]>NigeriaFederal Republic of Nigeria

An oil-rich Cinderella state that still hasn't quite made it to the ball.

The very thing that makes Nigeria so ornery and difficult to unite into a single peaceful republic is also its attraction. There are over 250 different peoples, languages, histories, and religions all rubbing shoulder to shoulder in this hectic, colourful and often volatile republic.

Travel Alert

The security situation in the middle belt region and northern Nigeria is unstable and violence is not uncommon; Kidnappings and attacks on foreign oil workers are an ongoing threat in the Bakassi Peninsula and Niger Delta regions of Nigeria. Refer to Safe Travel or the Thorn Tree travel forum.

Visas &Getting ThereHigh-level alert+ 1MetricAbuja (pop 500,000)Umaru Yar'Aduahead of state and governmentPresidentparliamentary democracy924000130,000,000officialEnglishotherFrenchotherYorubaotherEfikHausa

Muslim (50%), Christian: mostly Roman Catholic (40%), animist (10%)

NGNNairaNnaira

The naira continues to be devalued against foreign currencies, a boon for western travellers. A budget traveller happy with YMCA accommodation or shared facilities and a fondness for African soups and goat curry can survive on as little as US$30 a day. Those on a moderate budget hoping for air-conditioning, running water, and lights that work (or one out of the three) can expect to pay between US$30-50, while those staying at the best places in town and dining out on European style food can easily shell out over US$150 a day. Accommodation in Lagos is generally very expensive, with the few cheaper places often doubling up as brothels.

Lugging wads of cash around isn't usually a good idea but in the case of Nigeria there's little choice, as it's a cash economy. Few banks change money, but streetchangers are everywhere. Travellers cheques will get laughed at all the way home. ATMs are slowly being introduced, but credit cards are otherwise useless except in five star hotels and there are numerous credit card scams on the go.

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The best time to visit Nigeria is from December to March when the humidity drops, although the catch is that you may then suffer from the dusty harmattan winds. If a bit of sand in the face doesn't bother you, go in January when you can attend the Sallah celebrations in northern Nigeria followed by the Argungu Fishing Festival on the banks of the Sokoto River in mid-to-late February.

For travel to the south, March to August are the wettest months to visit, and best avoided if possible. As well as the weather, take note of political developments when planning your trip. Although the country is generally calm, local trouble can quickly flare up, so once you're in Nigeria keep an eye on the news and be prepared to change your plans at short notice if necessary.

All visitors are required to have a visa except for citizens of countries belonging to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

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Cerebral malaria precautions need to be taken in Lagos and the southern coast.

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Nigeria is bigger than Texas and temperatures are hot country-wide year-round, peaking at about 35°C (95°F) in the spring; the humidity is also constant. Late spring to summer is the hottest part of the year in the north, sometimes topping out at an extreme 45°C (113°F). The mercury drops from October to January at the onset of the dusty harmattan winds. In the north the wet season lasts from May til October, while on the coast and inland there are a couple of wet seasons: a long one from around March to July and a brief reprise during September and October.

234getting there and awayoverview

Lagos International airport (Murtala Mohammed) is 22km (13mi) from Lagos. Taxis to the city are also available. International carriers fly in and out of Lagos but due to regular fuel shortages, scheduled flights may sometimes be cancelled. The departure tax for international flights is 35.00.

There may be passenger speedboats from Oron, south of Calabar, to Idenao, a small place 50km (31mi) northwest of Limbe (Cameroon), but these are often suspended due to clashes on the Bakassi Peninsula. Check the security situation before making any plans, and avoid the temptation to take one of the frequent cargo boats - these are almost all smugglers' vessels. Share taxis can take you by road to Benin, Cameroon, Chad and Niger. Most border crossings involve dash handed over to customs officials in a pleasant manner.

getting aroundoverview

Air travel within Nigeria can be chaotic, mainly because scheduled flights can get cancelled at short notice, leaving the next flight over-booked. The good news is that internal flights are incredibly cheap. Domestic flights leave from the domestic terminal of Murtala Mohammed airport.

Travelling by bus is a safe and comfortable way to travel and lines connect all the main cities. Bus offices tend to cluster in the same area of the city. Bush taxis are the fastest and most comfortable way to get around but they're also the most dangerous. Nigerian drivers have little respect for speed limits and accidents are often fatal. There are trains running in Nigeria but they're not very comfortable and, as if to compensate for the bush taxis, travel at a snail's pace.

The earliest Nigerians were the Nok people, skilled artisans from around the Jos area. By the beginning of the second millennium the Nok had virtually disappeared and the state of Kanem-Borno, to the north east of Lake Chad, was flourishing. Much of Kanem-Borno was Islamic, as were the kingdoms around Kano and Katsina, and its wealth came from control of the trans-Saharan trade route from West Africa to the Mediterranean. These northern Islamic states remained untouched by Europeans until well into the 19th century. By contrast the southern states were dominated in the 14th and 15th centuries by a number of Yoruba empires with traditional Obas (kings) who cultivated European contact through the Portuguese spice trade.

At the end of the 18th century Fulani religious zealots in the north, sick of being dominated by the Islamic Hausa states, took over and created the single Islamic state of the Sokoto Caliphate. This original division between the Islamic government in the north and the Yoruba tribes in the south has never healed, and over the years intertribal fighting and civil wars have rubbed salt into the wounds. Even today Nigerian politics is riddled with tribal rivalries and ancient axes to grind.

After the bottom fell out of the spice trade, the Portuguese, and then the British, began a miserable trade in slaves, but by 1807 slavery had been banned and the British began to look for other ways to turn a buck - palm oil along the coast, and tin mining around Jos in the centre. The British also appointed chiefs in the southern Ibo communities to run the area but this was like hammering square pegs into round holes. These 'invented chiefs' had little in common with the people and simmering hostility and resentment was the usual result.

In 1960 Nigeria declared independence. Unfortunately the British system of colonialism had done nothing to unify Nigeria or prepare it for independence. The historical conflicts between north and south, and other inter-regional fighting, made the idea of a unified republic unworkable. By 1966 the dream of a flourishing democracy was floundering amidst a series of massacres, inter-regional hostilities and, finally, a military coup that installed the first of a series of military governments. The Ibo responded by seceding from the federation and declaring the independent republic of Biafra, kick-starting an all-out civil war that lasted for nearly three years before federal Nigeria won and reintegrated Biafra. The war left behind nearly 1,000,000 dead and 'Biafra' as a byword in mass destruction and famine.

Given Nigeria's seesawing fortunes it was almost predictable that it would follow one of the world's worst famines with a champagne period of excessive prosperity. Rocketing oil prices provided the Nigerian government with a chance to go on a spending spree of reckless proportions and the country quickly became a hotbed of foreigners rushing to Nigeria with their dash (bribe) money. Corruption became de rigueur, crime rampant, and chaos spread like cancer. By the early 1980s the world recession sent oil prices plummeting again and plunged Nigeria into a cycle of massive debt, soaring inflation, large-scale unemployment and widespread corruption. In 1993 the country came under the iron-fisted rule of General Abacha.

Far from delivering on the promise of a US-style democracy, Abacha earned the wrath of human rights group and the censure of the Commonwealth nations for executing well-known playwright Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight others for seditious political activity. This and other despotic actions sparked rioting and civil unrest across Nigeria. In June 1998 Abacha died and was immediately replaced by Major General Abubakar. Abubakar promised a return to civilian rule. He kept his promise and in 1999 Olusegun Obasanjo, a former military leader and - until 1998 - a political prisoner, was elected president.

Upon the election of Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigerians were euphoric, as it seemed they were finally free from military rule. It was not long before things deteriorated as several rival groups (religious and tribal), no longer threatened by army intervention, settled down to protracted conflict. In one night of carnage during the Sharia'a riots (over full implementation of Islamic law) in February 2000, over 300 people were killed in hand-to-hand rioting between Igbo Christians and Hausa Muslims in Kaduna.

The emergency was exacerbated by fuel shortages and extended power blackouts that left the country in darkness for weeks. Little improved under the new democracy. Obasanjo consolidated Nigeria's position as West Africa's political heavyweight and a key player in the Commonwealth, but the country was still beset by ethnic and religious violence, especially in Lagos, the Central Plateau and the southern oilfields. In presidential elections in April 2003 Obasanjo claimed an overwhelming victory, although independent observers expressed reservations over irregularities and intimidation. The constitution prevents him standing for a third term, and many of the old political players are currently jockeying for a run at the top prize in the 2007 elections.

1740592492View of town rooftops from Dala Hill, KanoJane Sweeney/images/BN10974_11.jpg/images/thumbs/BN10974_11.jpgReturning to the village with water, on the road to KanoJane Sweeney/images/BN10974_18.jpg/images/thumbs/BN10974_18.jpgTraditional architecture of ancient KanoJane Sweeney/images/BN10974_20.jpg/images/thumbs/BN10974_20.jpgNigeria/maps/wg-nigeria-2308-400x300.gif/maps/thumbs/wg-nigeria-2308-400x300.gifOsun Sacred Forestaddress directions2.5km from OshogbostreetOsun Shrine RdextraSW Nigeriataxifrom Oshogbo10:00-18:00camera fee 500.00

The Sacred Forest is a large area of rainforest on the outskirts of Oshogbo. Within the forest is the beautiful Shrine of Oshuno, the River Goddess. In addition to natural beauty, there are many stunning sculptures by Suzanne Wenger (known locally as Aduni Olosa, the 'Adored One'), an Austrian painter and sculptor who came here in the 1950s.

religious/spiritualforestUnesco World HeritageYankari National Parkaddress directions225km E of JosextraCentral Nigeriabus5hrs from Bauchi

Yankari is Nigeria's best park for observing wildlife. With a bit of luck you may come across buffaloes, waterbucks, bushbucks, hyenas, leopards, plenty of baboons and the odd lion. While the park's animal population has suffered from poaching it still has some big drawcards like the 500-strong population of elephants and the bird-watching is excellent.

The best time to see animals is from late December to late April, before the rains, when the thirsty animals congregate at the Gaji River. You're permitted to drive your own vehicle if you take a guide, otherwise the park has a safari truck that takes two hour tours.

Yankari's other great attraction is the incredibly picturesque Wikki Warm Spring, near the park campsite. The crystal-clear mineral water is a constant 31°C, forming a lake 200m long and 10m wide and great for a swim.

national parkwildlifeOnitsha Writer's Marketaddress directionsdirectly east of Lagos

Onitsha, directly east of Lagos, is the most densely populated area in Africa after the Nile Valley. Built on the banks of the Niger River, Onitsha was battered and bruised by the Biafran War but has since regained its vitality. Its chief attraction is the new market, one of the most vibrant in Nigeria, which specialises in books.

According to Chinua Achebe, Onitsha has always attracted the 'exceptional, the colourful, the bizarre'. As if to prove a point the Onitsha Market has paperbacks with wild and wacky titles like Husbands and Wives Who Hate Themselves or My Seven Young Daughters Are After Young Boys. They also come with incisive critical appraisals that double up as practical reading tips like, 'this book entertains more than two bottles of beer'.

Onitsha lies some 400km (248mi) east of Lagos and is easily reached by bush taxi or minibus.

Kano

At nearly 1000 years old, the mud-walled Muslim city of Kano is the oldest city in West Africa and sits on the edge of the Sahel (the fringe of the Sahara). Although it's a bustling hive of commercial activity it's still more bearable than Lagos. Its main attraction is the Old City.

Despite the near-complete disintegration of the city walls, the gates have remained intact. The Kofar Mata Gate leads to the Emir's palace and Central Mosque. The mosque is closed to non-Islamic visitors but is worth seeing from the outside, especially during the Friday prayer time (around noon).

Abuja

In a moment of misguided inspiration, the Nigerian government kicked out the local Gwari inhabitants and decided to up-and-move the capital from Lagos to Abuja. Unfortunately, they ran out of oil money before the grand vision was finished and parts of Abuja still look like a work in progress.

However, Abuja is slowly taking on the role of Nigeria's capital, and the city is filling. But while most federal ministries and civil servants have made the move, foreign agencies and diplomatic missions are still in Lagos and, as a result, there really isn't much to do in Abuja.