Frederick Lugard was the first Governor General of Nigeria, who in January 1, 1914 amalgamated the Northern and the Southern protectorates to form one country under the British empire. Lugard was born in 1858 of missionary parents in India, and trained at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, in England. In 1894 Lugard visited Nigeria for…
Atlantis is the fictional ancient civilization that became submerged under the ocean in the Greek philosopher, Plato’s dialogue, the “Timaeus” and the “Critias,” written about 330 B.C. Although the movement of the earth’s lithosphere, as described in the plate tectonic theory precludes the possibility of a lost continent in the recent geological past, Leo Frobenius,…
Jean Marie Coquard was the Missionary of the Holy Catholic Church to Abeokuta who established the first hospital in Nigeria in 1859. Marie Coquard was trained as a sailor and destined for the French naval service but accident brought his ship to the Slave Coast about which he read at school and in ships’ cabins. Unfolded before…
Majeogbe was the third Alaafin to reign during the repression of the worst villain in Yoruba history, Basorun Gaha. Majeogbe made efforts to rid himself of Gaha but the scoundrel will only increase in power, joined by his sons to perpetuate unbelievable acts of cruelty. The Alaafin was quite aware of the danger that lay…
Adeona Fusigboye, born in 1863, was crowned on 3 May, 1906 as the Awujale of Ijebu land. He was the son of Ademuyewo, the famous nineteenth century ruler whose pro-Ibadan stance in the Imagbon war was unpopular. Like his father, Adeona was a difficult man for the British to deal with, and he, with the…
Odarawu was the successor to Ajagbo, who was the longest reigning Alafin. His own reign, unlike Ajagbo’s, was very brief. Odarawu was as a ruler, despotic and bad tempered that his short reign was afterward used across the empire as a moral lesson to individuals and a warning to succeeding kings on the need to…
Christianity is the faith of a third of the world’s population, a system, said by Drummond as succeeding not only because it is divine but also because it is very human. The duty to a neighbor in this system, is considered part of the duty to God. “Christianity,’ aptly put by the Editor of the…
Obalokun Agana Erin was the Alaafin of Oyo in the times when salt was first introduced to the empire. Obalokun was the first Alaafin after Oduduwa, reported to have made friends from beyond the continent of Africa. There is a story of how his messengers numbering hundreds were missing, never to be found again, after embarking…
Solomon Odunaiya Odutola was the first full Nigerian Anglican Bishop after Samuel Ajayi Crowther‘s consecration in 1864. Odunaiya was educated at Fourah Bay College and the University of Durham, England, with degrees in Arts, and a diploma in Theology. In July 1941 Solomon Odunaiya assumed the headship of the Anglican Church in Ijebu Ode and…