The Culture of Nigeria

With more than 250 different cultures and languages, the culture of Nigeria is considerably defined by its many ethnic groups. The 3 biggest are the Hausa-Fulani mostly in the north, the Igbo in the southeast, and the Yoruba in the southwest.

Nigeria is known for its English language literature and popular music. Its best-known writers include Wole Soyinka (first African Nobel Laureate in Literature) and Chinua Achebe (famous for his novel “Things Fall Apart” and controversial critique of Joseph Conrad). The country also has the second biggest newspaper market in Africa after Egypt. In 2003 there are approximately several million copies that have circulated on a daily basis. Nigeria has been dubbed “The Heart of African Music” because of its influences on West African highlife and palm-wine music. Artists like Fela Kuti (blends ingenuous music with American jazz and soul), King Sunny Ade (Juju music), and Mr. Fuji (Yoruba percussion style) have made their reputations in the music industry. In the early 1990s, the country’s movie industry, popularly called “Nollywood”, started to be a fast-growing cultural influence all over the African continent. Several of the film studios are located in Lagos and Abuja becoming a profitable source of income for the said cities.

The main religions in Nigeria are Islam and Christianity. Greater percentage of the Nigerian Muslims are Sunni. Majority of the Christian population practices Roman Catholicism and Protestantism (Church of Nigeria, Anglican Church, and Nigerian Baptist). Other minor spiritual and religious groups include Hinduism, The Baha’I Faith, Judaism, and Chrislam. Football is the national sport of the country. Based on FIFA World Rankings as of September 2007, Nigeria ranks first in Africa and 19th in the world. Other popular sports are basketball, track and field, and boxing.