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Sokoto

(Encyclopedia)Sokoto sōkōˈtō, sōˈkətō [key], city (1987 est. pop. 164,000), NW Nigeria, on the Sokoto River. It is the commercial center for a wide region and a collection place for hides, skins, and peanut...

Zaria

(Encyclopedia)Zaria zäˈrēə [key], city (1991 est. pop. 335,000), N Nigeria. It is the ginning center for Nigeria's main cotton-growing region. Cottonseed, peanuts, and shea-nut oil are produced. The city is on ...

Berlin, Conference of

(Encyclopedia)Berlin, Conference of, 1884–85, international meeting aimed at settling the problems connected with European colonies in Africa. At the invitation of the German chancellor Otto von Bismarck, represe...

Abiola, Moshood Kashimawo Olawale

(Encyclopedia)Abiola, Moshood Kashimawo Olawale, 1937–1998, Nigerian businessman and politician. A Yoruba from the southwest, he trained as an accountant at Glasgow Univ. Abiola joined the ITT Corporation (1968),...

Niger, river, Africa

(Encyclopedia)Niger nīˈjər [key], great river of W Africa, c.2,600 mi (4,180 km) long, rising on the Fouta Djallon plateau, SW Guinea, and flowing NE through Guinea and into Mali. In central Mali the Niger forms...

Adamawa Massif

(Encyclopedia)Adamawa Massif ädämäwäˈ, ădˌəmäˈwə [key], plateau, c.26,000 sq mi (67,300 sq km), N central Cameroon and E Nigeria, W central Africa. It is sparsely populated, and chiefly used for grazing....

Mushin

(Encyclopedia)Mushin mo͞oˈshĭn [key], city (1987 est. pop. 266,000), SW Nigeria, an industrial and residential suburb of Lagos. Manufactures include textiles, furniture, printed materials, metal products, plasti...

Benin, Bight of

(Encyclopedia)Benin, Bight of, northern arm of the Gulf of Guinea, c.550 mi (885 km) wide, W Africa, between Cape Three Points, S Ghana, and the Niger River delta, SW Nigeria. The bight was an important area for sl...

Ondo

(Encyclopedia)Ondo ŏnˈdō [key], city (1991 est. pop. 150,000), SW Nigeria. It is the market center for a cacao and timber producing region and has rice mills and sawmills. Ondo was formerly the capital of a Yoru...

Yoruba

(Encyclopedia)Yoruba yōˈro͞obä [key], people of SW Nigeria and Benin, numbering about 20 million. Today many of the large cities in Nigeria (including Lagos, Ibadan, and Abeokuta) are in Yorubaland. The old Yor...