Throwback Photo of Samuel Ladoke Akíntólá with David Ben-Gurion in 1961

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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…

Brief Biography of Music Legend, King Sunny Ade

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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…

Western House of Assembly Members Struggle to Escape a Riot in the Government House

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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…

Military Personnels who Attained the Rank of General Starting from Sani Abacha

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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…

Odi Massacre: An Attack by the Nigerian Armed Forces Against the Ijaw town of Odi in Bayelsa State.

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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…

Meet Ndubuisi Godwin, First Governor of Lagos State from Igbo tribe!

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Ndubuisi Kanu was born on November 3, 1943 in Ovim Village, Isuikwuato, Abia State. He belonged to the Igbo tribe and attended the Enugu Methodist Primary School. He joined the Navy in 1962 and went to India for cadet training. His maritime career included positions in human resources, logistics and training. Kanu fought alongside the Biafran forces in the Nigerian Civil War. In July 1975 he was appointed commander-in-chief in the cabinet of the Murtala Muhammed or Supreme Military Council government. Under Military President Olusegun Obasanjo (who assumed office in February 1976), Kanu was appointed…

Ajayi Crowther Campaigns for the Girl-Child’s Right to Education in 1886

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When Crowther visited Bonny (now Rivers State) in 1866, he and the chief agreed that the natives should pay for their children’s education. Each student, boy or girl, should receive about ten dollars per year. After twelve months, when the payment was due, the leaders protested against the waste of money on girls’ education. “Our boys,” they said, “can act for us, write for us, and do anything; But girls can be useless, we won’t pay them. ” Very Well”, replied Crowther, having generously agreed in advance to cover half of the initial cost of the mission; ” it has to be half the salary”. If you pay…

The SOJA IDUMOTA Monument, How It Was Transferred to Abuja by General Ibrahim Babangida

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  This monument was erected by the colonial authorities at a strategic location in Idumota, a part of central Lagos, directly overlooking the Carter Bridge, the first and important artery connecting Lagos Island to the mainland, built in 1899. The monument was erected in 1935 as a cenotaph to honor the more than 3 million Nigerian-African soldiers who lost their lives while serving in the British Army in defense of the British Empire during the First World War in 1914-1918 and was celebrated annually as a harvest festival on November 16 by the former colonial regime before Nigeria’s independence. Celebrations continued after World War II in 1939-1945 and after the end of the 1967-1970 Nigerian Civil War, the annual celebration…

Meet First Ever Nigerian First Lady, Flora Ogbenyeanu Ogoegbunam Azikiwe

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Flora Ogbenyeanu Ogoegbunam Azikiwe (August 7, 1917 – August 22, 1983) was the first wife of Nnamdi Azikiwe, the first president of Nigeria. She was First Lady of Nigeria from October 1, 1963, to January 16, 1966. Ogoegbunam was born in Onitsha, a town in present-day Anambra State, to Chief Ogoegbunam, an Adazii of Onitsha (Chief Ndichie) of Ogboli Agbor Onitsha. There she met Nnamdi Azikiwe in 1934 and they married on April 4, 1936. Their wedding took place…

Meeet Fela’s American Girlfriend, Sandra Izsadore, A Significant Aid To His Musical Success

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  Sandra Izadore, an American who was also Fela’s girlfriend. Fela met Sandra Izsadore in California during a ten-month tour of the United States with Koola Lobitos in 1969. Izsadore, a black rights activist, introduced him to the writings of Malcolm Brown and Stokely. Carmichael, Huey Newton, Frantz Fanon and other revolutionary thinkers. Fela credits her with inspiring his philosophy of Blackism. Fela told…

Mbari Club: A Hub of Creativity in the 1960s

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Achebe Mbari suggested the name, an Igbo concept for “creation.” Other Mbari members included Christopher Okigbo, JP Clark and South African writer Ezekiel Mphahlele, Frances Ademola, Demas Nwoko, Mabel Segun, Uche Okeke, Arthur Nortje and Bruce Onobrakpeya. The Club Mbari was founded in 1961 by various writers and other groups of visual artists and was originally located on the site of an old Lebanese stall in the Dugbe Market in Ibadan. Mbari has become an important…

Abraham Adesanya – A Hero Forever

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Abraham Adesanya was an honored political leader in the lineage of Obafemi Awolwo and Adekunle Ajasin with the title of Asiwaju of Yorubaland. Adesanya was born on July 24, 1922, in Ijebu Igbo into the family of the famous traditional healer Ezekiel. He completed his secondary education at Ijebu Igbo High School. After a short stint as a teacher, he went to Holbon College to study law. After returning to Nigeria in 1959, Adesanya joined the Awolowo Action Group and was elected to the Western…

Meet the First Executive Governor of Lagos State, Lateef Kayode Jakande

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The first Executive Governor of Lagos State, Lateef Kayode Jakande, also known as “Baba Kekere”, was sworn in in 1979 before the Chief Justice of the state, Adetunji Adefarasin. Lateef Kayode Jakande was born on July 29, 1929 in Epetedo area of ​​Lagos Island, Lagos State. Both parents hail from Omu-Aran, Kwara State. He studied at the Lagos Public School in Enu-Owa on Lagos Island and then at the Bunham Memorial Methodist School in Port Harcourt (1934-1943). He studied at King’s College, Lagos in 1943 and enrolled at Ilesha Grammar School in 1945, where he edited the literary magazine The Quarterly Mirror. In 1949, Jakande began his journalistic career, first with…

History of the Postal Service in Nigeria

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The image portrays three children sending letters to a barracks in Lagos. A mailbox is a type of freestanding mailbox that was introduced in 1852. The illustration shows the cipher of King George VI. from the beginning of his reign. The history of the postal service in Nigeria dates back to the 19th century. The first post office was founded in 1852 by the British colonial rulers. It was considered part of the British postal system. It was a branch of the General Post Office in London and remained so until 1874 (1862), when the Post Office…

TGIF: Nightlife in the 1960s

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In 1960s Nigeria, TGIF nightlife was nothing new. In this photo, residents of Yaba, Lagos enjoyed dancing at a popular nightclub. The owner of the club emphasized the unity among customers, regardless of their origins: Lebanese, Chinese, Cameroonian, Indian, Ghanaian, Togolese, Yoruba, Hausa, Ibo, Itsekiri or Edo, everyone is always welcome as friends to have a drink and to drink drinking fun. A notable difference between then and now is clothing; Women used to dress modestly, unlike today where many women wear less clothing in nightclubs.