Cities · 4 September 2023
Lagos gets a metro: the Blue Line carries its first passengers
Just Ozed, Lagos, 2024 · CC BY 3.0
Nigeria at 66 brings together the stories of more than 200 million people — every one told with sources checked by editors, and free to read on any phone.
Recent stories · 2023–2025
Nigeria now
The stories people are sharing this year, dated and sourced like everything else here.
- The Super Falcons win a record 10th Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.
- Tems wins the Grammy for Best African Music Performance.
- Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is reappointed for a second term as head of the WTO.
- D’Tigress reach the Olympic quarterfinals in Paris, a first for any African basketball team.
- A Tribe Called Judah becomes the first Nollywood film to pass ₦1 billion at the Nigerian box office.
Moneta Sleet Jr., Lagos, 1 Oct 1960 · Public domain
H.F.J.M. Crebolder / ASC Leiden · CC BY-SA 4.0
Chapter 01 · The flagship story
The day Nigeria became independent
At midnight in Lagos, the Union Jack came down and a green-white-green flag went up. Here’s how the night unfolded, who was there, and what came next.
“Today is Independence Day. The first of October 1960 is a date to which for two years every Nigerian has been eagerly looking forward.”
Read the story12 min read · 14 sources
Chapter 02 · Timeline
Nigeria through the years
66 years, one decade at a time.
2020s
Protest, transition, and a new generation on the world stage
4 key entries · the full timeline has more
October 2020
Kaizenify, Lagos, October 2020 · CC BY-SA 4.0
#EndSARS protests
Nationwide protests against police brutality lead to the disbanding of the SARS unit. Accounts of the Lekki toll gate shooting differ; this entry sets out each, with sources.
Read the story29 May 2023
A new administration
Bola Ahmed Tinubu is sworn in as President. In his inaugural address he announces the end of the petrol subsidy.
Read the story29 May 2024
Abuja City Gate · Jummy001 · CC BY-SA 4.0
The old anthem returns
“Nigeria, We Hail Thee”, first sung in 1960, is restored as the national anthem.
Read the story1 October 2026
Nigeria at 66
Independence Day marks 66 years since 1 October 1960.
Read the story
Chapter 03 · People
People who shaped Nigeria
From the independence generation to the people setting the pace now.
Independence movement
Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti
1900–1978
Photograph: UNESCO · CC BY-SA 3.0
Sport
Tobi Amusan
World record, 100m hurdles, 2022
Photograph: Owula kpakpo, 2024 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Literature
Chinua Achebe
1930–2013
Photograph: Carlo Bavagnoli, 1966 · Public domain
Literature
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Dream Count, 2025
Photograph: Librairie Mollat, 2015 · CC BY 3.0
Public life
Nnamdi Azikiwe
1904–1996
Photograph: Satilijay · CC0
Public life
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
WTO, second term from 2025
Photograph: World Trade Organization, Geneva, 2021 · CC BY-SA 2.0
Music
Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti
1938–1997
Photograph: Celluloid Records, c. 1986 · Public domain
Sport
Asisat Oshoala
WAFCON champion, 2025
Photograph: Hameltion, 2025 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Independence movement
Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti
1900–1978
Photograph: UNESCO · CC BY-SA 3.0
Sport
Tobi Amusan
World record, 100m hurdles, 2022
Photograph: Owula kpakpo, 2024 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Literature
Chinua Achebe
1930–2013
Photograph: Carlo Bavagnoli, 1966 · Public domain
Public life
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
WTO chief since 2021
Photograph: World Trade Organization, Geneva, 2021 · CC BY-SA 2.0
Chapter 04 · Made in Nigeria
Made in Nigeria
From 2,000-year-old terracotta to the studios and startups of today’s Lagos.
Heritage · 8 min read
Nok terracotta: sculpture more than 2,000 years old
The oldest known figurative sculpture in West Africa comes from the Nok culture of central Nigeria. Here’s what archaeologists know, and what they still debate.
Zbobai, 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Craft · 2025 · 6 min read
Adire’s new generation: Abeokuta indigo on today’s runways
Young designers are taking the cassava-paste resist and indigo of their grandmothers’ adire to fashion weeks in Lagos, London and beyond.
Tunde Akangbe, 2023 · CC BY-SA 4.0
World Trade Organization, Geneva, 2021 · CC BY-SA 2.0
Chapter 05 · Nigeria and the world
Nigeria and the world
Nigerians build, teach, heal and create in almost every country on earth. Their stories come home here.
2021 · 2024
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala becomes the first woman and first African to lead the WTO. In November 2024 members reappoint her for a second term.
- 36 + FCT
- states and a federal capital
- 250+
- ethnic groups [source]
- 500+
- languages [source]
- 1
- green-white-green flag
Chapter 06 · Culture
Culture
Festivals · 7 min read
Eyo 2025: when Lagos Island dresses in white
Benny Hosea, Lagos, 2025 · CC BY 4.0
Music · 2021–2025 · 11 min
From Fela to Burna Boy and Tems: Afrobeats’ Grammy decade
Nuță Lucian, 2024 · CC BY-SA 2.0
Food · 6 min read
Food across Nigeria, one pot at a time
Noahalorwu · CC BY-SA 4.0
Heritage · Photo essay
Durbar: the horsemen of Kano
DonCamillo, Kano, 2016 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Chapter 07 · Explore
Explore the 36 states and the FCT
Pick a state to see its capital, landmarks and people.
Zuma Rock, Niger State · North Central
Hui Linbo, 2016 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Chapter 08 · Photo essay
Nigeria in 66 photographs
Six decades, from 1960 to this year, seen through the lenses of Nigerian and visiting photographers.
Kano, 1974 · Public domain 
Ijele masquerade, Anambra · CC BY-SA 4.0 
Lagos, 2015 · CC BY-SA 2.0 
New Yam Festival, 2018 · CC BY-SA 4.0 
Lagos, 1960 · Public domain Abeokuta, 2023 · CC BY-SA 4.0 Niger State, 2016 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Tafawa Balewa Square, 2024 · CC BY-SA 4.0 Lagos, 1960 · CC BY-SA 4.0 
Mmanwu masquerades, 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 Lagos, 2025 · CC BY 4.0 
Lagos Marina, 2024 · Public domain Kano, 2016 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Chapter 09 · Archive
The Independence Day archive
Speeches, newspapers, film and photographs from October 1960, with sources for every item.
Browse the archiveEditorial standards
How we tell Nigeria’s story
- 01
Sourced
Every story lists where its facts come from, and every photograph carries its credit.
- 02
Independent
We’re not funded by any government or political party. Where history is contested, we set out each account with its sources.
- 03
Corrected in public
Spot an error? We fix it, date the correction, and show what changed.