General Knowledge and Current Affairs
What to master
This section rewards breadth and recency: Nigerian government structure (three tiers, three arms), national symbols, key institutions and their heads, geography (states, capitals, rivers, neighbours), international organisations (UN, AU, ECOWAS, Commonwealth, OPEC), and recent national and global events.
How to prepare
- Keep a dated notebook of major appointments, elections, treaties, and international summits; note who holds what office and when they assumed it.
- Learn fixed facts cold: Nigeria's independence (1 October 1960), republic status (1963), number of states (36) plus the FCT, currency, and national anthem/pledge.
- Know Nigeria's neighbours: Benin (west), Niger (north), Chad (northeast across Lake Chad), Cameroon (east), and the Atlantic Ocean (south).
Traps to expect
- Outdated facts: questions may test a former officeholder; read whether the stem says "current" or names a year.
- Look-alike bodies: ECOWAS (West Africa) vs AU (continent) vs Commonwealth (former British territories).
- Headquarters confusion: the AU is headquartered in Addis Ababa; ECOWAS in Abuja; the UN in New York.
- Symbols: the colours of the flag, the meaning of the coat of arms, and the motto.
Rule of thumb
If a current-affairs item is uncertain, eliminate options that are clearly geographically or institutionally wrong, then choose the most plausible. Do not spend long on one item - mark and return.
Worked example
"Which organisation has its headquarters in Abuja?" - ECOWAS. The AU (Addis Ababa) and UN (New York) are the distractors.