Nigeria, the hub and cultural nerve-center of Africa, has had its fair share of trials and hardship, but regardless of everything it remains a land of diversity and opportunity. There are a number of interesting and/or funny facts about this great country you probably didn’t know. Jumia Travel, the leading online travel agency, shares 4 of them.
Nigeria Has One of the Largest Butterfly Diversity
Nigeria has been found to have the most appropriate habitat for a large variety of the world’s butterflies. The areas around Calabar, Cross River State, located in Nigeria’s southern region, is the widely believed home of one of the largest diversity of butterflies.
It’s One of the Oldest Locations of Human Existence
Archaeological evidence shows that the history of human existence in Nigeria dated as far back as 9000 BC. The Nok civilization, which existed around 500 BC – 200 AD, is actually the earliest known civilization in Nigeria.
The Cost of Living in Abuja is Well Beyond the Average Professional’s Wages
This is more pathetic than funny really, but it’s the sad truth. Since the 1990s, the cost of living in Abuja is above what an average professional can afford. This thus makes living in the state quite difficult. However, to ease the burden, young professionals would typically live as ‘housemates’ in the same apartment, sharing the cost of rent in equal parts to ease some of the burden.
Nigeria is Home to the Happiest and Most Optimistic People in the World
This really isn’t surprising but it’s an interesting fact nonetheless. According to the World Happiness Report 2017 produced by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), a global initiative of the United Nations, Nigeria ranks as Africa’s sixth happiest people. The truth is, it might not seem like Nigerians have anything to be happy about but our choosing to be happy and rejoice as we go about our daily hustle regardless of anything, is much healthier than wallowing in depression and despair for the state of things.
– Damilola Ojo, PR Associate, Jumia Travel