From the history of Lagos, Igbosere is inferred from the two Yoruba words; ‘Igbo’ and ‘Osere’, meaning the woodland of Osere trees. It is so named after the transcendent ‘sere’ trees found within the timberland of that range. sere trees are well known for its wood which is utilized for carpentary (ikan) and the carving…
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In November 1896, James Robert Phillips, agent commissioner and delegate for the Niger Coast Protectorate, chosen to visit and meet with Ovonramwen in Benin City in respects to the exchange assentation that the Oba had made with the British but was not keeping. He formally inquired his bosses in London for consent to visit Benin…
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The most fashionable king in the history of the ancient Yoruba Kingdom, Oba Alake of Abeokuta (Egbaland). Oba Sir Ladapo Samuel Ademola II arrives at the coronation of King George VI in 1937 in an exotic Rolls-Royce Phantom II. in London. Ademola II, son of Alake (Oba) Ademola I, was one of the first traditional rulers of Nigeria to own a car. King George VI was King of Great Britain from 1936 until his death in 1952. George VI is also the father…
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The late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua as a young man with his wife and son, 1977. Yar’adua was born in the Nigerian state of Katsina. His father, Musa Yar’Adua, was Minister of Lagos during the First Republic and held the title of Chief of the Matawalle (Guardian of the Royal Treasury) of the Emirate of Katsina, a title Yar’Adua inherited. His paternal grandfather, Malam Umaru, also held the title of Matawallen Katsina, while his paternal grandmother, Binta, was a Fulani of the Sullubawa clan, Princess of the Emirate of Katsina and sister of Emir Muhammadu Dikko.
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Afrobeat musician Fela Anikulapo Kuti smiles at Black Maria after he was arrested by the Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Military Government for illegally attempting to export £1,600 in foreign currency abroad in the year 1984. Fela was arrested more than 200 times by various military regimes but remained imprisoned for a long time by Major General Buhari, who first came to power in a military coup in December 1983.The Afro beats legend was sentenced to five years in prison by a military court on what he always called trumped-up barter charges but was released in 1986…
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Bamidele was implicated in the coup attempt because he heard a rumor of a coup attempt and did not reveal the information. Daniel Bamidele He was a Nigerian army officer who was executed by the government of General Ibrahim Babangida for failing to report an alleged plot against the government in the so-called “Vatsa coup”. Bamidele was charged with conspiracy to commit treason. During an official trip to Kaduna in October 1983 to print the division’s report to the Army Chiefs of Staff Conference, Daniel Bamidele heard rumors of a planned coup against…
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At the end of the 18th century, OJOTA was a military colony and soldiers practiced shooting there. There were several weapons stations in this area, and it became known as “Oju Ota” in the Yoruba language, which means “Bullet spots”. This later evolved into what we call Ojota today.
Uyo Village Court. The Colonial District official presides over a case, assisted by an interpreter.
An interesting story about an ancient kingdom where only a woman can become king. No man sits on the throne of Kumbwada. Kumbwada is an ancient kingdom in Niger, a state in northern Nigeria. Every man who tries to rule dies, dies; Many tried but lost their lives. According to legend, Maimuna lost the two brothers she had placed on the throne and was forced to remain in the city as queen until her death 83 years later. A curse is said to be responsible for this “ban” imposed on the men who ruled as kings…
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During the Nigerian Civil War, Soyinka called for a ceasefire in an article. For this purpose he was arrested in 1967, accused of conspiring with the Biafrans and held as a political prisoner for 22 months until 1969. In 1965, Soyinka was arrested after taking control of a radio station at gunpoint and broadcasting a message condemning electoral fraud in western Nigeria. His imprisonment sparked international protests and a year later he was acquitted on a technicality. In 1966, two military…
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You will be interested to know that there is a special town in Nigeria where every house has dual gas. This is a reason for joy because many families look forward to the birth of twins and believe that this is a special blessing from God. This is an interesting but little-known fact: the twin birth rate in West Africa is about four times higher than in the rest of the world. The center of this twin zone is Igbo-Ora, a quiet town in the southwest of Oyo State. The city is nicknamed the “Twin Capital of the World”. Igbo-Ora is a town and…
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Ikorodu – Lagos Road in 1947. Previously it was Obanikoro, Onipanu, Palmgroove and Anthony… You then have to cross the dense forest before reaching the town of Yaba. Alternatively, you can take a canoe from the mainland to Ido, via Ebute-Metta (called “Ebute”, meaning terminal) and finally reach Yaba and Lagos Island.
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Calabar (also called Callabar, Calabari, Calbari, Kalabari and Kalabar) is the capital of Cross River State in Nigeria. In the Efik language it was originally called Akwa Akpa. The city borders the Calabar and Great Kwa rivers and the Cross River streams (from the inland delta). The tribes that inhabited part of the Guinean coast were known as Calabar when Portuguese explorers first came to the region in the 15th century and the local population were the Quas. The Efik people only left the Niger River region to settle on the banks of…
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Nigerians in London sing and dance happily along Northumberland Avenue in London in celebration of the nation’s independence on October 1, 1960.
“Lagos is to be attacked by force,” was the order Beecroft received from London…The rift between Akitoye and Kosoko tore Eko badly. One was a man of the people, the other was also a man of the people, but a “friend” of the English people. The battle for “Eleko” aimed to tear the state apart; All the main players in the next battle are already in position. The order was given. The battle for the soul of Lagos was to destroy everything he owned. Kosoko wanted the throne, but Akitoye wanted it more. The infamous HMS Bloodhound leaves England for…
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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.
Dressed in traditional blue clothing, human rights leader Gani Fawehinmi (right) attempts to address protesters who had gathered at a bus stop in Yaba for a banned anti-junta demonstration to mark the fifth anniversary of the cancellation of the June 12, 1993, presidential election as well as the rejection of the new military regime in Nigeria. On his right, Femi Falana (Falz’s father) (in green shirt), lawyer and prominent human rights activist, and on his left, with dark glasses, Dupe Onitiri Abiola,…
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They are also known as the Owan people in Edo. It is reported that Okpameh (also called Uguan), son of Oba Ewaure, left the Kingdom of Benin after being ordered not to commit murders. He went to the northern part and settled in a certain place which he called Odorlerene (somewhere in present-day Ora). Okpameh was a very powerful and famous hunter who was respected for killing the fearsome leopard (Ekpen). He married Lady Uokha, who bore him a son, whom he named (due to the circumstances of his birth) Ora Ekpen. Ora Ekpen then gave birth to children who form today’s Ora community. Okpameh later received news of the death…
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The West African Pilot was a newspaper founded on November 22, 1937, by Nnamdi Azikiwe (“Zika”) in Nigeria, dedicated to the struggle for independence from British colonial rule. He was known for introducing popular journalism to Nigeria. The newspaper pioneered entrepreneurial black journalism. The newspaper linked football with social justice. Azikiwe’s Article used football to reinforce the growing unpopularity of colonization in Nigeria. With a circulation of around 25,000 copies and a significantly larger readership, the newspaper enjoyed great popularity. This article marked the beginning of popular journalism in Nigeria. West African Pilot spawned a chain of newspapers positioned as city…
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Aiyetoro, or “Compro” as it was called by students, was the first school in the country to offer basic subjects in electronics, applied electricity and motor mechanics at “O” level. These were supplementary courses to other technical subjects such as carpentry, metal carpentry and technical drawing. The school was the second comprehensive school in the country after the Government Secondary School, Port Harcourt, which was established in 1962 in collaboration with the then Government of Eastern Nigeria and USAID. Its founders came from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). The school was founded as a pioneering comprehensive school in Africa. In addition to technical subjects,…
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