There are events that took place in history that you wished you were better informed about them. Perhaps you were still a kid when all these events took place, but that does not mean it is totally beyond your grasp. In this note, I will share with you some events that happened in Nigerian history you are not all too familiar with.
On 1st October 1960: Nigeria gains independence from Britain, with Abubakar Tafawa Balewa as the Prime Minister leading a coalition government of parliamentary system.
On 1st October 1963: Nigeria becomes a republic, breaking away from the British monarchy.
On 15 January 1966: Fall of the First Republic, as Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa is killed in unsuccessful coup led by some Majors.
On 16 January 1966: Johnson Aguiyi Ironsi takes over as the nation’s Head of State.
On 29 July 1966 – Aguiyi Ironsi killed in a counter-coup by a group of northern army officers who revolted against the government, and he was replaced by Yakubu Gowon.
On 30 May 1967: Odumegwu Ojukwu proclaimed the independent Republic of Biafra.
On October 1969: Odumegwu Ojukwu appealed for United Nations Mediation to obtain terms for a cease fire and to begin peace negotiations.
On 12 January 1970: Biafran leaders surrender, as the officer administering the government, Phillip Effiong calls for a cease-fire. The region was reintegrated into Nigeria.
On 25 July 1975: Yakubu Gowon overthrown in a coup led by Murtala Ramat Mohammed, while attending the OAU summit in Uganda.
On 21 September 1978: A new constitution, styled on American presidential system, published, and the ban on political activity lifted.
On 1st October 1979: The inauguration of Shagari as civilian president happened on this day. This marked the beginning of the Second Republic in Nigeria.
On 31 December 1983: Muhammad Bhuari heads military officers who seize power in bloodless coup, to be become Commander in Command and Head of State.
On 27 August 1985: Ibrahim Babangida seizes power in bloodless coup, curtails political activity.
On 1986: Babangida launches controversial Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) which shook up the nation’s economy
On 19 October 1986: Foremost journalist, Dele Giwa, assassinated by a parcel bomb which is often blamed on the Babangida regime
On 22 April 1990: Gideon Orka leads coup to topple Babangida, but the coup is unsuccessful.
On 12 December 1991: Nigeria’s capital city moved from Lagos to Abuja
On 12 June 1993: Babangida annuls the presidential elections adjudged to have been won by businessman, Moshood Abiola.
On 27 August 1993: Babangida transfers power to Interim National Government led by Ernest Shonekan, following massive protest against his administration
On 17 November 1993: Sani Abacha seizes power from the Interim National Government and suppresses opposition.
On 1994: Acclaimed winner of the June 12 election, MKO Abiola, arrested after proclaiming himself president.
On 10 November 1995: Ken Saro-Wiwa, writer and campaigner against the oil industry damage to his Ogoni homeland, executed following a hasty trial. In protest, the US and European Union impose sanctions on Nigeria.
On 16 March 1996: Voter turnout was heavy in municipal elections. The first step in return to civilian rule.
On 8 June 1998: Abacha passes away under controversial circumstances and succeeded by Abdulsalami Abubakar.
On 7 July 1998: Abiola dies in custody days after meeting a US delegation.
On 11 August 1998: General Abubakar named a new electoral commission. Prior to 2 weeks he gave to plan elections to restore civilian rule by May 29, 1999.
On 1999: Parliamentary and presidential elections lead to the election of Olusegun Obasanjo as the nation’s president.
On 2000: Adoption of Sharia law by several northern states in the face of opposition from Christians.
2001: Tribal war in Benue State, displacing thousands of people, as soldiers sent to quash the fighting kill more than 200 unarmed civilians, apparently in retaliation for the abduction and murder of 19 soldiers.
On November 2002: Many lives lost in four days of protest stoked by fury from Northern Nigeria over the planned Miss World beauty pageant in Abuja
On 10 July 2003: Governor of Anambra State, Chris Ngige, abducted by a team of police officials and forced to sign his resignation letter, which was upheld by the State’s House of Assembly but over-turned by the Supreme Court.
On 27 September 2003: Nigeria’s first satellite, NigeriaSat-1 launched via Russian rocket into the space.
On 18 May 2004: State of emergency declared in Plateau State, after more than 200 people are killed in Yelwa in what would result in bosom-for-tat killings by Muslims and Christians in the state
On January 2005: Inspector General of Police, Tafa Balogun, forced to resign from office on corruption charges and subsequently tried and jailed by a court of law.
On July 2005: Paris Club of rich lenders agrees to write off two-thirds of Nigeria’s $30 billion debt.
On 9 January 2006: Militants in the Niger Delta commence major attack on pipelines and other oil facilities, and kidnap foreign oil workers for ransom, as they demand more control over the region’s oil wealth.
On April 2006: With record oil prices, Nigeria becomes first African nation to pay off its debt to the Paris Club of rich lenders.
On 17 May 2006: Senate rejects proposed changes to the constitution which would have allowed the President to stand for a third term in 2007.
On 6 August 2006: Nigeria cedes sovereignty over the disputed Bakassi peninsula to neighbouring Cameroon under the terms of a 2002 International Court of Justice ruling.
October29, 2006: Sultan of Sokoto and tens of others die in a plane crash, the country’s third major civilian air disaster in the year.
On April 2007: Umaru Yar'Adua of the ruling People's Democratic Party is proclaimed winner of the presidential election.
On September 2007: The rebel Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend) threatens to end a self-imposed ceasefire and to launch fresh attacks on oil facilities and abductions of foreign workers.
On November 2007: Suspected Nigerian militants kill 21 Cameroon soldiers in Bakassi peninsula. Nigerian senate rejects Nigeria-Cameroon agreement for hand-over of Bakassi peninsula to Cameroon.
On January 2008: Oil trades at $100 a barrel for the first time, with violence in oil producing countries such as Nigeria and Algeria helping to drive up prices.
On February 2008: Mend leaders Henry Okah and Edward Atata extradited from Angola on suspicion of involvement in attacks on oil companies. Report that Okah was subsequently killed in custody proved to be untrue.
On April 2008: Two former health ministers and a daughter of President Olusegun Obasanjo are among 12 top health officials charged with embezzling around 470m naira (4m dollars) of public health funds.
On 14 August 2008: Nigeria finally hands over the Bakassi peninsula to Cameroon, ending a long-standing dispute.
On September 2008: Militants in the Niger Delta step up their attacks on oil installations, in response to what they describe as unprovoked attacks by the military on their bases.
On October 2008: The government announces major budget cuts following steep falls in the price of oil.
On November 2008: At least 200 people are killed during clashes between Christians and Muslims in the central Nigerian town of Jos.
On January 2009: The main militant group in Niger Delta, Mend, calls off four-month cease-fire after army attacks camp of an allied group.
On March 2009: Nineteen opposition parties unite to form a "mega-party" to compete against the governing People's Democratic Party in elections due in 2011.
On May 2009: Niger Delta militant group, MEND, rejects government offer of amnesty and declares offensive against Nigerian military.
On July 2009: Hundreds die in northeastern Nigeria after the Boko Haram Islamist movement launches a campaign of violence in a bid to have Sharia law imposed on the entire country. Security forces storm Boko Haram's stronghold and kill the movement's leader.
On August 2009: Two-month offer of a government amnesty for Niger Delta militants comes into force, as thousands of militants drop their arms.
On 23 November 2009: President Yar’Adua travels to Saudi Arabia to be treated for a heart condition. His extended absence triggers a constitutional crisis and leads to calls for him to step down.
On January 2010: At least 149 people are killed during two days of violence between Christian and Muslim gangs in the central city of Jos.
On 10 February 2010: National Assembly votes to transfer power to the Vice-President, Goodluck Jonathan, until Mr. Yar’Adua is able to resume presidency. Mr Yar’Adua returns to Nigeria but does not return to work.
On March 2010: More than 120 people are killed in clashes between Muslims and Christians in the flashpoint city of Jos.
On 28 April 2010: Maurice Iwu the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission was sacked by the acting president Goodluck Jonathan and ordered him to proceed on pre-disengagement leave, with immediate effect.
On 6 May 2010: Umaru Yar’Adua dies after a long illness. His vice-president, Goodluck Jonathan, already acting in Yar’Adua’s stead, succeeds him.
On 17 May 2010: Acting President Goodluck Jonathan sacked ministers and other members of the Federal Executive Council. The sacked Ministers, include: former Education Minister, Dr Sam Egwu, and former Commerce Minister, Chief Achike Udenwa, and former Minister of Justice Mike Aondoakaa.
On 30 June 2010: The acting president Goodluck Jonathan suspended the national football team from international competition for two years after a disappointing World Cup, where they failed to win a match and finished bottom of Group B.
On 4 July 2010: Three top officials of the NFF the president, Sanu Lulu, his vice president, Amanze Uchegulam and head of the technical committee Taiwo Ogunjobi were sacked following super Eagles poor showing at the World Cup in South Africa 2010.
On 5 July 2010: The Nigerian government rescinded its ban of the national football team from FIFA/CAF football competitions
On 13 August 2010: CBN Governor Mr. Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, announced the sack of five bank chief executive officers and they are: Intercontinental Bank Plc, Erastus Akingbola; Sebastine Adigwe of AfriBank Plc; Okey Nwosu of Finbank Plc; Mrs Cecilia Ibru of Oceanic Bank Plc and Barth Ebong of Union Bank Plc. To replace them are John Aboh for Oceanic Bank Plc, Mahmud Alabi (Intercontinental Bank), Nebolisa Arah (Afribank), Suzanne Iroche (Finbank) while Funke Osibodu takes over at Union Bank Plc.
On 24 August 2010: No fewer than 42 people including children died after taking contaminated water drawn from wells and ponds in 10 council areas of Yobe State. Also 484 others were reported infected with water-borne disease known as gastro-enteritis.
On 25 August 2010: Total outage was experienced all over the country following an industrial action embarked upon by electricity workers nationwide. The aggrieved workers under the aegis of National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) and Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies (SSAEC) ordered their members to stay away from work due to non-payment of their monetization arrears since 2003.
On 1st October 2010: Nigeria marks 50 years of independence. Two car bombs went off simultaneously to mar the independence day celebrations. Gideon Okah was arrested and arraigned in South Africa.
On October 6 2010: International humanitarian group Medecines Sans Frontieres (MSF) announced that lead poisoning had killed 425 children in Zamfara. A lead poisoning epidemic linked to illegal gold mining hit the state at the start of the year. The intoxications were caused by the illegal extraction of ore by villagers who could transport cruised rock home from the mines to extract the gold. The soil containing lead deposits would then be hap-hazardless disposed of, exposing children to inhalation or ingestion.
On 8 October 2010: Cecilia Ibru, the former managing director of Oceanic Bank PLC, was convicted of several counts of bank and security fraud by a federal high court in Lagos presided by Justice Dan Abutu to six months in jail and to forfeit over N190 billion naira in assets and cash.
On October 9 2010: Late Writer and Poet Esiabi Irobi won the 2010 NLNG Prize for literature for his play Cemetery Road.
On 26 October 2010: Container containing arms and ammunitions are discovered aboard a ship from Iran. The weapons included rocket launchers, grenade, mortars and light weapons stacked with ceramic tiles packed in crates.
On 4 November 2010: Samson Siasia appointed Super Eagles Coach.
On 21 November 2010: The Super Falcons’ clinching of their 6th African Women’s Championship Title and their qualification for Germany 2011. They beat the female national team of Equatorial Guinea, the Nzalang Nacional 4-2 to clinch their 6th title in the history of the African Women’s Championship.
On December 2010: Christmas Eve bomb attacks near central city of Jos kill at least 80 people. Attacks claimed by Islamist sect Boko Haram spark clashes between Christians and Muslims. Some 200 killed in reprisal attacks.
On 15 December 2010: One of Nigeria’s foremost politicians who fought for Nigeria’s independence, Anthony Enahoro at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) died at the age of 87. Following a coma, in October he was rushed to the Intensive care unit of UBTH and never fully recovered. Mr Enahoro, famously moved the motion for Nigeria’s independence in 1957, devoted his life pro-democracy movement and fought tenaciously the military government of the late Sani Abacha.
On March 2011: Goodluck Jonathan wins presidential elections.
On July 2011: President Jonathan says he will ask parliament to amend the constitution so that presidents will serve a single, longer term in office.
On August 2011: Suicide bomb attack on UN headquarters in Abuja kills 23 people. Radical Islamist group Boko Haram claims responsibility.
On November 2011: At least 63 people are killed in bomb and gun attacks in north-eastern town of Damaturu. Boko Haram claims responsibility.
On December 2011: Christmas Day bomb attacks kill about 40 people. Boko Haram claims responsibility. President Jonathan declares state of emergency to contain violence by Boko Haram.
Nearly 70 people are killed in days of fighting between security forces and Boko Haram militants in north-eastern states of Yobe and Borno.
On 1st January 2012: The Jonathan Administration announced a controversial and total removal of fuel subsidies. The announcement sparked an immediate protest involving Nigerians from all walks of life. Many prominent Nigerians spoke against the removal of fuel subsidy by the administration, which later reviewed the price per litre from N141 to N97. The strike was suspended after the President agreed to cut the cost of petrol following over a week of protests.
On 20 January 2012: A coordinated, simultaneous bombing spree that targeted seven police stations and other security formations killed at least 180 people in Kano. Among the dead was Enenche Akogwu, a reporter with Lagos-based Channels TV.
On April 2012: Chadian President Idriss Deby calls on countries neighbouring northern Nigeria to set up a joint military force to tackle Boko Haram militants as they continue their attacks. He warns of the danger of the Islamist group destabilizing the whole Lake Chad basin area.
On June 2012: Boko Haram claims responsibility for attacks on two churches in Jos city and Borno state, in which one person died and dozens of others were injured. An angry crowd kills six Muslims in Jos in retaliation.
On 3 June 2012: A Dana Air passenger plane flying from Abuja to Lagos crashed into a residential area, three minutes from landing, killing all 153 people on board and no fewer than 10 residents at the crash site.
On July 2012: Nigeria signs a preliminary $4.5bn deal with US-based Vulcan Petroleum to build six oil refineries. Nigeria lacks refinery capacity and has to import most of its fuel needs, despite being a major oil producer.
On August 2012: The army kills 20 Boko Haram fighters in a shootout in the northeastern city of Maiduguri. The government says it has started informal talks through "backroom channels" with Boko Haram to try to end attacks. Boko Haram ruled out peace talks shortly beforehand.
On October 2012: Boko Haram bomb army bases in Maiduguri. The army says it kills 24 Boko Haram fighters in subsequent clashes.
On 25 October 2012: The governor of Taraba State, Dambaba Suntai, was involved in a plane crash; he was piloting the plane himself. The crash happened at Yola Airport in Adamawa State. Although there was no death, all persons aboard were seriously injured. The governor was later flown to Germany for better medical attention from the National Hospital Abuja, where he was initially receiving care.
On November 2012: At least 100 people are charged with treason after a march supporting independence for Biafra in the region's main town, Enugu.
On 15 December 2012: A Navy helicopter flying from Bayelsa to Port Harcourt crashed in Bayelsa. The governor of Kaduna State, Patrick Yakowa, and a former National Security Adviser, Gen. Owoye Azazi, and four others were killed in the crash that happened in a forest in Ogbia Creek around 3.30 pm. Others killed were Yakowa’s aides Dauda Tsoho and Mohammed Kamal, and two Navy pilots, Muritala Mohammed Daba and Adeyemi Sowole.
On 16 December: Fair skinned Nollywood actress Nkiru Sylvanus, who was kidnapped in Owerri, Imo State, and was released by her captors after her family paid a ransom of N8m. Similarly, Kenneth Okoli, the first runner-up of Mr. Nigeria 2010, was kidnapped in Owerri, Imo State. His family was contacted for a ransom of N100million for his release. Okoli has since been released by his captors.
On May 2013: Government declares state of emergency in three northern states of Yobe, Borno and Adamawa and sends in troops to combat the Boko Haram Islamist militants.
On July 2013: Secondary schools close in Yobe state after a massacre of 22 pupils at a boarding school, which the government attributes to Boko Haram. The Islamist group has burned down several schools since 2010.
On September 2013: Boko Haram Islamists murder more than 150 people in roadside attacks in the northeast. Separately, security forces fight Boko Haram armed insurgents in the capital Abuja.
All these events, obviously are not all that have happened to Nigeria, there are more mundane ones and they are all irrevocable. They are what shapes us and have caused us to evolve into what we are today.
It is the legacy we have left behind for our children and they should have access to it, each and every one of them should know about it! They deserve to know how best we have managed our mother land so that in their own conscience, they may be able to tell if it will be in their best interest to follow our footsteps.
Comments
Post a Comment