sinking below 70°, and not often exceeding 100° in the shade. The direction of the prevailing wind is S.W. Though unfavourable for the permanent residence of white men, the interior is much less deadly than the coast-lands. The northern part is a land of tornadoes. At the close of the dry season (end of February) cyclones from the N.E., usually accompanied by rain and thunder, burst over the land. They increase in frequency until they merge in the heavy rains which last from July to October. Then the “hamattan,” or hot, dry wind from the Sahara, begins and brings with it clouds of impalpable dust. At this period the nights are cold, and in the north January and February are cold even in the day-time, while frosts are experienced in the neighbourhood of Lake Chad. The temperature in the central part of the protectorate is much the same average as at the coast, but the range is far greater, varying from a shade minimum of 59° to a shade maximum of 107°.[1] The rainfall is much scantier on the plateaus than in the maritime regions, averaging in Northern Nigeria about 50 in. a year. There is evidence of the increasing desiccation of the whole country north of the forest belt. This desiccation is partly attributable to the unrestricted felling of wood practised for many centuries by the inhabitants. Along the northern border of the protectorate this has resulted in the encroachment of the Saharan desert over once fertile districts.
The natives of the northern regions do not suffer to any extent from fever unless they move to a part of the country some distance from their home. Leprosy is common, especially in the inland towns; while ophthalmia is prevalent in the north, especially among the poorer classes, who are compelled to expose themselves to the blinding dust from the deserts and the excessive glare of the sun reflected from the burning sand.
Fauna and Flora.—The animals of Nigeria include the elephant, lion, leopard, giraffe, hyena, West-African buffalo, many kinds of antelope and gazelle and smaller game. Monkeys are numerous in the forests, and snakes are common. The camel is found in the northern regions bordering the Sahara. In the rivers are rhinoceros, hippopotamus and crocodile. The manatus is also found. The birds include the ostrich, marabout, vultures, kites, hawks, ground hornbill, great bustard, guinea fowl, partridge, lesser bustard, quail, snipe, duck, widgeon, teal, geese of various kinds, paraquets, doves, blue, bronze and green pigeons, and many others. Domestic animals include the horse and donkey in the plateaus, but baggage animals are rare in the coast-lands, where the tsetse fly is found. Mosquitoes are also abundant throughout the delta. Herds of cattle and flocks of sheep and goats are numerous throughout the country.
The mangrove is the characteristic tree of the swamps. North of the swamps the oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) flourishes abundantly. It is common as far as about 7° N. Rubber vines, mahogany, ebony and many valuable timber trees are found in the forest zone. Other trees, found chiefly on the plateaus, are the baobab, the shea-butter tree, the locust tree, gambier, palms, including the date and dum palm (Hyphaene), the tamarind, and, in the arid regions, the acacia and mimosa.
Inhabitants.—The population of Nigeria is estimated at 15,000,000. The Europeans (mostly British) number about a thousand, and are civil servants, soldiers, traders or missionaries. In the delta district and the forest zone the inhabitants are typical negroes. Besides the people of Benin, the coast tribes include the Jekri, living on the lower part of the Benin river and akin to the Yoruba, the Ijos, living in the delta east of the main mouth of the Niger, and the Ibos, occupying a wide tract of country just above the delta and extending for 100 m. east from the Niger to the Cross river. South of the Ibos live the Aros, a tribe of relatively great intelligence, who dominated many of the surrounding tribes and possessed an oracle or ju-ju of reputed great power. On the middle Cross river live the Akuna-kunas, an agricultural race, and in the Calabar region are the Efiks, Ibibios and Kwas. All these tribes are fetish worshippers, though Christian and Moslem missionaries have made numerous converts. The Efiks, a coast tribe which has come much into contact with white men, have adopted several European customs, and educated Efiks are employed in government service. The great secret society called Egbo (q.v.) is an Efik institution. Each tribe has a different ju-ju, and each speaks a separate language or dialect, the most widely diffused tongues being the Ibo and Efik, which have been reduced to writing. In general little clothing is worn, but none of the tribes go absolutely nude. In colour the majority are dark chocolate, others are coal-black (a tint much admired by the natives themselves) or dark yellow-brown. Cannibalism, human sacrifices and other revolting practices common to the tribes, are being gradually stamped out under British control. Trial by ordeal and domestic slavery are still among the recognized institutions.
In the northern parts of Nigeria the inhabitants are of more mixed blood, the negro substratum having been to a great extent driven out by the northern races of the continent. The most important race in Northern Nigeria is that of the Hausa (q.v.), among whom the superior classes adopted Mahommedanism in the 13th and 14th centuries. While the lower classes remained pagan, a fairly civilized system of administration, with an efficient judicial and fiscal organization, was established in the Hausa territories. The Hausa are keen traders and make excellent soldiers.
At the beginning of the 19th century the Hausa territories were conquered by another dominant Mahommedan race, the Fula (q.v.), who form a separate caste of cattle-rearers. Arab merchants are settled in some of the larger Hausa towns.
In general the people living in the river valleys have been unaffected by Moslem propaganda either in blood or religion. Thus along the banks of the Niger, Benue and other streams, the inhabitants are negro and pagans, and generally of a purely savage though often rather fine type. Of these the Munshi, who inhabit the district nearest the junction of the Benue with the Niger, were long noted for their intractability and hostility to strangers, whom they attacked with poisoned arrows. The Yoraghums, their neighbours, were cannibals. Nearer Yola live the Battas, who also had a bad reputation. These tribes, under British influence, are turning to trade and agricultural pursuits. In the central hilly region of Kachia are other pagan tribes. They wear no clothes and their bodies are covered with hair. South of the Benue, near the Niger confluence, dwell the savage and warlike Okpotos, Bassas and other tribes. In the districts of Illorin and Borgu, west of the Niger, the inhabitants are also negroes and pagan, but of a more advanced type than the tribes of the river valleys. To attempt any complete list of the tribes inhabiting Northern Nigeria would be vain. In the one province of Bauchi as many as sixty native languages are spoken.
In Bornu (q.v.) the population consists of (1) Berberi or Kanuri, the ruling race, containing a mixture of Berber and negro blood, with many lesser indigenous tribes; (2) so-called Arabs, and (3) Fula. The country to the back of Lagos is largely inhabited by Yorubas (q.v.), and the people of Borgu according to some native traditions claim to have had a Coptic origin.
Towns.—A large proportion of the population dwells in towns. The chief ports are Lagos (q.v.), capital of Southern Nigeria, with a population of about 50,000; Calabar (q.v.), pop. about 15,000, known as Old Calabar and Duke Town, on the Calabar river; Opobo, Bonny Town and Brass Town, all on the rivers of the same name. Brass Town contains a fine church, the gift of a native chief. These places are east of the Nun or main mouth of the Niger, where, on the western bank, is Akassa. Here are important engineering works and a slip for repairing ships. Further west at the Forcados mouth of the Niger is a town of the same name, which is the principal port of entry for the river. Benin (q.v.), about 60 m. inland from the mouth of the Benin river, and Bende, about 50 m. N.W. of Calabar, were noted ju-ju towns and have large populations. Wari and Sapele are towns in the Benin district. Owo, some 50 m. N. of Benin city, is an important trade centre for the Yoruba country, in which are the large cities of Abeokuta, Ibadan and Illorin, all separately noticed. On the Niger at the head of the delta are Asaba (west bank) and Onitsha (east bank); Iddah (Ida), in the palm-oil zone; Lokoja on the west bank opposite the confluence with the Benue, and the headquarters of the protectorate’s military force; Baro, on the east bank, 70 m. above Lokoja, the river terminus of the Northern Nigeria railway; Egga, Mureji (at the Kaduna confluence), Jebba and Bussa (q.v.). The administrative headquarters of Northern Nigeria are at Zungeru, on the Kaduna river, in 6° 09′ 40″ E., 9° 48′ 32″ N.
Apart from the sea and river ports and the towns in Yorubaland, the chief centres of population are in the open plains east of the Niger. They are the capitals of various states founded by the Hausa. Of these cities the most important is Kano (q.v.), the great emporium of trade for the central Sudan, where Tuareg and Arab from the north meet merchants from the Niger, Lake Chad and the far southern regions. It is situated in 12° N. and 8° 32′ E. Some 220 m. W.N.W. of Kano is Sokoto, on a tributary of the Niger of the same name. Sokoto is the religious and political centre of the Fula. Next in importance among the Hausa towns are Bauchi (or Yakoba), pop. over 50,000, 140 m. S.E. of Kano; Zaria (q.v.), pop.- ↑ Returns at Zungeru for 1903.
