1. Jos - The plateau state capital is by far more popular than the state itself. It is one of the most conducive state for foreigners who'd like to settle for a cold environment. Many whites have found home away from home in Jos because of its cold weather. Religious clashes have however made it a volatile zone over the years. Some readers of this post may have heard of Jos but never heard of plateau.

2. Ibadan - The biggest capital of any state in Nigeria, It is big enough to be made a state of its own. Many Nigerians who have never known or heard of Oyo have heard of Ibadan. Like i said many even think its a state of its own.

3. Calabar - The historic importance of the Cross Rivers capital has made it a cynosure of both local and international tourists. Calabar's rich history dates back to the first encounters of the Europeans with our forefathers. It was in the city of Calabar that oba Ovbuoramwen was taken to and executed after he was captured in Benin kingdom after which they left through the Calabar river.

Also remember the "Edet lives in Calabar. He is eight years old" story in out readers back in the days? Calabar is the people's paradise. A home of nature's splendour.

4. Porthacourt - The oil rich city is home to everything that be in Rivers state. Porthacourt seems to be the only known place in the state as other cities have little or no importance socially, economically and politically. Porthacourt is one of the most densely populated cities in Nigeria and one of the foremost commercial hub in the country.

5. Benin City- Home to one of the most powerful and respected king in Nigeria- The Oba of Benin, this ancient city is a household name. I have personally heard people talk about Benin with so much fear as they feel it its a very diabolic city. Benin City is well known for its rich cultural heritage. A strong custodian of African arts and crafts. It also offer passage from one state to other states of the countryb because it is strategically positioned in between the North, South east, West and South south.

Feel free to add yours....

Omo I know no wetting you deh name o.

If you be Nigerian & Aba never cross your ear before u no grow for 9ja

Warri should be among

@ Op, I disagree wit u on Oyo. Are u taking abt Oyo state or Oyo town, because Ibadan is more popular than Oyo state or Oyo town.
I expect u to name places like
Aba, Warri, Onitsha.

samwash:
@ Op, I disagree wit u on Oyo. Are u taking abt Oyo state or Oyo town, because Ibadan is more popular than Oyo state or Oyo town.
I expect u to name places like
Aba, Warri, Onitsha.

Sorry I swapped ibadan forOyo (*modified*). Meanwhile my thread is about"Capitals" not Just any of its cities.

booboo reply my email na

Mynd.44:
Onitsha and Aba should make the cut.


Then there is Lekki and Victoria Island.

A lot of foreigners are more familiar with Lekki than Lagos itself

Ib city

Aba is more Popular than Abia State, Onitsha is more popular than Anambra State.
(Edit: Onitsha and Aba are not state capitals).

Calabar is the most popular in the list though, most Nigerians take Calabar as not only city but a very big ethnic group comprising of both Akwa Ibom and Cross River state.

Ibadan is Popular quite alright.

But the Name Oyo is also quite popular because of Yoruba history and stuff.
Maybe to non-Yorubas sha, because every single Yoruba person knows what Oyo is.
Aba is also more popular than Abia, lol... I Don't know why the capital of Abia state is not in Aba, and then it doesn't even help that both names sound similar.

Truth be told, Nigerian states in general are mostly one city states except a few like Ogun and Anambra. Outside the capitals, everywhere else seem to be absolute crap, so expect the capitals to be more popular than most states.

Then there are some nigerian states that no one hears of, not the state and not the capitals. States like Jigawa, Taraba, Zamfara and Kebbi.
People hear these state names once in a while and are like, are those places still in Nigeria?

Port Harcourt should be number 1

hnmmm

Most Nigeria actually think Dubai is a country.

DuBLINGreenb:
Port Harcourt should be number 1

I disagree, Port Harcourt is not as popular as Calabar.

wwwmaster:
Aba is more Popular than Abia State, Onitsha is more popular than Anambra State.

Calabar is the most popular in the list though, most Nigerians take Calabar as not only city but a very big ethnic group comprising of both Akwa Ibom and Cross River state.

they are not capitals na

Abakaliki should be there sharp sharp

Zaria
Onitsha

stano2:
they are not capitals na

Yeah, I agree.

gift01:
Zaria

Is Zaria more popular than Kaduna?

Maiduguri

Enugu should be number one on that list .

wwwmaster:

I disagree, Port Harcourt is not as popular as Calabar.

You know nothing, what is your definition of popular?Except calabar receive more than 1.5million tourists per year I'm very certain port Harcourt is more popular. People know cross river is a state more than they know rivers state is a state. I told someone from the north I'm from rivers state she didn't know what I was talking about until I said port Harcourt, but I don't think cross river is that level even if cross river is not famous if you mention it people will know it is in Nigeria.
e.g If 2million people know calabar 1.5m are familiar with cross river and all 2million will know C.R is in Nigeria with very little persuasion.
For PH it is worse because Port Harcourt is more populated than calabar and more famous yet people don't know Rivers state despite these high numbers, so if 3m people know port Harcourt 1m know rivers state which is more impressive than calabar considering the fact that cross river is more known than Rivers state due to how famous port Harcourt is. in the Rivers state itself the University of port Harcourt is not located in port Harcourt, port Harcourt international airport is not located in port Harcourt amongst many other things and yet port Harcourt has kept growing you now hear people saying things like " my school is in Choba, port Harcourt" instead of "choba, rivers state) meanwhile choba is supposed to be a neighbouring city or community just like port Harcourt but port Harcourt is swallowing it's surrounding cities and communities and making them districts in port Harcourt even when these communities and cities are bigger than port Harcourt itself. this is absolutely not the case in Calabar people know ogoja, obudu and so on port Harcourt has so over shadowed Rivers state that many non residents of the state know nowhere else but port Harcourt.
POPULArity and POPULAtion go hand in glove how can a place with a billion residents not be popular Do you know the definition of popular at all?

DuBLINGreenb:

People know cross river is a state more than they know rivers state is a state I told someone from the north I'm from rivers state she didn't know what u was talking about until u said port Harcourt but I don't think cross river is that level

We are talking of Port Harcourt vs Calabar (in terms of Popularity) not Cross River vs Port Harcourt.

Sometimes I even think Calabar is a state on its own

Ppl get surprised when I tell dem, Calabar is just two LGAs.

Dy tink it's 2 oil rich states.

PurplePatch:
1. Jos - The plateau state capital is by far more popular than the state itself. It is one of the most conducive state for foreigners who'd like to settle for a cold environment. Many whites have found home away from home in Jos because of its cold weather. Religious clashes have however made it a volatile zone over the years. Some readers of this post may have heard of Jos but never heard of plateau.

2. Ibadan - The biggest capital of any state in Nigeria, It is big enough to be made a state of its own. Many Nigerians who have never known or heard of Oyo have heard of Ibadan. Like i said many even think its a state of its own.

3. Calabar - The historic importance of the Cross Rivers capital has made it a cynosure of both local and international tourists. Calabar's rich history dates back to the first encounters of the Europeans with our forefathers. It was in the city of Calabar that oba Ovbuoramwen was taken to and executed after he was captured in Benin kingdom after which they left through the Calabar river.

Also remember the "Edet lives in Calabar. He is eight years old" story in out readers back in the days? Calabar is the people's paradise. A home of nature's splendour.

4. Porthacourt - The oil rich city is home to everything that be in Rivers state. Porthacourt seems to be the only known place in the state as other cities have little or no importance socially, economically and politically. Porthacourt is one of the most densely populated cities in Nigeria and one of the foremost commercial hub in the country.

,5. Benin City- Home to one of the most powerful and respected king in Nigeria- The Oba of Benin, this ancient city is a household name. I have personally heard people talk about Benin with so much fear as they feel it its a very diabolic city. Benin City is well known for its rich cultural heritage. A strong custodian of African arts and crafts. It also offer passage from one state to other states of the countryb because it is strategically positioned in between the North, South east, West and South south.

Feel free to add yours....

So you think all those portharcot and benin city u mentioned are more popular than Aba, and Zaria

Most people dont even know that Port Harcourt was named after a paedophile

Ooh yess