Lize-Mari Ras
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Nigeria – Travel Guide

Facts to assist you when travelling to Nigeria

 

Population

  • The current population of Nigeria stands at 218.5 million (2022).

 

Capital and Largest City

  • Nigeria’s capital city is Lagos, with nearly 16 million citizens.

 

Official Language(s)

  • There are over 525 native languages in Nigeria, but the most commonly spoken language is English. Other more prominent languages in the county are Hausa, Yoruba, and Igbo.

 

Currency

  • The Naira is the official currency for Nigeria.

 

Office Hours

  • Nigeria adheres to the regulations of the International Labour Organisation, so employees are required to work for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week.

 

Weekend

  • People in Nigeria enjoy their weekends on Saturdays and Sundays.

 

Time Zone

  • Nigeria lies within the UTC+1 time zone, West African Time.

 

Calling Code

  • Nigeria’s calling code is +234.

 

Tipping

  • While tipping in Nigeria is customary, service charges may be added to your bill. Gratuity is usually calculated as 10% of the total bill in Nigeria.

 

Embassies

  • Nigeria has a combined total of 97 Embassies and High Commissions abroad, in addition to another 12 Consulates.

 

Government

  • The All Progressives Congress (APC) currently holds the most seats in Nigerian Parliament.

 

Climate

  • Climate in Nigeria is primarily Tropical. The country has three climatic regions, namely the Tropical Monsoon Climate, Tropical Savannah Climate, Sehelian hot and semi-arid climates. Nigeria’s dry seasons typically extend from October to April every year, while their wet seasons last from April to September.

 

Transport

  • Nigeria boasts a total of 31 international airports distributed across 36 states. The main international airports are Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos, Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, and Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu.

 

Economy

  • Nigeria has the largest economy in Africa and the 31st largest economy in the world based on nominal GDP. Nigeria’s economy consists of a middle-income, mixed economy and emerging market. Industries such as manufacturing, financial, service, communications, and technology are the most stable and ever-growing.

 

Hospitality

  • Nigeria’s society is hierarchical. People who are older or in a higher societal position is often more respected. Wisdom is believed to come with age, so older people are granted respect. When greeting someone older, it is a sign of respect to bow the head. The most common greeting in Nigeria is the handshake, however, Muslim Nigerians will not shake the hand of the opposite sex.

 

Greetings

  • When greeting a group of people, it is customary to greet the eldest of the groups first. Address people by their professional, academic, or honorific title and their surname, and wait for them to invite you to use their first names. It is also polite to ask about the person’s health, the health of their family, or other social niceties. Rushing the greeting process is considered rude.

 

Money

  • The Nigerian Naira is divided into 100 kobo. In order to ensure monetary and price stability in the country, the Central Bank of Nigeria is the only distributer of legal tender money in the entire country, and it also controls the volume of money supplied to Nigeria’s economy.

 

Transportation

  • Nigeria’s transportation industry is constantly developing to accommodate for their growing population. Infrastructure for Nigeria’s transport industry comprises of the Federal Highway System of Nigeria, which is a collection of national roads that connects the economic and political centres within the country to one another. The Federal Highway System of Nigeria also connects it to other neighbouring countries. Nigerians drive on the right-hand side of the road.

 

Safety

  • Crime levels in Nigeria is made up mostly of crimes such as scams, kidnappings, robberies, and terrorism. While many will say that Nigeria is not the safest place to travel to and live in, natives of the country might disagree as they consider their people to amongst the friendliest in Africa. However, safety is a concern for expats, tourists and foreigners, so it is best to take precaution.

 

Culture

  • Nigeria consists of over 1150 ethnic groups and dialects, in addition to over 520 native languages. The largest ethnic groups by population is the Hausas, Yoruba, and Igbo. The rest of the ethnic groups in the country is considered as ‘’minorities.’’ Nigerians love food, art, music, and literature.

 

Shops

  • Shopping malls in the larger cities of the country are modern and boasts luxurious scenes and stores. There are plenty of shopping malls, theatres, supermarkets, and other entertainment options throughout the country.

 

To read more exciting blogs, please click on the link below:

Blog

 

 

Written by Saudika Hendricks

Edited by Eloise Williams

Sisipho Ntsabo
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Third Wave of COVID-19 infections hit Africa

In Africa, there is an alarming third wave as the vaccine rollout is hampered. In recent light of the vaccine rollout in all parts of the world, third world countries vaccine rollout seems to be stagnant, experts fearing that it may take decades to vaccinate their respective countries.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) regional office has reported that the third wave of Covid-19 cases is spreading faster in Africa. On Thursday, 17 June 2021, WHO regional director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti warned, “With a rapid increase in the number of cases and increasing reports of severe disease, the latest wave threatens to be the worst to date in Africa,”

According to the regional office, for five consecutive weeks, Africa has seen an increase in Covid-19 cases, signaling the beginning of the third wave in Africa. “As of 20 June—day 48 into the new wave—Africa had recorded around 474 000 new cases—a 21% increase compared with the first 48 days of the second wave.” As reported by WHO, the pandemic is resurging in 12 African countries and at the current rate of infections, the ongoing surge is set to surpass the previous one by early July.

18 African countries have already used over 80% of their COVAX vaccine supplies, 29 have administered over 50% of their suppliers, and eight have exhausted their vaccine supply. It is important to be aware that just over 1% of Africa’s population has been fully vaccinated. Globally, 2.7 billion doses have been administered, with just under 1.5% having been administered in Africa.

Dr Moeti is urging the international community to help Africa deal with the Covid-19 vaccine supply as the surge threatens to impair not only Africa’s economy but society.

 

 

Sisipho Ntsabo
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Facebook in Partnership with WHO Launches Campaign to Tackle Fake Covid-19 and Vaccine News

Facebook has launched a campaign in partnership with the World Health Organisation (WHO) to combat misinformation and fake news regarding Covid-19 and vaccine updates in Africa. This campaign aims to remove false vaccine claims, decrease the circulation of inaccurate health information and inform people about effective vaccine delivery.

The campaign called, ‘Together Against Covid-19 Misinformation’ is set to be launched across Zimbabwe, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo and Côte d’Ivoire. The default language on this campaign will be French and English.

Public Policy Manager, Aïda Ndiaye stated that ensuring Facebook users receive authoritative information about the Covid-19 vaccine with the help of industry experts and Facebook users are important to tackle misinformation. She further comments on the campaign gives users “additional resources to scrutinize content they see online, helping them decide what to read trust and share.”

This campaign will show up on Facebook through a series of graphics with tips on how to identify false news/ misinformation:

  1. Check The Source: Scrutinise content, even if it appears science-based
  2. Check How It Makes You Feel: False news can manipulate feelings for clicks 
  3. Check The Context: Look to public health authorities to confirm content 

A dedicated website will be launched as part of the website as part of the campaign. This website includes information on how Facebook is combating misinformation, transparency on their ‘Remove, Reduce and Inform strategy.’, their outlined community standards and steps they are taking to tackle false news around global events.

 

 

 

Andrew Stegmann
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Nigeria Places Travel Restrictions on South Africans to Curb New COVID Variant

Passengers travelling from South Africa to Nigeria will be subject to strict regulations effective from Monday 28 December 2020. The latest travel restrictions follow the discovery of 501.V2, a mutation of Covid-19 which is more contagious than the original virus.

While several countries have announced outright travel bans prohibiting the entry of passengers departing, or transiting through, South Africa, Nigeria has opted for a monitored approach.

Passengers from the UK and South Africa will be allowed to enter Nigeria on the condition that they present two documents. Travellers will need to obtain a pre-departure permit to fly – in the form of a unique QR code – from the Nigeria International Travel Portal. Additionally, visitors are required to submit proof of a negative Covid-19 PCR test, obtained within 96 hours of the scheduled departure time.

Incoming passengers will be received and processed separately when disembarking from their flights. Nigeria’s Public Health Authority will oversee the arrival of passengers from both the UK and South Africa, with stringent isolated screening processes in place to prevent Covid-19 transmission within the confines of the airport.

Even with a negative Covid-19 test result, all passengers arriving from South Africa will be subjected to a mandatory seven-day quarantine period. Travellers will again be tested on the seventh day of self-isolation. A negative result will allow travellers to exit quarantine while a positive PCR test will require further isolation for a period prescribed by the Public Health Authority.

Incoming travellers will be monitored closely throughout their quarantine stay and have been urged to comply with all restrictions imposed by the Public Health Authority.

The government has also issued a stern warning to airlines which fail to follow protocols. Penalties include a fine of $3,500 (R51,000) for each defaulting passenger. Airlines may also be expected to return non-Nigerian defaulting passengers. Repeated non-compliance by any airline will lead to the suspension of the Airline`s Approval/Permit to fly into the country.

The announcement comes just days after the African Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed that a new Covid-19 variant had been discovered in Nigeria. “It’s a separate lineage from the UK and the South African lineages,” said John Nkengasong, director of the African CDC.

Nkengasong added that it was still too early to tell if the new variant discovered in Nigeria was more contagious.

 

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Sources: [1], [2]. Image sources: [1], [2].