Bayelsa State (Bayelsa State)
Ijaw, language is widely spoken in Bayelsa State also Isoko and Urhobo speak within their ancestral towns in the state. It is also the ancestral home of the Urhobo people in the Sagbama local government area. The state is the smallest in Nigeria by population of the 2006 census, as well as one of the smallest by area. Being in the Niger Delta region, Bayelsa State has a riverine and estuarine setting, with bodies of water within the state preventing the development of significant road infrastructure.
As a state in the oil-rich Niger Delta the Bayelsa State's economy is dominated by the petroleum industry. The state is the site of Oloibiri Oilfield, where oil was first discovered in Nigeria, and as of 2015 was estimated to produce 30-40% of the country's oil. The state nicknamed “Glory of all Lands” has the largest gas reservoir (18 trillion cubic feet) in Nigeria. Though being the site of one of the largest crude oil and natural gas deposits in the country contributes to local economic development, the state remains plagued by rampant poverty as well as pollution stemming from oil spills.
Politics
Douye Diri is the governor of Bayelsa State, while Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo the Deputy Governor of the State.
During the 20th century, demands for a new, majority-Ijaw state to be drawn in the Niger Delta Region became common. Between 1941 and 1956, numerous Ijaw nationalist organizations supportive of an Ijaw-majority state in Southern Nigeria were founded. Isaac Adaka Boro, a prominent Ijaw rights activist during the 1960's who was born in Oloibiri, attempted to proclaim a "Niger Delta Peoples Republic" in 1966. Bayelsa State was created out of Rivers State on October 1, 1996 by the Sani Abacha's military government. Its name was derived from the first few letters of the names of the major local government areas from which it was formed: Brass LGA (BALGA), Yenagoa LGA (YELGA) and Sagbama LGA (SALGA).
On November 20, 1999, the Nigerian military committed what is now referred to as the Odi massacre. The death toll remains disputed to this day, though Nnimmo Bassey, Executive Director of Environmental Rights Action, claims that nearly 2500 civilians were killed.
In response to environmental degradation in the state caused by the oil industry, movements such as the "Rise for Bayelsa " campaign have emerged to push for protecting the local water supply. In 2019, the Bayelsa State government launched the first formal inquiry into the crisis of oil pollution in the state.
Map - Bayelsa State (Bayelsa State)
Map
Country - Nigeria
Flag of Nigeria |
Nigeria has been home to several indigenous pre-colonial states and kingdoms since the second millennium BC, with the Nok civilization in the 15th century BC, marking the first internal unification in the country. The modern state originated with British colonialization in the 19th century, taking its present territorial shape with the merging of the Southern Nigeria Protectorate and Northern Nigeria Protectorate in 1914 by Lord Lugard. The British set up administrative and legal structures while practising indirect rule through traditional chiefdoms in the Nigeria region. Nigeria became a formally independent federation on 1 October 1960. It experienced a civil war from 1967 to 1970, followed by a succession of military dictatorships and democratically elected civilian governments until achieving a stable democracy in the 1999 presidential election. The 2015 general election was the first time an incumbent president failed to be re-elected.
Currency / Language
ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
---|---|---|---|
NGN | Nigerian naira | ₦ | 2 |
ISO | Language |
---|---|
EN | English language |
HA | Hausa language |
IG | Igbo language |
YO | Yoruba language |