The financial side of Nigeria

Good evening everyone!

My name is Lauren and I am one of the Management Assistants who is travelling. I will tell you something more about the economy we experienced in Nigeria.

During the last week, we told you about the geography, buildings and culture so I hope you are excited to hear about the economy too.

I and my colleagues were exited to go to Nigeria because we never went there. Before we left for this trip, we got some Nigerian naira because this is the currency of Nigeria. The Nigerian economy is one of the most developed economies in the continent. The country is a middle-income nation and it has the second largest stock exchange of Africa. The overall score of Nigeria is below the world average when you compare the country to the world. The world rank of Nigeria is 120 in the Index of 2013 and the regional rank is 21 out of 46 countries in the region.

It is interesting to know that Nigeria shares international borders with Benin, Chad, Cameroon and Niger. Nigeria has a total population in excess of 154 million, of which almost 70% live below the international poverty line. The country consists of southern lowlands and plateaus in the central region. There is a huge difference between these terrains because the south east region is richer than the north.  

The economy of Nigeria knows some downsides, though. First of all, Nigeria has to deal with challenges. The widespread poverty in the country is their biggest challenge; 21% of the people are unemployed and 18% are in the red. Firstly, Nigeria has a lack of industrial resources. Secondly, the economy is dependent on the petroleum sector. The country is the twelfth largest producer of petroleum products in the world. This is the only sector which is developed because the agriculture sector, for example, has a very basic infrastructure. The petroleum sector is a popular sector so the economy of Nigeria consequently increased of the last seven years. Lastly, the rise in the minimum wage undersold the labour productivity.

Thank you all for following. I will hear you all very soon to tell you something more about Algeria.

Lauren

Sources:
http://www.economywatch.com/world_economy/nigeria/ http://www.heritage.org/index/pdf/2013/countries/nigeria.pdf
http://flagpedia.net/currency/others/nigerian-naira

Three relevant real-life examples:
http://www.ventures-africa.com/2013/03/nigerian-economy-to-experience-over-7-recovery-in-2013-imf/
http://www.motherlandnigeria.com/economics.html
http://joblistnigeria.com/

Nigeria's culture

Hello, I am Debra, one of the Management Assistants. I am going to tell you more about the culture in Nigeria.

When we arrived in Nigeria, most of the people spoke English. English is the official language of the country, because of the British colonization, that ended in 1960. Most ethnic groups however, prefer to communicate in their own languages.
English as the official language is widely used for education, business transactions and for official purposes.

In Nigeria, there are a variety of religions. Nigeria is divided equally between Islam and Christianity between north and south. A report of 2003 showed us that 50.4 % of Nigeria’s population are Muslims, 48.2 % are Christians and 1.4 % are people of other religions.

We have read that the Nigerian cuisine is known for its richness and variety. We went to the weekly market of Nigeria and we tasted a lot of new products that we did not know.
The Nigerian people use many different spices, herbs and flavourings to create deeply flavoured sauces and soups often made very hot with chili peppers.  the Nigerian people are used to eat spicy food.

The feasts of the Nigerian population are colourful and generous. Unfortunately, we have not been able to enjoy one.

Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country with numerous tribes and ethnic groups. We noticed that some people are still wearing traditional clothing. In the south, however men and women prefer to wear western clothing.  The traditional clothing for women are wraps, some of which are designed for day to day activities and others for formal occasions such as festivals or weddings. The formal wraps are made of more expensive cloth.  The men usually  wear cotton wrappers, shirts and sandals for day to day wear. 

On this picture you see a couple who are wearing traditional clothing. There are both wearing a wrap on their head.

 

The Nigeria National Day is celebrated on 1 October, known as Independence Day.  Everyone is wearing traditional clothing on this national holiday. The people are celebrating the independence of Nigeria that began officially on 1 October 1960 after being under British control since 1900.

Nigeria’s national sport is football. The country has its own Premier League of football. The name of its team is the Super Eagles.

 

 

This was the Nigerian culture in a nutshell. My colleague will inform you about the economy. 

Debra

Sources

http://images.google.be/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigeria
http://interesting-africa-facts.com/African-Garb/Nigerian-Traditional-Clothing.html http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Nigeria+National+Day

3 relevant real-life examples:

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/nigeria-holds-cultural-week-in-brazil/98138/ http://www.motherlandnigeria.com/customs.html
http://www.bellanaija.com/2013/02/10/its-gold-for-nigeria-super-eagles-win-the-afcon-2013-defeat-burkina-faso-1-0-at-the-finals/