NOTABLE EVENTS IN NIGERIA. 1851 (December 26-27): Royal Navy warship bombards Lagos. Oba of Lagos (Oba Kosoko) is wounded and flees to Epe. On board the ship was Lt. Labulo Davies, probably the first Nigerian to be commisioned in a naval force. 1862 (January 1): Lagos Island is annexed as a colony of Britain 1862 (January 22): Mr. H.S Freeman is appointed as the first Governor of Lagos Colony. 1877: George Taubman Goldie arrived in the Niger Delta in 1877 1885: Oil Rivers Protectorate proclaimed by the British after they had defeated of King Jaja of Opobo, the Oba of Benin and subdued all prominent oil merchants of the Niger Delta. 1892 (19 May): At the Battle of the (sacred) Yemoja River the British wreaks havoc amongst the Ijebu infantry with a British Maxim (capable of firing 2000 rounds in three minutes). 1893: Oil Rivers Protectorate renamed Niger Coast Protectorate with its capital at Calabar. 1890's: British Journalist Flora Shaw, later wife of Lord Frederick Lugard, suggests the name "Nigeria" after the great Niger River. 1897: The British overthrow Oba Ovonramwen of Benin. One of the last independent West African kings. 1900: Niger Coast Protectorate was merged with the colony and protectorate of Lagos and renamed Protectorate of Southern Nigeria 1914: Formation of Nigeria under Governor Frederick Lugard 1929 (October): (Aba Women's Riot). Women in Aba demonstrate against high taxes and low prices of Nigerian exports. 1954: The position of Governor was created in each region after the Federal System of Government is adopted. 1958: Nigerian Armed Forces came under Federal control. The Nigerian Navy is created. 1959: The new Nigerian currency is introduced 1959: Northern Peoples Congress(NPC)and Niger Delta Congress(NDC) go into alliance to contest parliamentary elections. The alliance earned the Brass Division a seat in the Federal Parliament for the first time. 1960(July): Sir Adesoji Aderemi becomes 1st Nigerian and 1st African to be appointed Governor in the Commonwealth. He became Governor before Nigeria got independence. 1960 (October 1): Nigeria's Independence Day: Nnamdi Azikiwe ("Zik") becomes 1st indigenous Governor General. At independence, the Nigerian government consisted of three ethnic states united in a federation. Each state was controlled by a single dominant ethnic-based party. 1960 (October 1): Independence. Nnamdi Azikiwe ("Zik") becomes 1st indigenous Governor General. 1960-1966: First Republic of Nigeria under a British parliamentary system. 1960: Nigeria's joins with Liberia and Togo in the "Monrovia Group" which advocated an extremely loose organization of African states. 1961 (February 11 and 12): People of Northern and Southern Cameroon went to the polls to decide on joining independent Nigeria or the French territory of Cameroon. The south voted to leave Nigeria and the North decided to join Nigeria. 1961 (June 1): Northern Cameroon becomes Sarduana Province of Nigeria, the thirteenth province of Northern Nigeria. 1961 (October 1): Southern Cameroon ceases to be a part of Nigeria 1962: By this time, the northern Northern People's Congress (NPC) controlled the federal government, while violence in the western region forced the dominant party there, the Yoruba "Action Group" (AG), to split in two. 1963: Nigeria proclaimed Republic. Nnamdi Azikiwe becomes its first President. 1964: The Northern Peoples Congress(NPC) aligns with a breakaway faction of the Action Group (AG) led by Chief Ladoke Akintola, the Nigerian National Democratic Party(NNDP),to form the Nigerian National Alliance (NNA) to contest elections. At the same time, the main Action Group led by Chief Obafemi Awolowo forms alliance with the United Middle-Belt Congress(UMBC)and Alhaji Aminu Kano's Northern Elements Progressive Union (NEPU) and Borno Youth Movement to form the UPGA (United Progressive Grand Alliance). 1965 (November): Elections triggered violence in the western region, where Igbo civil servants of the Hausa- dominated federal government represented authority to the Yoruba population. 1966 (January 15): The Nigerian army staged its first coup. 1966 (May 29): Massive rioting starts in the major towns of Northern Nigeria against the Igbo minority in the north and nearly 30,000 died. 1966 (July 29): A group of Northern officers and men storm the Government house Ibadan where General Aguiyi Ironsi was staying with his host, Lt. Col Adekunle Fajuyi. The men are arrested and killed. 1966 (August 1): Lt. Col Yakubu Gowon announces a take-over of the government to the nation 1967 (January 4): Nigeria's military leaders travel to Aburi near Accra, Ghana to find a solution problems facing the country. 1967 (May 30): Eastern leadership announces Republic of Biafra 1967 (July 6): First shots are fired that formally start of about thirty months of the Biafran war. 1970-1979: Military rulers like Gowon (1967-1975), Murtala Muhamed and Olusegun Obasanjo ran Nigeria and altered the constitution again, creating 19 federal states. 1970 (January 15): The Biafran War came to an end, leaving nearly two million people dead. 1971 (April 2): Nigeria changed from driving on the right hand side of the road to the left. 1973 (May): Government establishes the National Youth Service Corps Scheme and introduces compulsory one year service for all graduates of Nigerian universities. 1974: General Gowon reneged on a promise to restore civilian rule in 1976. 1974: Gowon announces indefinite delay in trasition plan. 1975 (October): Gowon was overthrown in a coup, on the anniversary of his ninth year in office, by General Murtala Mohammed. Murtala rolls out transition plan to civil rule due to terminate in 1979. 1976 (February 13): Murtala Mohammed was gunned down, in an abortive coup attempt, on his way to work from his residence. 1976 (February 14): General Murtala Mohammed was succeeded by General Olusegun Obasanjo. Obasanjo pledges to keep to Murtala's transition agenda. 1976 (September 2): The Universal Primary Education Scheme (UPE) is introduced. This was to make education free and compulsory in the country. 1978: Ban on political parties was lifted 1979 (October 1): General Obasanjo handed over to Alhaji Shehu Aliyu Shagari (Executive President of Nigeria). Five parties competed for the presidency, and Shehu Shagari of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) won. 1979 (October 1) -1983 (December 31): Second Republic of Nigeria under Shehu Shagari of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN). 1980: The National Party of Nigeria(NPN) forms an accord with the Nigeria People's Party(NPP)to get a majority in parliament. 1981: The end of the oil price boom led to a general strike and the expulsion of more than one million foreign (non-Nigerian) African workers. 1981: The end of the oil price boom led to a general strike and the expulsion of more than one million foreign (non-Nigerian) African workers. 1982: Governors of the opposition parties, NPP, UPN, GNPP and PRP form the Progressive Alliance to checkmate the ruling party, NPN, especially after the crash of NPN/NPP accord at the national level. 1983: Elections are marred by widespread cheating. 1983(September): In Nigeria's second national elections, Shehu Shagari was re-elected president of Nigeria in August-September 1983. 1983(December 31): Major-General Muhammed Buhari led another military coup and overthrew the government of Shehu Shagari. Buhari suspended the 1979 constitution and arrested Shagari and other civilian politicians. 1983-1985: Buhari's "War Against Indiscipline (WAI)" uncovered corruption in the ranks of government and society. 1985 (August 27): General Ibrahim Babangida takes over power in a bloodless coup. 1986: General Babangida promises to restore civilian rule in 1990. 1987: Babangida postpones the date of return to civilian rule from October 1990 to October 1992. 1988: The government reduced fuel price subsidies as part of its austerity program. In response, transporters raised their prices 50-100% and the rest of the population, especially students, went on strike. Fuel prices were lowered again, making Nigeria a source of smuggled fuel to neighboring countries. 1988: The government increased the number of states in Nigeria to 21 (from 19). Later on, a further increase brought the number to 30. 1989(October): Babangida's government refused to legalize 13 independent political parties. Instead, the government founded the SDP (Center-left) and the NRC (Center- right) as the only legal political parties. 1991(September): Administrative reform produced 9 new states and 140 additional local government areas. The date for transition to civilian rule was pushed back again, to January 2, 1993. 1991: The government reversed itself and allowed "old breed" politicians to take part in presidential politics. 1991(December): Elections for state governors were dominated by new breed politicians, but the presidential campaigns featured new and old breed politicians. 1992: Babangida shifts handover date again to 1993. 1992: Census figures show that Nigeria is Africa's most populous country, with 88.5 million people (Egypt is second with 52 million). Nigeria's GDP is second in Africa ($35 million to South Africa's $90 million), but per capita income is only $395. 1992(August/September): Presidential primaries marked by corruption, boycotts, violence, and illegality. 1992(October/November): Babangida cancelled the presidential primaries, banned leaders of both parties, and pushed the date of the presidential election back to mid 1993. 1993(March): New primaries yield Abiola and Tofa as presidential candidates. Primaries were marked by corruption. 1993 (June 12): Presidential elections are held and businessman Moshood Abiola of the SDP takes unexpected lead in early returns. 1993 (June 23): Babangida came on air to give reasons for annulling the results of the Presidential election. At least 100 people killed in riots in the southwest, Abiola's home area. 1993(August): Scheduled second round of presidential elections were not held. 1993 (August 26): Babangida keeps his promise to step down by naming an interim government of his own choice, headed by Ernest A.