Nigeria is a country located in West Africa and is known for its rich cultural heritage and diversity. With a population of over 200 million people, it is the most populous country in Africa and the seventh most populous country in the world. The country is divided into 36 states and one Federal Capital Territory, with Abuja being the capital city. Nigeria has a highly diversified economy with a mix of agriculture, industry, and natural resources. It is the largest producer and exporter of crude oil in Africa and has the ninth-largest natural gas reserves in the world. The country also has a vibrant music and film industry known as Nollywood that is popular across the continent. However, Nigeria has faced a number of challenges including poverty, corruption, terrorism, and ethnic/religious tensions. Since gaining independence from Britain in 1960, Nigeria has experienced several military coups and a civil war. Nigeria's political system is currently based on a federal republic with a presidential system of government. The country is also a member of the African Union, Commonwealth of Nations, and the United Nations. With its diverse population and rich resources, Nigeria remains an important player in African politics and a key country in global affairs.

This book assesses the challenges within the Nigerian educational system and provides a concrete plan to revitalize the low-performing system by strengthening high-stakes testing at all levels. In Nigeria, many citizens believe that the solution to the country’s low performance in education is to eliminate high-stakes standardized testing. High-stakes testing refers to applying standardized student achievement tests as a primary mechanism to evaluate students, teachers, and their school’s performance. This book argues that the poor quality of education and low ranking of Nigeria’s educational system is not related to the negative consequences of high-stakes testing, but rather is due to many intrinsic factors. By conducting a comparative analysis of six high-performing education systems worldwide, the book offers a comparative summative evaluation of the educational system and offers recommendations. This book will be of interest to policymakers and scholars in the fields of African education, higher education, quality and global studies, African studies, management and administration, leadership, and professional development studies. Joseph Abiodun Balogun is former Dean and retired Distinguished University Professor at the College of Health Sciences, Chicago State University, USA, Visiting Professor/Program Consultant at the Centre of Excellence in Reproductive Health Innovation, University of Benin, Nigeria, and President/ CEO, Joseph Rehabilitation Center, Tinley Park, Illinois, USA.

Nigeria seems to be in the news all of the time for something, be it regime changes, co-operation, internal strife or oil policies. The most populous country in Africa and the largest in area in the West African state, Nigeria was an early twentieth century colony that became an independent nation in 1960. A country of great diversity because of the many ethnic, linguistic, and religious groups that live within it borders, Nigeria is also a country with a long past. This book brings together current issues and a detailed historical background.

Originally published in 1974, a comprehensive history of Nigerian Education, from early times right through to the time of publication, had long been needed by all concerned with Education in Nigeria, students, teachers and educational administrators. No one was better qualified than Professor Fafunwa to provide such a book, and in doing so he gave due emphasis to the beginnings of Education in its three main stages of indigenous, Muslim and Christian Education. Nigerian Education had been considered all too often as a comparatively recent phenomenon, but this book points out from the start that ‘Education is as old as Man himself in Africa’ and that both Islam and Christianity were comparative newcomers in the field. A historical treatment of these three strands which have combined to make up the modern Educational system was vital to a clear understanding of what was needed for the future, and most of the first half of the book is concerned with these Educational beginnings. The imposing of a foreign colonial system on this framework did not always lead to a happy fusion of the systems, and the successes and the failures are examined in detail. There was no shortage of documentary evidence in the form of reports and statistics during the decades prior to publication, but this evidence was frequently scattered and inaccessible to the student, so that the author’s careful selection of key evidence and reports, often drawn from his own personal experience, will be invaluable for those wishing to trace the development of Education in Nigeria up to the early 1970s. A knowledge of the history and development of the Nigerian Education system, of the numerous and intensely varied personalities and beliefs which have combined and often conflicted to shape it, is indispensable to all students in colleges and universities studying to become teachers. It is this knowledge that Professor Fafunwa set out to provide, drawing on his wide experience as teacher writer and educationalist.

Discover Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, in this thematic encyclopedia that covers everything from geography and economics to etiquette and pop culture. Part of Bloomsbury's Understanding Modern Nations series, this volume takes readers on a tour of contemporary Nigeria, helping them better understand the country and the many cultures, religions, and ethnicities that call it home. Chapters are organized thematically, examining a variety of topics, including geography, history, government, economics, religion, ethnic and social groups, gender, education, language, etiquette, food, literature and the arts, and pop culture. Each chapter begins with an overview essay, followed by a selection of encyclopedic entries that provide a more nuanced look at that facet of modern Nigeria. The main text is supplemented with sidebars that highlight additional high-interest topics. A collection of appendices rounds out the volume, offering short vignettes of daily life in the country, a glossary of key terms, statistical data, and a list of state holidays. Once a pawn of British colonialism, today Nigeria is a sovereign nation and key player on the world stage. Its vast oil resources have made it an international powerhouse and the wealthiest country on the African continent, yet political unrest and corruption, and ethnic and religious violence continue to threaten this prosperity. Nigeria is equally rich culturally, a nation where time-honored traditions mix with contemporary influences. Explore the diversity of modern Nigeria in this concise and accessible volume.

This set has an ambitious scope with the goal of offering the most up-to-date international overview of key issues in the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals. HIV/AIDS has been a major media focus, but this set fosters a broader understanding of the status of LGBT individuals in their society. More than 70 countries are represented. The clear, accessible prose is appropriate for high school student research on up. The material is especially needed in a cultural climate that increasingly supports and requires information about LGBT populations. The content is useful for a paper on a hot topic, health classes, discussion groups, and gay-straight alliance groups.

The papers in this volume were selected from the Silver Jubilee edition of the Annual Conference of the Linguistic Association of Nigerian (LAN) which was held at the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), Abuja, Nigeria. The Silver Jubilee edition is dedicated to the father of Nigerian Linguistics, Professor Emeritus Ayo Bamgbose. Professor Emeritus Bamgbose was the first indigenous Professor of Linguistics in Nigeria, and the first black African to teach linguistics in any known university south of the Sahara. He was there from the very beginning, and together with co-operation of people such as the late Professor Kay Williamson, he nurtured Nigerian linguistics. He is not just a foremost Nigerian linguist, but also a most famous, respected, celebrated, distinguished, and cherished African linguist of all times. To be candid, Nigerian linguistics is synonymous with Professor Emeritus Bamgbose. In 58 well-written chapters by experts in their fields, the book covers aspects of Nigerian languages, linguistics, literatures and culture. The papers have not been categorized into sections; rather they flow, hence there is some overlapping in the arrangement. The book is an essential resource for all who are interested to learn about current trends in the study of languages, linguistics and related subject-matters in Nigeria.