Day 16

I am reading a beautiful book at the moment about a young Nigerian asylum seeker called The Other Hand (Chris Cleave), and thought to myself that I don't really know that much about Nigeria.

Nigeria has the largest population of the continent and is one of Africa's most important nations.  It also ranks as one of the most corrupt countries in the world, with tensions between the main tribal groups close to breaking point.  The north of the country is largely Islamic while the south is is for the most part Christian with violent outbreaks resulting from clashes between the two.  Nigeria is rich in natural resources which forms ther basis of it's economy, with it's most important resource being oil, In fact it's is OPECs 4th largest oil producer, accounting for 90% of Nigeria's export earnings, and 80% of the government revenue.  The capital is Abuja, it's government is a military regime and population projected at 2005 as 134,000,000.  The official language is English.  There you go, Nigeria in a nutshell.