Ancient & Pre-Colonial Nigeria
Histories of Nigerian kingdoms, empires, trade routes, and cultures before colonial rule, including Nok, Benin, Oyo, Sokoto, and Kanem-Bornu.
Onye Ocha Masquerade: How Igbo Performers Turned Colonial Rule into Comedy
The Onye Ocha masquerade stands as one of the most fascinating examples of how Igbo performance traditions responded to colonial rule in south-eastern Nigeria....
Igboho and the Oyo Empire: 4 Crucial Reigns That Helped Rebuild Oyo After Exile
Igboho and the Oyo Empire are linked by one of the most important periods in early Yoruba history. Centuries before the nineteenth-century collapse of...
King Ibanichuka of Okrika: 5 Defining Events in the Reign and Fall of Ado VI
King Ibanichuka of Okrika occupied the Amanyanabo stool during one of the most consequential periods in the history of the eastern Niger Delta. Crowned...
Warri Kingdom Origins: Ginuwa, Benin and the Rise of Iwere in the Western Niger Delta
The Warri Kingdom origins form one of the most important chapters in the history of the western Niger Delta. At the centre of the...
Arogbo Freedom Post: The Remarkable 1885 Sanctuary for People Escaping Slavery
Among the lesser-known episodes in the nineteenth-century history of the creeks east of Lagos is the establishment of what later Arogbo historical tradition remembered...
Bamboxê Obitikô: The Remarkable Yoruba Priest Who Connected 4 Atlantic Cities
Bamboxê Obitikô occupies an exceptional place in the history of the Yoruba diaspora. Known in Brazilian legal records as Rodolfo Manoel Martins de Andrade,...
The Historic 1956 Enugu Meeting of Obi James Okosi II and Queen Elizabeth II
Obi James Okosi II and Queen Elizabeth II were brought together during one of the most significant ceremonial journeys of Nigeria’s late colonial period....
Oduduwa and Ile-Ife: Powerful History Behind Yoruba Kingship
Oduduwa and Ile-Ife occupy a central position in Yoruba historical memory. Oduduwa is remembered across many Yoruba communities as an ancestral ruler, the source...
Esu in Yoruba Religion: 5 Defining Chapters Behind the Divine Messenger and the Devil Misconception
Esu in Yoruba religion occupies a position far more complex than the familiar labels of “trickster”, “god of chaos” or “Yoruba devil” suggest. Known...
Nwauko of Nibo: The Remarkable 1911 Portrait Preserved in Northcote Thomas’s Igbo Archive
Nwauko of Nibo survives in the historical record through a photograph associated with Northcote W. Thomas’s anthropological work among Igbo communities in the Awka...