Nigeria

Nigeria is a country on the west coast of Africa. It’s a place of great variety, in both land and people. More people call Nigeria home than any other country on the continent. There are about 250 different groups of people living there. Each has its own traditions and ways of life. And each group has its own language. More than 500 different languages are spoken in Nigeria. But English is the official language.
The weather is not the same in all parts of the country. Some areas get a lot of rain. Other areas are very dry. Because there are different kinds of weather in different parts of the country, there are many kinds of animals and plants. There are thick rainforests as well as mangrove and freshwater swamps. There is also open grassland called “savanna.” There are small trees all over the vast savanna.
Once, camels, antelope, hyenas, lions, baboons, and giraffes lived in the savanna. Red river hogs, forest elephants, and chimpanzees lived in the rainforest. Animals found in both forest and savanna included leopards, monkeys, gorillas, and wild pigs. Today these animals generally are found only in special parks.
Nigeria has many cities. The capital of Nigeria used to be Lagos. But in 1991 the capital changed to Abuja. Lagos is a very large coastal city with many businesses. But Abuja is in the middle of the country, which makes it easier for people to travel there. Lagos was overcrowded too, and Abuja had more open land for building.