1. The British arrived in Nigeria in 1851, took control of Lagos in 1861, and established the Oil River Protectorate in 1884.
2. On January 8, 1897, Flora Louisa Shaw, a British journalist, novelist, and wife of Lord Frederick Lugard, proposed the name “Nigeria” for the British Protectorate on the Niger.
3. The first Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria was Zungeru in Northern Nigeria. 1900 to 1914 were covered by this.
4. First and last native-born governor-general of Nigeria, Nnamdi Azikiwe served from 16 November 1960 to 1 October 1963.
5. The red quarter sun on the white portion of the Nigerian National Flag’s original design, created by Micheal Taiwo Akinkumi in 1959, served as a representation of divine protection and direction. The independence committee took it down.
6. On October 1, 1960, Nigeria declared her independence. On October 1, 1963, she established her republican government.
7. On January 15th, Nigeria witnessed its first military takeover. Commanded by Major Kaduna Nzeogwu, and began in 1966. The coup claimed the lives of several people, including the prime minister Tafawa Balewa, S.L Akintola, Ahmadu Bello, and Okotie Eboh.
8. The Nigerian civil war, also known as the Biafran war, lasted from July 6, 1967, to January 15, 1970, or precisely 2 years, 6 months, 1 week, and 2 days.
Decree No. Created the National Youth Service Corps. 24 of May 22, 1973, a day in General Yakubu Gowon’s military regime.
10. Nigeria switched from the British West African pound to her own currency, the Nigerian Pound, in 1958 before switching to the Naira on January 1st, 1973.
11. In 1986, Wole Soyinka, a well-known social commentator and political activist, became the first African to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.
12. Following a plebiscite held on February 11, 1961, which was organized by the UN, Southern Cameroon separated from Nigeria and joined Cameroun on October 1st, 1961.
13. A 100-mile network of walls and trenches up to 70 feet deep surrounds Ijebu-Ode in Ogun state (6°49′N, 3°56′E). Its monarch, Bilkisu Sungbo, is said to be Queen Sheeba from the Bible (known as Queen Bilkis in the Quran).
14. Agbani Darego, a model and beauty queen from Rivers State, was the first African woman to win the Miss World competition. This happened in 2001. In 2002, riots in Nigeria caused by the Miss World pageant claimed about 250 lives.
15. In 1952, a northern Fulani man named Malam Umaru Altine won the first election for mayor of the eastern city of Enugu. He later won a second term.
16. A massive uprising against the colonial authorities over slavery, taxation, and colonization was led by 30,000 Abeokuta Ebga warriors in 1918. In addition to the destruction of railway and telegraph cables, a British soldier was killed. History refers to this as the Adubi war.
17. Up until 1984, no visa was needed to enter the UK.
18. Nigeria received its first loan from the World Bank in 1977.
19. West Africa’s first civilization, the Nok, lived in Nigeria’s north and north central regions between 1000 BC and 300 BC.
20. Chioma Ajunwa won a gold medal in the women’s long jump competition, making 1996 Nigeria’s most successful Olympic appearance. The men’s football team also took home a gold medal.
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