Month and Year in History

Memory of the past is not tantamount to tracking the past. 

Tree rings can tell how many years ago a big fire occurred.

But if I asked the tree, "Do you remember the great fire of 1730?" it would remain silent. Only humans have knowledge of the past that they can share.

The following is a list of past and present events based on the month and year they occurred:

The outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019.

Anne-Marie Imafidon earned her Oxford master’s in mathematics and computer science when she was only 19. Today, she sits on several corporate boards and was awarded an MBE in 2017 for services to science.

A Nigerian family, the Imafidons, was voted “the smartest family in Britain” in 2015.

Nigeria’s first female governor, Virginia Etiaba, assumed office in Anambra State, a State in South-Eastern Nigeria, from November 2006 to February 2007.

Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala became Nigeria’s first two-term female minister of finance, firstly under President Olusegun Obasanjo from 2003 to 2006 and secondly under President Goodluck Jonathan from 2011 to 2015. 

The Paris Club of rich European countries wrote off two-thirds of Nigeria’s 30-billion-dollar foreign debt in July 2005.

There were thirty (30) registered political parties in Nigeria before the April 2003 general election.

Ronaldo, a prolific goal-scorer from Brazil, became the first player to capture the World Player of the Year award three times in 2002.

The Universal Basic Education (UBE) programme was launched in Nigeria in October 1999.

Tiger Woods, at age 21, became the first African American golfer to win the prestigious Masters Golf tournament in 1997.

Olusegun Obasanjo, former president of Nigeria, was sentenced to prison in July 1995.

The women’s World Cup was first played in 1991.

The FIFA World Player of the Year award was first presented in 1991. It is sponsored by FIFA, the European Sports Management Association, and Adidas and is selected by national team coaches.

Philip Emeagwali won the 1989 Gordon Bell Award for his work in supercomputing.

The Unity Party of Nigeria was formed by Chief Obafemi Awolowo in September 1978.

Muhammad Ali, an American boxer, became the first boxer to win the world heavyweight championship title three times in 1978.

A 49-member Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) headed by Chief Rotimi Williams was set up in 1977.

All local governments in Nigeria were reformed in 1976.

Operation Feed the Nation was introduced in Nigeria in 1976.

The Universal Primary Education (UPE) was launched in Nigeria in 1976. 

Nigeria started using the Metric system instead of the Avoirdupois system of ounces, pounds, feet, yards, etc. in 1973.

The Nigerian currency was changed from pound shillings and pence to Naira and kobo in 1972.

Nigeria joined OPEC in 1971.

Monkey pox was first discovered in humans in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Kanji Dam project was started in 1964 but completed in 1969.

The Niger Bridge at Onitsha was constructed in 1964.

The mid-western region was carved out of the old western region in 1963, and Chief Dennis Osadebay became its administrator.

The Saudi Royal family used to frequent UCH for medical treatment in the 1960s.

Lagos, the Capital Territory, was until 1960 a British Colony by virtue of the Act of Cession of 1861.

Oba Adesoji Aderemi became the first governor of the Old Western Region before Nigeria got independence in July 1960. 

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was established in 1959.

The post of Prime Minister was created in Nigeria in 1957.

The Sir Oliver Lyttleton Constitution was introduced in 1954.

Nigeria became a federation of three regions – North, East, and West – in 1954.

Lagos became the capital of Nigeria in 1953.

The Action Group (AG), a political party, was formed in April 1951.

Nigeria was divided into three regions – North, East, and West – in 1946.

The first labour union formed in Nigeria was the Nigerian Union of Teachers by organizing the 1945 workers’ strike at Enugu.

The men’s World Cup was founded in 1930 with just 13 teams.

Elections first started in Nigeria in 1923.

The first political party in Nigeria, the Nigeria National Democratic Party, was formed by Herbert Macaulay in 1923.

Lord F. Luggard was the first colonial governor of Nigeria from 1914 to 1919.

The First World War started in 1914 and ended in 1918.

The name ‘Nigeria’ was the brainchild of Miss Flora Shaw, a daughter of Army General, who later married Sir Fredrick Luggard in 1902.

Christian missionary activity began in Southern Nigeria in the mid-19th to late-19th century.

The Sokoto Caliphate went to war with the Yoruba States in the early 19th century.

The Sokoto Caliphate was established through a Jihad in the early 18th century.

Portuguese navigators reached the Nigeria coast in 1472.

Hausa kingdoms in the North were established as nominally Muslim States in the 15th century.

Borno State was established as an Islamic State in the 11th century.

Nri kingdom began in the 10th century.

Bronzes found at the town of Igbo-Ukwu were created in the 9th century.

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