Alhaji (Sir) Ahmadu Bello was the Sardauna of Sokoto and leader of Nigeria’s northern region during the last years of British rule and early independence. He was brutally murdered at his home during a 1966 coup d’état, one in a series of events characterizing Nigeria’s … Read More … Read MoreAlhaji (Sir) Ahmadu Bello (1910-1966)
Benin City, which is also known as Edo, is located in the southern region of Nigeria. It is the capital of Edo state and in 2016 boasted a population of 1,500,000 people making it the largest city in the state as well as the fourth-largest … Read More … Read MoreBenin City, Nigeria (10th Century- )
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is a Nigerian economist who, on March 3, 2021, was sworn in as the first woman and first African director-general of the World Trade Organization (WTO). She was also the longest serving finance minister in the government of Nigeria and has headed initiatives … Read More … Read MoreNgozi Okonjo-Iweala (1954 – )
In 1957 Ghana became the first nation in sub-Saharan Africa to win its independence from a colonial power (Great Britain). The independence struggle was led by Kwame Nkrumah who became the nation’s first Prime Minister. Nkrumah visited Nigeria in 1959. He specifically toured Eastern Nigeria … Read More … Read More(1959) Nnamdi Azikiwe Honors Kwame Nkrumah on his Visit to Eastern Nigeria
Kano, also known as Kano City, is located in the northern region of Nigeria on the Jakara River. It is the capital of Kano state and in 2006 boasted a population of 2,828,861 people making it the second largest city in Nigeria. Many of the … Read More … Read MoreKano, Nigeria (7th c.?- )
The Republic of Biafra was a short-lived Nigerian secessionist state which came into existence on May 30, 1967 when the Igbo-dominated southeastern corner of Nigeria seceded in the formation of its own independent country. Following its defeat in the Nigerian Civil War (1967-1970), on January … Read More … Read MoreRepublic of Biafra (1967-1970)
In the following article, Collins Edigin, a historian at the University of Benin in Benin City, Nigeria, describes the rule of the Obas of Benin, a continuous dynasty of the West African state of Benin (now in present-day Nigeria) that began in the 13th Century … Read More … Read MoreThe Obas of Benin: A Brief History of the Rulers of A West African State for Eight Centuries
As the post-World War II campaign for African independence heated up, young leaders such as Nigeria’s Nnamdi Azikiwe (who would eventually become the first President of Nigeria), carried their arguments to Great Britain. On October 23, 1949 Azikiwe spoke at the Plenary Session of the … Read More … Read More(1949) Nnamdi Azikiwe, “A Denunciation of European Imperialism”
In 1957 the Nigerian House of Representatives passed a motion requesting Independence from Great Britain and calling on that colonial power to officially set the date for that Independence as October 1, 1960. After the motion was passed, Alhaji Abubakar Balewa, a member of the … Read More … Read More(1957) Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, “Unity and Diversity in Independence”
Nnamdi Azikiwe was the first President of Nigeria and was instrumental in founding a string of newspapers across Nigeria. Azikiwe was born on November 16, 1904 in Zungeru which was then the capital of Northern Nigeria. His father, Chukwumeka Azikiwe, was a civil servant in … Read More … Read MoreBenjamin Nnamdi “Zik” Azikiwe (1904-1996)
