Warri, Nigeria
Warri is a city in
Nigeria. It is located in the present day
Delta State, and has a population of 507,255. Warri people are of the
Itsekiri,
Urhobo,
Ijaw and other
ethnic groups. The city has various traditional rulers, one being the
Olu of Warri. Warri City has a local television and radio station, called
Delta Rainbow Television Warri, and Delta state television, Radio Warri. The economic base of the city lies in the presence of
oil and
gas companies and a
refinery. There is also the
Delta Steel Company. Warri has a
seaport and
airport located at
Osubi. Warri has a stadium with a capacity of 15,000 and a second division professional league
football team.
Warri is predominantly
Christian, as is most of Southern Nigeria.The christian religious practices are very much African with a lot of traditional religious influences. There is a great pentecostal ferver just like the rest of the country. Churches are springing up not only to meet the spiritual needs but the material as well. The high Poverty levels has led many to turn to self acclaimed prophets running these churches and who promise deliverance from poverty and want.âˆ'Warri also has a sizeable muslim population mainly immigrants from the prodiminantly muslim North, Yoruba speaking South West and Afemai people of Northern Edo State.
In 1991, construction started on a
standard gauge railway from the steel mills at
Ajaokuta to the port of
Warri, about 275km away. In 2006, the standard gauge lines had reached 329km in length, but the final 19km Warri section is still incomplete.
Transportation within the city is mainly by bus.
There have been a
series of clashes between the
Ijaw,
Itsekiri and sometimes
Urhobo tribes in Warri over sovereignty, presumably because the area is oil-rich.
