NIGERIA. — It is the most important of the British possessions in West Africa. The territory comprises the entire lower basin of the Niger, that of its tributary the Benue, and the zone that continues it to the northeast as far as Lake Chad. From the low, flat coastal strip (Niger delta), fringed with swamps and mangroves and then forests, the land gradually rises to the drier or even arid interior highlands (savanna and then steppe). The indigenous peoples (Sudanese Negroes) who prevail in most of the country are replaced toward the north by peoples of Hamitic origin (Fulbe). Nuts and palm oil are the principal agricultural products, but groundnuts, cotton, and cocoa are also widely cultivated. The forest resources (mahogany) and livestock raising (in the northern regions) are also notable. Of the considerable mineral resources, only tin, coal, and tantalum are exploited (Nigeria ranks first in the world for the latter). Significant progress has been made in recent years in the field of internal communications (over 3,300 km of railways and 8,000 km of roads), which ultimately condition the development of this vast and rich country. Maritime navigation is centered on the ports of Lagos, Port Harcourt, Burutu, and Calabar.
Nigeria comprises a colony (Lagos and surrounding territory) and a protectorate; the capital is Lagos (180,000 inhabitants), at the southwestern extremity of the territory. In Nigerian statistics, the British Cameroons (97,256 sq km, with about one million inhabitants) are usually included; this long, narrow strip lies between Nigeria and French Cameroon.
| Regions | Area in sq km | Population in thousands (1946) | Density per sq km |
|------------------|---------------|-------------------------------|-------------------|
| Colony | 3,576 | 450 | 129 |
| Eastern Province | 117,684 | 5,200 | 44 |
| Western Province | 114,327 | 4,350 | 38 |
| Northern Province| 729,526 | 12,980 | 18 |
| Total | 965,113 | 22,980 | 24 |
EVANGELIZATION. — In the course of the 17th century, the region of the Niger River in West Africa became a field of Catholic missions. The Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith entrusted the mission of Benin to Spanish Capuchins, whose king was said to be Catholic. But when the Capuchins arrived in 1651, they found a pagan kingdom, and after initial attempts at evangelization they were expelled. In the neighboring kingdom of Owerri, however, whose king was Catholic—probably baptized by Portuguese missionaries from São Tomé—the Italian Capuchins were able to work fruitfully from 1657 onward for a few years. Attempts in 1695 and 1713 also failed.
Systematic missionary work began only in the 19th century. The African Missionaries of Lyon established themselves in 1861 at Lagos, Benin, and part of the vicariate of Dahomey, erected in 1860 and renamed the Vicariate of the Coast of Benin in 1870. In 1884 they advanced as far as Lokoja on the western bank of the Niger. In the same year, the Sacred Congregation erected the Apostolic Prefecture of Upper Nigeria. The Holy Ghost Missionaries arrived in 1885 from Gabon in the region east of the Niger, where in 1889 the Apostolic Prefecture of Lower Nigeria was established. In both missions, results were initially rather meager. The Lyon missionaries advanced further northward, where in 1911 the Apostolic Prefecture of Eastern Nigeria was erected, later renamed Northern Nigeria and today known as Kaduna. The predominant influence of Muslims yielded very limited results. In the southern part, however, both in Benin and in Upper Nigeria—renamed Western Nigeria in 1911—once initial difficulties were overcome, more substantial progress was made. Better results were achieved by the Holy Ghost Missionaries in Lower Nigeria, which became the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Nigeria in 1920; especially after the apostolic prefect—later apostolic vicar Giuseppe Shanahan—increased the number of catechists and schools. Priests of the congregation were assisted by Irish secular priests, who later joined the Missionary Society of St. Patrick. In 1934, the eastern part of the vicariate was entrusted to this society and erected as the Apostolic Prefecture of Calabar. In recent years, the White Fathers and the Augustinian Hermits have also established their own missions in Nigeria.
On 18 April 1950, the ecclesiastical hierarchy was established in Nigeria: the archdiocese of Lagos with the suffragan sees of Benin and Ondo; the archdiocese of Onitsha with the suffragan sees of Calabar and Owerri; and six apostolic prefectures.
ECCLESIASTICAL ORGANIZATION. — The jurisdictions are listed in alphabetical order. Benin City, erected as the Apostolic Prefecture of Upper Nigeria in 1884, was renamed Western Nigeria in 1911, became a vicariate apostolic in 1918, changed its name to Asaba-Benin in 1943, and in 1950 became a diocese under the name of Benin City, entrusted to the Society for African Missions. Calabar,