Lost in Nigeria Trivia Quiz

Answer: Gulf of Guinea

Nigeria is bordered by Benin to the west, Chad and Cameroon to the east and Niger to the north. To the south is the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. The Niger river, the third longest in Africa after the Nile and Congo, discharges into the gulf.

The Mediterranean Sea lies to the north of Africa and the Indian Ocean to the east. The Mozambique Channel is also to the east, and is part of the Indian Ocean. It lies between Mozambique on the mainland and the island of Madagascar.

Answer: Football (soccer)

The national team has won the Africa Cup of Nations twice, in 1980 and 1994, and also claimed the gold medal at the 1996 Olympic Games, defeating Argentina in the final. The team had also beaten Mexico and Brazil in the quarter- and semi-final matches respectively. Among Nigerian players to make their mark in the English game are Nwankwo Kanu, who played for Arsenal from 1999-2004, Jay-Jay Okocha, a Bolton Wanderers player between 2002 and 2006, and Mikel John Obi, who joined Chelsea in 2006.

Answer: Sade

Helen Folosade Adu was the singer for the band which bore a version of her name, Sade, which is pronounced 'Shah-day'. Their 1984 album 'Diamond Life' became a best seller around the world, with 'Your Love is King' and 'Smooth Operator' having success as singles. Duffy was born in Wales in 1984 and Enya in Ireland in 1961. Millie (Small) originated in Jamaica, and had her biggest hit in 1964 with 'My Boy Lollipop'.

Answer: Fraud

Unfortunately, all these crimes can be associated with Nigeria, but Section 419 specifically refers to fraud. The typical scam is to send out letters, or these days emails, which purport to come from a high placed government official. Access can be gained to a large sum of money, which will be shared with you, if you only release your bank details for the transfer or send money to oil the wheels. Should you do so the contact, and your money, will disappear, never to be seen again. You may, though, receive follow up correspondence from 'the police', offering to help recover your money - for a fee. Useful information about the scam can be found on many websites, including those of the Metropolitan Police, 419 Coalition and 419 Eater.

Answer: United Kingdom

All these countries had colonies in Africa, with France and the United Kingdom acquiring most territory. Nigeria became part of the British Empire in 1901. From the 1600s onwards ports on the coast were used for trading, with many slaves being taken from the country. Nigeria declared itself a republic in 1963 with President Nnamdi Azikiwe replacing Queen Elizabeth II as head of state. All the countries adjoining Nigeria - Benin, Chad, Niger and Cameroon - were colonised by France.

Answer: Lagos

Lagos lies in the west of the country, and is a major port on the Gulf of Guinea. It was declared the capital of Nigeria in 1914, during British rule, and remained the capital following independence. Its population in 2011 was nearly 8 million people, making it the third largest city in Africa after Cairo in Egypt and Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Abuja is a modern city, planned and built mainly in the 1980s.

It is situated in the centre of the country and has a population of under 1 million, counted in the 2006 census.

Answer: Naira

Prior to the introduction of the naira, Nigeria was still using the £sd currency introduced by the UK, even though Britain itself had changed to a decimal system in 1971. The naira is divided into 100 kobo, and the issue of currency is controlled by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The other currencies are all used in Africa in the early 21st century, with the dinar being common in countries bordering the Mediterranean, such as Algeria, Libya and Tunisia. The rand is used in South Africa and the kwanza was adopted in Angola in 1977.

Answer: Literature

All of them are successful authors. Ben Okri won the 1991 Booker Prize for his novel 'The Famished Road', while Wole Soyinka was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1986. Chinua Achebe's first novel was 'Things Fall Apart', published in 1958, which describes how the well-ordered society of the Ibo people (of which he was one) was damaged by Western influences.

Answer: Biafra

The Republic of Biafra declared itself as an independent state on 30 May 1967, leading to military action from Nigeria beginning on 6 July the same year. After long periods of stalemate and much suffering of the civilian population, including starvation due to a Nigerian blockade, Biafra surrendered in January 1970 and was re-absorbed into Nigeria. Nubia was a region in Sudan and Upper Volta was the original name of Burkina Faso. Hausaland is the area of northern Nigeria, south eastern Niger and parts of other countries in the west of Africa occupied by the Hausa people.

Answer: Green

The white band on the flag represents peace and unity, with the green standing for the forests and agricultural land of the country. A competition was held for a new flag design, to take effect from independence. The original entry had a red sun on the white band, but the judges decided to remove it. Nigeria's previous flag had a blue field, with the Union flag in the left hand upper corner.