H i s t o r y V i l l e

#OnThisDay, June 25, 2020, A Carnage Before Dawn was published. Based on Nigeria's first military coup, this historical novel covers 14 hours of the putsch from the night of January 14, 1966, through the morning of January 15, 1966. #HistoryVille You can get a copy via the links below: Paperback at Rovingheights: rhbooks.com.ng/product/a-car… E-book on Selar: selar.com/a-carnage-before-d… Paperback and E-book on Amazon: amazon.com/Carnage-Before-Da…

Legendary Nigerian striker Patrick Olusegun Odegbami scored his first goal for Nigeria on October 30, 1976, in a 6-2 rout of Sierra Leone in a World Cup qualifying match. Odegbami also played his last game for Nigeria on October 30, 1981, in a World Cup qualifying match against Algeria in Constantine. In his 43 appearances for Nigeria, Odegbami scored 21 goals, one of the best averages for any Nigerian international to this day. #HistoryVille #OnThisDay

Chief Obafemi Awolowo, as Nigeria's Federal Commissioner of Finance, coined the name "Naira" by "collapsing" Nigeria, and "Kobo", a corruption of copper because coins were then made of copper, for the nation's new currency. The Naira was introduced on January 1, 1973, replacing the Nigerian pound with an exchange rate of ₦2 to £1 in the United Kingdom and ₦1 to $0.6 in the United States. #HistoryVille

Since 1716, all the past Kings of Lagos (from Ashipa) were buried in Benin City until Oba Akitoye (pictured) died and was buried in Lagos in 1853. #HistoryVille

Samsung's safety trucks show the road ahead on the back of the truck so that the driver stuck behind the vehicle can have a better understanding of whether it is safe to overtake or not. #HistoryVille

Queen Elizabeth II visited the leprosy settlement at Oji River, near Enugu, on February 9, 1956, two days after she was at the Eastern House of Assembly in Enugu on February 7. Her Majesty walked nearly a mile, in humid jungle heat, through the colony, which housed about 1,000 victims of the deadly disease. #HistoryVille

For 31 years, the Igbos resisted the British and chose to be dead lions rather than living dogs. However, they were eventually overpowered, as their weapons were no match for the Maxim guns the British forces used. #HistoryVille thehistoryville.com/igbo-res…

Queen Elizabeth II visits a leper colony at the Oji River Leprosy Settlement, Enugu, Eastern Nigeria, 1956. #HistoryVille Photo Credit: Getty Images

#OnThisDay October 29, 2018, American actor and businessman 50 Cent spent $3,000 to buy 200 front-row seats at Ja Rule’s concert so that they could all be empty. #HistoryVille

The Benin Kingdom is famous for its ivory, bronze heads and sculptures. However, a majority of these treasures were stolen in 1897 by European invaders and are being displayed in Western museums to this day. #HistoryVille thehistoryville.com/benin-br…

Ethiopian soldiers reportedly used lions, bees, wasps and elephants in wars against the European invaders. They trained these creatures to fight their enemies. #HistoryVille

On October 8, 2007, media reports revealed that Nigeria denied Bill Gates’s visa application, despite his being the world’s richest man for the 13th consecutive year, with an estimated fortune of $59 billion. The Nigerian government wanted proof that the billionaire would not overstay his welcome and become a burden on the country's social services. The Microsoft chairman had to get a letter from his bank, and his visa was subsequently approved. Bill Gates turns 71 today. #HistoryVille

As of 1787, when Abiodun was Alaafin of the Oyo Empire, there were scholars in his Royal Court who could read, write and calculate in Arabic. #HistoryVille

The ₦5 note is the least and oldest Nigerian note still in circulation. It was first issued in 1973 but was changed from paper to the present polymer note in 2007. It bears, at the front, the portrait of Nigeria's first and only Prime Minister, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa (1912-1966) and Npokiti dancers from Southeastern Nigeria at the rear. #HistoryVille

Akiga Sai (1898–1959) was the first Tiv to be baptised as a Christian and to read and write; the first Tiv parliamentarian, newspaper editor and the first Tiv to publish a book. Sai was an early Nigerian autobiographer and historian, known for his "History of the Tiv" (written in the Tiv language), which was edited and translated into English by Rupert East and first published in 1939. #HistoryVille

In 1952, Mallam Umaru Altine became the first elected Mayor of the Enugu Municipal Council. He held the post until 1958. A Fulani cattle rearer from Sokoto, Mallam Altine, who was married to an Igbo woman, Esther Ozueh, was elected for two terms. In his first term, he had run as a National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC) candidate, but in the build-up to the elections for his second term, the NCNC asked him to step down for another candidate, but he refused and was forced to resign from the NCNC. Nevertheless, he ran as an independent candidate and defeated the NCNC candidate, D.T. Inyang, by 117 to 53 votes. In fact, in his ward, he was returned unopposed. Thus, a Fulani man from Sifawa, in the then Sokoto Province, almost 700 miles from the Eastern Region, who had lived in Enugu for less than five (5) years, became the first Mayor of the Eastern Region's capital. As Mayor of Enugu, together with Nnamdi Azikiwe, the Premier of the Eastern Region, Altine hosted Queen Elizabeth II during Her Majesty's official visit to Nigeria in February 1956. #HistoryVille

When Pablo Escobar and his family were in hiding, Manuela, his younger daughter, became cold. The worried father then decided to burn $2 million in currency notes to keep her warm. Waste or sacrifice? #HistoryVille

Nigerian soldiers and civilians mingle on the rebuilt River Niger bridge at Onitsha after it had been destroyed by Biafran forces, 1970. #HistoryVille

The so-called Founding Fathers of Nigeria attacked each other regularly in the media. Nnamdi Azikiwe referred to Ladoke Akintola as one who "spoke like an aphid and looked like a zebra", due to Akintola's tribal marks. Azikiwe, in turn, was referred to as a rascal, hypocrite, a "six-foot of stupidity" (due to his height), and "the oracle of Onitsha." #HistoryVille Full story: youtu.be/iF-x2h1zWi8

Mustapha Sani Abacha is the first and only Nigerian child to be born in Aso Villa, the Official Residence of Nigeria's President/Head of State, in 1994. He was born to the 10th Nigerian head of state, General Sani Abacha, and his wife, Maryam, who were 50 and 47 years old at the time of his birth. He was reportedly named after Abacha's Chief Security Officer, Major Hamza Al-Mustapha. #HistoryVille

"Patriotism means to stand by your country. It does not mean to stand by the President or any other public official." —Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919), 26th President of the United States (1901-1909). #HistoryVille #HVQuotes