Languages

Nigeria has more than 250 individual tribal languages. However, the official language of Nigeria is English. It is not only commonly used in all government interactions and in state-run schools; it is also the only language common to the local people.

The country's unofficial second language is Hausa. In northern Nigeria many people who are not ethnic Hausas speak both Hausa and their own tribal language. Hausa is the oldest known written language in West Africa, dating back to before 1000 C.E.

The dominant indigenous languages of the south are Yoruba and Igbo. Prior to colonization, these languages were the unifying languages of the southwest and southeast, respectively, regardless of ethnicity. However, since the coming of the British and the introduction of mission schools in southern Nigeria, English has become the language common to most people in the area. Today those who are not ethnic Yorubas or Igbos rarely speak Yoruba or Igbo.

Pidgin, another common language of southern Nigeria, is a mix of African languages and English. In the olden days, British sailors needed to find a way to communicate with local merchants, hence the creation of Pidgin, which basically incorporates English words with Yoruban or Igbo grammar structures. Today it is often used in ethnically mixed urban areas as a common form of communication among people who have not had formal education in English.