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".
How Dele Giwa was Bombed to Death in 1986
Dele Giwa kept moaning the refrain, “They have got me.” Who he referred to as “they” still remains a riddle to this day.
Ahebi Ugbabe: The Only Female King of Colonial Nigeria
Ahebi Ugbabe has been described succinctly by Nwando Achebe in her book, The Female King of Colonial Nigeria: Ahebi Ugbabe, published in 2011...
How Ameyo Adadevoh stopped the 2014 Ebola Plague in Nigeria
When the swine flu spread to Lagos in 2012, Ameyo Adadevoh was the first doctor to diagnose and notify the Ministry of Health.
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...
Israel Oludotun Ransome-Kuti: Teacher, Nation-Builder, Clergyman
Israel Oludotun Ransome-Kuti holds the record of the longest-serving president of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (23 years) and the principal of Abeokuta Grammar School (22 years).
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.
Samuel Ladoke Akintola: 13th Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland and Last Premier of the...
Samuel Ladoke Akintola was responsible for the establishment of the University of Ife in 1962 and the creation of the Cocoa House in 1965.
Emeka Ojukwu: The Man Who Saw Tomorrow
Emeka Ojukwu could speak Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba, English, French, and Latin fluently. Interestingly, during the civil war, he always slept with his boots on.
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.
MKO Abiola: The Nigerian President who never ruled
MKO Abiola’s death succeeded in discrediting military rule in Nigeria, and his outstanding contribution to his country...was acknowledged six years after his death when the New African magazine listed him among the hundred greatest Africans of all time.
Dora Akunyili: The African Woman Who Won 930 Awards
During her lifetime, Dora Akunyili received 820 awards. After her death, 110 more were discovered in her boxes, bringing the total to 930. No Nigerian has more.
50 Interesting Facts about Ahmadu Bello
Bello once referred to Nigeria as the "mistake of 1914" but later worked for and gave his best for the new nation of Nigeria.
Samuel Adegboyega: Pioneer of Apostolic Pentecostalism in Nigeria
Samuel Adegboyega was named Gbadebo after Oba Gbadebo I, the sixth Alake of Egbaland, Abeokuta, as he was from a royal house himself.
40 Interesting Facts about Ibadan
Ibadan was founded by the Yoruba people in 1750. It became a Yoruba military headquarters in 1829 and came under British rule in 1893...
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...
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.
Why Chinua Achebe never won the Nobel Prize in Literature
Chinua Achebe twice declined the Nigerian award of Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR) in 2004 and 2011.
Gambo Sawaba: Married at 13, Politician at 17, Imprisoned at 20
Gambo Sawaba was an Amazon and an enigma in the 20th century Northern Nigeria. Right from the start, the major aspects of her character emerged very boldly.
21 Interesting Facts About Shehu Shagari
Shehu Shagari was the 6th child of his father, 6th Head-of-State of Nigeria, and also had 6 federal government appointments before he became President.
