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Achebe, Chinua

(Encyclopedia)Achebe, Chinua chĭnˈwä ächāˈbā [key], 1930–2013, Nigerian writer, b. Albert Chinualumogu Achebe. A graduate of University College, Ibadan (1953), Achebe, an Igbo who wrote in English, is one ...

Iseyin

(Encyclopedia)Iseyin ēsāˈăN [key], town (1991 est. pop. 192,000), SW Nigeria. The city, located in a tobacco-growing region, has an important traditional textile industry. Iseyin was the capital of a small Yoru...

Ogbomosho

(Encyclopedia)Ogbomosho ōbo͞oˈmôshô, ŏgbōmōˈshō [key], city (1991 pop. 644,000), SW Nigeria. It is the trade center for a farming region. Yams, cassava, corn, and tobacco are grown. Cotton is grown and us...

Jonathan, Goodluck Ebele

(Encyclopedia)Jonathan, Goodluck Ebele, 1957–, Nigerian politician, president of Nigeria (2010–). An Ijaw from the Niger delta region, he was educated as a zoologist (Ph.D. Univ. of Port Harcourt, 1995) and wor...

Akure

(Encyclopedia)Akure äko͞oˈrā [key], town (1991 est. pop. 143,000), S Nigeria. Timber is cut nearby and processed in Akure, which is also a cacao marketing center. Akure was a small independent Yoruba kingdom un...

Kanem

(Encyclopedia)Kanem känēmˈ [key], former empire in Africa in the areas near Lake Chad that are now part of Chad and N Nigeria. The empire began in the 9th cent., when the Sefawa migrated to the area from the Sah...

savanna

(Encyclopedia)savanna or savannah both: səvănˈə [key], tropical or subtropical grassland lying on the margin of the trade wind belts. The climate of a savanna is characterized by a rainy period during the summe...

Oyo

(Encyclopedia)Oyo ôyôˈ [key], city (1991 est. pop. 226,700), SW Nigeria. It is primarily a farming town, producing tobacco, yams, and cassava. Traditional artisans make textiles and leather goods and carve utens...

Opobo

(Encyclopedia)Opobo ōpōˈbō [key], town, SE Nigeria, in the Niger River delta. It is a palm-oil collection center and has fishing and boatbuilding industries. Opobo was founded in 1869 by a group of immigrants f...

Benue

(Encyclopedia)Benue bānwāˈ [key], river, W Africa, chief tributary of the Niger. It flows c.880 mi (1,416 km) W from Cameroon into the Niger River at Lokoja, Nigeria. The Benue, which carries much commercial tra...