The name Nigeria comes from the river Niger which is one of Nigeria's main river. Nigeria got her independence on 1 October, 1960 from Britain, after about half a century under British colonial rule.
Nigeria is the largest country in West Africa, spanning over an area of 923,768 sq km and is bounded by Benin (773 km) to the west, Cameroon (1,690 km) to the east, Chad (87 km) to the northeast, Niger (1,497 km) to the north and the Gulf of Guinea on the south. The natural resources in Nigeria are petroleum, natural gas, tin, columbite, iron ore, coal, limestone, niobium, lead, zinc and arable land. And the only major natural disasters are periodic droughts and flooding.
Nigeria is by far the most populated country in Africa with over 140 million people (July 2008 est.) and a labour force of over 51 million people. The official currency is Naira (NGN) and kobo (k). Her official language is English, but with about 400 native languages including Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, Fulfulde, Kanuri, Ibibio, Tiv, Efik, Edo, Nupe, Ijesa, Ijaw and Ondo.
Nigeria operates a federal form of government with 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory also known as FCT. The president, 109 senators, 360 members of House of Representatives and the 36 governors all have a four-year term but can be re-elected for another term though the president and the governors cannot serve beyond two terms. Though the national capital is Abuja, most economic activities and businesses are in Lagos.
