, spoken in the extreme southwestern corner of the country; the Ijoid branch, spoken in the Niger Delta region; the Atlantic subgroup, which most notably includes Fula; the extensive Benue-Congo subgroup, which includes Tiv, Jukun, Edo, Igbo, Igala, Idoma, Nupe, Gwari, Yoruba, and The Nilo-Saharan group is mostly represented in Nigeria by Kanuri, while speakers of Bagirmi and Zerma are also present. Afro-Asian is a considerably wider linguistic group that includes Hausa, Margi, and Bade, among other languages. Some peoples (such as the Fulani and Tiv) are recent immigrants, but modern linguistic research suggests that the vast majority of Nigerian languages—specifically, the Kwa subgroup—have been spoken in about the same regions for the past 4,000 years.
Domestic trade in staple foods is primarily north-south between ecological zones, but also between major urban areas in the southeast and southwest. Plantains, cassava, kola nuts, and fruit are supplied by the southern states to the northern states, which in turn supply beans, onions, and animals to the southern states. Yams from the centre region are traded in cities in the south and far north. The majority of food and manufactured goods are sold at open market stalls, tiny neighbourhood stores, and on the streets.
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