Politics
The constitution, which came into force on May 17, 1999, characterizes Nigeria as a presidential Federal Republic (in the Commonwealth ) and guarantees the separation of state and religion, separation of powers, elementary human and civil rights and a multi-party system. The head of state, head of government and commander in chief of the armed forces is the directly elected president for 4 years (since 2015 M. Buhari ). It determines the guidelines of politics and is endowed with far-reaching powers. He is supported by a vice-president who takes over the office of president in the event of a vacancy. The legislature is supported by the National Assembly, a bicameral parliament consisting of a house of representatives (lower house) and a senate (upper house), whose 360 and 109 members, respectively, are elected for a four-year legislative period by majority vote.
Nigeria is the largest and most important member of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which not only promotes economic cooperation in West Africa, but also helps to pacify trouble spots in the region. Nigerian armed forces have been working together with Niger, Chad, Cameroon and Benin since 2014 to combat the terrorist organization Boko Haram. As Africa’s largest oil producer, Nigeria has been a member of OPEC since 1971.
Parties
After the ban on political parties, which existed in 1993-98, was lifted, a broad spectrum of parties developed. The most influential are the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP; founded 1998) and the All Progressives Congress (APC), which in 2013 resulted from the merger of Action Congress (AC; founded 2006), All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANNP; founded 1998), Congress for Progressive Change (CPC; founded 2009) as well as parts of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA; founded 2002).
Unions
The umbrella organization of 37 individual trade unions is the Nigerian Labor Congress (NLC; founded 1978); the most active individual unions include the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN). In addition, there is the Trade Union Congress (TUC) as an umbrella organization for 24 individual trade unions. Visit thedressexplorer for Western Africa Trade Unions.
Military
The total strength of the professional army is around 124,000 soldiers. The army (around 100,000 soldiers) is divided into a tank division, two mechanized divisions and a “mixed division” with a paratrooper, motorized and amphibious brigade each; in addition there are the Presidential Guard Brigade and an anti-aircraft brigade. The air force has around 10,000 and the navy around 8,000 soldiers.
Administration
Nigeria is divided into 36 states with 774 districts and the capital territory, the Federal Capital Territory (FTC). The states are administered by elected governors and commissioners and have their own parliaments and governments.
Administrative division of Nigeria
| State structure (2016 *) | ||||
| State | Area (in km 2) | Ew. | Ew. (per km 2) | capital city |
| Abia | 6 320 | 3 727 300 | 590 | Umuahia |
| Abuja (Federal Capital Territory) | 7 315 | 3,564 100 | 487 | Abuja |
| Adamawa | 36 917 | 4,248,400 | 115 | Yola |
| Akwa Ibom | 7 081 | 5,482,200 | 774 | Uyo |
| Anambra | 4 844 | 5 527 800 | 1 141 | Awka |
| Bauchi | 45 837 | 6 537 300 | 143 | Bauchi |
| Bayelsa | 10 773 | 2,278,000 | 212 | Yenagoa |
| Need | 34 059 | 5 741 800 | 169 | Makurdi |
| Borno | 70 898 | 5,860,200 | 83 | Maiduguri |
| Cross River | 20 156 | 3 866 300 | 192 | Calabar |
| delta | 17 698 | 5 663 400 | 320 | Asaba |
| Ebonyi | 5 670 | 2,880,400 | 508 | Abakaliki |
| Edo | 17 802 | 4,235,600 | 238 | Benin |
| Ekiti | 6 353 | 3 270 800 | 515 | Ado-Ekiti |
| Enugu | 7 161 | 4 411 100 | 616 | Enugu |
| Gombe | 18 768 | 3,257,000 | 174 | Gombe |
| Imo | 5 530 | 5 408 800 | 978 | Owerri |
| Jigawa | 23 154 | 5,828,200 | 252 | Dutse |
| Kaduna | 46 053 | 8 252 400 | 179 | Kaduna |
| Kano | 20 131 | 13 076 900 | 650 | Kano |
| Katsina | 24 192 | 7 831 300 | 324 | Katsina |
| Kebbi | 36 800 | 4,440,000 | 121 | Birnin kebbi |
| Kogi | 29 833 | 4,473,500 | 150 | Lokoja |
| Kwara | 36 825 | 3 192 900 | 87 | Ilorin |
| Lagos | 3 345 | 12 550 600 | 3 752 | Ikeja |
| Nassarawa | 27 117 | 2,523,400 | 93 | Lafia |
| Niger | 76 363 | 5 556 200 | 73 | Minna |
| Ogun | 16 762 | 5 217 700 | 311 | Abeokuta |
| Ondo | 14 606 | 4,671,700 | 320 | Akure |
| Osun | 9 251 | 4 705 600 | 509 | Oshogbo |
| Oyo | 28 454 | 7 840 900 | 276 | Ibadan |
| plateau | 30 913 | 4 200 400 | 136 | Jos |
| Rivers | 11 077 | 7 303 900 | 659 | Port Harcourt |
| Sokoto | 25 973 | 4,998 100 | 192 | Sokoto |
| Taraba | 54 473 | 3,066,800 | 56 | Jalingo |
| Yobe | 45 502 | 3,294,100 | 72 | Damaturu |
| Zamfara | 39 762 | 4,515,400 | 114 | Gusau |
| * Calculations | ||||
Lagos
Lagos [ la ː g ɔ s, English le ɪ g ɔ s], the largest city in Nigeria, at a lagoon of the Bight of Benin on several bridges through interconnected islands and the mainland, (2016) 13.7 million residents .
Lagos is the seat of an Anglican and a Catholic archbishop. The city has a university (founded in 1962) and numerous other public and private universities, a national library and museum, and a botanical garden. Lagos is the country’s commercial and industrial center. The diverse industry includes the assembly of cars (Volkswagen AG) as well as radio and television sets, cement works, textile and shoe factories. Finance and the film industry are also important. Over two-thirds of the country’s imports and non-oil exports go through the ports of Apapa and Tin Can Island (deep-water port in the west of the city, in operation since 1978). An international airport is located 20 km north of the city near Ikeja.
Cityscape
In the 1970s, the influx of people from the interior of the country and the neighboring states led to a haphazard expansion of the urban area with housing estates with slums next to modern high-rise buildings made of glass, steel and concrete. The old town shows a colorful mixture of buildings in the Afro-Brazilian style and modern architecture of international styles (including office complexes, banks, apartment houses, elaborate villas). Administration buildings, schools, residential buildings and the stadium were built under the direction of the British architect E. M. Fry. Opposite the Onikan National Museum, the Muson Center, where classical concerts take place, was opened in 1994.
History
The island of Lagos Island was discovered by the Portuguese in the 15th century. Around 1650, the village of Lagos emerged from European trading establishments, and in the 18th century it developed into an export port for slaves (especially Yoruba). To stop the slave trade, Great Britain annexed the city in 1861 and replaced the slave trade with palm oil. Administratively detached from the Gold Coast in 1886, Lagos became part of the British Protectorate of Southern Nigeria in 1906. From 1954 to 1991 Lagos was the capital of Nigeria.
