Ancient & Pre-Colonial Nigeria
Histories of Nigerian kingdoms, empires, trade routes, and cultures before colonial rule, including Nok, Benin, Oyo, Sokoto, and Kanem-Bornu.
Aholu Menu-Toyi I: The Remarkable Story of a Journalist-King Who Ruled Badagry for Nearly 49 Years
Aholu Menu-Toyi I occupied the throne of Badagry for almost half a century, but his path to kingship was far from conventional. Before entering...
Hornbill Hunting Decoys in Nigeria: 3 Remarkable Records of Hausa and Nupe Hunting Before 1920
Hornbill hunting decoys in Nigeria represent one of the most striking examples of specialised hunting knowledge recorded in the country during the early twentieth...
Mary Magdalena Mami Wata Priestess: The Rare 1989 Portrait from Oron, Nigeria
The Mary Magdalena Mami Wata Priestess image from Oron, Nigeria, in 1989 preserves a striking moment in the visual history of African religion. The...
History of Nnewi Kingdom: 4 Enduring Quarters, Colonial Change and Orizu III’s Remarkable 63-Year Reign
The History of Nnewi Kingdom stretches from a pre-colonial Igbo political community organised around four constituent quarters to one of the best-known commercial and...
Owiwi War: The Decisive 1832 Battle That Transformed Abeokuta and Yorubaland
The Owiwi War of 1832 came at a dangerous moment in the history of Abeokuta. The Egba settlement had only recently been established, the...
Britain Stormed Benin City in 1897. But the Attack Was About More Than Revenge
On 4 January 1897, a British party travelling towards Benin City was attacked.Among those killed was James Robert Phillips, the Acting Consul General of...
The Fulani Jihad That Transformed Northern Nigeria
In 1804, a religious dispute in the Hausa state of Gobir exploded into a revolution that would change the political map of West Africa.At...
The Rivers That Became Highways of Colonial Expansion
For centuries, the rivers of West Africa were already busy highways. Canoes carried traders, farmers, fishermen and goods between communities long before European colonial...
How European Colonialism Destroyed Centuries Old Political Systems
Before European colonial governments began dividing Africa into colonies, the continent was already home to powerful kingdoms, empires, confederacies, city states, councils, emirates and...
Obi Ijeh of Idumuoghu: The Powerful 1978 Photograph That Preserved an Igbuzo Moment in History
In 1978, Obi Ijeh of Idumuoghu became the subject of one of Bruno Barbey’s most striking photographs from Nigeria. The image shows the deceased...