Nigeria officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in the north. Its coast in the south lies on the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean.
The site of many ancient kingdoms and empires, the modern political state of Nigeria has its origins in the British colonization of the region during the late nineteenth to early twentieth centuries; it emerged from the combination of two neighboring British protectorates: the Southern Nigeria Protectorate and Northern Nigeria Protectorate. During the colonial period, the British set up administrative and legal structures whilst retaining traditional chiefdoms. Nigeria achieved independence in 1960, but plunged into civil war several years later. It has since alternated between democratically-elected civilian governments and military dictatorships, with its 2011 presidential elections being viewed as the first to be conducted reasonably freely and fairly.
Nigeria is often referred to as the “Giant of Africa”, due to its large population and economy. With approximately 174 million inhabitants, Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and the seventh most populous country in the world. The country is inhabited by over 500 ethnic groups, of which the three largest are the Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba. Regarding religion, Nigeria is roughly divided in half between Christians, who live mostly in the southern and central parts of the country, and Muslims, concentrated mostly in the northern and southwestern regions. A minority of the population practice religions indigenous to Nigeria, such as those native to Igbo and Yoruba peoples.
In 2014, Nigeria’s economy (GDP) became the largest in Africa, worth more than $500 billion, and overtook South Africa to become the world’s 26th largest economy. Furthermore, the debt-to-GDP ratio is only 11 percent (8 percent below the 2012 ratio). By 2050, Nigeria is expected to become one of the world’s top 20 economies. The country’s oil reserves have played a major role in its growing wealth and influence. Nigeria is considered to be an Emerging market by the World Bank and has been identified as a regional power in Africa. It is also a member of the MINT group of countries, which are widely seen as the globe’s next “BRIC-like” economies. It is also listed among the “Next Eleven” economies set to become among the biggest in the world. Nigeria is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the African Union, OPEC, and the United Nations among other international organizations.

Gone are the days when life was really good

• Kingsway superstore. Broad street, lagos

• Federal palace hotel, lagos

• Eko bridge

• CMS bus stop, marina lagos

• Owanbe the lagos way! Back in the days

• Political rally

• Obj in aba during the war

• Teslim thunderbolt balogun

• Night club life

• Onitsha market

• A hotel in the western region

• Comprehensive high school aiyetoro

• Nigeria’s map in 1960

• Naija guys in full swags

• Lagos bar beach

• Prof peller and lady Peller

• Colonial Flag of Nigeria

• Nnamdi Azikiwe

• Tafawa Balewa

• Stamp of Southern Nigeria, 1901

• Obafemi Awolowo

• Then the khaki boys struck!!!!!!!

• Major-General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi (January 16 1966 – July 29 1966)

• General Yakubu “Jack” Gowon (August 1 1966 – July 28 1975)

• General Murtala Muhammed (July 29 1975 – February 13 1976)

• General Olusegun Obasanjo (February 14 1976 – September 30 1979)

• Alhaji Shehu Shagari (October 1 1979 – December 31 1983)

• Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (January 1 1984 – August 26 1985)

• General Ibrahim Babangida (August 27 1985 - August 26 1993)

• Ernest Shonekan (August 27 1993 – November 16 1993)

• General Sani Abacha (November 17 1993 – June 7 1998)

• General Abdulsalam Abubakar (June 8 1998 – May 28 1999)

• Olusegun Obasanjo (May 29 1999 – May 28 2007)

• Umaru Musa Yar’Adua 5/29/07 – 5/5/2010

• Goodluck Ebele Jonathan May 6, 2010 To-date

By Misty Showalter, CNN, July 16, 2010

Segun Gele poses with ladies wearing his headtie creations

Story Highlights

• Gele has been worn by Nigerian women for decades, but has recently become more fashionable
• He gained popularity for tying headwraps when he offered to do it for a woman at a friend’s wedding
• He now charges $650 to tie wraps for brides and their party
Editor’s note: CNN Marketplace Africa offers viewers a unique window into African business on and off the continent. This week the show profiles Nigerian businessman Segun Olaleye, commonly known as Segun Gele. He has turned tying Nigerian headwraps into a promising business and an artform.

Houston, Texas (CNN) — Segun Gele, or to use his full name Hakeem Oluwasegun Olaleye, is a man making a name for himself in a woman’s world.
The Houston-based businessman has made an artform out of tying a gele — the gravity-defying headwraps worn by Nigerian women.
To meet him is to understand how he became a celebrity in a field only a few years in the making. He’s not only a vivacious self-promoter; he’s also clearly thrilled to find himself making money doing something that comes so naturally to him.
Watching Segun Gele whip the material into graceful folds and arcs in less than five minutes, you know he is the master.
Geles come in different fabrics such as damask, brocade and “aso-oke” (hand-woven fabrics popular for Yoruba special occasions in Nigeria). The most popular fabric among Nigerian women is a metallic fabric made from jacquard.

Gallery: Segun Gele, the master headturner

They have been worn by Nigerian women for generations, but in recent years has become the ultimate fashion accessory for important parties and events in the U.S., something that Segun Gele partially credits himself for.
He says when he moved to Houston, Texas in 2003 from Nigeria, many Nigerian women had stopped wearing their gele because it was just too difficult to tie by them. To Segun Gele, this was a great tragedy.
“I mean, you would not find a woman wearing a good headwrap,” Segun Gele said. “They would rather wear pantsuits and jeans to a Nigerian party.

He first noticed he could turn his skills into a promising business when he offered to tie a woman’s head wrap at a friend’s wedding.
Within minutes, he had whipped the two-yard fabric into a headturning, vertiginous shape that left other women at the party impressed. Before long a queue had formed and he started charging $7 a piece to tie gele at the wedding, Segun said. Over time his rates grew to $10, then $15, and now he rarely ties wraps at parties but reserves his services for weddings or other special occasions.
“In the past, I used to have so many people about 20, 30 people standing in the line to have their ‘gele’ tied. But it got to the stage where it was overwhelming, “he said.

Segun Gele now charges $650 to tie wraps for brides and their party for Houston weddings, and $1,000 plus hotel, rental car and airfare for out-of-town weddings. This wedding season he’s already flown to Georgia, New Jersey, California, Massachusetts and Maryland. Knowing brides reserve him a year in advance, well aware of his popularity.

It’s the only business he’s done since he moved to the U.S. and one that’s showing no signs of slowing down. He has students that pay to train with the master, flying in from around the U.S. and London.
So long as gele remains a fashion statement for Nigerian women, Segun Gele is sure to remain king of his domain.

History is being made once again as Nigerian born Dr. Isa Odidi and Dr. Amina Odidi, one of Canada’s top pharmaceutical scientists and prolific inventors and their pharmaceutical company Intellipharmaceutics have been invited by a stock exchange based in the United States of America (NASDAQ) to ring the opening bell before trading begins in New York city on October 22, 2010. The NASDAQ invitation highlights the achievements of these two scientists and their pharmaceutical company.
This is a very significant milestone for the Odidi’s and their company and I dare say a first in the annals of Nigeria’s history. The first Nigerian couples to ring the opening bell at NASDAQ, first Nigerian owned pharmaceutical company to ring the opening bell. It seems these renowned scientists turned pharmaceutical business moguls will never seize to impress and amaze. They were the first Nigerians to own a technology based pharmaceutical company that is publicly traded on the two international stock exchanges i.e., NASDAQ in the United States of America and TSX in Canada. Who says Nigerians in Diaspora are not good ambassadors of Nigeria? Drs Isa and Amina Odidi truly make Nigeria and Nigerians proud! They deserve our praise. We call on the Nigerian government to recognize and give honor to whom honor is due.

In 1998, Dr. Isa Odidi and Dr. Amina Odidi co-founded the publicly-traded Canadian based Intellipharmaceutics International Inc. Dr. Isa Odidi received his B.Sc. degree in Pharmacy from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and his M.Sc. in Pharmaceutical Technology and his Ph.D. in Pharmaceutics from the University of London. He is also a graduate of the Western Executive Management Program and obtained his MBA from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. Dr. Amina Odidi received her B.Sc. degree in Pharmacy from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and her M.Sc. in Biopharmacy and her Ph.D. in Pharmaceutics from the University of London. Although these entrepreneurs are now Canadian citizens, they are originally from Kano, Nigeria

Intellipharmaceutics International Inc. is a pharmaceutical company specializing in the research, development and manufacture of novel or generic controlled release and targeted release oral solid dosage drugs. The Company’s patented Hypermatrix(tm) technology is a unique and validated multidimensional controlled-release drug delivery platform that can be applied to the efficient development of a wide range of existing and new pharmaceuticals. Based on this technology, Intellipharmaceutics has a pipeline of products in various stages of development in therapeutic areas that include neurology, cardiovascular, GIT, pain and infection. The Company has three products under review with the FDA for the purpose of obtaining regulatory approval. These represent a 6 billion dollars in brand sales.
Intellipharmaceutics’ lead generic product under development is Dexmethylphenidate XR (dexmethylphenidate hydrochloride), a generic version of Focalin XR(r), which is an extended-release capsule for the treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. In 2008, Focalin(r), including Focalin XR(r), had U.S. sales of approximately U.S. $350 million. Intellipharmaceutics’ lead non-generic product under development is Rexista(tm) oxycodone, an abuse- and alcohol-deterrent controlled-release oral formulation of controlled-release oxycodone hydrochloride for the relief of pain. Rexista(tm) oxycodone is a unique dosage form designed to be deterrent to some of the well-documented abuses associated with currently marketed oxycodone products, such as abuse of these drugs by nasal inhalation when crushed or powdered and by injection when combined with solvents. Rexista(tm) oxycodone is also designed to resist release of the entire dose when consumed with alcohol, a significant problem with some opioid drugs. In 2008, oxycodone had U.S. sales of approximately U.S. $2 billion

DUBLIN, Ireland – Ireland elected its first black mayor Thursday, the latest sign of how rapid immigration is changing this once all-white nation.
Rotimi Adebari, a Nigerian who arrived in Ireland seven years ago as an asylum-seeker, was elected unopposed to lead the council of Portlaoise, a bustling commuter town west of Dublin.
Adebari, 43, who has been an independent politician on Portlaoise Town Council since 2004, was backed by both the right-wing Fine Gael party and left-wing Sinn Fein.
Adebari, who planned a post-election party Friday at the new parish hall in Portlaoise, called it “a great honor to become the No. 1 citizen of the town.”
Little more than a decade ago, a black person in Ireland risked being gawked at, so rare was the sight of visitors from different racial backgrounds. But Ireland has absorbed more than 30,000 asylum seekers — particularly from Africa’s most populous nation, Nigeria — since the mid-1990s, a wave attracted by Ireland’s booming economy and its relatively lax immigration rules.
These days, West African entrepreneurs run stretches of shops in urban Dublin and other Irish towns and cities, and social activists like Adebari are encouraging the newcomers to integrate into their communities.
“I got involved in the community and I volunteered. It gave me the opportunity to meet people firsthand and they got to know me,” Adebari said. “We all have to make an effort to reach out to one another.”
Adebari traveled to Ireland with his wife and two boys in 2000 and claimed asylum on the basis of religious persecution, citing bloody clashes between Christians and Muslims in his homeland. His application was rejected because of insufficient evidence he had personally suffered persecution, but he gained residency because his third child, another boy, was born in Ireland.
Asylum-seekers flocked to Ireland in part to gain European Union citizenship on the basis of having a child born in the country. Ireland in 2004 stopped granting citizenship to foreign parents of an Irish-born child, a law that had been unique in Europe.
Adebari said he had trouble finding work at first — in part because of an Irish law that bars people from working while they are seeking asylum.
So he volunteered at a local tennis club, helped found a lobbying group for unemployed people in Portlaoise and ran for office, winning a council seat on his first try in 2004.
Since then he’s finished a master’s degree in intercultural studies at Dublin City University, founded a consultancy advising authorities and

Dick Tiger CBE (born Richard Ihetu August 14, 1929 – December 14, 1971) was a boxer from Amaigbo, Nigeria, was a migrant fighter to Liverpool (and later to America). Tiger was a member of the Igbo ethnic group. Tiger was a talented boxer, commercial venturer, and Biafran rebel. His boxing career record was: Fought 81; Won 60; Lost 18; Drew 3.
Tiger developed a portfolio of investments before the outbreak of Nigeria’s civil war. Supporter of the Biafran secession, Tiger’s propaganda and financial support of this cause cost him much. Tiger was appointed CBE by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, but he returned his insignia as a protest for what he perceived as a lack of support by Great Britain to the Biafran cause.

Excerpt from the GUARDIAN-07/ 18/2009
Boxing legend, Richard Dick ‘Tiger’ Ihetu, was perhaps, the greatest boxer Africa has produced. Apart from the titles he won inside the ring, Tiger inspired lots of Nigerians by laying a foundation, which to a large extent, produced great scholars for the country, especially for his home town, Amaigbo, in Nwangele Local Government Area of Imo State.
Before his death on December 14, 1971, Tiger had won several titles, including the World middleweight title and the light heavyweight championship belt. He was also named the Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year for 1962 and 1965. But for members of his family, the greatest legacy Dick Tiger left behind was building a secondary school for the people of Amaigbo even at a time when the boxer had not thought of laying the foundation stone of his house in the village.
Born on August 14, 1929, in Amaigbo community in Imo State, the late Dick Tiger fought with everything at his disposal to put Nigeria’s name on the world map. He grew up in the commercial city of Aba, in the present day Abia State. When it became obvious that Tiger’s fighting skills were more than ordinary, he took to boxing and soon established himself as champion of the amateur ranks. As his fame started to spread, so did his confidence.
In 1952, he fought his first major fight, taking a disputed verdict against an equally strong Tommy West. In a 1953 re-match, he lost to West in a Collister Best championship. From that moment, the home turf became too small for Tiger and he left for Liverpool, England. It was the beginning of his journey to stardom.
His first big fight, the one that shot him up the rankings and made him a world title contender, was his victory against Terry Downnes in the sixth round in 1957. He went on to dominate the Commonwealth, winning what was then called the British Empire middleweight boxing title.
In 1962, Dick Tiger won the middleweight title of the world, beating American Gene Fullmer in San Francisco, California, USA. From when Tiger established himself in international boxing to his championship fight with Fullmer, all top American and European boxers were avoiding him. But when he finally got the opportunity, there was no stopping. He gave Fullmer a first re-match in Las Vegas, USA, and it ended in a draw.
Ten months later, Fullmer was given a second re-match, this time at the Liberty Stadium, Ibadan. With flag-and-banner- waving Nigerian supporters behind him, Tiger gave the American the beating of his life, stopping him in the 7th round.
In 1966, Tiger moved up to the lightweight category and in December of that year, he beat Jose Torres in Puerto Rico to win the world light heavyweight title. He went on to defend the title three times before losing it to Bob Foster at the Madison Square Garden, USA, in 1968. At 38, Tiger was still fighting and winning awards. Even with the Nigeria civil war going on back home, Tiger summoned courage and step into the ring in 1968 to fight Frankie Dapula and won. The bout was adjudged the fight of the year. His last fight on stage was in 1970, but lost to America’s middleweight boxer, Emile Griffift.
Tiger retired and became a guard at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. He died of a liver cancer in 1971 and his burial in his hometown, Amaigbo, was witnessed by a large turn out of more 15,000 mourners, who came from within and outside the shores of Africa.
To his daughter, Justina, the late Tiger lived the life of a hero and should be treated as one. “I was about nine years old when my father died. I knew him as a father but it was my late mother who really told me stories about him. My father came from a very humble beginning and he was more interested in rendering assistance to people, no matter what it would take.
According to Justina, the late boxing legend invested all he acquired from the ring into the country. “My dad did so much for his country even without support coming from nobody. He was able to build a Secondary School, (Dick Tiger Memorial Secondary School in Amaigbo). He wanted to make sure that the up-coming youths get the needed encouragement. My mother told me that Dick Tiger built the school when he had not even thought of laying a foundation for his house in the village. So you can see the true patriotism in him as a Nigerian. That is why we are saying that all true sports loving Nigerian must celebrate this man as a true hero”, she stated.
In 1987, the then government of General Ibrahim Babangida honoured the late Dick Tiger and in 1991, twenty years after his death, Tiger’s name was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

A five-year-old Nigerian girl, who has not yet started primary school, is being hailed as the youngest person ever to pass a GCSE with a C grade in maths. Desiree Alli, from Southwark, south London, set a new record for childhood academic success. Desiree, known as Dee, prepared for the foundation level examination by playing maths games through a specialist tutoring centre. She was “mentored” by nine-year-old Nigerian girl Paula Imafidon, who hit the headlines two years ago when she sat A Level maths alongside her twin brother Peter. The two girls met through informal classes run in a local church by a charity called Excellence in Education which she began attending at the age of four. They perfected her mathematical skills through a game called “beat the calculator”. “I didn’t know I was taking the exam I thought it was a game,” she said last night.

“Maths is a big game with numbers and I find it fun. It wasn’t very difficult and I found it very easy because it was mostly questions about the difference between numbers. I’m very surprised to be the youngest ever. I’m very proud of myself but it was just a game for me. I spend a lot of time playing number games with friends older than me. I also enjoy singing with my brother and watching TV. When I’m older I would like to be a princess and be rich.” Her mother, Joy, who runs a local nursery, said: “We are very grateful for Dee’s association with Paula. It has changed her outlook on learning around.” Dee was five years and two months old when she sat the exam.Last year, Dee’s brother, Jude, hit the headlines when he sat for Maths at GCSE and made a D. Then, he was six years old.

Meanwhile, another Nigerian, Chidera Ota, led the GCSE roll of honour with 15 A’s. She has gained admission to study Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Maths and Further Maths at A-levels in King’s School, Canterbury. Presently, she also studies Latin twice a week during her lunch break. Chidera, 16, attended Highstead Grammar School, Sittingbourne, Kent. She scored A’s in English Literature and Language, Maths, Statistics, French, German, Latin, History, Sociology, Chemistry, Biology and Physics. She also made an IT qualification worth three GCSEs. Chidera lives with her Nigerian-born parents, Uchenna and Mercy, who are doctor and nurse respectively. She hopes to be a doctor. “I stayed home a lot and put a lot of work into my GCSEs. I want to become a doctor. And I know it’s very competitive. So, I need to do very well to get into medicine,” Chidera said. She added: “I want to go to a top university and I have already looked around Oxford and Cambridge. I think I will like to go to St. John’s College at Cambridge.”