Nigeria Position Paper
Population
● The current population of Nigeria is 237,478,097 as of Tuesday, July 1, 2025 based on
Worldometer’s elaboration of the latest United Nations data1.
● Nigeria 2025 population is estimated at 237,527,782 people at mid-year.
● Nigeria's population is equivalent to 2.89% of the total world population.
● Nigeria ranks number 6 in the list of countries (and dependencies) by population.
● The population density in Nigeria is 261 per Km² (675 people per mi²).
● The total land area is 910,770 Km² (351,650 sq. miles).
● 54.86% of the population is urban (130,312,056 people in 2025)
● The median age in Nigeria is 18.1 years.
● The population growth rate of Nigeria is at a steady decline since 2010 and has reached 2.08,
meaning that in a few years, the population should start declining
● The current Life expectancy is 54.5 in males, and 55.1 in females, and 54.8 as a whole. The
life expectancy of females in Nigeria has constantly been higher
● The Infant mortality and death under age 5 are 67.7 and 101.8 respectively. These numbers
have been decreasing constantly
● Nigeria has constantly been urbanising, and at present 54.9% of Nigeria is Urban
● The current GDP is $363,846,000,000 and the growth rate for the same is 2.86%
● GDP per Capita in Nigeria (with a population of 227,882,945 people) was $2,416
● Hundreds of languages are spoken in the country, including Yoruba, Igbo, Fula, Hausa, Edo,
Ibibio, Tiv, and English.
● The country has abundant natural resources, notably large deposits of petroleum and natural
gas.
● Nigeria is not only large in area—larger than the U.S. state of Texas—but also Africa’s most
populous country.
Neighbouring Countries
● To the north by Niger
● To the east by Chad and Cameroon
● To the south by the Gulf of Guinea of the Atlantic Ocean
● To the west by Benin.
Allies and Enemies
Allies
● China for Business/Loans
● United Kingdom for Oil exploration, education, military training, governance advisory
● United States for Oil business and Military purchases
● Pakistan for military training and Islamic affairs
● Saudi for wasting our scarce resources in the name of Hajj
● India for medical tourism and IT resources
● Dubai is Nigeria's no 1 tourist destination.
Enemies
● Nigeria Is Actually Pretty friendly and the only enemies it has are the IBOP terrorists
within
Imp Historical Events
● The history of Borno antedates the 9th century, when Arabic writers in North Africa first
noted the kingdom of Kanem, east of Lake Chad. The lake was then much larger than
the present-day body of water, and its basin attracted settlements and encouraged
exchange. A pastoral group, ancestors of the Kanuri, established a centralized state
over those referred to collectively as the Sao. Initially, trading links extended to the Nile
valley of Egypt. There is some evidence that Kanem had made contact with the Christian
kingdoms of Nubia before it was overrun by Muslims, who gained a foothold in the ruling
family of Kanem in the 11th century. From Kanem the rulers tried to dominate the areas
south and west of the lake as well. By the 12th century they had been compelled by
attacks from the Sao to move their capital to the region west of Lake Chad, and they
gradually lost control of most of the original Kanem.
● For a long time, Borno was the dominant power in the central Sudan, including much of
Hausaland. The Bayajidda legend, concerning a mythical Middle Eastern ancestor of the
Hausa, seems to suggest that the rise of a centralized political system in Hausaland was
influenced from Borno. Though the rulers of Borno embraced Islam, the structure of the
monarchy remained traditional, with the queen mother and other female officials
exercising considerable power. The selection of the monarch, the coronation rites, and
other bases of royal authority were dictated by pre-Islamic beliefs. The princes and other
members of the royal family were granted fiefs and posted away from the capital to
govern frontier zones, while people of slave origin were preferred for the royal guard and
palace officials.
● After the British government assumed direct control of the Royal Niger Company’s
territories, the northern areas were renamed the Protectorate of Northern Nigeria, and
the land in the Niger delta and along the lower reaches of the river was added to the
Niger Coast Protectorate, which was renamed the Protectorate of Southern Nigeria.
Lagos remained the capital of the south, with Zungeru the new capital of the north. On
January 1, 1914, following the recommendations of Sir Frederick Lugard, the two
protectorates were amalgamated to form the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria under a
single governor-general resident in Lagos. Between 1919 and 1954 the title reverted to
governor.
● Following Lugard’s success in the north, he set out the principles of the administrative
system subsequently institutionalized as “indirect rule.” Essentially, local government
was to be left in the hands of the traditional chiefs, subject to the guidance of European
officers. Native institutions were utilized and interference with local customs kept to a
minimum, although the British did not always understand the local customs. While this
system had built-in contradictions, over the years the Nigerian system developed into a
sophisticated form of local government, especially in the emirates and under the banner
of “native administration,” which became the hallmark of British colonial rule in Africa.
● Nigeria was granted independence on October 1, 1960. A new constitution established a
federal system with an elected prime minister and a ceremonial head of state. The
NCNC, now headed by Azikiwe (who had taken control after Macaulay’s death in 1946),
formed a coalition with Balewa’s NPC after neither party won a majority in the 1959
elections. Balewa continued to serve as the prime minister, a position he had held since
1957, while Azikiwe took the largely ceremonial position of president of the Senate.
Following a UN-supervised referendum, the northern part of the Trust Territory of the
Cameroons joined the Northern region in June 1961, while in October the Southern
Cameroons united with Cameroun to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon. On
October 1, 1963, Nigeria became a republic. Azikiwe became president of the country,
although as prime minister Balewa was still more powerful.
Current Events
● The flooding struck the rural town of Mokwa in Niger State following torrential rains. 151
dead in Nigeria floods, thousands displaced. At least 3,018 people displaced and 265
houses destroyed in the floods in central Nigeria as more rains are feared.
● Public spending cuts across six African countries have resulted in the incomes of health
and education workers falling by up to 50 percent in five years, leaving them struggling
to make ends meet, according to international NGO ActionAid.
● The Human Cost of Public Sector Cuts in Africa report published on Tuesday found that
97 percent of the healthcare workers it surveyed in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia,
Malawi and Nigeria could not cover their basic needs like food and rent with their wages.
● At least 30 people were killed when gunmen attacked travellers in Nigeria’s southeastern
Imo State, according to Amnesty International. The human rights NGO reported on
Friday that more than 20 commuter vehicles and trucks were set ablaze during a “vicious
attack” along the Okigwe-Owerri road the day before.
Sources
● Statistical Information
● Textual Information
● Current Happenings
