Top Geography Facts About Nigeria

Here is a cool list of geography facts about Nigeria that some Nigerians may be oblivious of.

The six-zone structure was adopted in the 1995 constitutional conference, following former vice-president Alex Ekwueme’s proposal. It has since gained currency, even though this zonal structure is not in the constitution. The 1995 constitutional conference did not even produce a constitution.

The six (6) geo-political zones are South-West, South-East, South-South, North-East, North-West, and North-Central.

The composition of each zone:

South-West (6): Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo and Ekiti states.

South-East (5): Anambra, Enugu, Ebonyi, Imo and Abia states.

South-South (6): Edo, Delta, Rivers, Bayelsa, Cross-River and Akwa-Ibom states.

North-East (6): Taraba, Adamawa, Borno, Yobe, Bauchi and Gombe states.

North Central (6): Kwara, Kogi, Plateau, Nassarawa, Benue, Niger.

North-West (7): Sokoto, Zamfara, Kebbi, Kaduna, Katsina, Kano and Jigawa states.

The number of states in the North is 19 while there are 17 in the South, so this gives a total of 36 states plus a Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Oyo State (28,454 km²) is the largest in the South-West while Lagos (3,345km² ) is the smallest.

Cross-River State (20,156 km²) is the largest in the South-South while Akwa-Ibom

(7,081 km²) is the smallest.

Enugu State (7,161 km²) is the largest in the South-East while Anambra (4,844 km²) is the smallest.

Borno State (70,898 km²) is the largest in the North-East while Gombe (18,768 km²) is the smallest.

Kaduna State (46,053 km²) is the largest in the North-West while Kano (20,131 km²) is the smallest.

Niger State (76,363 km²) is largest in the North-Central while Nassarawa (27,117 km²)

Flagship cities/towns in each zone:

South-West: Lagos, Ibadan, Akure, Abeokuta, Ogbomoso, Osogbo, Ado-Ekiti.

South-East: Aba, Onitsha, Enugu, Owerri, Abakaliki.

South-South: Benin, PortHarcourt, Calabar, Warri, Uyo, Yenagoa, Asaba.

North-East: Yola, Maiduguri, Bauchi, Gombe, Potiskum, Damaturu, Jalingo.

North-West: Sokoto, Kaduna, Zaria, Kano, Katsina, Birnin-Kebbi, Dutse, Gusau.

North-Central: Ilorin, Makurdi, Minna, Jos, Lokoja, Lafia.

Kogi State shares boundaries with 9 other states. This is the highest. Lagos, on the other hand, shares a boundary with Ogun State only. It is completely encapsulated by Ogun.

Gombe is also the smallest in the North while Lagos is in the South (even in the whole of Nigeria).

Bayelsa has the lowest number (8) of local government areas while Kano has 44.

Note that the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) lies in the North-central, but it is not a state.