The Three Lions got their World Cup preparations off to a strong start with a relatively comfortable victory in front of home fans.
Gary Cahill headed England ahead in the early stages, before Harry Kane netted later in the first period.
Arsenal’s Alex Iwobi scored straight after the restart to give the 10,000 Nigeria fans inside the national stadium something to shout about.
But England held on easily, in what was a relatively quiet second half.
And speaking after the clash, Southgate admitted he was pleased with his side’s improvement from recent outings.
“I think we played really well, with the ball especially. Far more good situations than in recent games,” he said.
“We were deservedly two goals up in the first half.
“The period leading up to their goal, they changed their system and we took some time to adjust. But after that we dealt with it well. It was a decent exercise for us to adjust to that.”
Southgate has been hailed for his experimental style since taking over from Roy Hodgson last year.
And critics have been raving over the play of England’s youngsters in recent months.
And the manager believes his quartet of attacking stars showed their class again today.
“The front four, some of the movement and interplay, we looked a threat with plenty of pace,” he continued.
“Dele [Alli] and Jesse [Lingard] made unselfish runs.
“Some slightly better decision making or quality and we would have scored more.”
Kane continued his fine goalscoring form in an England shirt, taking his tally to six goals in five games when he has worn the captain’s armband.
And the Tottenham hitman admits he is raring to go ahead of the opening game less than two weeks away.
“It was a good win against a tough side. We were excellent in the first half and created a lot of chances,” he said.
“Second half they scored and it puts the pressure on but we got back into it an kept the ball and came back well.
“l feel at my best. It was great to score – it’s always nice for a striker and now I’m looking forward to the game on Thursday.”
The England camp may be in high spirits after their narrow victory.
But former midfielder Chris Waddle believes the Three Lions’ performance shouldn’t excite fans ahead of this month’s tournament.
“I thought England played very well in the first-half against a poor Nigeria side,” he told the BBC.
“But the visitors made their changes in the second-half and made a game of it.
“I don’t think we got a lot of answers today though because Nigeria just lied down in the first period and let England do what they want.”
England have one more warm-up game against Costa Rica next Thursday.
Their first World Cup group game is against Tunisia in Volgograd.
