World War I was the worldwide conflict in which Nigeria’s colonial overlord, Britain, formed part of a triad that constituted the Allied powers in its military campaign against the Central powers headed by Germany. Over sixteen million people died in this war that was started over the Austria-Hungarian ultimatum to the kingdom of Serbia on the…
Isaac Adaka Boro was a Minority rights activist and hero of the Nigerian Civil War on the side of the federal government, who paradoxically was himself a former secessionist, declaring in February 1966, an independent state of the Niger Delta People’s Republic. Boro was born in 1938 in the town of Oloibiri where oil will be…
Niger Delta Conflict saw a series of insurgencies in the oil producing creeks of the Niger Delta area of Nigeria, threatening the country’s Oil and gas industry which provides about 85% of the federal government’s revenue. Due to activities of militant groups such as the Movement of the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), seeking redress…
National Democratic Coalition, widely known as NADECO, was the pro-democracy group launched 15 May 1994 under the leadership of Micheal Adekunle Ajasin and Anthony Enahoro. This group consisted of many prominent Nigerians, including established politicians and senior military officers who shared in common, a believe that the military government in Nigeria should relinquish power to…
Kayode Fayemi was a pro-democracy activist of the Generals Babangida and Abacha eras, later joining politics to become governor of Ekiti state in 2010 and a cabinet member of President Buhari government in 2015. Fayemi was elected governor the second time in 2019. Growing Up Born in Ibadan in 1965, with his formative years…
NEEDS, National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy was Nigeria’s home grown poverty reduction and socio-economic development strategy under Olusegun Obasanjo‘s presidency. This framework for actions, developed by a 35-member drafting committee was headed by Economic Adviser, Chukwuma Soludo. As reflected in Obasanjo’s address at the launching of the nationwide consultation on the initiative, caution was…
Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigerian civil war hero on the federal side, Statesman, and Head of the federal government as military general, 1976-79, and elected president, 1999-2007. Obasanjo, descendant of asylum seeker in aftermath of Ijebu-Ife onslaught against Owu, Adegboye, whose son, Ojopola arrived in the new Owu settlement in Abeokuta to give birth to, among others,…
Frederick Lugard was the first Governor General of Nigeria, who in January 1, 1914 amalgamated the Northern and the Southern protectorates to form one country under the British empire. Lugard was born in 1858 of missionary parents in India, and trained at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, in England. In 1894 Lugard visited Nigeria for…