NIGERIAN DEMOGRAPHICS: OFFICIAL AND UNOFFICIAL FACTS

Here I present the resulting demographic composition of Nigeria.

The country was taken over by the British. It is important to note first that Nigeria lies on a land mass of 924,000 square kilometres,3

making it more than three times the size of the United Kingdom, with its land mass of 241,590 square kilometres.4 The countries neighbouring Nigeria to the east (Cameroon) and the west (Benin) were "taken" by the French, resulting in the division of ethnic groups otherwise connected by language, tradition, history, culture, and social organization. Replacing these similarities and historically aligned societies, Nigeria now exists in a state of disparity, working to represent and unify hundreds of ethnic groups, all of which continue to be forced to surrender economic and sociopolitical control to European and North American banks, corporations, and foreign policies.

For these historical, geographical, and economic reasons, Nigerian demographics are highly political and complex. The numbers of people and the percentages of people that populate the ethnic groups comprise a political hotspot since power (in an assumed democracy) should be distributed according to majority representation. As a result, depending on the source, numbers change. The nation's population in western documents is officially (and by "officially" I am referring to the CIA World Fact Book but not deferring to its accuracy) reported at 133,881,703.5

While living in Nigeria, I heard unanimous reports estimating the population to be closer to and most likely exceeding 200 million. The Federal Republic of Nigeria reports a population approaching 140 million.6 Western reports do state accurately that Nigeria is "Africa's most populous country" but inaccurately that it is composed of approximately "250 ethnic groups."7 Oral history and information passed on to me while I was living in Nigeria documented that more than 515 ethnic groups live in Nigeria. The Nigerian Embassy reports at least 374 ethnic groups living in the country.8

According to Western records and international politics,

"the following are the most populous and politically influential [ethnic groups]: Hausa and Fulani (29%), Yoruba (21%), Igbo (18%), Ijaw (10%), Kanuri (4%), Ibibio (3.5%), Tiv (2.5%)."91 do not take these numbers too seriously since I am fully aware of the political implications of these distributions. The fact is that the number of people belonging to each ethnic group is not well recorded. It is a highly controversial issue —so controversial that in 2006, when the Nigerian government tried to conduct a census, violence broke out, and many people refused to participate in it.¹⁰ On one level, people do not trust governments, and thus refused to submit information on ethnic affiliation and location.

This reluctance may be because the first so-called democratically elected president of Nigeria to take office, Olusegun Obasanjo, was a former military dictator (February 14, 1976, to October 1, 1979). He very reluctantly stepped down in the summer of 2007 after eight years in office. He was replaced by Umaru Yar'Adua, General Shehu Musa Yar'Adua's younger brother. General Shehu Yar'Adua was Obasanjo's deputy during his military regime in the 1970s. On another level, the political ramifications (especially in relation to the oil regions) would be massive if documented ethnic groups (largely underrepresented in the revenues gained from oil exports) in that region tried to claim their share of profits. The only unanimously agreed-on statistic in both Western and Nigerian records is that one out of every

five Africans is Nigerian,11 making Nigeria the most populated country in Africa.

According to mainstream politics in Nigeria, and according to numerous discussions I had with Nigerians (from various segments of governmental and non-governmental communities), the three most influential and recognized ethnic groups are the Yoruba, the Igbo, and the Hausa. This information is accurately reflected in official Nigerian statistics as presented by the Nigerian Embassy.12 This demographic is best understood within the geographical divisions in the country relying implicitly on the original organization of Africa, pre-carving by Europeans. The vast majority of Nigerians (all whom I came in contact with during my two years in the country) recognize that the north is Hausaland, that the west is Yorubaland, and that the east is Igboland. The oil region is referred to unofficially as

"south-south" and officially as the Niger delta. It is known to belong to several influential ethnic groups, the most influential, according to the people I spoke to, being the Ogoni and Ijaw peoples, although these reports of majority population came to me from members of those groups. Also worth noting is what was unofficially referred to as the "middle belt," an area between Igboland and Hausaland that was recognized as home to many minority ethnic groups, the Tiv and the Fulani claiming the majority of that minority. It becomes clear, as I attempt to present the basic demographics of Nigeria, that it is a complex region with many official uncertainties, and unofficial and very rich traditions. There is unanimous recognition of the fact that Nigeria is one of Africa's richest nations due mainly to high-quality oil in the Niger delta, and to its size and population, dwarfing surrounding West African nations. In stating that Nigeria is a rich nation, I am not stating that these riches are reflected in the lives of Nigerians. A monopoly of wealth, enforced through economic colonialism, continues to exist, with the majority of Nigerian wealth sustaining economies abroad.