Founded on October 4, 1962, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) is a public university located in Zaria, Kaduna State in northern Nigeria. With over 35,000 students, it is the largest university in sub-Saharan Africa and the second largest on the African continent after the University of … Read MoreAhmadu Bello University (1962- )
Image Ownership: Udeagbala (CC BY-SA 4.0) The University of Nigeria is a federally-controlled public university located in southeastern Nigeria. The university has three campuses: Nsukka (the main campus), Enugu, and Ituku-Ozalla. It was the first university opened by newly independent Nigeria. Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, the … Read MoreUniversity of Nigeria (1960- )
Ibadan, located in Western Nigeria, is the country’s second largest city and capital of the Oyo state. A 2006 Nigerian Census shows the population of Ibadan at 1,138,639 citizens. Home to the University of Ibadan, it is a leader in the nation’s institutions of education, … Read MoreIbadan, Nigeria (1829- )
Most Americans are now familiar with the contribution of nearly 300,000 black soldiers and sailors to the Union cause during the U.S. Civil War. Less well known is the role of a dedicated group of black doctors and nurses in uniform who worked diligently to … Read MoreAfrican Americans in Medicine in the Civil War Era
Nigerian nationalist, politician, lawyer, statesman, and chancellor, Chief Jeremiah Obafemi Awolowo was born on March 6, 1909 in Ogun State, Nigeria, where he commenced his political career. Awolowo attended various local schools in Ogun State, Nigeria and later served as an editor of The Nigerian … Read MoreObafemi Awolowo (1909-1985)
Hakeem Olajuwon was a professional and collegiate basketball player, and is now retired. Olajuwon was born in Lagos, Nigeria, in January 1963, and lived there until he moved to Texas in 1980 to attend the University of Houston. Olajuwon grew up in Lagos playing mostly … Read MoreHakeem Olajuwon (1963– )
Through her personal struggles and exceptional writing abilities, Florence Onyebuchi “Buchi” Emecheta constructed a collection of literary works that reflected the lives of African women. Emecheta was born on July 21, 1944, in Yaba, Nigeria into a family with strong ties to their cultural traditions. … Read MoreFlorence Onyebuchi “Buchi” Emecheta (1944 – 2017 )
Lagos is the largest city and chief port of modern Nigeria. The area that is now Lagos was settled by Yoruba people during the fourteenth century. The founders created a coastal village they called Eko. In the 1760s, Portuguese traders settled there and began using … Read MoreLagos, Nigeria (ca. 1350- )
Early African independence advocate Herbert Macauley was born in Lagos, Nigeria on November 14, 1864. His father was the founder and first principal of the Church Missionary Society Grammar School in Lagos, and his mother was a daughter of the Reverend Samuel Ajayi Crowther, the … Read MoreHerbert Macauley (1864-1946)
