Ancient & Pre-Colonial Nigeria
Histories of Nigerian kingdoms, empires, trade routes, and cultures before colonial rule, including Nok, Benin, Oyo, Sokoto, and Kanem-Bornu.
Sisi Nurse (1922), Aina Onabolu’s Portrait and the Birth of Modern Nigerian Art
Painted in 1922, Sisi Nurse stands as one of the most significant early portraits in Nigerian modern art. Created by Aina Onabolu, the work...
Calabar, From Akwa Akpa to Colonial Headquarters
Calabar stands today as one of Nigeria’s most historically layered cities, a place where river routes, merchant networks, faith communities, and colonial government once...
The Kingdom of Ede and the Martial Kingship of the Timi
Ede, in present day Osun State, is one of those Yoruba towns whose importance is not measured by the size of an empire, but...
Idumagbo Avenue in Old Lagos, What a Historic Street Photograph Reveals About Commerce, Returnees, and Place
Lagos Island has always been shaped by movement. People, goods, languages, and skills passed through its streets long before modern traffic or mapped addresses....
Ehaengbehia Regalia and the Authority of Benin Palace Chiefs
In the Benin Kingdom, ceremonial dress is not fashion. It is authority made visible. Within the palace environment, what a chief wears communicates rank,...
The Ibadan, Ijaye War
By the mid nineteenth century, Yorubaland was living through a dangerous transition. The old imperial order associated with Old Oyo had weakened and fractured,...
Igue Festival of Benin, The Sacred Season That Shaped a Kingdom and Echoed Into 1897
The Igue Festival is one of the most revered royal ceremonies of the historic Benin Kingdom, centred in Benin City, in present day Edo...
Standing Wood Sculptures and Royal Authority at the Old Palace of Oba Sir Ladapo Ademola II, Abeokuta
The Old Palace of the Alake of Egbaland in Abeokuta remains one of the most important surviving symbols of Egba kingship and Yoruba court...
Two West African Chiefs in London, 1947, The True Story Behind the Historic South Kensington Photograph
In the summer of 1947, London was still living with the aftershocks of the Second World War. Ration books shaped daily choices, queues were...
Aso Oke on the Loom, Iseyin and the Making of Yoruba Prestige
In Iseyin, a town in present day Oyo State, the narrow band loom is more than a tool. It is a memory machine. A...