Countries that Borders with Nigeria

Countries that Borders with Nigeria

By Oluwatoyin Ajayi

Nigeria has four major borders and these borders lead to four African neighbouring countries:
Republic of Benin
Cameroon
Niger
Chad.

BENIN

These people have the same ethnic group and similar way of life with the Nigerian Yorubas. Republic of Benin was formerly called Dahomey. The country is bordered by Nigeria to the east, Togo to the west, Burkina Faso and Niger to the north. The capital of Benin is Porto-Novo, however the economic capital and the seat of government is located in Cotonou which is also the largest city in the country. Benin covers an area of 114,763 square kilometres (44,310 sq mi)

The country was colonized by France but in 1960, the Republic of Benin which was then called Dahomey gained full independence from France. The official language of Benin is French but the native languages are Fon and Yoruba.  

As of 2018, the estimated population of Benin was approximately 11.49 million. The country is highly dependent on agriculture, with substantial employment and income arising from subsistence farming. A significant portion of the country's population lives on the small southern coastline of the Bight of Benin which is a part of the Gulf of Guinea in the northern tropical part of the Atlantic Ocean. The dominant religion in the country is Roman Catholicism. There are Muslims, Vodun and Protestant Christians. The country calling code: +229.

CAMEROON

Cameroon is a Central African country, bordered by Nigeria to the West, Chad to the north-east, Central African Republic to the East and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the Bight of Biafra, part of the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean. The official languages of Cameroon are French and English.

Cameroon has been colonized in the past by Germany, France and Britain, according to history. The country eventually gained independence in 1961 to become the Federal Republic of Cameroon. But the federation was abandoned in 1972 and the country was renamed the United Republic of Cameroon in 1972 and the Republic of Cameroon in 1984. Land mass of 472, 710 km2 (182,510 sq mi).
The largest cities in population terms are Douala on the Wouri river. Douala is also the economic capital and main seaport while Yaoundé is its political capital. The country is often referred to as Africa in Miniature. Some of the natural features include beaches, deserts, mountains, rain-forests, and savannas. A significant portion of the Cameroonians are subsistence farmers. The regions close to Nigeria speak English and they are also referred as the people of Bakassi peninsula. The country calling code: +237.

NIGER

Niger is officially known as the Republic of the Niger. It is located in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. The capital city of Niger is Niamey.
The country has a land area of almost 1,270,000 km square (490,000 sq mi), making it the largest country in West Africa. However, over 80% of its land area lies in the Sahara Desert. 

Niger is bordered by Nigeria and Benin to the south, Algeria to the northwest, Libya to the northeast, Chad to the east, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west.

The borders of Niger and Nigeria do not distinguish the people, as they have the same ethnic groups and socioeconomic similarities. They have cross border marriages, family ties and way of dressing and geographically the have the same territorial landscape with Nigeria. Their common occupation is farming, whose expertise is deeply rooted in cattle rearing. The country calling code: +227.

CHAD

The Republic of Chad is a landlocked country in north-central Africa. The country is bordered by Nigeria to the southwest, Cameroon to the southwest, Niger to the west, Sudan to the east, Libya to the north and the Central African Republic to the south.

This country one of the largest country in Africa, in terms of land mass of 1, 284,000 square kilometres (495,755 sq mi). Chad is named after the popular Lake Chad and its capital of is N'Djamena, which is the largest city in the country. There official languages are Arabic and French.
Chad was colonized by France in 1920 but gained independence in 1960 under the leadership of François Tombalbaye. The country is also home to over 200 different ethnic and linguistic groups, as we have both Muslim and Christians there. They share similar ethnic groups and cultural heritage, and are into cattle rearing, hides and skin production and so many other socio-cultural similarities. The country calling code: +235.

Those are the four major African Countries that borders Nigeria, and there are still lots of amazing things about these countries.
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