country benin art
___MASK27___ ( or -; ), officially the Republic of ___MASK27___ and formerly ___MASK17___ , is a country in West Africa . It is bordered by Togo to the west , Nigeria to the east , and ___MASK21___ and Niger to the north . A majority of the population live on its small southern coastline on the Bight of ___MASK27___ , part of the Gulf of Guinea in the northernmost tropical portion of the ___MASK69___ . The capital of ___MASK27___ is Porto - Novo , but the seat of government is in Cotonou , the country ' s largest city and economic capital . ___MASK27___ covers an area of 114 , 763 square kilometers and its population in 2015 was estimated to be approximately 10 . 88 million . ___MASK27___ is a tropical , sub - Saharan nation , highly dependent on agriculture , with substantial employment and income arising from subsistence farming . Lagos initially emerged as a port city which originated on a collection of islands , which are contained in the present day Local Government Areas ( LGAs ) of Lagos Island , Eti - Osa , Amuwo - Odofin and Apapa ; the islands are separated by creeks , fringing the southwest mouth of Lagos Lagoon , while protected from the ___MASK69___ by barrier islands and long sand spits such as Bar Beach , which stretch up to east and west of the mouth . Due to rapid urbanization , the city expanded to the west of the lagoon to include areas in the present day Lagos Mainland , Ajeromi - Ifelodun and Surulere . This led to the classification of Lagos into two main areas - the Island , which was the initial city of Lagos , before it expanded into the area known as the Mainland . This city area was governed directly by the Federal Government through the " Lagos City Council ", until the creation of Lagos State in 1967 , which led to the splitting of Lagos city into the present day seven Local Government Areas ( LGAs ), and an addition of other towns ( which now make up 13 LGAs ) from the then Western Region , to form the state . The Gulf of ___MASK4___ is the northeasternmost part of the tropical ___MASK69___ between Cape Lopez in Gabon , north and west to Cape Three Points in Western region Ghana . The intersection of the Equator and Prime Meridian ( zero degrees latitude and longitude ) is in the gulf . ___MASK63___ , officially the Republic of ___MASK63___ , is a country in Central Africa . It is bordered by Nigeria to the west ; Chad to the northeast ; the Central African Republic to the east ; and Equatorial Guinea , Gabon , and the Republic of the Congo to the south . ___MASK63___ ' s coastline lies on the Bight of Bonny , part of the Gulf of Guinea and the ___MASK69___ . ___MASK17___ was an African kingdom ( located in the area of the present - day country of Benin ) that existed from about 1600 until 1894 , when the last king , Behanzin , was defeated by the French , and the country was annexed into the French colonial empire . ___MASK17___ developed on the Abomey Plateau amongst the Fon people in the early 17th century and became a regional power in the 18th century by conquering key cities on the Atlantic coast . The Edo or Bini people are an ethnic group primarily found in Edo State , And Spread Across Delta state , Ondo State , Rivers state ___MASK64___ . They speak the Edo language and are the descendants of the founders of the ___MASK83___ . They are closely related to other ethnic groups that speak Edoid languages , such as the Esan , the Afemai and the Owan . The Oba of ___MASK27___ , or Omo N ' Oba , is the traditional ruler of the Edo people and head of the historic Eweka dynasty of the ___MASK83___ - a West African empire centered on ___MASK27___ City , in modern - day ___MASK64___ . The ancient ___MASK27___ homeland ( not to be confused with the modern - day and unrelated Republic of ___MASK27___ , which was then known as ___MASK17___ ) has been and continues to be mostly populated by the Edo ( also known as the Bini or ___MASK27___ ethnic group ). Kano is the state capital of Kano State in Northern West , ___MASK64___ . It is situated in the Sahelian geographic region , south of the Sahara . Kano is the commercial nerve center of Northern ___MASK64___ and is the second largest city in ___MASK64___ , after Lagos . The Kano metropolis initially covered , and comprised six local government areas ( LGAs )  Kano Municipal , Fagge , Dala , Gwale , Tarauni and Nasarawa ; However , it now covers two additional LGAs  Ungogo and Kumbotso . The total area of Metropolitan Kano is now , with a population of 2 , 828 , 861 as of the 2006 Nigerian census . Port Harcourt ( Igbo : Ígú  cha ; Pidgin : " Po - ta - kot ") is the capital and largest city of Rivers State , ___MASK64___ . It lies along the Bonny River and is located in the Niger Delta . As of 2016 , the Port Harcourt urban area has an estimated population of 1 , 865 , 000 inhabitants , up from 1 , 382 , 592 as of 2006 . ___MASK93___ ('), officially the Republic of ___MASK93___ ('), is a landlocked country in Central Africa . It is bordered by ___MASK92___ to the north , ___MASK78___ to the east , the Central African Republic to the south , ___MASK63___ and Nigeria to the southwest and Niger to the west . It is the fifth largest country in Africa in terms of area . Abuja is the capital city of ___MASK64___ . It is located in the centre of ___MASK64___ , within the Federal Capital Territory ( FCT ). Abuja is a planned city which was built mainly in the 1980s . It officially became ___MASK64___ ' s capital on 12 December 1991 , replacing Lagos , though the latter remains the country ' s most populous city . Abuja ' s geography is defined by Aso Rock , a monolith left by water erosion . The Presidential Complex , National Assembly , Supreme Court and much of the city extend to the south of the rock . Zuma Rock , a monolith , lies just north of the city on the road to Kaduna State . West Africa , also called Western Africa and the West of Africa , is the westernmost subregion of Africa . West Africa has been defined as including 18 countries : ___MASK27___ , ___MASK21___ , the island nation of ___MASK48___ , Gambia , Ghana , ___MASK4___ , ___MASK4___ - Bissau , Ivory Coast , Liberia , Mali , Mauritania , Niger , Nigeria , the island of Saint Helena , Senegal , Sierra Leone , São Tomé and Príncipe and Togo . ___MASK27___ City is a city ( 2006 est . pop . 1 , 147 , 188 ) and the capital of Edo State in southern ___MASK64___ . It is a city approximately north of the ___MASK27___ River . It is situated by road east of Lagos . ___MASK27___ is the centre of ___MASK64___ ' s rubber industry , but processing palm nuts for oil is also an important traditional industry . Africa is the ___MASK44___ ' s second - largest and second - most - populous continent . At about 30 . 3 million km² ( 11 . 7 million square miles ) including adjacent islands , it covers 6 % of Earth ' s total surface area and 20 . 4 % of its total land area . With 1 . 1 billion people as of 2013 , it accounts for about 15 % of the ___MASK44___ ' s human population . The continent is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the north , both the Suez Canal and the Red Sea along the Sinai Peninsula to the northeast , the Indian Ocean to the southeast , and the ___MASK69___ to the west . The continent includes Madagascar and various archipelagos . It contains 54 fully recognized sovereign states ( countries ), nine territories and two " de facto " independent states with limited or no recognition . A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family , usually in the context of a feudal or monarchical system but sometimes also appearing in elective republics . The dynastic family or lineage may be known as a " house "; which may be styled " royal ", " princely ", " comital ", etc ., depending upon the chief or present title borne by its members . Historians periodize the histories of many sovereign states , such as Ancient ___MASK90___ , the Carolingian Empire and Imperial ___MASK77___ , using a framework of successive dynasties . As such , the term " dynasty " may be used to delimit the era during which the family reigned and to describe events , trends , and artifacts of that period (" a Ming - dynasty vase "). The word " dynasty " itself is often dropped from such adjectival references (" a Ming vase "). ___MASK27___ art is the art from the Kingdom of ___MASK27___ or Edo Empire ( 1440 -- 1897 ) , a pre - colonial African state located in what is now known as the South - South region of ___MASK64___ . Primarily made of cast bronze and carved ivory , ___MASK27___ art was produced mainly for the court of the Oba of ___MASK27___ - a divine ruler for whom the craftsmen produced a range of ceremonially significant objects . The full complexity of these works can be appreciated only through the awareness and consideration of two complementary cultural perceptions of the art of ___MASK27___ : the Western appreciation of them primarily as works of art , and their understanding in ___MASK27___ as historical documents and as mnemonic devices to reconstruct history , or as ritual objects . This original significance is of great import in ___MASK27___ . ___MASK29___ ( or ), officially the Republic of ___MASK29___ , is a landlocked country in Western Africa , named after the ___MASK29___ River . ___MASK29___ is bordered by Libya to the northeast , Chad to the east , ___MASK64___ and Benin to the south , ___MASK21___ and Mali to the west , and Algeria to the northwest . ___MASK29___ covers a land area of almost 1 , 270 , 000 km , making it the largest country in West Africa , with over 80 percent of its land area covered by the Sahara Desert . The country ' s predominantly Islamic population of about 19 million is mostly clustered in the far south and west of the country . The capital city is Niamey , located in the far - southwest corner of ___MASK29___ . Ibadan is the state capital of Oyo State . With a population of over 3 million , it is the most populous city in the state , and the third most populous city in ___MASK64___ , after Lagos and Kano ; it is the country ' s largest city by geographical area . At Nigerian independence , Ibadan was the largest and most populous city in the country , and the third in Africa after Cairo and Johannesburg . A republic ( from ) is a sovereign state , country , or government which is organized with a form of government in which power resides in elected individuals representing the citizen body and government leaders exercise power according to the rule of law . In modern times , the definition of a republic commonly refers to a government which excludes a monarch . Currently , 147 of the ___MASK44___ ' s 206 sovereign states use the word " republic " as part of their official names ; not all of these are republics in the sense of having elected governments , nor do all nations with elected governments use the word " republic " in their names . The Federal Republic of ___MASK64___ , commonly referred to as ___MASK64___ , is a federal republic in West Africa , bordering Benin in the west , Chad and ___MASK63___ in the east , and Niger in the north . Its coast in the south lies on the Gulf of Guinea in the ___MASK69___ . It comprises 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory , where the capital , Abuja is located . Its largest cities include : Lagos , Kano , Ibadan , Benin City and Port Harcourt . ___MASK64___ is officially a democratic secular country .