Democratic Nigeria
Nigeria’s democratic governments from 1999 to present, including presidential administrations, reforms, protests, and state politics.
When Tafawa Balewa Met Melville Herskovits
A surviving photograph from 1960 shows Nigerian Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa standing beside anthropologist Melville J. Herskovits at Northwestern University while both men...
Mallam Aminu Kano and the Rise of Talakawa Politics in Northern Nigeria
Mallam Aminu Kano was born in 1920 in Kano, one of the most important commercial and cultural centres in Northern Nigeria during the era...
Aliyu Sabo Bakin Zuwo and the Fall of Kano’s Civilian Government in 1983
Aliyu Sabo Bakin Zuwo belongs to the generation of northern Nigerian politicians whose careers were shaped by grassroots political mobilization and the intense contests...
Julie Coker, Miss Western Nigeria Who Helped Shape Early Nigerian Television
Julie Coker belongs to the generation that entered public life just as modern Nigerian broadcasting was beginning to take shape. Long before television became...
Life and Celebration on Colonial Lagos Island, Igbosere in 1946
In 1946, a colonial era publication described a place called “Igboshere Fishing Village” on Lagos Island. The scene was colourful and lively. Visitors arrived...
Inside the First Lagos State House of Assembly, The Legislature That Worked with Jakande, 1979–1983
Nigeria’s return to civilian government in 1979 opened a new political chapter for Lagos State. After years of military administration, the country entered the...
The Yoruba WAAC Notice That Opened the Skies Between Lagos and Accra
A short Yoruba language airline notice provides a rare glimpse into the early history of air travel in West Africa. The advert announced flights...
Education and National Development
Education has always played an important role in the development of societies. Long before the rise of modern school systems, communities created ways to...
Nigeria’s Education System, Growth, Strain, and the Long Road to Quality Learning
Nigeria’s education system is one of the largest on the African continent. From a small network of missionary schools in the nineteenth century, it...
Rebuilding a Nation Through Learning, Nigerian Education After Independence and the Struggle for Relevance
When Nigeria gained independence on 1 October 1960, the country inherited an education system that had grown under colonial rule but was not designed...