Is Tinubu Richer Than Dangote?
Evidence shows Aliko Dangote’s documented $28–32 billion fortune vastly exceeds Bola Tinubu’s opaque and unverified wealth estimates.
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nigeria
Why Is Nigeria So Populated? The Geography, History, and Myths Explained
Why Nigeria has Africa’s largest population: geography, river civilizations, density myths, and the deeper history behind its demographic scale.
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Largest Tribes in Nigeria: The 5 Biggest Ethnic Groups Explained
Nigeria is often described as a single country, but culturally it is closer to a continent. Anthropologists and linguists estimate that Nigeria contains around 372 distinct ethnic groups and over 500 languages, making it one of the most culturally diverse nations on Earth. (Source: Nigerian National Population Commission; Ethnologue language database) Yet within that diversity,
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The Forgotten Millions: Africa and the Caribbean in Two World Wars
Picture this: the mud-splattered trenches of France, the suffocating jungles of Burma, the searing deserts of North Africa. Now, populate these scenes not just with Tommies and Yanks, but with the ebony faces of African soldiers ⚔️, the sturdy frames of Caribbean porters ⛵, and the sun-scorched feet of barefoot carriers laden with supplies they
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African figures: Nnamdi Azikwe
These words landed Nnamdi Azikwe in jail for sedition in 1936: “Personally, I believe the European has a god in whom he believes and whom he is representing in his churches all over Africa. He believes in the god whose name is spelt Deceit. He believes in the god whose law is “Ye strong, you
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The 95 Ethnicities of Northern Nigeria
Northern Nigeria is a very diverse part of Nigeria. Often people who haven’t done any research on Nigeria think that inhabitants of Northern Nigeria are one of two ethnicities: Hausa or Fulani. In reality there are about more than 95 ethnicities in total. If Northern Nigeria were a country, it would be the sixth largest
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Literacy in precolonial Africa – the Nok civilisation
Not many people know that the Nok civilisation were //semi-literate//. Academics have never bothered to decode the meaning of Nok writings. The Nok civilization is known for its distinctive terracotta sculptures, which are considered to be some of the earliest sculptures made by any civilization in Africa. These sculptures have been found in a number
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Makoko floating system: new architecture from Nigeria
Makoko Floating System With the rising of unpredictable climate transitions, fascinating design strategies of have evolved to cope with such transitions. The innovative design tactics involve observing the stability and adaptation of coastal communities in different populations around the world. In the Lagos lagoon of Nigeria, Africa, the coastal city of Makoko, was being treated
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Tribes of Nigeria
A nation is a body of people with shared descent, language, history and culture. By that definition Nigeria is country of 372 nations.
Iron technology started in Africa
In popular culture there is a common perception that Africa has always been on the periphery of world advancements, that Africa did not contribute anything. The stereotype is that in the past Africa offered the world slaves – through the Atlantic slave trade – while today it offers the world child labour, horrifying news headline,
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Kingdom of Oyo
The kingdom of Oyo, also known as the Oyo Empire, is a West African monarchy, that at its peak, covered 270,000 square kilometres (1). It stretched from parts of the Republic of Benin in the west to the southwest of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in the east. To the north, it bordered the Nupe
Queen Aissa
Queen Aissa Koli Ngirmaramma served her seven years term as a queen, and when her term was up, she transferred power to a successor. Something, some African heads of state of today would not do willingly.
Africa’s Independence Dates
Europe often claims that it is an advocate of democracy. It is claimed that the Athenian constitution and the British Parliament are the earliest examples of democracy but written history says otherwise. Africa has Meroe, Carthage, the Gada system of the Oromo and the Kalenji system to point to for evidence of pre-colonial democracy. Furthermore,
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Kola Nut, the untold African story behind Coke and Pepsi
Coca Cola is the most recognizable beverage brand in the world. Pepsi Co (a short form of Pepsi Cola) is the second most recognizable beverage brand in the world. Both Coke and Pepsi brands have their origins in soft drink recipes based on Kola nuts (the “Cola” in Coca Cola and Pepsi Cola). Although Western
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Food series: Story of African rice, developed around 3,500BCE – 1,500BCE
At the end of a wedding ceremony, after the bride and groom have been blessed, it is traditional in most cultures of the world to throw grains of rice over the heads of the newlyweds. But, have you ever wondered –of all the grains under the sun- why rice in particular? Rice symbolizes fertility, luck
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The Itsekiri Kingdom (1480 AD – Present): the Afro-Europeans of the Niger Delta
There was a time when lies had not been invented yet that Europeans are a different race to Africans; and Africans married Europeans without thinking about “How will our descendants be treated by ‘some’ Europeans?” So today, these descendants of an Afro-Portuguese lineage can be classed as “Sub-Sahara”, “black”, because of “looks” and ignoring “biology”. In this article, we introduce the Itsekiri Kingdom and its Afro-European monarchy.
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The Ancient Walls of Benin: 16,000 Kilometres (800AD-14th Century)
The chances are you have probably never heard of the ancient walls of Benin. The location of the old Benin city is still the present-day location of Benin city in Edo state, south-west Nigeria.When the Europeans first arrived at the Benin kingdom in the late 15th Century, they were astonished by the wealth, quality of
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Kingdom of Burundi: 11,000 year old invention, 5th most important crop in the world
The kingdom of Burundi is a landlocked historic kingdom located in the east of central Africa, in the south of the equator. It is bordered by Rwanda in the north, Tanzania to the south and east while the Democratic Republic of Congo to the west. Only a few ethnic communities populate the country, most prominent
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The Kingdom of Benin: 1,660 Years from 355 AD to Present
ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION The Great precolonial Benin kingdom is one of the oldest West African civilisations in continuous existence that commands respect; having existed from 355 BC to Present. Well known for its brilliant bronze, ivory, iron artefacts and military prowess. This kingdom although annexed is still present-day Benin city in southwestern Nigeria. It is
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Kingdom of Songhai
West African history The Songhai Kingdom: Facts, History, Trade and Power The Songhai Kingdom existed from 1375 to 1591 and became one of the largest and most powerful states in West African history. At its peak, the Songhai Kingdom stretched along the Niger, ruled vast territory, expanded trade, reformed government, and helped make cities such
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The Kanem-Bornu Empire
The Kanem-Bornu empire spanned 12 centuries. It was a monarchy, had its capital in Njimi (later Gazargamo), and stretched Chad and Nigeria border. This article charts the rise and fall of the Kanem-Bornu empire.
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Nok civilisation
Overview Nok civilisation existed from 1500 BC to 200 AD. It may have been ruled by a monarchy or existed as a confederacy. We know from other African societies within close proximity that centralized states could break up into decentralized chiefdoms or vice versa. Evidence from the consistency of terracotta art over a one-thousand-year period
Nigeria startups: A to Z
Not many people know that before 8,500 BC the bow and arrow was invented independently in West Africa. Not many people know that West Africans invented face masks, built boats from wood, had inheritance laws, hire purchase systems (such as the iwofa system) and town planning. Not many people know that fishing by hook and
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