Cambridge University Press
978-0-521-86294-3 - A History of Nigeria
Toyin Falola and Matthew M. Heaton
Frontmatter
More information
A HISTORY OF NIGERIA
Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country and the world’s eighth largest oil
producer, but its success has been undermined in recent decades by ethnic
and religious conflict, political instability, rampant official corruption, and
an ailing economy. Toyin Falola, a leading historian intimately acquainted
with the region, and Matthew Heaton, who has worked extensively on
African science and culture, combine their expertise to explain the context
to Nigeria’s recent troubles, through an exploration of its pre-colonial and
colonial past and its journey from independence to statehood. By examining key themes such as colonialism, religion, slavery, nationalism, and the
economy, the authors show how Nigeria’s history has been swayed by the
vicissitudes of the world around it, and how Nigerians have adapted to
meet these challenges. This book offers a unique portrayal of a resilient
people living in a country with immense, but unrealized, potential.
toyin falola is the Frances Higginbotham Nalle Centennial Professor
in History at the University of Texas at Austin. His books include The
Power of African Cultures (2003), Economic Reforms and Modernization in
Nigeria, 1945–1965 (2004), and A Mouth Sweeter than Salt: An African
Memoir (2004).
matthew m. heaton is a Patrice Lumumba Fellow at the University
of Texas at Austin. He has co-edited multiple volumes on health and
illness in Africa with Toyin Falola, including HIV/AIDS, Illness and
African Well-Being (2007) and Health Knowledge and Belief Systems in
Africa (2007).
© in this web service Cambridge University Press
www.cambridge.org
Cambridge University Press
978-0-521-86294-3 - A History of Nigeria
Toyin Falola and Matthew M. Heaton
Frontmatter
More information
© in this web service Cambridge University Press
www.cambridge.org
Cambridge University Press
978-0-521-86294-3 - A History of Nigeria
Toyin Falola and Matthew M. Heaton
Frontmatter
More information
A HISTORY OF NIGERIA
TOYIN FALOLA AND MATTHEW M. HEATON
University of Texas at Austin
© in this web service Cambridge University Press
www.cambridge.org
Cambridge University Press
978-0-521-86294-3 - A History of Nigeria
Toyin Falola and Matthew M. Heaton
Frontmatter
More information
University Printing House, Cambridge cb2 8bs, United Kingdom
Cambridge University Press is part of the University of Cambridge.
It furthers the University’s mission by disseminating knowledge in the pursuit of
education, learning and research at the highest international levels of excellence.
www.cambridge.org
Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521681575
ª Toyin Falola and Matthew M. Heaton 2008
This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception
and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements,
no reproduction of any part may take place without
the written permission of Cambridge University Press.
First published 2008
6 4th printing 2014
Printed in the United Kingdom by Clays, St Ives plc.
A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data
Falola, Toyin.
A history of Nigeria / Toyin Falola and Matthew M. Heaton.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 978-0-521-86294-3 (hardback) – isbn 978-0-521-68157-5 (pbk.)
1. Nigeria–History. I. Heaton, Matthew M. II. Title.
dt515.57.f353 2008
966.9–dc22
2007049016
isbn 978-0-521-86294-3 Hardback
isbn 978-0-521-68157-5 Paperback
Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or
accuracy of urls for external or third-party internet websites referred to
in this publication, and does not guarantee that any content on such
websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. Information
regarding prices, travel timetables and other factual information given in
this work are correct at the time of first printing but
Cambridge University Press does not guarantee the accuracy of such
information thereafter.
© in this web service Cambridge University Press
www.cambridge.org
Cambridge University Press
978-0-521-86294-3 - A History of Nigeria
Toyin Falola and Matthew M. Heaton
Frontmatter
More information
For Dr. Akin Ogundiran, a dear friend and colleague
© in this web service Cambridge University Press
www.cambridge.org
Cambridge University Press
978-0-521-86294-3 - A History of Nigeria
Toyin Falola and Matthew M. Heaton
Frontmatter
More information
© in this web service Cambridge University Press
www.cambridge.org
Cambridge University Press
978-0-521-86294-3 - A History of Nigeria
Toyin Falola and Matthew M. Heaton
Frontmatter
More information
Contents
List of illustrations
List of maps
Acknowledgments
Chronology
Notable people in Nigerian history
List of abbreviations
Glossary
Introduction
page ix
xi
xii
xiii
xix
xxxiii
xxxvi
1
1 Early states and societies, 9000 BCE – 1500 CE
16
2 Slavery, state, and society, c. 1500 – c. 1800
39
3 Political and economic transformations in the
nineteenth century
61
4 Transition to British colonial rule, 1850 – 1903
85
5 Colonial society to 1929
110
6 Nationalist movements and independence, 1929 – 1960
136
7 Instability and civil war, 1960 – 1970
158
8 Oil, state, and society, 1970 – 1983
181
9 Civil society and democratic transition, 1984 – 2007
10 Nigeria and Nigerians in world history
209
243
vii
© in this web service Cambridge University Press
www.cambridge.org
Cambridge University Press
978-0-521-86294-3 - A History of Nigeria
Toyin Falola and Matthew M. Heaton
Frontmatter
More information
viii
Contents
Concluding remarks: corruption, anti-corruption,
and the 2007 elections
271
Notes
Selected bibliography
Index
280
305
322
© in this web service Cambridge University Press
www.cambridge.org
Cambridge University Press
978-0-521-86294-3 - A History of Nigeria
Toyin Falola and Matthew M. Heaton
Frontmatter
More information
Illustrations
1.1 Women selling peppers (collection of Roy Doron)
page 23
1.2 A Zarian woman (collection of Dr. Alfred Segun Fayemi)
31
2.1 European-styled building in Badagry (collection of
Brigitte Kowalski)
46
2.2 A mother and child in Ibadan (collection of Roy Doron)
55
3.1 The Kano Mosque horsemen (collection of Jonathan
T. Reynolds)
69
3.2 A cloth-dyer in Kano (collection of Jonathan T. Reynolds)
79
4.1 Street scene in present-day Ibadan (collection of Roy Doron) 100
4.2 The Water House, Lagos (collection of Brigitte Kowalski)
104
4.3 The Niger–Benue confluence at Lokoja (collection of
Dr. Okpeh Okpeh)
107
5.1 A typical street-side market in Ibadan (collection of
Roy Doron)
124
5.2 Girl reading a newspaper (collection of Roy Doron)
131
6.1 The Emir of Kano celebrating Eid (collection of
Jonathan T. Reynolds)
152
6.2 Sellers of locally produced textiles in Lagos (collection
of Roy Doron)
157
7.1 A motor park in Umuahia (collection of Roy Doron)
177
7.2 A neighborhood in present-day Kano (collection of
Jonathan T. Reynolds)
179
8.1 An oil tanker delivering fuel (collection of Matthew
M. Heaton)
184
8.2 The minibus, a common form of public transit
(collection of Roy Doron)
198
ix
© in this web service Cambridge University Press
www.cambridge.org
Cambridge University Press
978-0-521-86294-3 - A History of Nigeria
Toyin Falola and Matthew M. Heaton
Frontmatter
More information
x
List of illustrations
8.3 A view of Aso Rock in Abuja (collection of
Dr. Okpeh Okpeh)
9.1 A landscape of underdevelopment (collection of Roy Doron)
9.2 The okada, another form of public transport (collection
of Roy Doron)
9.3 Girl at a mobile phone booth (collection of Roy Doron)
C.1 The future of Nigeria (collection of Roy Doron)
© in this web service Cambridge University Press
203
218
229
237
278
www.cambridge.org
Cambridge University Press
978-0-521-86294-3 - A History of Nigeria
Toyin Falola and Matthew M. Heaton
Frontmatter
More information
Maps
1
2.1
3.1
4.1
8.1
8.2
Major cities and ethnic groups in present-day Nigeria
(courtesy Saverance Publishing Services)
Bights of Benin and Biafra (courtesy Saverance Publishing
Services)
The Sokoto Caliphate at its greatest territorial limits
(courtesy Saverance Publishing Services)
British Colonial Nigeria (courtesy Saverance Publishing
Services)
Creation of new states, 1963–1976 (courtesy Saverance
Publishing Services)
Creation of new states, 1976–present (courtesy Saverance
Publishing Services)
page xl
52
66
94
192
193
xi
© in this web service Cambridge University Press
www.cambridge.org
Cambridge University Press
978-0-521-86294-3 - A History of Nigeria
Toyin Falola and Matthew M. Heaton
Frontmatter
More information
Acknowledgments
We owe a debt of gratitude to the many dedicated scholars of Nigeria
who have helped us to fine-tune our conceptualization and presentation
of this book. Funso Afolayan, Tosin Abiodun, Anene Ejikeme, Chidiebere
Nwaubani, Ebenezer Obadare, Akin Ogundiran, Ann O’Hear, Mojubaolu
Okome, Adebayo Oyebade, Hakeem Tijani, Emmanuel Ike Udogu, and
Aribidesi Usman all read draft chapters of the manuscript and provided
suggestions and critiques that have been invaluable in strengthening these
chapters and improving the overall quality of the book. Special thanks also
go to Sam Saverance, who created the maps, Roy Doron, Dr. Alfred Segun
Fayemi, Brigitte Kowalski, Dr. Okpeh Okpeh, and Jonathan T. Reynolds,
who supplied many of the pictures for this book from their personal
collections, and Andrew Esiebo, who supplied the cover photo. The
donation of all these individuals’ time and energies is truly appreciated.
The community of Africanist scholars at the University of Texas at
Austin provides much intellectual and spiritual support. We would like to
thank several professors for extending their friendship and collegiality,
which makes our time at the University of Texas both exciting and
rewarding. The graduate students in African history at the university –
Saheed Aderinto, Emily Brownell, Roy Doron, Kwame Essien, Tyler
Fleming, Ann Genova, Sylvester Gundona, Adam Paddock, and Natalie
Washington-Weik – also deserve mention for the vibrancy and fresh ideas
they have brought to our community. We thank you all.
xii
© in this web service Cambridge University Press
www.cambridge.org
Cambridge University Press
978-0-521-86294-3 - A History of Nigeria
Toyin Falola and Matthew M. Heaton
Frontmatter
More information
Chronology
9000 BCE
600 BCE
1000–1500 CE
1100–1400 CE
1300–1600
1450–1850
1804
Late Stone Age evidence of indigenous habitation in
Iwo Eleru rock shelter in southwestern Nigeria.
Evidence of iron technology used by Nok civilization,
near present-day Abuja.
Foundation of centralized states such as Kanem,
Borno, Benin, Ife, Oyo, and the Hausa city states.
Introduction of Islam into savanna and Sahelian
states of northern Nigeria.
The ‘‘golden age’’ of the trans-Saharan trade. Gold,
slaves, and other commodities are traded from the
states of northern Nigeria across the Sahara desert to
the states of the north African littoral, Europe, and the
Middle East. The trans-Saharan trade continued
through the nineteenth century, but in a diminished
capacity after the rise of direct trade with Europeans on
the coast in the fifteenth century AD.
Contacts with Europeans on the coast result in
monumental changes to the political, economic, and
social institutions of southern Nigerian states. The
trade in slaves dominates relations between Nigerians
and Europeans at this time, changing for ever the
histories of four continents as goods and people
engaged in a growing transatlantic trade.
Beginning of Islamic revolution that results in the
creation of the Sokoto Caliphate in northern Nigeria.
The Sokoto Caliphate expands the frontiers of Islam
and spread the religion beyond the ruling classes to
common people to a greater extent than existed
previously.
xiii
© in this web service Cambridge University Press
www.cambridge.org
Cambridge University Press
978-0-521-86294-3 - A History of Nigeria
Toyin Falola and Matthew M. Heaton
Frontmatter
More information
xiv
1807
1833
1841
1861
1885
1886
1887
1893
1894
1898–1909
1900
Chronology
British abolition of the slave trade. Although the trade
in slaves continues from southern Nigerian ports for
another forty years, trade in palm oil and other forms
of ‘‘legitimate’’ commerce expand rapidly from this
point.
Final collapse of Oyo empire, which marks the
beginning of sixty years of instability and war among
Yoruba states in the southwest.
The Niger Expedition marks the first attempt by
Europeans and African Christians to spread Christianity
into the interior of Nigeria. In 1846 Church Missionary
Society (CMS) missionaries establish a mission at
Abeokuta; from this point Christianity begins to spread
rapidly in southern Nigeria for the first time. A new elite
emerges in the south, educated in European mission
schools and sharing many European cultural attributes.
Christianity and Islam have since become the two
dominant religions in Nigeria.
British annexation of Lagos as a Crown Colony.
Establishment of the Oil Rivers Protectorate in
southeastern Nigeria, renamed the Niger Coast
Protectorate in 1893.
Formation of the Royal Niger Company (RNC),
which monopolizes trade in the Niger basin until the
revocation of its charter in 1900. In the same year a
peace treaty is signed, ending the prolonged war
among the Yoruba-speaking peoples of the southwest.
King Ja Ja of Opobo exiled to the West Indies for
abrogation of Treaty of Protection.
Establishment of a British protectorate over Yoruba
territories in the southwest.
Revolt of Brassmen against the Royal Niger Company. In the same year, Nana, the Itsekiri governor
of the river Benin, is deposed and deported for
hindering British access to interior markets.
Ekumeku underground resistance movement fights
against the RNC and British colonial rule.
Creation of the Protectorate of Northern Nigeria.
Extension of the northern protectorate concludes in
© in this web service Cambridge University Press
www.cambridge.org
Cambridge University Press
978-0-521-86294-3 - A History of Nigeria
Toyin Falola and Matthew M. Heaton
Frontmatter
More information
Chronology
1902–3
1908
1912
1914
1914–18
1920
1923
1925
1929
1931
1936
1944
1945
xv
1903, when British forces conquer the Sokoto
Caliphate and kill the Sultan.
The Aro Expedition, part of the British effort to
‘‘pacify’’ the hinterlands of eastern Nigeria.
Protests in Lagos against the water rate, fueled by the
reporting of Nigerian journalists such as Herbert
Macaulay, often dubbed the ‘‘father of Nigerian
nationalism.’’ Macaulay and other journalists use
newspapers to report on and critique the performance
of the colonial government.
Establishment of the Southern Nigeria Civil Service
Union, later renamed the Nigerian Civil Servants’
Union.
Amalgamation of northern and southern protectorates.
Nigerian troops aid the British cause in the First
World War.
National Congress of British West Africa (NCBWA)
founded.
Establishment of the Clifford Constitution, which
allows for elected representation in the governance of
Nigeria for the first time.
West African Students’ Union (WASU) founded.
The ‘‘Women’s War,’’ or Aba Riots, a major protest
against British indirect rule in southeastern Nigeria.
Establishment of the Nigerian Union of Teachers
(NUT).
Nigerian Youth Movement (NYM), a political organization of young nationalists in the Lagos area, founded.
Nnamdi Azikiwe founds the NCNC, the National
Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (later
Nigerian Citizens), which quickly becomes an
influential political party pushing for independence
for Nigeria from British colonial rule. In the same
year Mrs. Olufunmilayo Ransome-Kuti founds the
Abeokuta Ladies’ Club, later renamed the Abeokuta
Women’s Union (AWU), to lobby against the
injustices of colonial indirect rule.
Nigerian labor unions organize a General Strike,
bringing work and business to a standstill. The strike
© in this web service Cambridge University Press
www.cambridge.org
Cambridge University Press
978-0-521-86294-3 - A History of Nigeria
Toyin Falola and Matthew M. Heaton
Frontmatter
More information
xvi
1946
1948
1949
1951
1954
1956
1957
1959
1960
1963
1966
1967
1967–70
Chronology
precipitates important economic changes in the form
of the first Ten Year Plan, adopted later the same year.
The Richards Constitution enacted, providing a
central legislature and dividing Nigeria into three
regions: the North, West, and East. This is the first
set of constitutional reforms that ultimately leads to
independence for Nigeria.
First university in Nigeria established in Ibadan.
Northern People’s Congress (NPC) founded under
the leadership of Tafawa Balewa, Aminu Kano, and
Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto.
The MacPherson Constitution amends the Richards
Constitution, moving Nigeria closer to independence. In the same year the Action Group (AG), a
Yoruba-dominated political party in the southwest, is
founded under the leadership of Obafemi Awolowo.
The Lyttleton Constitution establishes a federal
system of government for Nigeria.
Petroleum discovered in the Niger delta region.
Regional self-government attained in the East and
West.
Regional self-government attained in the North.
Nigeria becomes independent from the United
Kingdom on October 1.
Nigeria becomes a republic, replacing the queen with
an indigenous president as the symbolic head of state.
Military coup on January 15 brings down the First
Republic and installs General John Aguiyi-Ironsi as
head of state. Countercoup on July 29 brings General
Yakubu Gowon to power.
Emeka Ojukwu declares independence of Eastern
Region as the sovereign Republic of Biafra on
May 30. In the same year Gowon creates twelve
states out of the existing three regions. From this
point, clamor for the creation of more states becomes
constant. Since 2000 Nigeria has been made up of
thirty-six states and a Federal Capital Territory (FCT)
at Abuja.
Civil war between the forces of the Federal Military
Government (FMG) and Biafran separatists. War
© in this web service Cambridge University Press
www.cambridge.org
Cambridge University Press
978-0-521-86294-3 - A History of Nigeria
Toyin Falola and Matthew M. Heaton
Frontmatter
More information
Chronology
1971
1973
1975
1976
1979
1983
1985
xvii
ends with the surrender of Biafra on January 12, 1970,
and the reincorporation of Biafra into Nigeria.
Nigeria joins the Organization of Petroleum
Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Rising price of oil results in booming economy for
Nigeria. Since this time Nigeria has been heavily
dependent on its oil exports to supply government
revenues The results have been grandiose development projects, widespread official corruption, and
mismanagement of government funds.
Gowon regime overthrown in coup of July 30. General
Murtala Mohammed becomes the new head of state.
Mohammed assassinated on February 13 in an
unsuccessful coup. Mohammed’s deputy, Lieutenant
General Olusegun Obasanjo, takes over as head of
state. The Mohammed/Obasanjo regime becomes
known for its sweeping reforms in political institutions and its willingness to transfer power to
civilian leadership for the first time since the 1966
coup.
Political power handed to civilian administration of
the Second Republic under President Alhaji Shehu
Shagari. The Second Republic presides over a
declining economy as the oil boom is followed by
an oil bust. Nigeria becomes a debtor state, as
politicians continue to spend lavishly despite the poor
economic climate.
Second Republic overthrown in military coup of
December 31. General Muhammadu Buhari becomes
head of state. The Buhari administration becomes
known for its firmness on issues of integrity,
corruption, and austerity, but proves unable to
improve the foundering economy.
General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida overthrows the
Buhari regime on August 27. Under Babangida the
Nigerian economy continues its decline. The institution
of a Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) brings
hardship to the majority of Nigerian citizens, and the
supposed long-term benefits of the SAP do not
materialize.
© in this web service Cambridge University Press
www.cambridge.org
Cambridge University Press
978-0-521-86294-3 - A History of Nigeria
Toyin Falola and Matthew M. Heaton
Frontmatter
More information
xviii
1993
1994–8
1995
1998
1999
2006
2007
Chronology
Presidential election held on June 12 to decide the
civilian successor to Babangida. Chief M. K. O. Abiola,
a Yoruba Muslim from the southwest, wins what has
been called the freest and fairest election in Nigerian
history. Shortly afterwards the election results are
annulled, throwing the country into chaos. Babangida
hands power to an Interim Governing Council (IGC),
led by Chief Ernest Shonekan, on August 27. On
November 17 the IGC is overthrown by General Sani
Abacha, who becomes the new head of state.
Under Abacha Nigeria becomes an international
pariah state. Abacha refuses to recognize the election
of June 12, 1993, and uses violence and manipulation
to suppress dissent.
Ken Saro-Wiwa and other members of the ‘‘Ogoni
Nine’’ are executed. The executions become a symbol
of the tyranny of the Abacha regime and result in
international protest and condemnation.
Abacha dies on June 8. Power is transferred to
General Abdulsalami Abubakar, who organizes a
quick transition to civilian rule.
The Fourth Republic commences under the leadership
of President Olusegun Obasanjo. Under Obasanjo
Nigeria seeks to improve its tarnished international
reputation and to stabilize the political and economic
conditions in the country. Some progress is made, but
most Nigerians remain impoverished, and the political
process remains significantly flawed.
A national census tabulates Nigeria’s population at
over 140 million.
Inauguration of President Umaru Yar’Adua on May 29,
marking the first time in Nigeria’s history that power is
transferred from one civilian regime to another. The
transfer is controversial, however, since the elections
that brought Yar’Adua to power are widely believed to
have been rigged by the ruling People’s Democratic
Party (PDP).
© in this web service Cambridge University Press
www.cambridge.org
Cambridge University Press
978-0-521-86294-3 - A History of Nigeria
Toyin Falola and Matthew M. Heaton
Frontmatter
More information
Notable people in Nigerian history
Abacha, General Sani (1943–98)
Former military dictator and commander-in-chief of the armed forces,
who ruled Nigeria from 1993 until his mysterious death on June 8, 1998.
A career military man, Abacha was born in Kano, and began his military
training at the age of nineteen. It was he who announced the overthrow
of the Second Republic in 1983, when Muhammadu Buhari came to
power, and he was the number two soldier during the Babangida
administration. In November 1993 he overthrew the existing Interim
Governing Council of Ernest Shonekan and declared himself head of
state. Over the next five years Abacha battled pro-democracy groups and
widespread international disapproval over his refusal to recognize the
results of the 1993 election and his fierce clampdown on antigovernment activism. Abacha has been most vilified for the execution
of Ken Saro-Wiwa and other members of the Ogoni Nine. Under
Abacha’s rule, Nigeria became an international pariah state and the
country’s economic crisis peaked.
Abiola, Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (1937–98)
Born in Abeokuta and educated at the University of Glasgow, Abiola was a
Yoruba Muslim who became one of the wealthiest businessmen in Nigeria.
His companies covered newspaper publishing, banking, air transportation,
oil drilling, and the book trade. Through his wealth, Abiola also became
one of the leading philanthropists in Nigeria. He had been an important
backer of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) government during the
Second Republic, and won the nomination of the Social Democratic Party
(SDP) to stand for the presidency in the election of June 12, 1993. Abiola
won the election, but the results were annulled. When Abiola declared
himself president anyway a year later, head of state Sani Abacha had him
put in prison, where he died four years later.
xix
© in this web service Cambridge University Press
www.cambridge.org
Cambridge University Press
978-0-521-86294-3 - A History of Nigeria
Toyin Falola and Matthew M. Heaton
Frontmatter
More information
xx
Notable people in Nigerian history
Achebe, Chinua (1930– )
Author of many important books, including Things Fall Apart, A Man
of the People, No Longer at Ease, Arrow of God, and Anthills of the
Savannah, Achebe has become one of the most famous novelists in
Africa. Born at Ogidi, in eastern Nigeria, Achebe worked as a
broadcaster from 1954 to 1967, when he became a professor at the
University of Nigeria, Nsukka. As an eloquent portrayer and critic of
the existential crises facing Africa and Africans over the last two
centuries, Achebe has spoken and worked throughout the world since
the 1970s.
Aguiyi-Ironsi, Major General Johnson Thomas Umunankwe
(1924–66)
One of Nigeria’s most distinguished soldiers of the 1950s and 1960s,
Aguiyi-Ironsi served as an equerry to Queen Elizabeth II on her royal visit
to Nigeria in 1956 and as military adviser to the Nigerian High
Commission in London in 1961, and was the first African commander of
the United Nations peacekeeping force in the Congo crisis. In 1965 he was
promoted to major general and became the general commanding officer of
the Nigerian army. After the first military coup of 1966, Ironsi, as the most
senior military officer, became the first military head of state of Nigeria, but
only for a few months. After angering many, particularly northerners, over
his perceived favoritism of Igbos and the abolition of the federal structure,
he was killed in the second military coup in July, 1966.
Akintola, Chief S. L. (1910–66)
Born in Ogbomosho, Akintola’s first career was as a journalist. At one
point he served as editor of the Daily Service, the newspaper of the
Nigerian Youth Movement, and he became heavily involved in
nationalist politics, particularly in the Yoruba-dominated Egbe Omo
Oduduwa and the Action Group, serving as deputy leader of the latter
from 1955 to 1962 and as premier of the Western Region from 1959 to
1966. After a falling-out with Chief Obafemi Awolowo in 1962, Akintola
abandoned the AG and founded the United People’s Party (UPP), and
later the Nigerian National Democratic Party (NNDP), which formed an
alliance with the northern-dominated NPC government and used the
power of incumbency to rig elections in 1964 and 1965. The chaos in the
Western Region resulting from the 1965 elections was one of the main
factors that led to the military coup of January 15, 1966. Akintola was
killed in the coup.
© in this web service Cambridge University Press
www.cambridge.org
Cambridge University Press
978-0-521-86294-3 - A History of Nigeria
Toyin Falola and Matthew M. Heaton
Frontmatter
More information
Notable people in Nigerian history
xxi
Awolowo, Chief Obafemi (1909–87)
Founder of the Egbe Omo Oduduwa and the Action Group, both
Yoruba-dominated organizations that pushed for Nigerian independence and the extension and preservation of Yoruba interests and culture
in a multi-ethnic, federated Nigeria. He studied law and commerce in
London in the mid-1940s and returned to Nigeria to practice law and
politics. Awolowo contested the post of prime minister in the 1959
general election, but the AG lost to the NPC–NCNC coalition, and
Awolowo became the leader of the opposition. After his falling out with
Western Region premier S. L. Akintola in 1962, Awolowo was charged
with corruption and treason and sentenced to ten years in prison. He
was later pardoned by Yakubu Gowon and became a federal officeholder in the military regime. He ran for the presidency of the Second
Republic in 1979 and 1983, but lost both times to Shehu Shagari. He
died in May 1987.
Azikiwe, Nnamdi (1904–96)
Founder of the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (later
Nigerian Citizens), which became one of the largest parties vying for
independence for a unified Nigeria from British colonial rule. Azikiwe was
born in Zungeru, in northern Nigeria, to Igbo parents and was educated in
several mission schools throughout Nigeria. He traveled to the United States
for university education, where he became involved in the Pan-African
movement. On his return to Nigeria he became a successful journalist and
activist in the Nigerian Youth Movement, before breaking away and
founding the NCNC in 1944. As its leader, Azikiwe became the first
indigenous governor general of Nigeria in 1959 and its first ceremonial
president in 1963. He was ousted from this position by the coup of January 15,
1966, but he never retired from politics, running unsuccessfully for president
in both 1979 and 1983. The national airport in Abuja, the country’s capital, is
named after him.
Babangida, General Ibrahim Badamasi (1941– )
Born at Minna, in what is now Niger State, Babangida was trained at
many different military institutions and held many different military
posts in his career. He first rose to national prominence for his efforts in
quashing the abortive coup of Lieutenant Colonel B. Suka Dimka in
February 1976, in which General Murtala Mohammed was assassinated.
In 1984 he became chief of army staff, a position he held until August 27,
1985, when he mounted the successful coup that removed Muhammadu
© in this web service Cambridge University Press
www.cambridge.org
Cambridge University Press
978-0-521-86294-3 - A History of Nigeria
Toyin Falola and Matthew M. Heaton
Frontmatter
More information
xxii
Notable people in Nigerian history
Buhari from power. Babangida became president and commander-inchief of the armed forces, and ruled Nigeria until 1993. Babangida was
responsible for the institution of the Structural Adjustment Program in
the country, which brought economic hardship for many Nigerians, as
well as for the complicated transition to civilian rule, which resulted in his
annulment of the results of the presidential election of June 12, 1993.
Babangida handed power to an Interim Governing Council on August
27, 1993, but has since remained influential in Nigerian politics.
Balewa, Alhaji Sir Abubakar Tafawa (1912–66)
Born in Tafawa Balewa Town in what is now Bauchi State, Balewa
trained to become a teacher, receiving his teaching certificate in 1933. He
taught at Bauchi Middle School and, after studying at the Institute of
Education at the University of London, became an education officer for
Bauchi province. He was one of the founding members of the Northern
People’s Congress, which became the largest and most powerful party in
northern Nigeria and which won control of the federal legislature in the
1959 general elections. Balewa became the first prime minister of Nigeria
and governed during the tumultuous First Republic. His power and
promotion of the ‘‘northernization’’ agenda made him a prime target for
the organizers of the coup of January 15, 1966, in which he was abducted
and killed.
Bello, Ahmadu, the Sardauna of Sokoto (1910–66)
A grandson of Usman dan Fodio, Bello became the most important
northern politician between the 1940s and the 1960s. Although he lost a
bid to become the Sultan of Sokoto in 1938, he was named the Sardauna
(war leader), a very important position. He went on to become a
founding member and leader of the NPC, and the premier of the
Northern Region in 1954. Along with Prime Minister Balewa, Bello was
instrumental in promoting the ‘‘northernization’’ agenda of the NPCdominated First Republic. He was killed in the coup of January 15, 1966,
which ended the First Republic.
Bello, Muhammadu (1781–1837)
Son of Usman dan Fodio and one of the leaders of the Islamic revolution
that resulted in the establishment of the Sokoto Caliphate. After the death
of his father, Bello took over the reins of government, taking the title of
Sultan of Sokoto, and continued to spread the revolution to new frontiers
and to quell internal resistance. Under Bello, Islamic politics, justice,
© in this web service Cambridge University Press
www.cambridge.org
Cambridge University Press
978-0-521-86294-3 - A History of Nigeria
Toyin Falola and Matthew M. Heaton
Frontmatter
More information
Notable people in Nigerian history
xxiii
education, and culture, which had once been the reserve of the wealthy
and powerful elite, began to spread throughout northern Nigeria.
Buhari, Major General Muhammadu (1942– )
Born in Daura in Katsina province of Kaduna State, Buhari trained at the
Nigerian Military Training College in Kaduna and at Mons Officer Cadet
School in the United Kingdom. He held many important positions under
Nigeria’s military regimes, including Director of Supply and Transport of
the Nigerian army from 1974 to 1975, military governor of Northeastern –
and, later, Borno – State from 1975 to 1976, and federal commissioner for
petroleum and energy in the military administration of Olusegun Obasanjo.
On December 31, 1983, he became head of state and commander-in-chief
of the armed forces in the coup that overthrew the Second Republic.
Buhari’s military administration is probably best known for its idealistic
but ultimately unsuccessful ‘‘War Against Indiscipline’’ (WAI), in which
Nigerians were charged to be punctual to work, wait in queues, and keep
their cities clean. After just twenty months, Buhari was himself overthrown
in the coup that brought Ibrahim Babangida to power on August 27, 1985.
Buhari has remained influential in politics, however. He ran for president in
2003 and 2007 as the candidate of the All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP),
coming second both times.
Crowther, Bishop Samuel Ajayi (1809–91)
Born in Yorubaland in 1809, Crowther was captured at the age of twelve
and sold to Portuguese slave traders. The ship he was being transported
on was captured by a British anti-slavery patrol ship, and he was released
in Freetown, Sierra Leone. In Freetown, Crowther was educated by the
Church Missionary Society, and baptized in 1825. In 1841 he was chosen
to accompany the Niger Expedition to establish a missionary presence in
the Nigerian interior. The mission failed, and Crowther returned to the
coast to work as a missionary in Badagry and Abeokuta. He was a very
successful missionary, and in 1861 he was named the first African bishop
of the Anglican Church, with his diocese on the river Niger. An African
nationalist, Crowther believed that Africa’s future should be the preserve
of Africans themselves, and fought against the encroachment of British
colonial rule in the late nineteenth century. He quarreled with Sir George
Goldie over the activities of the Royal Niger Company and over ideas
that Christianity should be used to promote British interests in the
region. In 1890 he resigned his position as Bishop on the Niger. He died
the next year.
© in this web service Cambridge University Press
www.cambridge.org
Cambridge University Press
978-0-521-86294-3 - A History of Nigeria
Toyin Falola and Matthew M. Heaton
Frontmatter
More information
xxiv
Notable people in Nigerian history
Equiano, Olaudah (c. 1745–97)
Famous abolitionist and author of The Interesting Narrative of Olaudah
Equiano, Equiano was born in Igboland around 1745. Kidnapped and
sold into slavery around the age of eleven, Equiano lived as a slave in
Virginia and England and participated in the Seven Years War of 1756–
63. After the war he was sold to a slave trader in the West Indies, from
whom he later bought his freedom. He returned to Great Britain in 1769
and became an active member of the abolitionist movement, giving
public speeches and writing many letters to English newspapers. In 1789
he published his Interesting Narrative, in which he recounted his personal
experiences of the horrors of slavery and the slave trade. The book was
immensely successful and helped to shape people’s thoughts about the
slave trade, which was finally abolished in the United Kingdom in 1807,
ten years after Equiano’s death. In recent years questions have been raised
as to the African origin of Equiano. Some scholars now claim that he was
born not in Igboland but in South Carolina.
Fodio, Usman dan (1754–1817)
Fulani Islamic scholar and leader of the Islamic revolution that
established the Sokoto Caliphate in northern Nigeria in the nineteenth
century. Born and educated in the Hausa state of Gobir, by the late
eighteenth century dan Fodio had developed a group of followers known
as ‘‘the Community,’’ who subscribed to his vociferous calls for a
purification of the political and religious make-up of the region. Relations
between dan Fodio and the King of Gobir deteriorated over the latter’s
refusal to institute sweeping Islamic reforms, and in 1804 dan Fodio fled
from Gobir after an attempt had been made on his life. His followers
went with him and organized a revolution against the king. Later in the
year dan Fodio declared a jihad, or holy war, against the heretical Hausa
rulers. Over the next decade dan Fodio’s followers toppled the Hausa
dynasties in most states in northern Nigeria and replaced them with
Fulani emirs, thus bringing into existence the mighty Sokoto Caliphate,
which ruled the region for the next century. In 1812 dan Fodio divided the
administration of the territories under his control between his brother
Abduallahi and his son Muhammadu Bello, and retired from public life.
He died in 1817.
Goldie, Sir George (1846–1925)
British shipping mogul and largest shareholder in the Royal Niger
Company, which became one of the tools through which British colonial
© in this web service Cambridge University Press
www.cambridge.org
Cambridge University Press
978-0-521-86294-3 - A History of Nigeria
Toyin Falola and Matthew M. Heaton
Frontmatter
More information
Notable people in Nigerian history
xxv
rule was imposed upon Nigeria. Goldie was given a Royal Charter in 1886
to allow his company to negotiate with local rulers in the territories
around the river Niger to administer the territories in the interests of free
trade. The RNC quickly eroded the sovereignty of the local rulers with
whom it had treaty relationships, however, and became a monopolistic
company, completely controlling trade on the Niger for over fifteen years.
In 1900 Goldie’s charter was revoked and the territories controlled by the
company came under the direct control of the British government.
Gowon, General Yakubu (1934– )
Born in what is now Plateau State, Gowon enlisted in the army in 1954
and took officer’s training courses in Ghana and the United Kingdom.
He served in the UN peacekeeping mission to the Congo between 1961
and 1963. After the coup of January 15, 1966, Gowon became the chief of
staff of the Nigerian army under Aguiyi-Ironsi. After the second coup of
July 29, 1966, in which Ironsi was killed, Gowon was chosen by the
organizers of the coup to become the new head of state. Gowon ruled
Nigeria for the next nine years. He was head of the Federal Military
Government during the Nigerian Civil War, in which he galvanized the
country under the slogan ‘‘To keep Nigeria one is a task which must be
done.’’ After the civil war he embarked on a program of ‘‘Reconciliation,
rehabilitation, and reconstruction.’’ This process was helped greatly by
the oil boom that Nigeria experienced during the early 1970s. Gowon’s
administration after the civil war was plagued with inefficiency and
corruption, however. Gowon also angered many prominent officers and
politicians by prevaricating on the transfer of power back to civilian rule.
On July 29, 1975, Gowon was overthrown in the military coup that
brought General Murtala Mohammed to power. He went into exile in
the United Kingdom until 1983, when he returned home. He completed
his PhD in political science from the University of Warwick in 1984. He
continues to live in Plateau State, and in 1998 was a prominent supporter
of the presidential campaign of Olusegun Obasanjo.
Ja Ja, King of Opobo (1821–91)
One of the most famous resistors of the British colonial takeover of
Nigeria. Born in the Amaigbo village group in southeastern Nigeria, Ja Ja
was sold as a slave at the age of twelve to a chief in the coastal trading state
of Bonny. Through his prowess as a trader, particularly in palm oil, Ja Ja
rose to become the head of the Anna Pepple house, an extremely wealthy
and powerful house in Bonny, in 1863. His success as a trader roused the
© in this web service Cambridge University Press
www.cambridge.org
Cambridge University Press
978-0-521-86294-3 - A History of Nigeria
Toyin Falola and Matthew M. Heaton
Frontmatter
More information
xxvi
Notable people in Nigerian history
ire and competition of other houses, particularly the Manilla Pepple
house, headed by Oko Jumbo. In 1869 war broke out between the two
houses, with the result that Ja Ja fled inland, establishing a new trading
state, which he named Opobo. From the hinterland Ja Ja cut off Bonny’s
access to palm oil markets, and, over time, he turned Opobo into a
wealthy trading state of its own. In 1884 Ja Ja signed a treaty of protection
with the British guaranteeing them free trade in his realm. Not intending
to live up to an agreement that would erode his competitive advantage, Ja
Ja quickly abrogated the terms of the treaty, provoking the anger of the
British. In 1887 the acting British consul, Harry Johnston, tricked Ja Ja on
board a gunboat, ostensibly to negotiate a peaceful end to hostilities.
Once on board, however, Ja Ja was arrested and taken to Accra, whence
he was banished to the West Indies. He was allowed to return to Opobo
in 1891, but died on the voyage home. His body was returned home and
buried in Opobo.
Kano, Alhaji Aminu (1920–83)
A Fulani, educated as a school teacher at Kaduna College and the
Institute of Education at the University of London, Kano worked with
Tafawa Balewa at Bauchi Middle School and became one of the founding
members of the Northern People’s Congress. When this party became too
conservative for him, however, Kano broke away and formed a new party,
the Northern Elements Progressive Union (NEPU), which competed
with the NPC for votes among Nigeria’s northern Muslims. A champion
of the poor, Kano became a populist leader, but never had enough
backing from the established elite classes to win elections much beyond
his base of Kano city. After the onset of military rule in 1966 Kano held
many positions in the military governments, including federal commissioner of communications (1967–71) and federal commissioner for health
(1971–74). Kano formed the People’s Redemption Party (PRP) to contest
elections during the Second Republic, and ran as the party’s presidential
candidate in 1979. He lost the election and died four years later, on
May 18, 1983.
Lugard, Sir Frederick (1858–1945)
British colonial administrator, he worked as an army officer in Nyasaland
(Malawi), Kenya, and Uganda before taking up employment in the Royal
Niger Company in 1894. In 1897 he organized the West African Frontier
Force (WAFF) for the British to secure the western border of the British
sphere of influence in northern Nigeria against French encroachment. In
© in this web service Cambridge University Press
www.cambridge.org
Cambridge University Press
978-0-521-86294-3 - A History of Nigeria
Toyin Falola and Matthew M. Heaton
Frontmatter
More information
Notable people in Nigerian history
xxvii
1900 Lugard became the first high commissioner of the Protectorate of
Northern Nigeria after the dissolution of the RNC. He then undertook the
military conquest of the Sokoto Caliphate, which was completed in 1903.
As high commissioner of the northern protectorate, Lugard developed the
administrative system that he called ‘‘indirect rule,’’ by which the British
ruled colonial territories through existing local rulers. Lugard left Nigeria
in 1906, but returned in 1912 to oversee the amalgamation of the Nigerian
protectorates into a single administrative unit, becoming the first governor
general of a unified Nigeria. As governor general he extended his form of
indirect rule to southern Nigeria, before retiring from public service in
1919. In 1922 he published The Dual Mandate in British Tropical Africa, in
which he outlined in great detail his philosophy of colonial rule as a system
that ought both to benefit the economy of the colonizing country and help
to bring indigenous races to a higher level of ‘‘civilization.’’ Indirect rule
and the Dual Mandate became common ideologies of British colonial rule
throughout Africa.
Macaulay, Herbert (1884–1946)
A grandson of Bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther, Macaulay grew up in
Lagos before undergoing training in England to become a civil engineer.
He later abandoned this career path to become a journalist and esteemed
critic of British colonial rule in Lagos. He founded the first daily
newspaper in Nigeria, The Lagos Daily News, through which he informed
Nigerians about the activities of their alien colonial government. He
formed the first political party in Nigeria, the Nigerian National
Democratic Party, which won all the seats in the Nigerian Legislative
Council until the rise of the Nigerian Youth Movement in the 1930s. He
later became a supporter of Nnamdi Azikiwe’s National Council of
Nigeria and the Cameroons. For his vociferous criticism of colonial
injustices, which sometimes led to needed reforms, Macaulay has often
been called the ‘‘father of Nigerian nationalism.’’
Mohammed, General Murtala Ramat (1938–76)
Born in Kano and educated at Government College in Zaria,
Mohammed enlisted in the army in 1957 and underwent training at
Sandhurst Royal Military Academy in the United Kingdom. He served in
the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in the Congo, and later as an
aide-de-camp to the administrator of the Western Region during the
emergency there. He was made a lieutenant colonel after the military
coup of January 15, 1966, that brought Aguiyi-Ironsi to power, and took
© in this web service Cambridge University Press
www.cambridge.org
Cambridge University Press
978-0-521-86294-3 - A History of Nigeria
Toyin Falola and Matthew M. Heaton
Frontmatter
More information
xxviii
Notable people in Nigerian history
an active part in the July 29, 1966, coup that deposed Aguiyi-Ironsi.
Mohammed served as a field commander in the civil war, capturing Asaba
and Onitsha for the Federal Military Government, before moving to
Lagos to become inspector of the Nigerian Army Signals in 1968 and,
later, in August 1974, federal commissioner of communications.
Mohammed became head of state and commander-in-chief of the
Nigerian armed forces after the coup that toppled Yakubu Gowon on
July 29, 1975. Over the next six months Mohammed undertook a series of
sweeping reforms to government administration, including the compulsory retirement of thousands of military officers and civil servants, and the
formation of a plan for a handover to civilian rule. On February 13, 1976,
Mohammed was assassinated in an abortive coup attempt. Mohammed
has been revered since as the most qualified and best-intentioned ruler in
Nigerian history, although many believe his near-mythical status owes
significantly to the fact that he did not live long enough to have his
reputation tarnished.
Nzeogwu, Major Patrick Chukwuma (1937–67)
Born in Kaduna to Igbo parents, Nzeogwu attended St. John’s College in
Kaduna and later joined the Nigerian army, for which he underwent
training at Sandhurst Royal Military Academy in the United Kingdom.
Nzeogwu is credited as the leader of the first military coup of January 15,
1966, that ended the First Republic and resulted in the murders of prime
minister Tafawa Balewa, Northern Region premier Ahmadu Bello, and
Western Region premier S. L. Akintola, among many others. The coup
was only partially successful, however, and, after Aguiyi-Ironsi had
managed to restore stability to a shattered government, Nzeogwu was
detained first in Lagos and then in the Eastern Region. Colonel Emeka
Ojukwu released him from prison before the secession of the Eastern
Region as the sovereign state of Biafra. Nzeogwu fought on the side of
Biafra in the civil war, despite personal disagreement with the decision to
secede, and was killed in battle on July 26, 1967.
Obasanjo, General Olusegun (1937– )
Born in Abeokuta, Obasanjo joined the army in 1958 and underwent
officer training at Mons Officer Cadets’ School in the United Kingdom.
He served in the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Congo and
became commander of the Royal Engineers of the Nigerian Army in 1963.
During the civil war Obasanjo served as the commander of the Ibadan
Garrison from 1967 to 1969, and then as the commander of the third
© in this web service Cambridge University Press
www.cambridge.org
Cambridge University Press
978-0-521-86294-3 - A History of Nigeria
Toyin Falola and Matthew M. Heaton
Frontmatter
More information
Notable people in Nigerian history
xxix
marine commando division on the southeastern front of Biafra. In
January 1970 Obasanjo accepted the surrender of Biafra. After the coup
d’etat of July 29, 1975, that brought Murtala Mohammed to power,
Obasanjo became chief of staff, supreme headquarters. After Mohammed’s
assassination on February 13, 1976, Obasanjo became head of state and
commander-in-chief of the Nigerian armed forces. As head of state,
Obasanjo continued with the programs outlined by Mohammed before
his death, most notably the plan to transfer power back to civilian rule. In
1979 Obasanjo became the first military ruler in Nigerian history to hand
power over to a civilian administration, ushering in the Second Republic.
Obasanjo retired from the military in 1979 and became a major figure in
international politics, serving on numerous panels and organizations of
the United Nations, World Health Organization, and Commonwealth
Group. In March 1995 Obasanjo was imprisoned by Abacha for his
supposed involvement in a plot to overthrow the government. After
Abacha’s death in 1998, Obasanjo emerged from prison to mount a
presidential campaign for the newly established People’s Democratic
Party. Obasanjo won the election, and was re-elected in 2003 to a second
term. In 2007 Obasanjo handed power to his successor, Umaru Yar’Adua,
also of the PDP, marking the first time in Nigeria’s history that one
civilian leader transferred power to another. Obasanjo’s two terms as
president have been controversial: while on the one hand he has stabilized
the economy and restored Nigeria’s tattered international image to a
degree, he has been accused of undemocratic and corrupt practices
as well.
Ojukwu, Colonel Chukwuemeka Odumegwu (1933– )
Born in Zungeru, in northern Nigeria, to Igbo parents, Ojukwu was
educated at King’s College, Lagos, before traveling to the United
Kingdom, where he studied history at Oxford. He returned from the
United Kingdom in 1955 and joined the Nigerian army in 1957, serving in
the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in the Congo. After the coup of
January 15, 1966, that brought Aguiyi-Ironsi to power, Ojukwu was
named the military governor of the Eastern Region. Ojukwu refused to
recognize the second coup of July 29, 1966, that made Yakubu Gowon
head of state, and, after a series of failed negotiations, Ojukwu led the
Eastern Region in secession from Nigeria as the sovereign state of Biafra.
In January 1970, with Biafran collapse imminent, Ojukwu fled to Ivory
Coast. Pardoned in 1982, Ojukwu returned to Nigeria. Ojukwu has
remained active in politics, but has not achieved any great success, losing
© in this web service Cambridge University Press
www.cambridge.org
Cambridge University Press
978-0-521-86294-3 - A History of Nigeria
Toyin Falola and Matthew M. Heaton
Frontmatter
More information
xxx
Notable people in Nigerian history
a senate race in Anambra in 1983 and running for president as a fringe
candidate during the Fourth Republic.
Ransome-Kuti, Fela (1938–97)
Son of the famous political activist Mrs. Olufunmilayo Ransome-Kuti,
Fela was one of the most famous African musicians of the 1970s and
1980s. His style of music, known as Afro-beat, blended traditional African
rhythms with American jazz and blues, appealing to music lovers the
world over. In Nigeria, Fela was influential not only as a musician but as a
political and social critic, often speaking out publicly against the venality
and corruption of the Nigerian government, for which he paid a severe
price. In 1978 his own mother was killed in an army raid on his
compound, and he himself spent time in prison. Fela contested the 1983
presidential election, but lost to incumbent Shehu Shagari. Fela died of
complications related to AIDS in 1997.
Ransome-Kuti, Chief Olufunmilayo (1900–78)
Born in Abeokuta, Mrs. Ransome-Kuti left Nigeria in 1920 to study
music and domestic science at Wincham Hall College in Manchester in
the United Kingdom. She returned to Nigeria and became a teacher in
Abeokuta, where she began to found several women’s organizations.
These organizations later merged to become the Egba Women’s Union
and, later, the Abeokuta Women’s Union. The AWU protested strongly
at abuses of power on the part of the alake of Abeokuta during the 1940s
and 1950s, achieving his temporary deportation in 1948. Ransome-Kuti
also aligned the AWU with the bourgeoning nationalist movement of the
NCNC, in which she held important party posts. Mrs. Ransome-Kuti’s
activism has pervaded her family, and four of her children have become
quite famous as political activists: Fela Kuti became one of Nigeria’s most
politically and culturally significant musicians in the 1970s and 1980s,
while Beko Ransome-Kuti, a doctor, has been detained in prison on many
occasions for his protests against military regimes. Mrs. Ransome-Kuti was
killed in an army raid on her son Fela’s compound in 1978.
Saro-Wiwa, Kenule Beeson (1941–95)
Born at Bori in what is now Rivers State, Saro-Wiwa was educated at
Government College Umuahia, the University of Ibadan, and the
University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He worked as commissioner of works,
land and transport for Rivers State and, later, as the state’s commissioner
of education. In 1987 he was appointed director of the Directorate for
© in this web service Cambridge University Press
www.cambridge.org