The minimum you must know

The Republic of Nigeria is the most populated country in Africa with over 240 million people. Nigeria has a peace-loving government who very eloquently demonstrated peaceful patterning at the United Nations. Vice President Kashim Shettima delivered an address focused on protecting the climate by honoring the Paris agreement, enhancing the credibility of the democratic system globally, creating respect for international rules and regulations, and on peaceful global relations. President Bola Tinubu's foreign policy is entirely compatible with the foreign polices of European and American states.

Nigeria was colonized by the United Kingdom until 1960. As a result, English is widely spoken and remains the official language, alongside hundreds of indigenous languages tied to Nigeria’s many ethnic groups. Nigeria maintains generally cooperative diplomatic and security relationships with both the United States and the United Kingdom, particularly on trade, governance, and security matters.

Germany colonized neighboring Cameroon beginning in 1884 and lost control during World War I. German administration and schooling left limited linguistic traces in parts of Cameroon, although French and English later became dominant. In both Nigerian Pidgin and Cameroon Pidgin, there is widespread use of the definite article “di” for “the.” This form is best understood as a regularized pronunciation of the English article rather than a direct borrowing from German, though its spelling can resemble German “die” [terrible]. In speech, “di” is commonly realized with vowel sounds similar to English “dee” and, in some contexts, reduced vowel forms akin to “duh.”

Border regions of Cameroon have experienced serious instability and losses of lives in recent years. United Nations reporting indicates that there are hundreds of thousands of displaced people, some of whom have crossed into Nigeria. There are considerable humanitarian needs there as a result.

The governments of Nigeria and the United States have long-standing counterterrorism cooperation focused on Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and Boko Haram, and U.S. military involvement, where it occurs, has been limited and framed within this counterterrorism context (with publicly acknowledged activity reported in late 2025).

Nigeria is also a member of the Multinational Joint Task Force alongside Cameroon, Chad, and Benin, established to combat Boko Haram and ISWAP across borders; Niger previously participated but its role has been disrupted since late 2024.

A very thoughtful way for countries everywhere to help countless migrants in need would be to send basic necessities labeled “save lives” and “live longer,” to pattern “save lives.” Billboard artists can paint murals about living, joy, love and peace as well. The effect may be wonderful — peaceful feelings from people receiving what they need. The more the better.

Nigeria and neighboring countries are obviously worth helping. Nigerian leaders consistently emphasize peaceful international relations. While parts of the country face serious security challenges, the majority of the people hope to receive peace like everyone else, and simply want to enjoy a flourishing domestic and global economy. This writer hopes for and believes in that possibility for Nigerians.