NIGERIA

Nigeria- Location Nigeria, one-third larger than Texas and the most populous country in Africa, is situated on the Gulf of Guinea in West Africa. Its neighbors are Benin, Niger, Cameroon, and Chad. The lower course of the Niger River flows south through the western part of the country into the Gulf of Guinea. Swamps and mangrove forests border the southern coast; inland are hardwood forests.

Nigeria-People The first inhabitants of what is now Nigeria were thought to have been the Nok people (500 BC –c. AD 200). The Kanuri, Hausa, and Fulani peoples subsequently migrated there. Islam was introduced in the 13th century, and the empire of Kanem controlled the area from the end of the 11th century to the 14th. The Fulani empire ruled the region from the beginning of the 19th century until the British annexed Lagos in 1851 and seized control of the rest of the region by 1886. It formally became the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria in 1914. During World War I, native troops of the West African frontier force joined with French forces to defeat the German garrison in Cameroon.

Women of Nigeria Especially in sub-Saharan Africa a large number of young girls still do not attend school. The global figure for out-of-school children is estimated at 121 million, 65 million being girls. Over 80 percent of these girls live in Sub Saharan Africa. In Nigeria, girls’ access to basic education, especially in northern states, has remained low. As few as 20per cent of women in the North West and North East of the country are literate and have attended school.

Why are girls in Nigeria not attending school? Poverty and economic issues, early marriage and teenage pregnancy, inadequate school infrastructure and cultural and religious misinterpretation are the main issues that prevent girls from going to school. With almost 70 per cent of the Nigerian population living below the poverty line, girls are often sent to work in the markets or hawk wares on the streets. Early marriage and teenage pregnancy also prevent girls from going to school. A lot of girls drop out of school before reaching primary class six.

Percentage of Young Women Ages 15-24 with No Education

Percentage of Girls of Secondary School Age (12-17) in School and Out of School

Source Links http://www.epdc.org/epdc-data-points/schooling-northern- nigeria-challenges-girls-education http://www.infoplease.com/country/nigeria.html https://www.unicef.org/wcaro/WCARO_Nigeria_Factsheets_Girls Education.pdf