Nigerian History

Ikenga GT: 3 Remarkable Designs That Shaped a 1960s Vision

The Ikenga GT emerged in London during the late 1960s as an extraordinary meeting of automotive experimentation, international craftsmanship and African cultural inspiration. Designed...

Hajiya Jummai Tafawa Balewa: The Remarkable Life of Nigeria’s First Prime Minister’s Last Surviving Wife

Hajiya Jummai Tafawa Balewa occupied an unusual place in Nigeria’s modern history. She held no national political office, yet her life was intimately connected...

Broad Street Telecommunications Building: The 1966 Coup and Fall of Nigeria’s First Republic

The Broad Street Telecommunications Building in Lagos stood at the centre of one of the most dramatic political transformations in Nigerian history. During the...

Babs Fafunwa: The Powerful Legacy Still Shaping Nigeria’s Education Debate

Babs Fafunwa remains one of the most important figures in the history of Nigerian education. More than fifteen years after his death, the questions...

Cardinal Rex Lawson: Enduring Voice of 1960s Nigerian Highlife

Cardinal Rex Lawson became one of the defining Nigerian musicians of highlife's golden era. Born in Buguma in 1938, he developed a musical identity...

Atiba rebuilt Oyo: 3 Powerful Centres That Reshaped Yoruba Politics After Old Oyo Fell

Atiba rebuilt Oyo at one of the most dangerous moments in the history of the old kingdom. The imperial capital had been abandoned, Ilorin...

Kano World of Paperbacks Exhibition: 3 Powerful Forces Behind a 1969 Publishing Encounter

The Kano World of Paperbacks Exhibition of 1969 belongs to a revealing period in Nigeria’s post-independence history. Kano State was only two years old,...

Wuraola Esan: 5 Powerful Milestones in the Life of Nigeria’s First Female Senator

Wuraola Esan occupies a distinctive place in Nigerian history. In 1960, she became the first woman to serve in Nigeria’s federal Senate, entering a...

Colonel Joseph Akahan: 5 Defining Moments in the Remarkable Rise and Sudden Death of Nigeria’s Young Wartime Army Chief

Colonel Joseph Akahan was only 30 years old when his brief but consequential military career ended during the opening month of the Nigerian Civil...

Katsina Polo Photograph: 3 Powerful Figures in 1970s Northern Nigeria

The Katsina Polo Photograph associated with Major-General Hassan Usman Katsina, Major-General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua and General Abba Abdulkadir opens a window onto an important...