Ancient & Pre-Colonial Nigeria
Histories of Nigerian kingdoms, empires, trade routes, and cultures before colonial rule, including Nok, Benin, Oyo, Sokoto, and Kanem-Bornu.
Voices on the Line, Wires Across Empire
In a small telecommunications room in Kano, a young Nigerian woman sits upright before a wooden manual telephone switchboard. The board is crowded with...
Northern Nigerian Rulers at Croydon Aerodrome, Aviation, Empire, and a Photograph That Traveled the World
On 2 July 1934, Croydon Aerodrome became the setting for a striking imperial era encounter. Northern Nigerian traditional rulers, identified by their titles as...
Latifu Awoyale: Yoruba Goldsmithing in Ibadan
Goldsmithing and metalwork occupy a central place in Yoruba culture, with traditions extending across centuries. Yoruba metalworking encompasses ironwork, brass and copper casting, and...
Sango Shrine of the Timi of Ede: Yoruba Spirituality, Symbolism, and Cultural Heritage
The Sango shrine in Ede, linked to the palace of the Timi, the traditional ruler of Ede in Osun State, remains central to the...
The Igala Kings and the Niger, Benue River Corridor
The meeting place of the River Niger and the River Benue is more than a point on a map, it is one of West...
1914 and the Making of Nigeria, What the Amalgamation Really Was, and What It Was Not
Before 1914, Britain did not govern the territory now called Nigeria as a single political unit. Instead, it administered separate colonial entities, most notably...
Yoruba Wedding in London, 1949: Nigerian Diaspora History
In December 1949, a wedding involving a Nigerian couple of Yoruba origin was held at a Methodist church on Wandsworth Bridge Road in London....
Pioneers of Learning, The First Nigerian Students Educated Under Missionary Rule
During the nineteenth century, Christian missionary activity reached the coastal communities of what is now Nigeria and introduced a new institution that would leave...
The Indigenous Worldviews of Pre Colonial Nigeria
Before European rule, the land now called Nigeria was home to many societies with distinct languages, traditions, and ways of understanding the world. These...
Pioneers of Learning in Mission Era Nigeria
Formal Western education in Nigeria began not with colonial governments but with Christian missions. Long before official education departments existed, mission schools introduced literacy,...