HistoryVille

HistoryVille

2/21/2025, 10:35:20 AM

On June 23, 1993, Nigeria's military Head of State, General Ibrahim Babangida annulled the June 12, 1993, presidential election. One month after the annulment, in July 1993, over a hundred demonstrators were believed to have died in pro-democracy demonstrations. #HistoryVille Full story: https://youtu.be/fUt8usgWU3A

HistoryVille

2/24/2025, 7:38:58 AM

Adebayo Adedeji was only 36 years old when he became a full-fledged Professor. He was Nigeria's Federal Commissioner for Economic Development & Reconstruction from 1971 to 1975 and was responsible for the economic development and reconstruction of post-civil war Nigeria. Adedeji was one of the earliest economists Nigeria produced. He was a product of the Ijebu Ode Grammar School before he proceeded to the University College, Ibadan, for his Bachelor’s degree in Economics. The University College was then an affiliate of the University of London. In between, he also earned a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Leicester and his PhD in Economics from Harvard University. Adedeji was subsequently engaged by the regional government of Western Nigeria as an Assistant Secretary in the Ministry of Economic Planning between 1958 and 1963. He then shifted from the civil service to the academic world. In 1963, he became the Deputy Director of the Institute of Administration of the University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University, a substantive director in 1967, and in 1968, while on a leave of absence with the National Manpower Board, he was appointed a professor. Adebayo Adedeji, thus, became Nigeria’s first professor of public administration at the "tender" age of 36. In a professional career characterised by thoughtful policy-making and innovative institutional building, Adedeji led the process that established the Economic Commission for West African States (ECOWAS). He also inspired the formation of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in 1973 and became the pioneer Chairman. In June 1975, Adedeji was appointed Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and remained in this position until July 1991. Adedeji wrote the Lagos Plan of Action of 1980 which was adopted by the UN and OAU. In 1991, Adebayo Adedeji founded the African Centre for Development and Strategic Studies (ACDESS), a non-governmental independent continental non-profit, think-tank dedicated to multi-disciplinary and strategic studies on and for Africa. A recipient of the national honour of Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR), Adedeji retired from public life in December 2010, after turning 80, and spent the last years of his life quietly in his home town of Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, Nigeria. Adedeji was also a frontline member of his Ijebu-Ode community and a close associate of Oba Sikiru Adetona, the Awujale (monarch) of Ijebu land. He was the Asiwaju (leader) of Ijebuland and Bobajiro (chief adviser) of the Awujale as well. After a protracted illness, Professor Adebayo Adedeji died in Lagos on April 25, 2018. He was 87. #HistoryVille

HistoryVille

2/19/2025, 6:22:31 AM

Frances Ademola (born July 17, 1928) is a distinguished artist, gallerist, and broadcaster whose contributions significantly shaped Ghana’s cultural landscape. She is best known for founding "The Loom," Ghana’s first privately owned gallery, which is pivotal in nurturing and promoting contemporary Ghanaian art. Ademola began her education at the Government Girls’ School (1932–1939) before attending Achimota School (1939–1944). She later travelled to England for further studies, enrolling at Westonbirt School in Gloucestershire (1946–1948) before proceeding to the University of Exeter, where she studied from 1949 to 1953. Her professional career commenced in broadcasting with the Gold Coast Broadcasting System (now Ghana Broadcasting Corporation), where she worked as a senior producer from 1954 to 1956. She later moved to Nigeria, spending 12 years there. During this period, she joined the Nigeria Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) in 1958 and was appointed head of its Western Regional Programmes from 1960 to 1963. Upon returning to Ghana in 1969, Ademola established "The Loom," which became a landmark institution in the country’s art scene. The gallery provided a vital platform for emerging and established artists, fostering a greater appreciation of contemporary Ghanaian art. The 96-year-old Frances Ademola (née Quarshie-Idun) was married to Adenekan Ademola, the son of Adetokunbo Ademola, Nigeria's first Indigenous Chief Justice. Through her work in broadcasting and the arts, she left a lasting legacy, inspiring generations of artists and media professionals in Ghana and beyond. #HistoryVille Credits: Ghana Remembers

HistoryVille

2/18/2025, 7:34:54 AM

"Violence has never been an instrument used by us, as founding fathers of the Nigerian Republic, to solve political problems. In the British tradition, we talked the Colonial Office into accepting our challenges for the demerits and merits of our case for self-government. "After six constitutional conferences in 1953, 1954, 1957, 1958, 1959, and 1960, Great Britain conceded to us the right to assert our political independence as from October 1, 1960. None of the Nigerian political parties ever adopted violent means to gain our political freedom and we are happy to claim that not a drop of British or Nigerian blood was shed in the course of our national struggle for our place in the sun. "This historical fact enabled me to state publicly in Nigeria that Her Majesty’s Government has presented self-government to us on a platter of gold. Of course, my contemporaries scorned at me, but the facts of history are irrefutable. I consider it most unfortunate that our ‘Young Turks’ decided to introduce the element of violent revolution into Nigerian politics. "No matter how they and our general public might have been provoked by obstinate and perhaps grasping politicians, it is an unwise policy. I have contacted General Aguiyi-Ironsi, General Officer Commanding the Nigerian Armed Forces, who I understand, has now assumed the reins of the Federal Government. "I offer my services for any peace overtures to stop further bloodshed, to placate the mutinous officers, and to restore law and order. As soon as I hear from him, I shall make arrangements to return home. As far as I am concerned, I regard the killings of our political and military leaders as a national calamity."– President Nnamdi Azikiwe’s Reaction to Nigeria’s First Military Coup, January 1966. #HistoryVille #HVQuotes

HistoryVille

2/24/2025, 6:12:22 PM

The Nupe, traditionally called the Tapa by the neighbouring Yoruba, are an ethnic group located primarily in the Middle Belt and Northern Nigeria. They are the dominant group in Niger State, an important minority in Kwara State and present in Kogi State as well. The Nupe trace their origin to Tsoede who fled the court of Idah and established a loose confederation of towns along the Niger in the 15th century. Many Nupe were converted to Islam at the end of the 18th century by Mallam Dendo, a wandering preacher, and were incorporated into the Fulani Empire established by the Jihad led by Uthman dan Fodio after 1806. However, the traditions of Nupe were retained, hence the ruler of Nupe is the Etsu Nupe rather than being called Emir. The city of Bida fell to the colonialist British forces in 1897; the Etsu, Abubakar, was deposed and replaced by the more pliable Muhammadu. There are probably about 3.5 million Nupes, principally in Niger State. The Nupe language is also spoken in Kwara and Kogi States. They are primarily Muslims, with a few Christians and followers of African Traditional Religion. The Nupe people have various traditions and still hold on to some of their culture which is very similar to that of ancient Egypt. Their art is often abstract. They are well known for their wooden stools with patterns carved onto the surface. The Nupe are described in detail by the ethnographer Siegfried Nadel, whose book, Black Byzantium, remains an anthropological classic. #HistoryVille

HistoryVille

2/20/2025, 8:34:25 AM

Samuel Achilefu is an inventor of infrared goggles that enable surgeons to detect and see cancer cells. Born in Northern Nigeria in 1963, Achilefu, as a four-year-old boy, fled his home, Idah, now in Kogi State, for his village, Osaa-Ukwu, in the then Eastern Region, present-day Obingwa Local Government Area of Abia State, with his parents on the eve of the Nigeria-Biafra War in 1967. He was fortunate to be one of five students to win a French government scholarship to attend graduate school in France, where he received a PhD in molecular and materials chemistry at the University of Nancy, France. He wrote his thesis in French. Achilefu had his post-doctoral studies at Oxford University, training on the “interface between chemistry and haematology, working on developing blood substitutes.” In 1993, the Nigerian genius arrived in St. Louis to become the first full-time staff member of the Discovery Research Department at Mallinckrodt Medical Inc. Samuel Achilefu, who is now a Professor and Chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Centre, designed high-tech goggles to help surgeons see cancer cells, which are notoriously difficult to see, during surgical procedures. The cells glow blue when viewed through the eyewear, helping to ensure that no stray tumour cells are left behind during surgery. Dr Samuel Achilefu is an expert in the molecular imaging of human diseases, utilising multimodal imaging methods to address imaging challenges, focusing on optical imaging platforms. His current research interests include image-guided cancer surgery, portable imaging devices, and nanotechnology. Through a multidisciplinary team of investigators, he has guided multiple research endeavours from concept to clinic. Samuel Achilefu is an inventor of 67 U.S. patents, has published over 300 scientific papers, and received over 30 local, national, and international honours and awards for research excellence. He has been married to his wife, Nnnena, for 30 years. They have a 28-year-old daughter, Chisara, and a 25-year-old son, Kelechi. #HistoryVille