Nigeria

Nigeria stamps

P=have O=don’t have it

Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising thirty-six states and one Federal Capital Territory. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in the north. Its coast lies on the Gulf of Guinea, a part of the Atlantic Ocean, in the south. The capital city is Abuja. The three largest and most influential ethnic groups in Nigeria are the Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba.

The people of Nigeria have an extensive history, and archaeological evidence shows that human habitation of the area dates back to at least 9000 BCE. The Benue-Cross River area is thought to be the original homeland of the Bantu migrants who spread across most of central and southern Africa in waves between the 1st millennium BCE and the 2nd millennium CE.

The name Nigeria was created from a portmanteau of the words Niger and Area, taken from the River Niger running through Nigeria. This name was coined by Flora Shaw, the future wife of Baron Lugard, a British colonial administrator, in the late 19th century.

Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and the eighth most populous country in the world, and with a population of over 148 million it is the most populous 'black' country in the world. It is a regional power, is listed among the "Next Eleven" economies, and is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.

#77

Scott: #77O

Issued: 10.10.1949 (CD 308)

UPU Issue

Inside #77: Stamps on Envelopes

#317-20

Scott: #317-20P

Issued: 10.6.1974

Centenary, Nigerian Stamps

Inside #317: Stamp on Envelope

Inside #318: Northern Nigeria #18AO

Note: Northern Nigeria #18A was available for postage but probably was used only for fiscal purposes.

Inside #319: Lagos #1O

1974

Nigeria 1974 Stamp Centenary - original hand-painted artwork for 12k value

(showing £25 stamp of Northern Nigeria) by NSP&MCo Staff Artist Samuel Eluare

on card 8¤" x 5", as issued stamp except value and Country are in green

#321-3

Scott: #321-3P

Issued: 9.10.1974

Centenary, UPU

Inside #323: Stamps on Envelopes

Scott: #375O

Issued: 11.4.1979

10th Anniversary, Philatelic Service

Inside #375: Stamp Collecting

Scott: #433O

Issued: 22.7.1983

World Communication Year

Inside #433: Stamps on Envelopes

Type PG

Scott: #498P

Issued: 16.6.1988

Nigerian Life

Inside #498: Stamps on Envelopes

Scott: #543P

Issued: 28.10.1988

25th Anniversary, Nigerian Security printing and Minting Co.

#305b Inside #543: Nigeria #305bP

Inside #543: Nigeria #358O

Inside #543: Nigeria #300P

Thanks to Lou Guadagno

Scott: #559-60O

Issued: 18.1.1990

10th Anniversary, Pan-African Postal Union

Inside #559: Stamp on Envelope

Inside #560: Pseudo Stamp

#602

Scott: #602-3O

Issued: 3.7.1992

Olymphilex '92

Inside #602-3: Pseudo Stamp

#603aprf1

#603aprf

Scott: #603aO

Scott: #630-3O

Issued: 11.4.1994

25^th Anniversary, Nigerian Philatelic Service

Inside #630: Nigeria #224O

#634 #635

#636 #637

Scott: #634-7P

Issued: 10.6.1994

120th Anniversary, First Nigerian Stamps

Inside #634-5: Pseudo Stamp

Inside #637: Lagos Postal Card 1879 - ModifiedO

Lou Guadagno wrote: Nigeria # 637(1994) - designer errors.

The issue commemorates the "120th Anniversary of First Postage Stamp of Nigeria", but the designer didn't show Lagos # 1 like they did on the centenary issue of 1974, but chose to show a Lagos imprinted postal card (Higgins & Gage # 1); to illustrate the anniversary date, he added an 1874 postmark, which was five years before the card was issued in 1879, and then ridiculously "spiced up" the card with airmail letter stripes! In addition, the color of the card is shown as white instead of buff, and the imprinted stamp is reproduced as bi-colored with a value tablet in red, when it should be a monotone.