Pope Saint John Paul II first made a pilgrimage to Nigeria in 1982, the first stop of his tenth apostolic journey, during which he also visited Benin, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. His second pilgrimage took place here in Onitsha in eastern Nigeria in 1998 on the occasion of the beatification of Father Cyprian Tansi.
Oludotun Baiyewu Jacobs, also known as Olu Jacobs, and his wife Joke Silva act on stage at the National Theater Hall. Love is truly a beautiful thing 💜🤍
Ugochukwu Bomboy was born in Oshodi to Igbo parents from Eastern Nigeria. Bomboy has a brother named Austinero, who bears a striking resemblance to his brother Bomboy. His mother was a street vendor and always found a way to support her family. Previously, Oshodi, a foreigner, had done everything he could to avoid crossing the area, especially at night, for fear of being harassed, attacked, raped or robbed. Street children and hooligans take the law into their own hands, and since there is no traditional ruler in Oshodi, it is a place where every hooligan fights for recognition. Transporters, traders, dealers and markets are afraid of criminals.In the early 1990s, Ugochukwu Dum Obiora, a famous local boy known…
The photo shows young and brave Biafran soldiers trained in Enugu to protect their territory from the Nigerian Army in 1968.
Nigerians sit on the branches of a tree trying to catch a glimpse of Queen Elizabeth II as she attends Sunday mass at St. James Pro-Cathedral. in Ibadan, Oyo State.
Aikhomu was born on October 20,1939, in Irrua- Ishan, Edo State. He had his education at Irrua Government School and later Yaba College of Technology, 1954 -1958 Royal Britannia Naval College; Long Gunnery Specialist Course, India, and the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies, 1982. Ehime, first son of former Admiral Augustus Aikhomu was…
When Oluwashina Akanbi Peters met Clarion Chukwura in 1982, Sir Shina Peters, as he was popularly known, was already making waves in the Nigerian music industry. He was, as he called himself, the “founder and pioneer” of Afro-Juju music in Nigeria. By 1982, SSP had already released three albums three years in a row: Way to Freedom (1980), Freedom (Senwele) (1981) and Money Power (1982). However, Afro Juju’s path to fame was littered with pitfalls. As a boy, he rebelled against his parents, gave up his education and claimed he wanted to be a musician. His parents did not agree with his decision and gave…
Photo shows Civil Engineer and Oni of Ife Oba Adesoji ADEREMI wearing a crown and beaded robe as he inspects the design of the new Oni Palace. They lived in a small, old house and categorically refused to build a better building until the local administration completed and paid for the drinking water supply to the population.
A heavily armed riot police unit marches through a street in Lagos to disperse a crowd of demonstrators demanding a postponement of the December 1964 federal election. General elections were held in Nigeria on December 30, 1964, but in some constituencies in the Eastern, Lagos and West Central regions they were not held until March 18, 1965, due to the December boycott. During the elections, most parties operated in alliances, the Nigerian National Alliance (Northern People’s Congress, Nigerian National Democratic Party, West Central Democratic Front, Dynamic Party, Niger…
His Eminence Sheikh (Dr.) Muhammad Kamalud-deen Al-Adabiy, MFR, OFR, ORSA (Egypt). D.Litt. (University of Ilorin), Scholar of Islamic Studies in Nigeria (FISN), was born at the Ara Agbaji compound in Masingba, Okekere area of Ilorin at the turn of the 20th century (1905). His father was Mallam Habibullahi, son of Sheikh Musa, and his mother was Alhaja Khadijah. His paternal grandparents are said to have emigrated from Katsina. The young Muhammad Kamalud-deen grew up in a purely Islamic…
Bianca, in an interview some years ago when they celebrated their wedding anniversary, told General Ojukwu a short, fascinating story about their wedding cake and its preparations. Mrs. Bianca Ojukwu (then Bianca Onoh) was preparing for her wedding in November 1994. General Ojukwu’s wife celebrated her wedding anniversary by revealing that a pastry chef in Enugu refused to make her wedding cake. The cook thought Bianca was poor and lower class. A well-meaning friend recommended a qualified pastry…
Participants in a demonstration in Trafalgar Square, London, to protest against the killing of 21 striking Nigerian miners in Enugu by colonial police. The Enugu Coal Mine Massacre, also known as the Iva Valley Massacre, is a site in Enugu city, Enugu State, Nigeria. The name Ivy Valley comes from a valley in the region of the same name. The town is home to the Ivy Valley Coal Mine. Iva Valley is famous in Enugu for the events of November 18, 1949, when police killed 21 miners during protests. On November 18, 1949, 50 armed policemen led by the senior police commissioner F.S Phillips…
In 1986, three of the most famous Nigerian and African writers and poets, JP Clark, Chinua Achebe and Professor Wole Soyinka visited Dodan Barracks. Their aim was to appeal to General Ibrahim Babangida to pardon General Vatsa, also known as Mamman Jiya Vatsa. Despite their efforts, General Babangida went ahead and executed General Vatsa. It should be noted that General Vatsa and General Babangida were close friends, which made the circumstances of this execution even more embarrassing. The details of what happened between these two friends will soon be…
The son of late military ruler General Sani Abacha Mohammed Abacha (left) and former senior security official Major Hamza al-Mustapha (right) are taken out of a prison van en route to the courthouse on October 14, 1999. in Lagos. The two men, along with three others, were charged with the 1996 murder of Kudirat Abiola, wife of the late MKO Abiola. Al-Mustapha was also charged with another murder.
David Green; (October 16, 1886 – December 1, 1973) was the principal national founder of the State of Israel and the first Prime Minister of that state. He was born in Plońsk, was a member of the Polish Congress at the time and grew up in a family of Polish Jews. In 1906 he emigrated to the Palestinian region of the Ottoman Empire. In 1909 he adopted the name Ben-Gurion and became a prominent leader of the Jewish community in British-controlled Mandatory Palestine from 1935 until the founding of the State of Israel in and 1948, which he led…
Sunny Adé was born in Osogbo into the Ondo and Akure royal family of Nigeria, making her an Omoba of the Yoruba people. His father was a church organist and his mother, Maria Adegeye (née Adesida), was a merchant. A member of the Adesida dynasty, his mother’s relatives included his father Oba Adesida I (who ruled Akure for 60 years) and later his nephew and cousin Adé, in the 1950s during Queen Elizabeth’s royal tour, Oba Adebiyi Adegboye Adesida Afunbiowo II, who also served as King of Akure, received…
When the Chamber met on Friday 25 May 1962 to discuss a motion of confidence in the new government, clashes immediately broke out between members. Chief Odebiyi – Finance Minister and Speaker of the House of Representatives – was about to table the first business motion of the day when Mr EO Oke, Member of Parliament for Ogbomosho Southwest, jumped up, raised an alarm and threw a chair on the floor of the chamber. Mr F. Ebubedike, a member of Badagry East, grabbed the mace and smashed it on the speaker’s table. Mr. S.A. Adeniya, a member…
Alphaeus Taiwo Olunaike is not a name that many Nigerians know. But when we talk about Baba Alajo Somolu, the eyes of millions of Nigerians light up. Yes, they are more familiar with this identity. Baba Alajo Somolu was only three years old when he lost his father. However, he was able to continue his…
General Sani Abacha became the first officer in the Nigerian Armed Forces to achieve the rank of four-star general without progressing through the ranks. There had been other officers before him who had reached the rank of four-star general, but they had all skipped the rank. Yakubu Gowon was the first officer in the Nigerian Armed Forces to achieve the rank of 4-star general but was promoted from the rank of lieutenant colonel to the rank of major general (war) on June 2, 1967 (at the start…
The Odi massacre was an attack by the Nigerian armed forces on November 20, 1999 on the predominantly Ijaw town of Odi in Bayelsa State. The attack came in the context of the ongoing conflict in the Niger Delta over the rights of indegenous peoples to oil resources and environmental protection. It is estimated that more than 900 civilians were killed in this attack. The massacre is believed to have been ordered by the regime of former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Vice President Atiku Abubakar. The army has often…