With an estimated population of 204 million, Nigeria is currently the most populous black country in the world. The country is characterized by the emergence of different eras of civilizations, states, kingdoms and empires as well as caliphates and colonial governments. Here are the top 20 historical facts about Nigeria that you as an ordinary Nigerian or history buff should know. 20 Historical Facts about Nigeria.
1. The British arrived in Nigeria in 1851, annexed Lagos in 1861 and established the Oil River Protectorate in 1884.
2. Flora Louisa Shaw, British journalist, writer and wife of Lord Frederick Lugard, proposed the name “Nigeria” for the British protectorate over Niger in “The Times of London” on January 8, 1897.
3 Zungeru in northern Nigeria was Nigeria’s first federal capital territory. This happened in the years 1900-1914.
4. Nnamdi Azikiwe was the first and last indigenous Governor-General of Nigeria (November 16, 1960 – October 1, 1963).
5. Designed by Micheal Taiwo Akinkumi in 1959, the Nigerian national flag originally featured a red quarter sun on a white portion, a symbol of protection and divine guidance. He was removed from office by the Independence Committee.
6. Nigeria gained independence on October 1, 1960 and became a republican state on October 1, 1963.
7. The first military coup in Nigeria took place on January 15, 1966 under the leadership of Major Kaduna Nzeogwu. Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa, S.L. Akintola, Ahmadu Bello, Okotie Eboh and several others were killed in the attack.
8. The Nigerian Civil War, also known as the Biafran War, lasted exactly 2 years, 6 months, 1 week and 2 days (July 6, 1967 to January 15, 1970).
9.The National Youth Corps was established by Decree No. 24 of May 22, 1973, during the military regime of General Yakubu Gowon.
10. Nigeria switched from the British West African Pound to its own currency, the Nigerian Pound, in 1958 and to the Naira on January 1, 1973.
11.Wole Soyinka was the first African to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1986 and is also a well-known social commentator and political activist.
12. On October 1, 1961, Southern Cameroon ceased to be part of Nigeria and became part of Cameroon following the plebiscite called by the United Nations on February 11, 1961.
13. Eredo Sungbo in Ogun State (6°49’N, 3°56’E) is a 100 mile long wall and ditch system up to 70 feet deep that surrounds Ijebu-Ode.Its queen, Bilkisu Sungbo, would be the biblical Queen Sheba (Queen Bilkis in the Quran).
14. Rivers Agbani Darego, a Rivers State-born model and beauty queen, was the first African to win the Miss World pageant. This happened in 2001. The Miss World pageant sparked riots in Nigeria in 2002, in which about 250 people died.
15. Malam Umaru Altine, a Fulani from the North, became the first elected mayor of Enugu East in 1952 and was even re-elected for a second term.
16. In 1918, 30,000 Abeokuta Ebga warriors led a major rebellion against the colonial authorities over colonization, taxes and forced labor. A British soldier was killed and railway and telegraph cables were destroyed.This is known in history as the Adubi War.
17. Until 1984 you didn’t need a visa to enter the UK.
18. Nigeria received its first loan from the World Bank in 1977.
19. The northern and north-central regions of Nigeria are home to West Africa’s first civilization, the Nok, who lived between 1000 and 300 BC. BC existed.
20. Nigeria’s most successful appearance at the Olympics was in 1996, when the men’s national football team won gold and Chioma Ajunwa won the gold medal in the women’s long jump. Thank you for reading Top 20 Historical Facts About Nigeria.
