General Knowledge: Stable Facts and Careful Elimination
General Knowledge in JAMB samples current affairs, Nigerian history and geography, international organisations, basic science and the arts. Because “current” facts change, anchor your revision on stable dates and structures, and check officeholders only when the syllabus is explicit.
Stable anchors
- Nigeria: independence 1 October 1960; republican status 1963; 36 states plus the Federal Capital Territory; the capital moved from Lagos to Abuja in 1991.
- Geography: the Niger and Benue rivers meet at Lokoja, Kogi State.
- Organisations: ECOWAS was founded in Lagos in 1975; the African Union replaced the OAU in 2002; the UN was founded in 1945; OPEC in 1960.
Reasoning under uncertainty
- Eliminate options that are anachronistic - a date that cannot fit the event.
- Match capitals and currencies to countries.
- Distinguish “first” from “current”: the first UN Secretary-General was Trygve Lie; the current one must be checked.
Worked example
At which town do the Niger and Benue rivers meet? Options: Lokoja, Makurdi, Jebba, Onitsha. The answer is Lokoja. The Benue flows west and the Niger flows south-east; their confluence is at Lokoja. Makurdi lies on the Benue alone, Onitsha on the Niger, and Jebba is downstream of the confluence.
Traps
- Do not confuse the OAU (1963) with the AU (2002).
- Dates of treaties and independence are often swapped in options.
- Science questions reward units: speed in m/s, force in newtons, energy in joules.