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Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea to the south in the Atlantic Ocean. It covers an area of 923,769 square kilometres (356,669 sq mi), and with a population of over 230 million, it is the most populous country in Africa, and the world's sixth-most populous country. Nigeria borders Niger in the north, Chad in the northeast, Cameroon in the east, and Benin in the west. Nigeria is a federal republic comprising 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, where the capital, Abuja, is located. The largest city in Nigeria is Lagos, one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world and the largest in Africa.

Nigeria has been home to several indigenous pre-colonial states and kingdoms since the second millennium BC, with the Nok civilization in the 15th century BC marking the first internal unification. The modern state originated with British colonialization in the 19th century, taking its present territorial shape with the merging of the Southern Nigeria Protectorate and the Northern Nigeria Protectorate in 1914. The British set up administrative and legal structures while practising indirect rule through traditional chiefdoms. Nigeria became a formally independent federation on 1 October 1960. It experienced a civil war from 1967 to 1970, followed by a succession of military dictatorships and democratically elected civilian governments until achieving a stable government in the 1999 Nigerian presidential election, with the election of Olusegun Obasanjo of the Peoples Democratic Party. However, the country frequently experiences electoral fraud, and corruption is significantly present in all levels of Nigerian politics. (Full article...)

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The cinema of Nigeria, often referred to informally as Nollywood, consists of films produced in Nigeria; its history dates back to as early as the late 19th century and into the colonial era in the early 20th century. The history and development of the Nigerian motion picture industry is sometimes generally classified in four main eras: the Colonial era, Golden Age era, Video film era and the emerging New Nigerian cinema era.

Film as a medium first arrived in Nigeria in the late 19th century, in the form of peephole viewing of motion picture devices. These were soon replaced in the early 20th century with improved motion picture exhibition devices, with the first set of films screened at the Glover Memorial Hall in Lagos from 12 to 22 August 1903. The earliest feature film made in Nigeria is 1926's Palaver directed by Geoffrey Barkas, which was also the first to feature Nigerian actors in substantial roles. As of 1954, mobile cinema vans played to at least 3.5 million people in Nigeria, and films being produced by the Nigerian Film Unit were screened for free at the 44 available cinemas. The first film entirely copyrighted to the Nigerian Film unit is Fincho (1957) by Sam Zebba; which is also the first Nigerian film to be shot in colour.

After Nigeria's independence in 1960, the cinema business rapidly expanded, with new cinema houses being established. As a result, Nigerian films in theatres increased in the late 1960s into the 1970s, especially productions from Western Nigeria, owing to former theatre practitioners such as Hubert Ogunde and Moses Olaiya transitioning into the big screen. In 1972, the Indigenization Decree was issued by Yakubu Gowon, which demands the transfer of ownership of about a total of 300 film theatres from their foreign owners to Nigerians, which resulted in more Nigerians playing active roles in the cinema and film. The oil boom of 1973 through 1978 also contributed immensely to the spontaneous boost of the cinema culture in Nigeria, as the increased purchasing power in Nigeria made a wide range of citizens to have disposable income to spend on cinema going and on home television sets. After several moderate performing films, Papa Ajasco (1984) by Wale Adenuga became the first blockbuster, grossing approximately ₦61,000 (approx. 2015 ₦21,552,673) in three days. A year later, Mosebolatan (1985) by Moses Olaiya also went ahead to gross ₦107,000 (approx. 2015 ₦44,180,499) in five days.

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Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo GCFR (/oʊˈbɑːsəndʒoʊ/ ⓘ oh-BAH-sən-joh; Yoruba: Olúṣẹ́gun Ọbásanjọ́ [olúʃɛ́ɡũ ɔbásanɟɔ] ⓘ; born c. 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian retired military officer and statesman who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its president from 1999 to 2007. Ideologically a Nigerian nationalist, he was a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from 1998 to 2015, and since 2018.

Born in the village of Ibogun-Olaogun to a farming family of the Owu branch of the Yoruba, Obasanjo was educated largely in Abeokuta, Ogun State. He joined the Nigerian Army and specialised in engineering and was assigned to the Congo, Britain, and India, rising to the rank of major. In the late 1960s, he played a senior role in combating Biafran separatists during the Nigerian Civil War, accepting their surrender in 1970. In 1975, a military coup established a junta with Obasanjo as part of its ruling triumvirate. After the triumvirate's leader, Murtala Muhammed, was assassinated the following year, the Supreme Military Council appointed Obasanjo as head of state. Continuing Murtala's policies, Obasanjo oversaw budgetary cut-backs and an expansion of access to free school education. Increasingly aligning Nigeria with the United States, he also emphasised support for groups opposing white minority rule in southern Africa. Committed to restoring democracy, Obasanjo oversaw the 1979 election, after which he transferred control of Nigeria to the newly elected civilian president, Shehu Shagari. Obasanjo then retired to Ota, Ogun, where he became a farmer, published four books, and took part in international initiatives to end various African conflicts.

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Nigeria News

24 March 2024 – Nigerian bandit conflict
Kuriga kidnapping
The pupils kidnapped on March 7 from schools in Kuriga, Chikun, Kaduna State, are freed. (BBC News)
22 March 2024 – Nigerian bandit conflict
Fourteen people are rescued from kidnappers by Nigerian forces and local vigilante groups in Katsina State, Nigeria. (Channels TV)
18 March 2024 – Nigerian bandit conflict
Around 80 people are kidnapped by unknown bandits near Kajuru Station, Kaduna State, Nigeria. (BBC News)
7 March 2024 – Nigerian bandit conflict
Gunmen kidnap at least 287 school children in Kaduna State, Nigeria. (CNN)
24 February 2024 – Nigerien crisis
At a summit in Abuja, Nigeria, ECOWAS lifts sanctions on Niger, but continues to demand the release of deposed president Mohamed Bazoum and his family. (Al Jazeera)
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Dahiru Musdapher (2024-04-19) • Muslim–Muslim ticket (2024-04-15) • Benin Altar Tusk (2024-01-30) • Edo literature (2024-01-10) • Blockade of Biafra (2023-12-16) • Igbo literature (2023-11-11) • Benin Moat (2023-10-29) • C. J. Okoye (2023-09-19) • Haggai Chisom Ndubuisi (2023-09-15) • October 1 (film) (2023-07-20) • Yemi Mobolade (2023-06-14) • Nestor Binabo (2023-04-05) • Tobi Oluwayemi (2023-03-29) • Uche Eke (2023-03-07) • Lynching of Deborah Yakubu (2022-06-01) • Chibuzor Nwakanma (2022-05-08) • Nathaniel Fadipe (2021-12-27) • Mimi Fawaz (2021-12-05) • Ben Enwonwu's Daily Mirror sculptures (2021-10-15) • Tutu (painting) (2021-10-14) • Anyanwu (sculpture) (2021-10-04) • Statue of Elizabeth II, Lagos (2021-09-28) • Rosa Egipcíaca (2021-08-28) • Battle of Sambisa Forest (2021) (2021-07-15) • Ita Ekpenyon (2021-06-14) • Crushed Rock, Mpape (2020-12-16) • Grande Tema incident (2020-11-28) • Tolulope Arotile (2020-08-11) • Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti (2020-07-13) • Yinka Jegede-Ekpe (2020-06-08) • The Biafra Story (2020-06-04) • Orlando Julius (2020-05-31) • Potato production in Nigeria (2020-05-24) • Tanitoluwa Adewumi (2020-05-05) • Wande (rapper) (2020-04-04) • Living in Bondage: Breaking Free (2020-01-08) • Agadzagadza (2019-09-01) • Omo Forest Reserve (2019-07-15) • Mark Angel (comedian) (2019-03-29) • Jude Akuwudike (2019-03-24) • Charles Bassey (2018-07-08) • Country music in Nigeria (2018-04-21) • Season of Crimson Blossoms (2018-01-26) • Itunu Hotonu (2017-12-31) • Emeka Ogboh (2017-08-25) • Nigeria Airways (2017-07-30) • Marion Coutts (2017-01-09) • Peppersoup (2016-09-26) • Eastern Region, Nigeria (2016-09-19) • Harcourt Whyte (2016-08-22) • Greater Port Harcourt (2016-08-22) • Humblesmith (2016-07-29) • Remi Sonaiya (2016-07-27) • Priscilla Nzimiro (2016-07-23) • Flag of Nigeria (1914–1960) (2016-07-16) • Felicity Okpete Ovai (2016-06-28) • Josiah Ransome-Kuti (2016-03-27) • Bilikiss Adebiyi-Abiola (2016-03-15) • Zuriel Oduwole (2015-12-30) • Folake Solanke (2015-12-15) • Omowunmi Sadik (2015-12-02) • Grace Oladunni Taylor (2015-11-18) • Mahmood Yakubu (2015-11-01) • National Association of Seadogs (2015-10-20) • Uchechi Sunday (2015-08-23) • Iwoye-Ketu (2015-08-13) • Ilorin Sallah stampede (2015-07-31) • Igogo festival (2015-07-28) • Yoruba tribal marks (2015-07-06) • Fredrick Obateru Akinruntan (2015-06-29) • Femi Robinson (2015-06-18) • Demi Orimoloye (2015-06-15) • Goat meat pepper soup (2015-06-06) • Oba River (2014-08-30) • Emmanuel Ifeajuna (2014-08-03) • Adeyinka Gladys Falusi (2014-03-23) • Fabian Udekwu (2013-07-02) • August Agbola O'Browne (2013-02-28) • Leo Igwe (2013-02-27) • Amina Mama (2012-12-16) • Dangote Cement (2012-06-28) • Nosa Igiebor (journalist) (2012-03-06) • Ecobank Nigeria (2012-01-02) • Festus Ezeli (2011-09-07) • Fali people (2011-07-29) • National Poverty Eradication Programme (2011-07-07) • Ismaila Gwarzo (2011-07-01) • Celestial City, Imeko (2011-06-23) • Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (2011-06-12) • Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (2011-06-12) • Lagos Colony (2011-06-07) • Daily Times (Nigeria) (2011-05-21) • Prince Amukamara (2011-05-09) • Okomu National Park (2010-11-16) • Gbedu (2010-02-09) • Simbo Olorunfemi (2010-01-26) • Gilbert Thomas Carter (2009-12-20) • Obudu Ranch International Mountain Race (2009-12-08) • Stephanie Okereke Linus (2009-10-11) • Arthur's Day (2009-09-24) • Nigeria women's national basketball team (2009-03-12) • 2001 Jos riots (2008-12-03) • Half of a Yellow Sun (2008-07-30) • Henry Okah (2008-07-24) • Nigerian Coal Corporation (2008-04-18) • Mining industry of Nigeria (2008-04-18) • Juju Music (2008-02-01) • Usman Nagogo (2008-01-06) • Iyabo Obasanjo (2007-12-27) • Kingdom of Nri (2007-11-21) • Alhassan Dantata (2007-10-19) • Arrow of God (2007-09-24) • Death of Eugene Ejike Obiora (2007-09-21) • Evan Enwerem (2007-08-28) • Abdulsalami Abubakar (2007-06-10) • Area boys (2007-03-08) • Iya Abubakar (2007-01-12) • Nigerian Baptist Convention (2006-04-05) • Defaka people (2005-06-01) • Benin Bronzes (2004-10-28)

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  • The main place for Wikipedians to collaborate on all things related to Nigeria is at WikiProject Nigeria, which has 0 participants. Please join us there!
  • There is also a Wikimedia user group that coordinates Meetups and other in-person events in Nigeria; its page is at m:Wikimedia User Group Nigeria

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