Josiah Ransome-Kuti: The Singing Minister of Abeokuta
Josiah Ransome-Kuti was also the first Nigerian to release a record album after he recorded many hymns (in the Yoruba language) in gramophone through Zonophone Records, London in 1925.
Adegoke Adelabu: The Unforgettable Peculiar Penkelemesi
Adegoke Adelabu is often mentioned in Yorùbá and Nigerian history as the author of "penkelemesi", a Yorubanisation of the phrase, "peculiar mess".
Bashorun Gaa: The “Wicked Prime Minister” of the Old Oyo Empire
It was impossible for Bashorun Gaa to become an Alaafin of the Oyo Empire as the Prime Minister bore no blood of Oranmiyan to claim the throne...
Idris Alooma, the Mai of Bornu
Idris Alooma was known by the Kanuri title of Mai for a king...
Chinua Achebe: A Man of the People
Chinua Achebe twice declined the Nigerian award of Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR) in 2004 and 2011.
How Alhassan Dantata became West Africa’s Richest Man in the ’50s
As of the time of his death in 1955, Alhaji Alhassan Dantata was the richest man in all of West Africa...
Ken Saro-Wiwa: Writer, Environmental Activist, Martyr
It took five attempts to hang Ken Saro-Wiwa before he spoke his last words and his body went limp.
Gambo Sawaba: Married at 13, Politician at 17, Imprisoned at 20
"If I don’t know book, I know rights... I have not been a member of any House of Assembly. I have not held any office except that I was a member of the House of Prison. – Hajaratu Gambo Sawaba (1933–2001)...
Flora Nwapa: Mother of Modern African Literature
Flora Nwapa (1931–1993), was the first African woman to publish a novel in the English language in 1966.
Abubakar Tafawa Balewa: The Golden Voice of Africa
Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa (1912- January 15, 1966) was Nigeria's first Prime Minister. He was popularly known as "The Golden Voice of Africa".
Kaduna Nzeogwu: Hero or Villain?
Major Kaduna Nzeogwu was the first Nigerian to become an officer in Military Intelligence. Born on February 26, 1937, Nzeogwu was only 20 when he joined the Nigerian Army in March 1957.
Alvan Ikoku: 10 Interesting Facts about the Man on the 10 Naira Note
Alvan Ikoku and his son, Samuel Goomsu Ikoku (1922–1997), were political rivals. Samuel won an election against his father at the Eastern Regional Assembly elections on March 15, 1957.
Ore Green: West Africa’s First Female Pharmacist
Ore Green worked in London, before returning in 1917 to Lagos where she first worked as a Midwife at the hospital of Dr. Richard Akinwande Savage (1874-1935).
Muhammadu Ribadu: Nigeria’s First Minister of Defence
As Minister of Defence, Muhammadu Ribadu presided over a rapid expansion of the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy, as well as the creation of the Nigeria Air Force.
22 Interesting Facts About Abeokuta
Abeokuta was a sovereign nation for 20 years and 11 months before the British amalgamated her with the rest of Nigeria in 1914...
Kenneth Onwuka Dike (1917-1983): The Pioneer Historian
Professor Kenneth Onwuka Dike was the first Nigerian Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ibadan and the roaming Ambassador of Biafra to Côte d'Ivoire...
Usman dan Fodio: Progenitor of the Sokoto Caliphate
Usman dan Fodio wrote more than a hundred books on religion, administration, culture, and community. He promoted literacy and education, particularly for women, and many of his daughters became scholars and authors. His works and sayings are still very much quoted today.
Festus Okotie-Eboh: Nigeria’s most flamboyant Politician
As the Federal Minister of Finance, Chief Festus Okotie-Eboh was instrumental in the founding of Nigeria's Central Bank in 1959.
Samuel Ladoke Akintola: Orator, Warlord, Legend
Samuel Ladoke Akintola was responsible for the establishment of the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife) in 1962 and the creation of the Cocoa House in 1965, while still the premier of the Western Region. He was also active in the construction of the Premier Hotel and other monuments in the Western Region.
Margaret Ekpo: A Defender of Women’s Rights
The Margaret Ekpo International Airport is the only airport in Africa to be named after a woman...
Dora Akunyili: The Woman with many Awards
Did you know that Dora Akunyili was a recipient of many awards? During her lifetime, she received 820 awards. In 2016, two years after her death, her husband discovered 110 more awards packed safely in her boxes, bringing the total to 930. No other Nigerian has won more.
Shettima Kashim Ibrahim: The Last Civilian Governor of Northern Nigeria
Kashim Ibrahim was the first and last indigenous civilian governor of the Northern Region of Nigeria until the military coup of January 15, 1966.
