Africa 24 Media Photography

With a population of about 150 million people, Nigeria is the most populous nation in the African continent. The West African economic powerhouse is composed of more than 250 ethnic groups with varying languages and customs, crafting a nation with rich ethnic and cultural diversity. The most popular among the diverse ethnic groups in Nigeria are Ibo or Igbo, Yoruba and Hausa-Faluni accounting for over 68% of the total population, while the Edo, Ijaw, Kanuri, Ibibo, Ebira Nupe, Tiv and other minority groups account for the remaining percentage. Yoruba people mostly occupy the southern parts on Nigeria. The Ibo or Igbo group stays in the south eastern states of Nigeria. The Hausa-Faluni stays in the northern Nigeria. The largest religion practiced by the Nigerian population is Islam, which constitutes about 50%, and Christian, which constitutes slightly over 48% of the total population, while indigenous religions make up the rest.

Fictional books often carry the same perception of the Congo-River basin; mythical beasts, cannibalism, pygmies and deadly plagues. “People of the rain forest” has become the expression by which this people are identified. However this term encompasses populations covering Africa from Gabon through to some parts of Uganda. Their history has also been exploited by the big screen to depict them as a barbaric populace.

The catalog of the Somali people historically appears on record when Egyptian Queen Hatsebshut sent a convoy to the land of Punt. This directly translated is the land of spices. Somali was the land of Punt, it was famous for trading its spices in for things such as glass and jewelry from the Egyptians. Travelers described them as very graceful. Surprisingly information has been jotted down describing the majority of the population as fat and somewhat worldly.

It was enough for the Portuguese settlers to discover cape colony in the early 16th century and use it as a port on their route to India and colonization was not a priority for them. They had no need to concern themselves with such, at least not until later in the century when competition emerged bearing the faces of Dutch Traders. The Dutch spread themselves inland and started to acquire small colonies.

Algeria is a country where human trafficking has been ongoing even before civil conflict began in the North African nation in 1991. The conflict between the Algerian government and various Islamist rebel groups, which ended with a government victory in 2002 is estimated to have cost lives of between 150,000 and 200,000 men, women and children alike, all of who suffered egregious atrocities. Today, most Algerian children continue to suffer as a result of neglect and a lack of specific legal framework protecting children from quandaries such as trafficking, prostitution and child labour.

Bordered on the west by Congo, on the north by the Sudan, on the east by Kenya, and on the south by Tanzania and Rwanda, Uganda lies across the equator and is home to over 32 million men, women and children. The people of Uganda make the East African nation a study in cultural diversity, speaking over 30 different languages, but with one people.

Across the central woodlands, along the shores of Lake Victoria, on to the dhows of fishermen casting their nets upon the clear blue Indian ocean lies a sovereign nation of Tanzania: a nation known for a people that value the preservation of respect, family values and tradition. Due to their unique combination of historic and cultural factors, Tanzanians share strong feelings of national pride and cohesion.

Largely a stony desert and with a population of just over half a million people, the Horn of African nation of Djibouti is bordered by Ethiopia to the north and west, Somalia to the south east and Eritrea to the north. Djibouti’s population consists of two major ethnic groups, the Issa-Somali and the Afar, most of who are nomadic people.

Known for its production of the pungent yet sweet smelling cloves (a world leader in the 1970s), Zanzibar, part of the republic of Tanzania comprises of an archipelago of many islands and was once a separate state with a long trading history within the Arab world.

The Republic of Ghana in West Africa is bordered by Ivory Coast to the West, Burkina Faso to the North, Togo to the East and the Gulf of Guinea to the South. Also known as the “Gold Coast”, the word Ghana is known to mean “Warrior King”. When the country gained independence in 1957 the name Ghana was chosen to reflect on the vast ancient empire of the West African Nation.