Independence & Nationalism in Nigeria
The nationalist movements, leaders, constitutional changes, and events leading to Nigeria’s independence in 1960.
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...
Ibadan in the Early 1960s, The City That Moved Western Nigeria
In the early 1960s, Ibadan stood as one of the most influential cities in Nigeria. It was a place of movement and ambition, a...
The 1969 National Curriculum Conference and the Birth of Modern Nigerian Education
In September 1969, while Nigeria was still in the midst of the civil war, an important national gathering took place in Lagos that would...
Is Nigeria Economically Self Reliant?
Economic self reliance refers to a country’s ability to sustain its development primarily through domestic production, supported by its own resources, labour, institutions and...
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...
Warri Crisis, How a Dispute Over a Local Government Headquarters Ignited Ethnic Violence in the Niger Delta (1997–2003)
Warri, located in Delta State in southern Nigeria, became the centre of repeated intercommunal violence in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The crisis...
The 1975 Military Coup That Removed Yakubu Gowon From Power
Nigeria’s political history contains moments when power shifted suddenly and dramatically. One of the most consequential occurred on 29 July 1975, when senior officers...
How Garvey’s Ideas and Regional Parties Shaped Nigeria Before 1960
Long before Nigeria became independent on 1 October 1960, Nigerians were already debating power, rights, and representation in print. In the colonial era, newspapers...
Amalgamation and the Road to Regional Crisis in Nigeria, 1914 to 1967
On 1 January 1914, the British government amalgamated the Protectorate of Northern Nigeria and the Protectorate of Southern Nigeria, creating the Colony and Protectorate...
Nigeria as a Political Unit
Nigeria’s emergence as a single political entity is rooted in colonial consolidation, shaped by earlier regional interactions, and sustained through constitutional evolution and institutional...