Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa with an internal market of 150 million people and an economy growing at around 8 percent a year, is potentially Africa’s next powerhouse. It is nearly one and a half times the size of Texas, with a landmass varying from sandy beaches and tropical jungles, to plains, mountains, and desert. This important West African nation is made up of 250 culturally distinct ethno-linguistic groups. The largest communities are the Hausa in the north, rooted in the Islamic city-states of the famed trans-Saharan trade routes; the Yoruba of the southwest, where ancient kingdoms nurtured some of Africa’s best-known art forms; and the Igbo of the southeast, where decentralized, egalitarian communities have produced many of the country’s most successful traders and businessmen.
