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Coat_of_arms_of_Nigeria photo by Lumia1234 -Wikimedia commons

10 Most Famous Historical events that happened in Nigeria

The history of Nigeria extends as far as the ancient era and hides years of history that have molded the country into the proud state it is today.

Today’s history of Africa has been filled with tales of colonization, what many forget is that before any stranger intruded on the vast continent of Africa it had its kingdoms and rulers and systems that worked self-sufficiently.

Here are the 10 most famous historical events that happened in Nigeria

1. The Kidnapping of the Chibok girls was the worst mass abduction in Nigeria

on #bringbackourgirls with #Futureofourgirls in Netherlands photo by van Buitenlandse Zaken-

On the night of 14 to 15 April 2014,2746 female students mostly Christians aged 16 to 18 were kidnapped by the Islamic terrorist group, Boko Haram.

The girls were forcefully taken from the Government Girls secondary school in the town of Chibok in Borno State.

Following the incident 57 of the school girls escaped immediately by jumping from the trucks in which they were loaded and some were later rescued by the Nigerian armed forces.

Following the aftermath of the incident, local vigilantes searched the Sambisa Forest in an attempt to rescue some of the kidnapped girls but were unsuccessful.

The mass kidnapping of the Chibok girls ignited an international outrage and a global campaign called #Bring back our girls.

Though some were lucky to be rescued, more than a hundred girls are still missing.

According to propaganda videos released by Abubakar Shekau, Boko harams late leader stated the girls were married off to fighters.

Accounts from the rescued girls describe being subjected to rape, beatings, and even death for anyone who displayed disobedience.

 2. The Biafran war was the worst civil war in Nigerian history

Soldiers_in_the_Nigerian_Civil_War photo by Peter Williams-

The Nigerian Civil war also known as the Biafran war was a civil war fought between the government of Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a State that declared its independence From Nigeria.

The Nigerian civil war commenced seven years after Nigeria gained independence from Britain.

The war was fuelled by ethnic tension between the three dominant ethnic groups, the Hausa _Fulani in the north, Yoruba in the south, and Igbo in the southeast.

On January 15, 1966, the Igbo instigated a coup d’état under the commons of major general Umunnakwe Aguiy in an attempt to save the country from what terrified them would be a political disintegration.

Six months later a counter-coup was conducted by a joint between Hausa _Fulani and Yoruba.

The murder of Prominent Hausa politicians led to the massacre of the Igbo population in the northern Hausa_ Fulani regions.

During the Biafran war, an estimated 8,000 to 30,000 Igbo were killed forcing more than a million to flee to the eastern region.

3. President Murtala Muhammed was assassinated in a traffic jam

President Murtala was a Nigerian general who played a major role in the coup d’état forces involved in overthrowing the Republic of Nigeria and featured mainly in the Biafran war.

In 1975 while attending the Organization of African Unity summit in Uganda, general Gowon was overthrown and replaced by Murtala, making him the new military head of state.

His glory was short-lived as he was assassinated on February 13, 1976. He was setting off to work along his usual route in his Mercedes and traveled slowly in the infamous Lagos traffic.

His car was ambushed by a group of soldiers, who emerged from a nearby police station and assassinated him.

4. There was the rise and fall of Fela Kuti

Fela Kuti was a Nigerian multi-instrumentalist, composer, and political activist. His music and candid character made Fela a hero to Africa’s poor, which he would pay a high price for in the course of his life.

His recording studio was repeatedly raided as well as his events and his followers would be arrested and beaten.

At his club, the shrine his band played songs covering Nigerian corrupt dictators who he denounced.

In early 1977, his record zombie, mocking the army’s do _ as you told mentality landed him in trouble and the military junta had enough of his mockery.

Soldiers overwhelmed his Kalakuta residence, brutalizing and raping as they went on their rampage destroying the compound to the ground.

Fela was buttered close to death, and even his elderly mother was thrown from an upstairs window, and she later succumbed to her injuries and died.

Despite the adversaries he faced, Fela defiantly established a short-lived political party and continued ensuing his resistance to authorities

Fela is remembered as not only a great musician but a rebel, he later succumbed to Aids-related illness and died in 1997.

5. President Sani Abacha was the most successful coup plotter

Sani Abacha was the Nigerian military head of state who served the country from 1993 to 1998.

He is perhaps remembered as probably the most ruthless of the Nigerian dynasty of military rulers and is believed to have economically crippled the country.

Abacha spent most of his career partaking in or leading military coups. He took part in the coup of Nigeria’s last civilian government in 1983, and he announced it on national television.

Two years later he presented himself on national tv and announced that one military dictator was been replaced by another military head of State, General Ibrahim who named Abacha his defense minister.

Abacha later forced Ibrahim Babangida to resign after the military canceled the election midway on 1993 and declared himself head of State.

6. Wole Soyinka was the first African to win the Noble Prize in 1986

Wole Soyinka photo by Frankie Fouganthin –

Wole Soyinka is a Nigerian playwright, poet, and novelist. He was awarded the Noble prize for Africa, becoming the first African to win the prize, in 1986.

He was described as an individual “Who in a wide cultural perspective with poetic overtones fashions the drama of existence”

7. There was the Bakassi conflict with Cameroon

The Bakassi conflict is an ongoing insurgency that began in 2006, in the Bakassi Peninsula of Cameroon, waged by local separatists against Cameroon governmental forces.

Upon gaining independence border between Cameroon and Nigeria was not settled leading to disputes.

Many armed clashes occurred in the disputed regions and on 1994, Cameroon went to the International Court of Justice to prevent war with Nigeria.

The court ruled in favor of Cameroon and made the 1913 border made by the British and Germans the international border between them. Nigeria confirmed the transfer of Bakassi.

8. There was the ABA women’s rebellion

The most profound historical riot that has even impacted the feminist movement, as well as the anti-colonial groups, was the Aba Women’s Riots of 1929.

Thousands of Igbo women organized a massive revolt against the unfair policies imposed on them by the British administrators in southern Nigeria.

Truly there is power in unity and the movement was made by a strong wave of resilient women and it took the government months to suppress it.

The movement was birthed on January 1, 1914, when Nigerian colonial governor, Lord Lugard, enforced indirect rule in southern Nigeria.

The chiefs they appointed turned into aggressive rulers, they seized properties and imprisoned anyone who criticized them.

In November 1929, thousands of women gathered at the native administration where they danced and chanted to ridicule the government, as well as attack European-owned stores.

They bravely marched to prisons and released prisoners attacking Native courts run by colonial officials, their anger led to the courts being burnt to the ground.

9. There was the execution of Ken Saro- Wiwa

The execution of the human activist Ken Saro Wiwa, took place on Friday, November 10, at Port Harcourt, in 1995.

Ken was accused of the murder of Ogoni chiefs and was dealt an unfair trial along with 8 members of his activist organization by a special military tribunal.

Ken led a non-violent campaign against environmental degradation of the land and waters of Ogoniland by the petroleum industry.

Ken’s execution became a widespread condemnation both locally and abroad many organizations demanded for his release but death had other plans for him as executed by the Sani Abacha military regime.

 10. There was the Zaki Biam Massacre of 2001

Also referred to as the Zaki Biam Invasion was the unethical mass execution of unarmed Tiv civilians by the Nigerian army between 20_24 of October 2001.

The massacre was a revenge emission of 19 soldiers that died near Tiv village in Benue State.

Soldiers invaded the area with guns grenades and armored tanks, shooting 130 civilians in the market square before setting it a blaze.

Many villagers were brutally murdered and innocent lives were summarized in a book of injustice by the same people with whom they placed the hope of a whole nation’s security.