Have you ever come across the fact that the word ‘nigeria’ was coined by late Flora Shaw, Lady Lugard ? Do you know that the first time petroleum was disovered in Nigeria is 15th January 1956 by Shell Darcy ? Do you know that Patience Jonathan is one of Nigeria’s most-educated First Ladies, with an NCE, a B.Ed, and a PhD from University of Port-Harcourt ? These are the pieces of information gathered by our editorial team for you to enjoy the weekend as we celebrate Nigerias' 56th Independence day. Read on:
Do you know that ?
1. Nigeria has more than 160 million people, which makes it the most populous African country and the 8th in the world.
2. According to Forbes.com, Nigeria produces 4 of the 10 richest pastors in the whole world; Temitope Joshua [$10 Million], E. A. Adeboye [$39 Million], Chris Oyakhilome [$50 Million], and David Oyedepo [$150 Million] .
3. A dollar was 90 kobo at the beginning of Babangida’s regime in 1985.
4. The Federal Government of Nigeria officially changed the name of “Lagos” to “Eko” In 1973, because "Lagos" is regarded as a colonial name.
5. The Pidgin word ‘Sabi’ was derived from Spanish and Portuguese word ‘Saber’which means ‘to know’.
6. There are 196 countries in the world today and at least one Igbo person from Nigeria resides in each one of them.
7. Barewa College, Zaria (formerly called Katsina College) has produced five (5) Nigerian Presidents/Heads of States since it was founded in 1921 in Katsina.
8. The parents of Late MKO Abiola named him "Kashimawo" (Let us wait and see). He was the twenty-third child of his father, BUT the first to survive infancy.
9. Ogun State has nine registered universities, which makes it the state with the highest number of Universities in Nigeria.
10. Jollof rice, chicken breast, serve of ice cream, tea, coffee or Bournvita, with full cream milk and sugar: Meal Cost = 50Kobo- Unilag in the late 1970s
11. In 1929, When British Bank of West Africa (now known as First Bank) started operation in one of her branches in Kano, Dangote’s Grandfather (Alhassan Dantata) opened an account depositing 20 camel-loads of silver coins.
12. The biggest one-man library in West Africa is in Nigeria and it's owned by Jaja Wachuku.
13. Yoruba language was abolished in 1807 by the British due to slavery which took place in the Nigerian territory before the 15th century.
14. The name ‘Supreme Court’ was first used in 1863 by the colonial administration through the enactment of the Supreme Court Ordinance No. II.
15. MKO Abiola died suddenly on July 7, 1998, exactly one month after General Sani Abacha died mysteriously on June 8, 1998.
16. Agbani Darego was the only one to wear a maillot as opposed to a bikini during the Miss Universe contest in 2001.
17. The ‘Ankara’ material is not indigenous to Nigeria. Our indigenous textiles include the Akwete, Ukara, Aso-Oke and Adire.
18. Aloma Mukhtar is the first female lawyer from the North and went on to become the first female Chief Justice of Nigeria.
19. The area known as Maroko town in Lagos was first a swamp, later sand-filled by the colonial government and served as the first bridge to the Island.
20. The first Museum in Nigeria is Esie Museum, and was established in 1945. Once reputed to have the largest collection of soapstone images in the world.
21. Aminu Kano formed the Northern Teachers’ Association (NTA) in 1948, the first successful regional organization in the history of the North.
22. George Goldie, who played a major role in founding Nigeria, placed a curse on anyone who attempts to write his biography.
23. In 1996, John Ogbu, a Nigerian Anthropologist firmly advocated for the use of African-American Vernacular to teach in the U.S
24. Hausa Language indigenous to Northern Nigeria is spoken in 11 African States. German, French, U.S., and British International radio stations broadcast in Hausa.
25. The surgeon who ‘killed’ Stella Obasanjo was sentenced to a year in prison, disqualified for three years and fined €120,000.
26. The word ‘asiri’ means ‘secret’ in Hausa, Yoruba, Nupe and Igarra. It also means ‘gossip’ in Igbo.
27. Igbo-Ora in Oyo State, Kodinji in India and Candido Godoi in Brazil are the towns that produce the highest number of twin births in the world.
28. Bishop Ajayi Crowther, a Yoruba, in 1857 produced a reading book for the Igbo Language and a full grammar and vocabulary of NUPE in 1864.
29. The first TV broadcast in Nigeria and Tropical Africa was on October 31, 1959.
30. Albert E. Kitson discovered coal in Enugu in 1909. This discovery led to the building of Port-Harcourt town in 1912.
31. Today, only Nigeria has a larger black population than Brazil. More than 3.5 million Africans were captured, enslaved and transported to Brazil.
32. Groundnut pyramids were the invention of Alhaji Alhassan Dantata to stack bags before export.
In 1967, old traditional ruler, Oba Akran and A. Ademiluyi were jailed for 14 years (7 each) for stealing £504,750 (#2.5b).
33. Since 1960, Nigeria has been either ruled by an ex-lecturer/ex-teacher or military man. The only exceptions are Azikiwe and Shonekan.
34. If you visited Lagos in 1975, you could spend a day at the Presidential Suite of Federal Palace Hotel for N100, single room for N19.
35. The first aircraft to land in Nigeria landed in Kano
36. In 1895, Koko of Nembe (now in Bayelsa) took 60 white men hostage. When the British refused his demands, more than 40 of those men were eaten!
37. The ‘Naira’ was coined by Chief Obafemi Awolowo when he was serving as the Federal Commissioner of Finance.
38. Koma Hill ( a settlement in Adamawa where people lived and practised the killing of twins) was discovered in 1986 by a NYSC corps member.
39. The pilot (Francis Osakwe) that flew Ojukwu away from Biafra (1970) was the same pilot that flew Gowon to Uganda (last flight as Head of State).
40. In 1986, Shehu Shagari was banned from participation in politics for life. The ban has still not been lifted.
41. As the wife of the deputy Head of State (Vice President of Nigeria) in 1984, Biodun Idiagbon personally ran a small ice cream shop in Ilorin.
42. Koma Hills (Adamawa State) inhabitants when discovered were observed to engage in the practice of borrowing wives among themselves.
43. Juju, Dashiki, Yam and Okra are words in the English dictionary that originated from ethnic groups located in present day Nigeria.
44. Nigeria has more English speakers than England, and more Muslims than Saudi Arabia, Syria and Afghanistan combined.
45. Ojukwu once taught Murtala Mohammed and Benjamin Adekunle at Regular Officers Special Training School which is located in Ghana. Both ‘fought’ their teacher during the civil war…
46. Former Minister of Finance, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala is the first female and black candidate to contest for the presidency of the World Bank Group in 2012.
47. It took more than 40 years to achieve the colonization of Nigeria & the territories were integrated by the use of force.
48. Nigeria was once referred to as ‘Soudan’ and ‘Nigiritia’.
49. There are more than 250 ethnic groups in Nigeria, and there are 3 dominant tribes: the Yoruba-21% , Ibo (Igbo)- 18% , Hausa- Fulani- 29%
50. River Niger is the longest and largest river in West Africa. It spans about 4,180 km (2,600 mi) from its source is in the Highlands of Guinea in southeastern Guinea.
51. Nigerian movie industry [Nollywood] is ranked the second largest producers of movies in the world after the Indian film industry [Bollywood]. Nollywood produces almost 200 movies every week and her movies has won half of the yearly awards for best picture since 2005.
52. The Third Mainland Bridge (in Lagos State) is the longest bridge in Africa. It was estimated to be about 11.8km. The bridge was built by Julius Berger Nigeria PLC and commissioned by the then President Ibrahim Babangida in 1990
53. Iin 1911, Nigeria’s population was just 16 million. It is predicted to become 444 million by 2050.
54. The first time petroleum was disovered in Nigeria is 15th January 1956 by Shell Darcy.
55. Chappal Waddi [The Mountain of Death] is The highest peak in Nigeria and it's located in Taraba State.
56. Nigeria has the 4th highest number of poor, living under a dollar a day in the entire world. 100 million are ‘destitute’ according to figures from the NBS (National Bureau of Statistics).
WHICH OF THESE FACTS AMAZE YOU MOST ? Please don't forget to share this with friends. Happy Independence! Source: http://dailyschoolgist..com.ng/2016/10/Interesting-Facts-About-Nigeria-at-56.html 
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