Colonial Nigeria
Explore Nigeria’s colonial era (c. 1861–1960), from the annexation of Lagos and the Royal Niger Company to the 1914 amalgamation and the road to independence. This category examines British administration, missionary education, commerce and railways, taxation and labor, cultural change and urban life, and the rise of nationalist movements, including women’s protests, unions, and political parties. Discover biographies, key events, and documents that reveal resistance, collaboration, and everyday experiences across Nigeria’s regions.
Attah Ameh Oboni: The King Who Chose Death Rather Than Surrender His Royal Authority
Attah Ameh Oboni I was one of the most respected monarchs in the history of the Igala Kingdom. He ruled from 1946 until 1956,...
Why the Slave Trade Continued
The abolition of the transatlantic slave trade was not achieved simply because Britain decided to stop selling enslaved Africans. Although Britain abolished its own...
National War Museum, Umuahia
The National War Museum in Umuahia, Abia State, preserves a difficult chapter of Nigerian history through the weapons, military equipment and historical objects left...
The Old Bank Safe of Ikot Abasi and the Man Trapped Inside
In Ikot Abasi, Akwa Ibom State, an old bank safe has remained closed for generations, preserving a story that continues to intrigue residents and...
Igbo Landing: The 1803 Revolt That Ended in a Tragedy at Dunbar Creek
In 1803, a vessel carrying approximately 75 captive Africans approached the coast of Georgia, in the United States. The people aboard had been taken...
The 1975 Cement Crisis: Nigeria’s Development Struggle
Nigeria entered the 1970s with a country to rebuild, an economy transformed by petroleum and a government determined to accelerate development. Five years after...
The 400 Ships That Turned Lagos Waters Into a Cement Parking Lot
In the middle of the 1970s, Nigeria was a country in a hurry.The civil war had ended in January 1970. Oil revenues were rising...
Chinwuba Onumba: 7 Seeds and the Enduring Story of an Aguleri Afa Diviner
Chinwuba Onumba occupies an unusual place in the remembered history of Aguleri, an Igbo community in the Anambra River basin of present-day Anambra State....
M. C. K. Ajuluchukwu: 5 Defining Chapters in the Life of a Zikist Journalist and Political Communicator
M. C. K. Ajuluchukwu belonged to a generation in which Nigerian journalism and political struggle were often inseparable. During the final decades of British...
Mary Slessor and Janie Annan Slessor: The Powerful Story Behind Their 1891 Portrait
Mary Slessor and Janie Annan Slessor appear together in one of the most recognisable photographs associated with the Scottish missionary’s life in West Africa....