Coups, Executions & the Making of Modern Nigeria Introduction BETWEEN the mid-1960s and the late 1990s, Nigeria experienced multiple military coups, counter-coups and alleged coup plots that profoundly influenced the country’s political evolution. Among the most enduring legacies of that period were the executions carried out following failed military uprisings, particularly after the 1976 Dimka […]
By MANFRED EKPE Investigating Akwa Ibom’s Coastal Boundary Debate How Historical Maps, Colonial Records & Competing Narratives Continue to Shape Contemporary Land Disputes Introduction FEW issues in Akwa Ibom State generate as much emotional and political debate as questions surrounding the ownership of coastal territories, settlement history and administrative boundaries. For decades, disagreements involving communities within […]
By OKOI OBONO-OBLA From Colonial Records to Modern Reality: Reassessing Ugep’s Historical Identity A Community Whose History Challenges Popular Perception PUBLIC conversations about Ugep often reduce the Yakurr community to the status of a “village.” However, historical records, colonial documentation, demographic evidence and traditional institutions present a far more complex picture. Historical accounts indicate that while […]
A Question That Continues to Shape Nigerian History MORE than six decades after Nigeria’s first military coup, one question continues to generate intense historical debate: Why did Major Patrick Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu and his fellow coup plotters target Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto and Premier of the Northern Region? The answer has remained […]
By ONYEAGBOR OKORIE DIVINE & USMAN-OLADIPO AKANBI A Nation at a Crossroads: Abacha, Diya & the Political Drama That Reshaped Nigeria Introduction NIGERIA’S turbulent military era produced moments that continue to shape public debate decades later. Among the most consequential were the events surrounding the alleged December 1997 coup, the detention of senior military officers led […]
A renewed examination of archival accounts and historical interpretations raises enduring questions about public perception, political narratives and the consequences of Nigeria’s first military coup. How the January 1966 Coup Acquired an Ethnic Identity MORE than six decades after Nigeria’s first military coup, debate continues over one of the most contentious questions in the nation’s […]
Reframing the Ibibio Historical Narrative THE history of the Ibibio people offers a window into the broader processes that shaped civilizations across West Africa. Contemporary scholarship increasingly views the Ibibio not merely as an ethnic group but as participants in a long historical continuum of migration, cultural innovation and regional development. At the heart of […]
A Defining Morning in Nigeria’s Post-Independence History FEW events in Nigeria’s post-independence history have generated as much intrigue, controversy and historical reflection as the failed military coup of 13 February 1976. The attempted overthrow of the government of General Murtala Ramat Muhammed remains one of the most consequential moments in the country’s political evolution. At […]
By SUNDAY ANIEFIOK JAMES UDOFIA Beyond Colonial Misconceptions THE history of the Ibibio people offers a compelling lens through which to examine the evolution of indigenous governance systems in southeastern Nigeria. For decades, colonial-era narratives often portrayed societies without centralized monarchies as politically fragmented or administratively weak. Contemporary scholarship, however, increasingly challenges that assumption. Historical […]
OGIAME AKENGBUWA & THE END OF AN AGE IN WARRI KINGDOM Understanding the Monarch Behind a Historic Turning Point IN the long history of Warri Kingdom, few rulers stand at such a critical historical crossroads as Ogiame Akengbuwa. Known formally as Dom Eyeolusan João, the Sixteenth Olu of Warri ruled from approximately 1795 until his […]