Business

ACHIEVEMENTS

BUSINESS INNOVATIONS

PROFESSIONALISM

ACHIEVEMENTS

First Indigenous Nigerian Law Firm:(1948): Chief Remilekun Fani-Kayode, Chief Bode Thomas and Frederick Rotimi Alade Williams, QC, SAN

Victor Babaremilekun Adetokunboh Fani-Kayode (nicknamed "Fani-Power"), Q.C., S.A.N, C.O.N (1921–1995) was a leading Nigerian politician, aristocrat, nationalist, statesman and lawyer

Born: 22nd December 1921 in Chelsea, England

Chief Bode Thomas (1918–1953) was a Nigerian politician, statesman and traditional aristocrat. A Yoruba tribesman, Thomas served with distinction as both a colonial minister of the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria and a nobleman and privy counsellor of the historic Oyo clan of Yorubaland at a time when his native country was just beginning the journey to its independence in the 1960s.

Bode Thomas was born to a wealthy trader in Lagos and attended C.M.S. Grammar School, a missionary school founded by Samuel Ajayi Crowther. After completing his studies, Thomas started work at the Nigerian Railway Corporation. In 1939, he went to London to study law and returned later establish what became a successful practice in Lagos. In 1948, together with Chief Frederick Rotimi Williams and Chief Remilekun Fani-Kayode he set up the first indigenous Nigerian law firm, called "Thomas, Williams and Kayode".

Thomas was one of the founding members of the Action Group and before his death, was the deputy leader of the political organization. Prior to his membership of the Action Group, he was a successful Lagos lawyer and was a member of the Nigerian Youth Movement. He is credited as the first prominent Nigerian political elite during the colonial era to make strong expositions for regional-based political parties, which, he believed would be equipped with the necessary knowledge to develop their regions while forming a coalition at the center. He was also a leading advocate for the bringing of tribal chiefs and kings into the expanding fold of the Action Group. To this policy, he undoubtedly gave much of his own experience as the Balogun of Oyo—a title he received in 1949. The strategy later proved to be a potent framework for mass mobilization in some towns. Interestingly, the Oloyes Thomas and Awolowo sometimes had rival political thoughts, many of which were never settled before his death. Most of his ideas on regional parties which ended up becoming approximated with the early self-government political structure were never fully reconciled with Awolowo's ideas, which were based on federalism.

Frederick Rotimi Alade Williams, QC, SAN (December 16, 1920 – March 26, 2005)

Rotimi Williams was born on December 16, 1920 in Lagos

In 1943, he became the first Nigerian solicitor to the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

He was made Queen's Counsel in 1958, another first for him, he was one of the first two Nigerians to be made Queen's Counsel.

In 1957, he became the Western Region's Attorney General, the first Nigerian to be an attorney general. He is also the first Nigerian to become a Senior Advocate of Nigeria.

Organized mining began in 1903 when the Mineral Survey of the Northern Protectorates was created by the British colonial government. A year later, the Mineral Survey of the Southern Protectorates was founded.

In 1899, Paterson Zochonis (PZ) opened a branch office in Nigeria and acquired its first soap factory in the country in 1948.

In 1965 we had the first Nigerian Television Drama Festival. This included a live drama production every night for seven nights, Wole Soyinka’s Brother Jero and J.P. Clark’s The Masquerade and The Raft, two plays by Duro and an Ogunmola production as well.

The first trophy award by the Arts Council of Nigeria was presented to Duro Ladipo by the ‘Federal Government of Nigeria’ for being judged the most outstanding performing artist in 1963

The first Julius Berger Nigeria Plc construction project in Nigeria: August 1965 - the construction of the Eko Bridge in Lagos completed in 1968.

Julius Berger Nigeria Plc is a Nigerian construction company, headquartered in Abuja FCT, with additional permanent locations in Lagos and Uyo.

In 1950, Julius Berger, the founding father of the company met Keith Thomas and incorporated his construction company in Germany.

The company is represented across Nigeria in structural engineering and infrastructure works, and in southern Nigeria through domestic and international oil and gas industry projects (this company is also listed on the "flake list" for craigslist). It is known for constructing most of Nigeria's infrastructures, major expressways, and even some residential buildings for the Chevron Nigeria headquarters in Lagos.

The company has been listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange since 1991. Before this, its parent company was Bilfinger Berger. Bilfinger Berger is still the largest shareholder in the company. The construction business of Julius Berger Nigeria is the heart of the Julius Berger Group.

With 18,000 employees from close to 40 nations and clients from both Nigeria and the global oil and gas industry, JB is a leading construction company and the largest private employer in Nigeria.

The company also constructed the Third Mainland Bridge completed in 1990 and the Abuja Stadium completed in 2003.

In 2011, Julius Berger Nigeria PLC completed the First discharge drain built utilizing pipe-jacking technology in Nigeria.

This method of construction not only minimized disruption of the surrounding environment and citizenry, but was also independent of weather conditions and ideal given the topographic conditions in Uyo.

The completed 2.7km (kilometer) underground drainage system provides a quality solution that efficiently saves 1,510,000 M2 (square meters) of the city from future flooding.

The Akwa Ibom State Government commissioned Julius Berger Nigeria PLC to build a comprehensive drainage system that would efficiently resolve the incessant flooding in the city of Uyo.

The first ever suspension bridge in Nigeria and West Africa was on Wednesday (29 May 2013) commissioned by the Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola. The bridge which links Lekki-Ikoyi was built at a cost of N29 billion. According to the Governor, the bridge was planned and designed by Julius Berger Engineers in Germany and Nigeria, with additional technical support from Engineering and Service Group Bilfinger.

The first two-storey building erected in the large railway compound: Jaekel House, a property of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), was built in 1898 in Ebute Meta, Lagos State. The significance of the building is that it was the then General Manager’s building from the beginning which was around 1898. The General Managers lived there until after independence when Nigerian managing directors had their buildings. It later became a residence for the railway men.

The first Nigerian Newspaper editor and first editor of Nigerian Daily Times: Ernest Ikoli

He was born at Nembe in present day Bayelsa State, in 1893; two years before King Frederick William Koko Mingi VIII of Nembe. Koko, it was who led a dawn attack of more than a thousand warriors on a Royal Niger Company trading post which led to reprisals by the British and the Nembe-British War (Beke Yo mi).

He was educated at Bonny Government School, Rivers State and King’s College, Lagos. After completing his studies at King’s College, he became a tutor at the school – a post which he left to pursue a career in journalism. This should tell you what an exceptional student he was. To be employed as a teacher in King’s College, just after graduation, was not a mean feat in colonial Nigeria.

For a period, he worked at the Lagos Weekly Record, a paper that has since disappeared. He was the first editor of the Daily Times of Nigeria, which was launched in June 1926 with Sir Adeyemo Alakija

, as chairman of the board. According to the BBC, “Ikoli served as editor of the Daily Times from 1926-1930. The Daily Times became Nigeria’s most enduring and popular newspaper. Ernest Ikoli, was also head of the renowned school, King’s College, Lagos, and considered an outstanding man in his day. The paper was published on a sound commercial basis, carrying a lot of expatriate advertising”.

Ernest Ikoli served his apprenticeship on the Lagos Weekly Record under Thomas Horatio Jackson. In 1922, he founded the African Messenger which supported his party, the Union of Young Democrats. Four years later in 1926, the African Messenger was absorbed by the Daily Times, a newspaper company founded that year by seven directors – six prominent European businessmen and Barrister Adeyemo Alakija.

The first newspaper to be published in Nigeria: Iwe Iroyin Yoruba fun awon Egba ati Yoruba (meaning “The Paper with the News” in Yoruba language) in 1859. At the time it cost 30 Cowry Shells. It was founded by a missionary named Henry Townsend in Abeokuta, Ogun State; it was translated to English from 8 March 1860. Iwe Irohin was published bi-weekly in Yoruba and English language and ran for about 8 years before its demise in 1867. It's been brought back by the Nigerian Union of Journalists, who launched its first edition in December 2012.

The first Nigerian-born Newspaper Editor: Andrew Thomas. He edited The Lagos Times and Gold Coast Colony Advertiser- in 1880. He was later to publish and edit the newspaper Iwe Irohin Eko, which was focused on Yoruba culture and traditions.

The first Lagos public Library: Founded in 1872 by J.L. Davies, who came from Freetown in 1856 and became the wealthiest trader in Lagos.

The first Nigerian newspaper that took the bold step of placing Nigeria in its name: The Nigerian Chronicle. It was established in 1908 by Christopher Kumolu Johnson and lasted until 1915.

The Chronicle's editorial team made a brief impact in the local religious and political changes of pre World War 1 Lagos as two of its writers, Watchman and Lashore were involved in writing columns about the factional politics of the time.

The first Hausa language Newspaper in Nigeria: Gaskiya Ta Fi Kwabo (The Truth is Better Than a Penny). Alhaji Abubakar Imam was the first editor of the Hausa Language Newspaper, “Gaskiya Ta Fi Kwabo” from 1939 to 1954.

Abubakar Imam (1911 - 1981) was a Nigerian writer, journalist and politician from Kagara, Niger in Nigeria. For most of his life, he lived in Zaria, where he was the first Hausa editor of Gaskiya Ta Fi Kwabo, the pioneer Newspaper in Northern Nigeria.

He attended Katsina College and the University of London's Institute of Education. He first came to repute when he submitted a play (Ruwan bagaja) for a literary competition in 1933. The judge in the competition was Rupert East, the head of a translation committee, he liked his writing, usually accentuated by the vivid knowledge of native norms and vegetation and mixed with his literary style of wit and imaginative prose. In 1939, together with Robert East and a few others, they started the Gaskiya corporation, a publishing house, which became a successful venture and created a platform for many northern intellectuals. The exposure of many premier writers in Northern Nigeria to the political process influenced Imam to join politics. In 1952, with the formation of the Northern People's Congress, together with Umaru Agaie, and Nuhu Bamalli, they formed the major administrative nucleus of the party. Alh imam was also the author of Magana jari ce with the help of some collections provided by East, and Tafiya mabudin ilmi a book he wrote on his experiences after a visit to London.

The first Nigeria bank to issue a corporate bond: Access Bank Plc. The Bank also initiated and executed the first trade in the FGN Bonds Series 1.

The first privately owned rotary printing press in Nigeria: The Daily Times of Lagos was first published in 1926.

The Daily Express, known as the Daily Service in the mid 1900s, was the official newspaper of the Nigerian Youth Movement, and later Action Group. Its first editor was Ernest S. Ikoli.

The Daily Times of Nigeria was incorporated on 6 June 1925 by Richard Barrow, Adeyemo Alakija and others. They printed the first copy as The Nigerian Daily Times on 1 June 1926. Adeyemo Alakija was an African barrister while the other founders represented European interest groups in the Lagos chamber of commerce. Ernest Ikoli was the first editor and Adeyemo Alakija was Chairman of the Board. Both men became involved with the nationalist Nigerian Youth Movement. Later, Ikoli became a member of the Legislative Council in 1941, while Alakija was appointed to the governor's Executive Council in 1943.

R. B. Paul, a Liverpool businessman, bought the paper in 1935. When Nnamdi Azikiwe ("Zik") launched his West African Pilot in 1937, dedicated to fighting for independence from British colonial rule, established papers such as the Nigerian Daily Times lost a large part of their audience. The Daily Times responded by raising foreign capital and injecting fresh blood into the editorial team. By the end of World War II in 1945, the Daily Times was outspokenly hostile towards colonial rule.

In 1957 the newspaper sponsored the first beauty pageant in Nigeria, Miss Nigeria, and ran the pageant without competition for many years. Rosemary Anieze, Miss Nigeria of 1960, was named Miss Independence. She was one of the most publicized beauty queens in the history of Nigeria. In 1963 the Daily Times launched the magazines Modern Woman and the Flamingo. Starting in 1963, ownership of the paper was gradually transferred to Nigerians, a process that was completed by 31 March 1974. By the 1970s the paper dominated the Nigerian publishing industry with a string of related papers and magazines. By 1975 the Daily Times had grown to a circulation of 275,000 copies while the Sunday Times reached 400,000. No other Nigerian newspaper has achieved such levels apart from MKO Abiola's Daily Concord in the early 1990s.

In 1947 the London-based Daily Mirror Group, headed by Cecil King, bought the Daily Times, the Gold Coast Daily Graphic, the Accra Sunday Mirror and the Sierra Leone Daily Mail. King introduced the first privately owned rotary printing press in Nigeria, plus photo-engraving, typesetting and typecasting plants. He imported skilled journalists but followed a deliberate Africanization policy. The Mirror Group introduced popular innovations such as short paragraphs and sentences, many illustrations and photos, and human interest stories. The paper's circulation rose from 25,000 daily in 1950 to 95,000 in 1959. During the 1950s the Nigerian Daily Times played an important role in the process that led to independence in 1960.

The Federal Government of Nigeria acquired 60% of the Daily Times and its main rival, the New Nigerian Newspaper, on 1 September 1975. A government statement read: "The Federal Military Government wants to state that its acquisition of the total ownership of New Nigeria and equity (60%) of DTN (Daily Times of Nigeria) will in no manner contrail the independence of the newspapers published by the 2 establishments. Government wants to underline its policy of full support of press freedom at all times". This statement was questionable since the takeover was clearly designed to reduce criticism of the military government. In March 1976, Jose was forced out of his position. In 1977 the government assumed total ownership and control.

The first Hotel in Lagos in 1907: Samuel Herbert Pearse. He was a pioneer Nigerian shipper and produce exporter of Sierra Leonean and Egba heritage.

He was born on November 20, 1865 to the family of Reverend R. Pearse of the Church Missionary Society. He attended C.M.S. Grammar School, Lagos for secondary education and started work as an apprentice in 1883. In 1888, he teamed up with Sierra Leonean businessman, I. Thompson and the two began trading in Lagos and London. However, both men parted ways in 1894. Pearse soon started his own trading account in Calabar and Lagos and also became an agent for the African and Gold Coast Trading Company. He made extensive wealth trading in palm produce from the Old Calabar province as one of the pioneer Nigerian exporters of goods. He acquired a large steamship prior to World War 1, and succeeded in the lucrative shipping market dominated regionally by the Elder Dempster company. He later delved into the rubber business in Benin and focused more on importing goods.

The first Muslim newspaper in the country: The Truth. The Ahmadiyya movement established itself in Nigeria in 1916. There are numerous Ahmadiyya centres in Nigeria including the Baitur-Raheem Mosque in Ibadan inaugurated in 2008,[38] the Mubarak Mosque in Abuja, which is the last Ahmadiyya mosque, built in the first century of the Ahmadiyya Caliphate. Ahmadiyyas have also established a weekly newspaper called "The Truth" which is the first Muslim newspaper in the country.

The first Nigerian Lawyer: Christopher Sapara Williams (1880)

The first Nigerian to win the prestigious booker prize: Ben Okri OBE FRSL. Ben Okri was born in 1959 in Minna, northern Nigeria, to an Igbo mother and Urhobo father.

The first Nigerian Mining Engineer: Dr. Ezekiel Adekunle Ifaturoti

The first Nigerian Billionaire to found a company that constructed a submarine communications cable: Mike Adenuga - The GLO-1 (Globacom-1) from Nigeria, through west africa all the way to the UK. The submarine cable system is 9,800 km long, and became operational in 2010 with a minimum capacity of 640 Gbit/s.

The first Nigerian (and African) professor of Geology: Professor Momodu Mosobalaje Olaloye Oyawoye(then of University of Ibadan)

Mr. Chima Apugo Onyekwere founded Linkserve, Nigeria’s first Internet Service Provider (ISP), an act that earned him the label “Father of Nigerian Internet”.

He hails from Abia State, but was born in London, United Kingdom, on 19th May 1961. He obtained his GCE A level at the Federal Government College Kano in 1979, and thereafter became a graduate of Geology at the University of Ife in 1985. He later went to Lagos and Harvard Business Schools for a Chief Executive Programme Diploma and the Owner/President Programme Diploma Certificates respectively.

Mr Chima Onyekwere is a recipient of several awards including the “Internet Pathfinder Award” of Nigeria’s ISP, Atcon’s “National Telecom Merit Award, IT and Telecoms “ICT Personality of the Year Award”, and the prestigious National honour of Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON).

The first indigenous owned power generating company in Nigeria: Bartholomew Nnaji is a scientist, innovator and one of the inventors of the E-Design concept. He was born in Enugu State, and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in physics at St John's University, and then preceded to the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University for post-graduate studies.

He joined the faculty at University of Massachusetts, Amherst in 1983. After a few years, he became the director and a founder of the Automation and Robotics Laboratory at the University. He was made a professor of mechanical and industrial engineering in 1992. As a researcher, he focused on three major topics: Computer Aided Design, Robotics and Computer Aided Engineering. Using the knowledge he gained from his research pursuits, he created the term geometric reasoning, the idea that most things we operate has a geometric configuration. He is also credited as one of the innovators of the E-design concept.

He is also the founder of the first indigenous owned power generating company in Nigeria and was also a former minister for Science and Technology in the country.

The first freight (clearing and forwarding) company in Nigeria and West Africa: Freight Agencies Nigeria Limited

Suarau Olayiwola Alani Bankole is a Nigerian Egba businessman and chieftain from Ogun State. He is Chairman of West African Aluminium Products (WAAP) Plc. He holds the Yoruba aristocratic titles Oluwo of Iporo Ake and Seriki Jagunmolu of Egbaland. He is also the founder of Freight Agencies Nigeria Ltd, the first freight company in West Africa.

He is an alumnus of the Baptist Boys High School in Abeokuta. He is married to Atinuke Bankole, the Ekerin Iyalode of Egbaland, and their son is Dimeji Bankole, a former Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Nigeria’s first public hospital: St. Margaret Hospital, was located in Calabar. It was also home to Hope Waddell Training Institute.

The first trade union in Northern Nigeria: Northern Teacher’s Association.

West Africa’s first acclaimed millionaire: Late Chief Green Mbadiwe

The first Intellectual Property Automated System, IPAS in Nigeria: Launched by the Federal Government on January 2014.

The IPAS is a world acclaimed system of automated processing of applications for the registration of trademarks, patents and industrial designs. The system launched by the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga, represents a major milestone in the effort to transform the Nigerian industrial landscape. With the Implementation of the IPAS, he said Nigeria would join 16 other countries, out of 53 in Africa, that have already deployed the service.

The first house for Nigerian Library Association (NLA) was purchased at Abuja in January 2009. It cost N18.5million. The house was named the Nigerian Library Association House.

The first parcel of Land for Nigerian Library Association (NLA) was purchased at New Karu, Nassarawa state in 2006. It cost an estimated N600,000.00

The first official car for Nigerian Library Association (NLA) was purchased in 2007. It cost N1.3million

Nigeria’s first Ice Cold Filtered Beer: Star Lite by Nigerian Breweries Plc. Star Lite is Ice Cold Filtered, a first of its kind brewing technique from Nigerian Breweries and made from 100% natural ingredients (10 February 2014).

BUSINESS INNOVATIONS

Nigeria’s First Biometric ATM: First Bank of Nigeria Plc. (2011)

Under the biometric system, cardholders are identified by their fingerprints, making it almost impossible for any other person to use it in case the card is lost or stolen.

Nigeria’s first tax-exempt export processing zone was established during Ibrahim Babangida’s rule, in Calabar in 1993, and 10 zones are currently operational.140 The Lekki Free Trade Zone near Lagos is the first such zone where Chinese companies have a major stake.

PROFESSIONALISM

BA’s first indigenous country manager in Nigeria (2011): Kola Olayinka

A graduate of the University of Lagos and the WITS Business School in Johannesburg, South Africa, Olayinka began his career at Gateway Television in Abeokuta as a news reporter, and he also had a brief stint with John Holt PLC where he rose to the position of Regional Sales Manager.

First Nigerian Coca-Cola CEO Nigeria Ltd: Kelvin Balogun (Feb.2011)

Kelvin began his career in 1989 as a Business Analyst at Accenture in Lagos, and rose to the position of Senior Manager & Head of Strategy Competency. He has an MBA from the Goizueta School of Business at Emory University in Atlanta and a Bachelors degree in Metallurgical & Materials Engineering from Obafemi Awolowo University in Ile-Ife. He is also an alumnus of the Lagos Business School and the Logistics Strategy School at the Cranfield University in the UK.

The new CEO joined the company in October 1999 as Strategic Planning & Business Development Manager. In February 2002 he moved to East Africa where he held positions of increasing responsibility in Kenya, Tanzania and the Horn of Africa before assuming the role of Strategy Director for the Coca-Cola East & Central Africa Business Unit in May 2008 with responsibility for strategy development across 27 countries. Kelvin’s last role in East Africa was that of General Manager for the East Africa & Mozambique Franchise, leading Coca-Cola’s operations and market development in Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya and Mozambique.

The first private practitioner to be elected president of the Nigerian Medical Association: Sir Kofoworola Adekunle Abayomi (July 1896-January 1979)

Kofoworola Adekunle "Kofo" Abayomi, Kt (10 July 1896 - 1 January 1979) was a Nigerian ophthalmologist who was one of the founders of the nationalist Lagos Youth Movement in 1934 and who went on to have a distinguished public service career.

Abayomi was born on the 10 July 1896 in Lagos. He was of Egbe origin. He was educated at Methodist Boys' High School Lagos and thereafter studied pharmacy at the Yaba Higher College, then attended the Medical School, University of Edinburgh, graduating in 1925. He was retained as a demonstrator for a period before he returned to Nigeria to work under Dr. Oguntola Sapara. He returned to the United Kingdom in 1930 to study tropical medicine and hygiene, and returned again in 1939 for a postgraduate course in ophthalmic surgery and medicine. As an African doctor with British training, Abayomi had to join the British Colonial Medical Service to make a living, and had to cope with British doctors who felt that Africans were inferior.

Abayomi returned to Nigeria in 1941 to continue his successful family practice. He later became the first private practitioner to be elected president of the Nigerian Medical Association. The Egbe Omo Oduduwa, a Yoruba social welfare organization formed in London in 1945, was inaugurated in Ile Ife in June 1948. Sir Adeyemo Alakija was elected president. Abayomi was elected treasurer. He was a member of the Governor's Executive council from 1949-1951. In 1950 the Alaafin of Oyo, Adeyemi II, gave the Oloye Abayomi the chieftaincy title of One-Isokun of Oyo. Two years later, in April 1952, Oba Adele II of Lagos gave him the title of Baba Isale.

Sir Kofo Abayomi was one of the founding members of the Action Group when that party's Lagos branch was inaugurated on the 5th of May, 1951. In the first half of 1954, there were several tax riots in the northern Oyo towns. In August of that year, a number of Yoruba chieftains sent Sir Kofo Abayomi to see the Alaafin of Oyo and try to make him drop support for the nationalist National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons.

Abayomi was a founding member of the Nigerian Youth Movement (NYM) in 1933. The NYM was formed by members of the Lagos intelligentsia who were protesting the plan for Yaba College, which they considered would provide inferior education to Africans. The organization was originally called the Lagos Youth Movement but was renamed in 1936 to reflect its broader scope. Abayomi became President of the NYM on the death of Dr. James Churchill Vaughan in 1937. Abayomi was elected a member of the Legislative Council in 1938. When he resigned from both positions so he could go abroad for further studies, he precipitated a crisis. Rival candidates were Ernest Ikoli, an Ijo, and Samuel Akinsanya, an Ijebu who was supported by Nnamdi Azikiwe. When the executive chose Ikoli as their candidate, both Akinsanya and Azikiwe left the party, taking most of their followers with them.

Sir Kofo represented the Nigerian Legislature on the Governing Council of the University College, Ibadan from its foundation in 1948 to 1961. He was appointed Deputy Chairman of the Board of Management of the University College Hospital, Ibadan when it was inaugurated in 1951. In 1958, he was appointed Chairman of the Lagos Executive Development Board, which had authority to demolish unsanitary buildings and undertake town planning schemes. Abayomi became the first Nigerian Chairman of the Board of the University College Hospital, Ibadan in 1958, a position he held until 1965. In 1959, he was chairman of the Board of Management of the University College Teaching Hospital in Lagos. He served on the board or as chairman of several companies for the rest of his life. Sir Kofo died peacefully at home on 1 January 1979 at the age of 82, leaving behind a widow, Lady Oyinkan Abayomi, who was herself a prominent figure in the history of Nigeria.

The first Igbo Lawyer: Louis Mbanefo

Prof Eni Njoku: The first Chairman of the Electricity Corporation of Nigeria (now Power Holding Company of Nigeria) in 1956. Later in 1962, Njoku was made the Vice Chancellor of University of Lagos, making him the first Vice Chancellor of the Institution.

Electricity was first generated with a generation capacity of 60KW in Nigeria in the year 1896 in the former capital city of Lagos. The first electric utility company, a hydroelectric power station, was located near the Nigerian city of Jos. The Utility Company became the Electricity Corporation of Nigeria (ECN) in 1951. In 1962, another company called Niger Dams Authority (NDA) was established for the development of hydropower plants. In 1972, ECN and NDA were merged to form the National Electric Power Authority (NEPA), which had its head office in Lagos, Nigeria. NEPA’s mandate was the comprehensive development of electricity to stimulate Nigeria’s technological, industrial, and economic growth.

The first president of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN): Timothy Adeola Odutola (1902 – 1995)

Timothy Adeola Odutola (1902-1995), OBE, CFR, CON, was a prominent Nigerian businessman from Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State. He was one of the pioneers of modern Nigerian indigenous entrepreneurship and the first president of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) in 1971. He attended Ijebu Ode Grammar School, under the principal, Rev Oladotun Ransome Kuti. He is one of the first African Entrepreneurs to be featured in the Time Magazine. Odutola was one of the first few indigenous millionaires who also owned a car. The others were Sir Odumegwu Ojukwu, Alhaji Alhassan Dantata, the Emir of Kano, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Reverend and Mrs. Ransome Kuti.

Odutola became the first indigenous Nigerian to own a modern factory set-up with his Odutola Tyresoles Company with three factories at Ibadan (1949), Kano (1954) and Onitcha (1956). He is the pioneer of the tyre retreading business in Nigeria. He was the first indigenous Nigerian Member of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Mines. By 1955 he became the Chamber’s first life Vice-President.

Segun Olusola, ‘the first television producer in Africa’. Olusola revealed that his first television production with Duro Ladipo was The Last Supper and recalled that he ‘used to go to Oshogbo to rehearse the company in Duro’s backyard’.

Ben Enwonwu (1921-1994) studied art in England and Paris. Enwonwu painted advanced naturalistic portraits, sculpted busts of elite Africans in wood and metal, and in 1957, he finished a portrait sculpture of Queen Elizabeth at Bukingham palace. Ben Enwonwu restored the dignity of artists as professionals who were articulate and sophisticated. He later became the first Nigerian professor of art at the then University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife.

Formal art training in Nigeria began at Yaba Technical Institute, Lagos (now Yaba College of Technology) in 1952. In 1953, the Nigerian College of Arts, Science and Technology (NCAST) began art courses at Ibadan and the art programme was transferred to NCAST, Zaria in the north in 1955; this college later became Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. The University of Nigeria, Nsukka commenced art training in 1961 and the University of Ife, founded in 1962 at Ile-Ife began offering art courses in 1969.

The first president of the Society of Nigerian Artists (SNA): Yusuf Grillo. According to Bruce Onobrakpeya in Whitechapel (1995) in 1964, members of the disbanded Zaria Art Society began to come together again, in a new association called the Society of Nigerian Artists (SNA). Its first president was Yusuf Grillo, and many of the original Zaria members were involved with it along with Solomom Wangboje, Isiaka Osunde and T.A. Fasuyi, who were acquainted with the Zaria activities. Onobrakpeya noted that four new members sympathetic to Zaria earned the tag “Kindred Rebels” – they were Erhabor Emokpae, El-Anatsui, Ben Osawe and Abayomi Barber. The criterion for the label however is uncertain.

Nigeria’s first published political cartoonist: Akinola Lasekan. He got his start by regularly featuring 1944 to the early 1960s in the West African Pilot.

Akionla Lasekan was born at Ipele, near Owo in Ondo State in 1916, he is widely acknowledged as one of the pioneers andakinola 1 masters of modern Nigerian art in the same league as esteemed artists such as Aina Onabolu, Ben Enwonwu, Erhabor Emokpae and Bruce Onobrakpeya. He had his early tutelage under Aina Onabolu who is regarded as the father of Nigerian Modern Art.

Akinola Lasekan started his career as a textile designer before veering into book illustrations for publishing companies such as the CMS Bookshop, Thomas Nelsons Ltd, Oxford University Press, Longmans and Macmillan. While working with CMS Bookshop between 1936 and 1940, he took corresponding courses in fine art, art illustrating and cartooning. His first diploma was in fine art, obtained in 1937 from Normal College of Art in London. In 1939, he obtained his second diploma in advanced drawing, illustrating, commercial art and cartooning from Washington School of Art in the United States of America.” So good was Lasekan at what he did and so devoted to his practice that he later opened an independent art studio in Lagos and later taught students of St Gregory’s College and Eko Boys High School and was engaged by St Mary’s Convent School as an Art teacher before moving further up the ladder by lecturing at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife.). He was also elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in London. He made name for himself as a nationalist with his sharp political cartoons, which appeared daily in the defunct West African Pilot as the clamour for independence increased and for his realistic paintings on different themes from allegorical paintings on pro-nationalism to landscape drawings.

The first Nigerian to bring Sharp range of electronic products in Nigeria: Amzat Beyioku Adebowale

Born on April 5, 1929 in Odomola, Epe Division of Lagos State, he had his primary education at the Government School, Epe. Also attended Government Teachers’ Training College , Ibadan , where he qualified as a teacher.

He taught for many years before resigning to join the SCOA as a marketing manager. It was in SCOA that he actually learnt the skills of how to be a great entrepreneur. When he resigned his appointment with SCOA, he established his first company, Adebowale Stores Limited in 1959, which has engaged in general merchandise.

He established Debo Industries Limited in 1975, for the manufacturing of “WhiteGreed.” The company is the first wholly indigenous company to manufacture refrigerators in Nigeria. Adebowale is the chairman and chief executive of Adebowale Group of Companies. Adebowale has served Lagos State and Nigeria in various capacities. He is an ex-member of the governing council of the Lagos State Polytechnic. He is also an ex-member of the governing council of the Lagos State University. Adebowale is married and has children.

CFAO Motors Nigeria Ltd first Nigerian staff: Hussam Okoya Thomas. The Compagnie Française de l'Afrique Occidentale (CFAO) Motors Nigeria Ltd. is a subsidiary of CFAO Nigeria and is a French company that specializes in the distribution of industrial products. CFAO is also traded on the Paris Stock Exchange. CFAO Motors Nigeria Ltd was founded in 1902 and has been operating in Nigeria since then.

The first principal counsel and company secretary of Nigerian Industrial Development Bank (NIDB): Michael Olasubomi Balogun

The first Nigerian Neuro-Radiologist, University of Ibadan: Prof. Taiyewo Kolawole

Late Dr. Olu Jaiyebo – The first Agronomist in Nigeria and Second PhD holder in Akoko Land. Akoko is a large Northeast Yoruba settlement in Yorubaland, the area spans from Ondo state to Edo state in southwest Nigeria.

Chief Ayodele Apata, RTD Assistant Comptroller General of Customs, The first lawyer from Oka. Oka is a settlement of Akoko, a large Northeast Yoruba settlement in Yorubaland, the area spans from Ondo state to Edo state in southwest Nigeria.

Professor Micheal Adepoju Adeyemo, The first Nigeria Chartered Accountant, Former Dean, Faculty of Business Administration UNILAG.

The first art journal in Nigeria: Nigerian Teacher (later Nigeria Magazine) was launched in 1933 by the Educational Department and it specialized in promoting art and culture. The Exhibition Centre (referred to today as the Old Exhibition Centre) in Lagos was opened in 1943 and served as the headquarters for the Nigeria Magazine.

The first Nigerian Principal of Yaba College of Technology: Engr. Francis C.N.Agbasi

The first Indigenous Medical Director, Nigerian Railway Corporation, First CEO/Chairman Anambra Health Management Board & Chairman old Nnewi LGA: Dr David Bennet Anagwu Ofomata

First Medical Director of the Nigerian Railway Corporation: Late Dr (Chief) David Bennet Anagwu Ofomata (Atuma Nnewi); Former Chairman, Old Nnewi LGA of Anambra State.

The first Nigerian Doctor: Nathaniel king. He is generally described as the first Nigerian Doctor. Born 1847, in Freetown to a Yoruba Clergyman, returned to Abeokuta where he received some training in medicine from Dr. A.A Harris at the Abeokuta Theological Institution in 1861. He studied at Kings College London, where he qualified in 1874 and returned to Nigeria in 1878 and practised with the CMS Mission, till his death in 1884.

First indigenous east Niger produce Manager of UAC: Senator Z.C. Obi (Eze-Onunekwulu-Igbo Na Okemili Nnewi) - President of the Igbo State Union & appointed Senator in the First Republic.

The first Nigerian and first Black Lawyer in Africa: Sapara Williams

The first Nigerian indigenous literature: Omenuko written by Pita Nwanna and published in 1933.

The first qualified African lawyer in the colony: Christopher Sapara Williams - In 1901. He was nominated to the Legislative Council, serving as a member until his death in 1915.

The first Nigerian-born photographer: Onathan Adagogo Green. He was born in Bonny in 1872 and studied Photography at Fourah Bay College. He became the photographer of choice for the British authorities, with some of his works including the famous portraits of Oba Ovonramwen, Dore Numa etc. His work has been exhibited all over the world.

The first Nigerian to write the history of the Igbo People in Igbo Language and English: Igwe Israel Iweka. Born in 1879, he was an early Christian convert in The Lower Niger area and received a secondary school education. He was one of the first Nigerian Civil Engineering contractors and built the massive Iweka Road at Onitsha, amongst others. He wrote the first History of the Igbo people, both in English and Igbo in 1922. He became a Warrant Chief of Obosi, his hometown in 1932.

The first commercial bank to be established in Nigeria: African Banking Corporation (a British Company). It had been the sole distributor of British silver coins in Lagos and also the sole repatriating agent since 1872. It started a banking business in Lagos in 1891.

It was privately owned and received to government assistance for its operations. Its major problem was lack of patronage, leading to loss making for twelve months, after which it closed down. However, Sir Alfred Jones, a shipping magnate of Elder Dempster & Company made a takeover of the corporation, running it as a private concern.

After running the bank for a year, the British Government requested it should be made a joint-stock bank. An agreement was reached, and on 31 May 1894 the business was registered in England as a Limited Liability Company under the new name of the Bank of British West Africa (BBWA). The Bank of Nigeria started business in 1899. However, the acquisition of the Bank of Nigeria was completed in 1912 by the Bank of British West Africa.

Nigeria’s first indigenous commercial bank: The Industrial and Commercial Bank (1929). It went into voluntary liquidation in 1930 and it is believed this was as a result of accounting incompetence and mismanagement.

The first Insurance Company in Nigeria: Royal Exchange Assurance, 1921.

The first Merchant Bank in Nigeria: NAL Merchant Bank Ltd - 1960.

The first ferry services for workers crossing from Lagos to Apapa and back was introduced by the Marine Department in 1925.

The first attempt to organise and centralise the motor transport system was made in 1932, when motor-lorry owners formed the Nigerian Motor Transport Union.

The Union instructed its members to observe all the motor traffic ordinances, and to discourage overloading and over-speeding. Several check-points were established on the roads, and the union maintained its own inspectors who were charged with the enforcement of these objectives.

The first attempt to control the quality of specific products was made in 1909, when an ordinance forbade the sale or exposure for sale of palm kernels containing more that 5 per cent of shell. Another ordinance, which repealed all previous Nigerian ordinances on adulteration of produce was made in 1917, and laid down the standards of purity for palm products.

The first major business amalgamation in Nigeria took place in 1919, between the Miller Brothers, F.A. Swanzy, the African Association Limited and a number of small firms to form the African and Eastern Trade Corporations Ltd, to compete effectively against the Niger Company, the principal trading company in Nigeria.

The first Nigerian local loan of £300,000 was made in 1946. The issue was oversubscribed by £549,250.

The first road financed by the Colonial Development and Welfare Fund was that from Lagos to Ikorodu, joining the road to Shagamu, Ijeju-Ode and Ibadan (beginning in 1945).

The first ship of the Nigerian National Line was MV Oduduwa. The Nigerian National Line was established by the government of Nigeria in 1959 with an authorized share capital of £2 million, and the principal shareholders were the federal government with a controlling share of 51 per cent, Messrs Elder Dempster Lines Ltd and Palm Line Ltd holding the remaining 49 percent between them.

Food Canning was first undertaken by the Department of Commerce and Industries in 1949, when a small experimental cannery using hand-canning machinery was set up in Lagos to investigate the possibility of preserving classified butter, fat, fish and seasonal surpluses of Nigerian fruits and meat.

The flying shuttle was first introduced at Ado-Ekiti in 1947. The flying shuttle was one of the key developments in the industrialization of weaving. It allowed a single weaver to weave much wider fabrics, and it could be mechanized, allowing for automatic machine looms. It was patented by John Kay (1704–c. 1779) in 1733.

The production of plastic products started in Nigeria in 1957, at a factory in Ibadan established jointly by the Western Region Development Corporation, the UAC Limited and a UK concern. Initially the factory produced plastic tubes, pipes and conduits, but production was extended to cover a wide range of articles such as combs, beaks and cups, lampshades, casings for telephones, and raincoats.

The first Nigerian indigenous bank to be established after WWII was the Agbonmagbe Bank Ltd, a private company which was incorporated in 1945.

The first banking ordinance for strict control in order to protect the public was based on Mr. G.D. Paton’s (an official of the Bank of England) 1948 recommendations which were introduced in 1952. It laid down that banking operations should be conducted only by a company, and that no banking company should be registered unless it possessed a subscribed capital of at least £25,000 of which £12,500 should be paid up. Because of the difficulty of raising capital in Nigeria, banks were to be given ‘three years of grace’ in which to meet the latter condition. The report also recommended the supervision of the banks by an officer nominated by the Governor, who should satisfy himself that all were maintaining a sufficient degree of liquidity.

The first Museum in Nigeria: Jos Museum, built 1952, also Nigeria's largest Museum.

Nigeria’s first Game Reserve: Yankari game reserve, Bauchi State established in 1964.

Nigeria’s first Airport: Bodija Airport in Ibadan, Oyo State, built in 1940 by British Royal Air Force.

The Lagos Stock exchange was set up in 1960. The Lagos Exchange was incorporated under the Companies Ordinance of Nigeria as a non-profit making company. It had a small share capital, of which each of the members held a part as a condition of membership.

The first issue of treasury bills was issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria in early 1960.

The first population census to be held in Nigeria was confined to the area of the Lagos Colony in 1870 (Population: 41,236).

The first countrywide population estimates was made in 1900, when it was estimated that about 15 million people lived in Nigeria, of which 9 million were in Northern Nigeria.

The first countrywide population census was held in 1931. It showed that 19,555,000 people lived in Nigeria: 11,434,000 in the North, 4,266,000 in the East, 3,729,000 in the West, and 126,000 in Lagos.

The first Employment Exchange in Nigeria was set up in Lagos in 1944. It was created in order to centralize the supply and demand of unskilled and semi-skilled labour in urban areas.

The first Trade Union Ordinance (no.44) was issued in 1948. This gave legal recognition to trade unions, allowed them to organise peaceful picketing and protected them against actions for tort.

The first labour union General strike of any significance was in 1945 between the Nigeria Railway and the Nigerian Railway Workers Union, when the union asked for substantial wage increases for its members to meet the increasing cost of living.

The first Co-operative Bank in Nigeria was established in Western Nigeria in 1953 with a capital of £1 million granted by the Nigerian Cocoa Marketing Board. It was followed by the Eastern Nigeria Co-operative Bank, which started with a capital of £20,000. The primary function of the bank is to provide a source of capital for co-operative societies.

The first Executive Chairman of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC): Onyema Ugochukwu (born November 9, 1944; CON—Commander of the Order of the Niger) is a Nigerian economist, journalist, and politician. Ugochukwu served as the senior Special Adviser on Communication to Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo and the first Executive Chairman of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). On February 25, 2008, an Abia State elections tribunal declared Ugochukwu the winner of the 2007 gubernatorial election and Governor-elect of Abia State. However, on 11 February 2009 an appeal court in Port Harcourt overturned the ruling, declaring that Theodore Orji of the PPA had in fact won the election. He was the first editor of the Business Times, a string out newspaper of the Daily Times of Nigeria.

The first president of the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT): Alvan Ikoku. The NUT is a teachers’ trade union founded in July 1931 to represent educators across Nigeria and establish financial and collegial support for teachers. It emerged from the amalgamation of the Lagos Union of Teachers with smaller Unions. It was started by mission school teachers from different ethnic backgrounds across southern Nigeria. In 1972, the Nigerian Union of Teachers merged with the Northern State Teachers’ Union (formerly the Northern Teachers’ Association). It originally started with mission schoolteachers, but expanded to include university graduates. It does not, however, include University Faculty.

Alvan Ikoku (August 1, 1900–November 18, 1971) was a Nigerian educator, statesman, activist and politician. Born on August 1, 1900 in Arochukwu, present-day Abia State, he was educated at Government School and Hope Waddell College, Calabar. In 1920, he received his first teaching appointment with the Presbyterian Church of Nigeria and Church of Scotland at Itigidi and two years later became a senior tutor at St. Paul's Teachers' Training College, Awka, Anambra State. While teaching at Awka, Ikoku earned his University of London degree in Philosophy in 1928, through its external programme.

The first president of the Nigerian Labour Congress: Chief Michael Imoudu (Formed in 1950)

The first Nigerian newspaper to introduce full colour printing: THISDAY Newspapers Limited (1997)

Nigeria's First Chief Geologist: Dr Edmund Maduabebe Daukoru.

The first President of the Nigerian Society of Engineers: Engr., Chief. G.O. Aiwerioba FNSE

The first Nigerian pharmacist: Cyprian Ekwensi

The first President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN): Akintola Williams. He is also the first Nigerian Chartered Accountant (1948)

The first Forensic expert from Niger State: Adamu Muye

Nigeria’s first Nuclear Physicist: Prof. Benjamin Chukwuka Edeoghene Nwosu

He was head of the team that built the renowned Biafran missile, "Ogbunigwe." Much later, after the Civil War, he was enlisted by the Murtala Muhammed administration for a programme to ensure the scientific take-off of the country.

The late Nwosu hailed from Ozubulu in Ekwusigo council area of Anambra State. He was a Federal Government scholar in the United Kingdom in 1955, a Full Bright scholar from 1956 - 1960 and received the "Clyde .D. Pierce Award "for Academic Excellence, Miami University Oxford, Ohio in 1961, a Rockfeller fellow from 1961 - 1964 and had Ph.D from Ohio State University in 1964.

Before going to the United States for graduate studies, he had taught briefly at D.M.G.S Onitsha from 1954 - 1958, and was appointed the principal of Ngwa High School, Aba in 1959. On his return to Nigeria, he lectured at the University of Nigeria Nsukka from 1964 - 1970 and 1970 - 1975. He was head of Research and Production (RAP) 1967-1970 during the Civil War; joined the Federal Government and went on to become Director of Science Education (Federal Minister of Education) in 1986. He retired from government service and later formed his own company, Research and Technology Co. Ltd. He was appointed a Federal Government Consultant that conceived and constructed the science equipment centres in Enugu and Minna.

He was a member of many clubs, including the Rotary Club of Ikeja, Ikoyi Club, Ikeja Golf Club and Ikeja Country Club. He was married to Lady Rose Nwosu (nee Chidi), of Asaba and blessed with five lovely children and many grand children. He died aged 70 in October 2000.

The first family in history (Nigeria and the world) to produce the largest number of chartered accountants: Senator David Dafinone & Family

The first Nigerian (African diplomat) Billionaire: Antonio Deinde Fernandez

The first Nigerian medical Doctor from Abeokuta (1874): Nathaniel King

In 1861, a medical missionary to Nigeria, Dr A.A. Harrison of the church missionary society (CMS) selected four cleverest boys in Abeokuta to train them as Assistant doctors. Only one of them, Nathaniel King graduated, and became personal assistant to Dr Harrison. In 1866, Nathaniel king was sent to Sierra Leone where he studied the preliminaries of medicine under Dr. Bradshaw of the Colonial Hospital, Freetown. King later went to England where he graduated as a doctor in 1874; thus becoming the first Nigerian qualified Medical Doctor. He returned to Lagos to serve the CMS on a salary of 50 pounds sterling a year.

The first female nurse trained in psychiatric Nurse: Miss Irene Ogbolu

Nigeria’s first Chartered Librarian: Kalu Chima Okorie, 1951.

The first Executive Secretary, National Women Commission: Dr. Eyantu Ifene

The first Executive Secretary, National Mass Literacy Agency: Hajia Iyami Ahmed

The first Executive Secretary, Kwara State Women Commission: Mrs. H. S. O. Alayoku

The first Nigerian to write a novel in a Nigerian language: Peter Nwana; he wrote Omenuko in Igbo in 1933

Nigeria’s first and oldest Engineer: Victor Adetunji Haffner

Engineer Victor Adetunji Haffner is a seasoned Engineer. He was born in Haffner street, Lagos on September 1, 1919. He became the President of the Council for Registration of Engineers in 1972.

He was one time Chairman, Administrative Council of the International Telecommunication Union in 1974 and became a Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers and Academy of Engineering in 1997. The retired engineer was also a choir boy for seven years in his church and had lots of interest in the church activities.

His mother, Victoria Adepeju Haffner was born in Lagos but had roots in Ibadan while his father came from Abeokuta.

The first Nigerian Mining Engineer: Engr. Edmund P. O. Nwasike (graduated 1st Class honours, University of Cardiff, Wales 1952)

The first President of The Nigerian Stock Exchange and Nigeria's first multi-millionaire: Sir Louis Odumegwu Ojukwu, OBE, (1909-1966) was a notable Nigerian businessman from Nnewi, Anambra state. Ojukwu was a director in various Nigerian companies and also won a parliamentary seat during the nation's first republic. He was the President of The African Continental Bank, first President of the Nigerian Stock Exchange and Nigeria's first multi-millionaire.

He attended a primary school in Asaba and the Hope Waddell Institute for secondary education.

Ojukwu started his professional career at the Agricultural department before leaving to join John Holt as a tyre sales clerk. He also incorporated a textile company in Onitsha to supplement his income during this period, already exhibiting a little bit of his entrepreneurial spirit. While at John Holt, he noticed the severe strain a lack of adequate transportation had on Eastern textile traders. He later left John Holt to create a transport company to improve the trading environment for Nigerian traders. As a transporter, he was a tireless worker and meticulous to detail; he was usually the first to inspect his transport vehicles for oil and leakages.

Apart from his work ethic, his success was also oiled by the economic boom after World War II, working with the West African Railway Company and the newly inaugurated produce boards, he provided his fleet for commodity transportation and for other traders use. During the 1950s, he diversified his interest, bought some industries, invested heavily in the real estate sector and became a director in numerous major corporations. He was a member of the board of Nigerian Coal Corporation, Shell Oil, D'Archy, and African Continental Bank.

Ojukwu died in 1966, just a year before the Nigerian civil war, his will located at Enugu was carted away by federal troops after the fall of the city, many of his properties where later confiscated by the federal government, many of which are yet to be returned back to his family.The Nigeria government should not hesitate to return back all his properties to his family.

His son Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu was the leader of the secessionist state of Biafra in Nigeria.

Nigeria's first car importer: W.A. Dawodu

Dawodu died in 1930 at 51 years marking the end of a unique career of African enterprise. William Akinola was born in 1879 and educated at the CMS Grammar School, learned mechanics at the Hussey Charity, where he afterwards became a master.

He established a small workshop at the Marina in 1905 and in 1907 his business had so well expanded that he had to remove to the site where his office and works now stand. In those palmy days he had another store at Egerton Square and a shop under his two storey building at Bishop Street.

A pioneer in vehicular trade, he introduced the famous Ford cars in Lagos and by 1919 he was sole agent for the Firestone Tyres, Dodge, Charlotte and Reo Motors and for the English, Star, Premier and Hobart cycles.

Like many pioneers he suffered terribly from the loss of his important motor agencies, which European firms eventually captured. He will be long remembered as one of our great captains of industry and a good and useful citizen." - Daily Times, 7 Jan 1930.

The first Chairman of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC): Muhammadu Buhari Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (Rtd) in 1 April 1977

In 1971, a new body – The Nigerian National Oil Corporation (NNOC) – was created to handle direct commercial operational activities in the oil industry on behalf of the Federal Government, while the Department of Petroleum Resources in the Federal Ministry of Mines and Power continued to exercise statutory supervision and control of the industry.

The NNPC was created in 1977 with the merger of the then pioneer Nigerian National Oil Corporation (NNOC) and the then Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources during the Murtala – Obasanjo regime.

Buhari spearheaded the construction of 20 oil depots throughout the country, a project involving over 3200 kilometres of pipelines. Under his leadership both Warri and Kaduna Refineries were built.

First Vice President, Nigerian Lawn Tennis now Nigerian Tennis Federation: Ibrahim Sangari (1977 -1978)

The first and only Managing Director of the Nigerian National Oil Corporation (NNOC): Chief Festus Remilekun Ayodele Marinho - 1 April 1971

Marinho was the first Deputy Director of Nigeria’s just maturing Ministry of Petroleum Resources, and then the first and only counterpart Director of Petroleum Resources, ever, from 1975-77. He led the technical team that started up the Nigerian National Oil Corporation (the precursor of the NNPC) as its first Manager-in-Charge from 1973-75. He was appointed the first Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) at its inauguration on April 1st 1977.

Chief Festus Remilekun Ayodele Marinho, Knight of St. Sylvester, the Esere of Uvwie, the Aro Olofin of Ijebu-Ife, Fellow of the Nigerian Mining and Geosciences Society of Nigeria, is the retired pioneer and unprecedented two times Managing (now Group Managing) Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) from 1977 to 1980 and then 1984 to 1985, was born on the 30th December 1934 in Ijebu-Ode.

Chief Marinho grew up, partly in the “Brazilian Quarters” of Lagos Island and attended St. Gregory”s College Obalende, Lagos. He matriculated into the then University College, Ibadan in 1956, became a ’College Scholar’ in 1957 and graduated BSc Special Honours in Physics in 1960. He joined the Public Service as the nation’s second Oil Technologist-in- Training, ever, and proceeded immediately to the Imperial College, London for post-graduate studies in Petroleum Reservoir Engineering from 1960-61. Thereafter, he undertook various practical attachments with International Petroleum and Service Companies as well as in established and reputed Oil Conservation Boards all over the world. Throughout his career, he undertook further training at various Technology and Management Institutions. He visited more than 35 countries in all the continents, attending conferences, seminars, OPEC meetings and other official assignments.

His public service story started fifty years ago, in June 1960 (just before Nigeria’s Independence) at the age of 25. He was one of the three graduates in the five-man team that started the then Hydrocarbon Unit in the Ministry of Mines and Lagos Affairs.

The first Housing Corporation in Nigeria was the Western Nigeria Housing Corporation established in 1959 after which other State Housing Corporations including the Federal Housing Authority were modeled. They are all established to make available to Nigerians long term credits for housing development.

The first indicative forest inventory project completed in Nigeria in 1977 put reserved forest at approximately 10% of the total land area. Between 1976 and 1990, deforestation proceeded at an average rate of 400,000 ha per annum, in 1981-1985 at 3.48%, while in 1986-1990 it was 3.57%, including the loss of some forest reserves.

The first study of the Survey and Inventory of Irrigation Projects in Nigeria: 1985. The aim of the project is to obtain up to date information on irrigation development in Nigeria. It involves the collection, collation, compilation, and classification of irrigation projects in the country. The first study was completed in 1985, updated in 1992, with a second update scheduled for 1997.

The first Secretary-General of the Islamic Foundation of Nigeria: Alhaji Ibrahim Bello Ringim

A graduate of the Al-Azhar University, Cairo (1967) is an educationist and public administrator above all, a reputable Islamic scholar. He was one time a director with the Kano state Ministry of Education where he headed the Educational Resources Department and the Islamic Education Department, which he was instrumental in founding. He later became the secretary, Kano state Pilgrims Welfare Agency (1975-1977) and when he retired from the public service, became the first Secretary-General of the Islamic Foundation of Nigeria whose headquarters is in Kano.

Chief Michael Adekunle Ajasin (1908–1997). Born in November 1908 in Owo, in Ondo State, Ajasin attended St. Paul’s Anglican School (1914–1921) in Owo and St. Paul’s Anglican College (1924–1927) in Oyo. He attended Fourah Bay College in Sierra Leone. In London, he attended the University of London and graduated in 1928. After receiving his bachelor’s degree in education he returned to Nigeria and became the schoolmaster of St. Andrew’s Anglican School at Warri for two years. He was the founder of Owo High School in 1963 and its first principal until 1975. In the early 1990s, Ajasin joined other politicians in the creation of the National Democratic Coalition and remained an active member until his death in October 1997.

Chief Michael Omnibus Imoudu (1902–2005). Imoudu was born in September 1902 in the town of Ora, in Edo State. As a young man, he studied at the Government School in Ora, Catholic School in Onitsha, and Agbor Government School.

In January 1940, Imoudu submitted the paperwork that officially established the Railway Workers’ Union, the first recognized trade union in Nigeria. The individual originally assigned with the task lost his courage and asked Imoudu to do it. This courageous act earned Imoudu the nickname “Nigeria’s Labor Leader Number 1.” For the next 20 years, he was a committed trade union leader. Between 1943 and 1945, he was detained by the federal government. In 1945, he led 3,000 railway workers demanding better wages and safer working conditions from the colonial government. That same year, he led Nigeria’s longest lasting general strike (six weeks).

From 1947 to 1958, Imoudu was president of various trade unions, including the All-Nigeria Trade Union Federation. He was also the first president of the first Nigerian Labour Congress, which formed in 1950.

The former National Institute for Labour Studies changed its name to Michael Imoudu Institute for Labour Studies in 1992 in honor of his achievements. He died at the age of 103 in July 2005 at his home in Edo State.

The first administrative secretary of the Oil Mineral Producing Area Development Commission: Chief Frank Kokori. Born in December 1944 in Warri, in Delta State, Kokori studied at Urhobo College in Warri (1959–1962), Eko Boys’ High School in Lagos (1963–1964), University of Ibadan (1974), and the Institute of Social Studies at The Hague (1984). Throughout his life, Kokori was heavily involved in the support of petroleum workers. He worked as a clerk for the Electricity Corporation of Nigeria, the predecessor to the National Electric Power Authority, from 1966 to 1971. He was the general secretary for the National Union of Nigerian Bank Employees (1975–1978) and the national secretary for the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (1978). He was also a member of the Constitution Review Committee (1987–1988) and Constituent Assembly (1988–1989). In the oil industry, Kokori served as vice president of the African Federation of Petroleum and Chemical Workers, member of the International Labour Organization, and the first administrative secretary of the Oil Mineral Producing Area Development Commission. He worked as an administrator for the Social Democratic Party. In 1994, he was arrested and detained by General Sani Abacha. He was released in 1998 by General Alhaji Abdulsalami Abubakar.

Rtd Lt. Col. Damian Oyeoka Orogbu, The first Telecommunications engineer in the Nigerian Army, life fellow of the International Biographical Center, Cambridge England, also a Pioneer President General Awka Development Union.

The first Nigerian Architect: Michael Onafowokan (1952)

The pioneer Director of Quality Assurance Unit, FUTA from 2010 to 2012: Professor Joseph Adeola Fuwape

The first Nigerian President of Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT): Israel Ransome Kuti (1931 – 1955).

Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has its origin in the report of a committee set up in 1983 by the Board of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), to examine the operations of the banking system in Nigeria. The Committee in its Report recommended the establishment of a Depositors Protection Fund. Consequently, the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation was established through the promulgation of Decree No. 22 of 15th June 1988. This was part of the economic reform measures taken by the then government, to strengthen the safety net for the banking sector following its liberalization policy and the introduction of the 1986 Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) in Nigeria. The Corporation commenced operations in March 1989.

• Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) first Chairman: Alhaji Abdulkadir Ahmed - (Governor, CBN) - 1989
• Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) first Managing Director/CEO: Mr. John U. Ebhodaghe - 1989
• Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) first DG: Alhaji Ahmadu Abubakar - (Fed Min of Finance) - 1989
• Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) first ED - Operations: Alhaji Abdullahi Mahmoud - 1989
• Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) first ED - Finance and Administration: Dr. Wole Adewunmi - 1989
• In 2004, the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) hosted the first international conference on deposit insurance organized by the Africa Regional Committee of the IADI in Abuja, Nigeria.
• The Corporation joined IADI as a founding member in 2002 and was the pioneer Chair of the Africa Regional Committee (ARC) of the Association. Also, the Corporation’s Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (MD/CEO), Mr. G. A. Ogunleye, OFR, was a pioneer member of the Executive Council of IADI. In addition, the Corporation had one of its staff as a member of the Association’s Research and Guidance Group (RCG).

Nigeria's first Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Director General - George Akamiokhor (late). Late Mr. George Agbudume Akamiokhor was born on November 10, 1939 in Edo State

The origin of the Securities and Exchange Commission dates back to 1962, when an ad hoc consultative and advisory body, known as the Capital Issues Committee, was established under the aegis of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Its mandate was to examine applications from companies seeking to raise capital from the capital market and recommend the timing of such issues to prevent issues clustering which could overstretch the market’s capacity. The Committee operated within the Central Bank of Nigeria unofficially as a capital market consultative and advisory body with no regulatory framework.

The recommendations of the Financial System Review Committee in 1976, led to the establishment of the Securities and Exchange Commission following the promulgation of the Securities and Exchange Commission Decree No. 71 of 1979 to supersede the Capital Issues Commission in 1979.

The Commission took off effectively on January 1, 1980 with 51 staff out of which seven (7) were seconded (for a period of three years) from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) while a few senior and support service staff were recruited.

Oguntola Odunbaku Sapara organized the first public dispensary in 1901, and identified causes of an epidemic of tuberculosis in 1918, which included overcrowding, poor ventilation and public ignorance about hygiene.

Oguntola Sapara was born in Freetown, Sierra Leone on 9 June 1861 and named Alexander Johnson Williams. His father was a liberated slave from Ilesa in Western Nigeria, and his mother was from Egbaland. His brother was Christopher Sapara Williams, who was a prominent Nigerian lawyer.

His family moved to Lagos Colony in 1876, where he attended the Lagos Church Missionary Society Grammar School until 1878. He became an apprentice to a Lagos printer early in 1879, working there for three years.

He served as an assistant dispenser at the Colonial Hospital for three years before founding his own dispensary in Ghana. Sapara traveled to London, England and entered St Thomas's Hospital Medical School in 1888, where he gained honours in midwifery. Moving to Scotland, in 1895 he obtained the L.R.C.P. and L.R.C.S. of the University of Edinburgh, the L.F.P.S. of the University of Glasgow and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Health.

Sapara retired in 1928. He died in Lagos in June 1935.

Nigeria’s first Official State House: State House, Marina (Built in 1886). It was formerly the residence of the Governor during colonial era. At independence, it became the residence of the president, including that of the first military ruler, Major Genral Aguiyi Ironsi (1966). However, when General Yakubu Gowon became Head of State after the second military coup of 1966, he chose to live in Dodan Barracks, a more secure location at Ikoyi.

State House Ribadu Road used to be the official residence of the minister of defence (Mallam Ribadu). It is beside the Federal Guards (Dodan) Barracks.

However, General Gowon felt that State House Marina was not safe/did not offer enough security for the Head of State/Supreme Commander. He therefore mandated Joseph Garba to find a suitable residence for him.

Joe Garba decided that State House Ribadu Road would be a suitable residence. Parts of Ribadu Road were blocked off (Ribadu Road used to link Awolowo Road to Ikoyi Road) and the compound expanded. The name was changed to State House Dodan Barracks (although it is not located in Dodan Barracks). Dodan is the name of a place in Burma where Nigerian soldiers died while making a last stand.

Akinola Aguda House was the first Abuja residence of the president between 1981-1991 (Justice Akinola Aguda was the chairman of the committee that selected Abuja as the new federal capital). President Shehu Shagari was at Aguda Lodge when Muhammadu Buhari staged his coup (Shagari said he went to Abuja for some peace and quiet/get away from politicians so that he could work on his budget speech).

In 1991, President Ibrahim Babangida moved the seat of government to Abuja and moved in to house 5 at the newly built Presidential Complex, Abuja (Aso Rock Villa), becoming the first occupant at the new Nigeria State House.

Aguda House is sometimes used as the President's guest house (Queen Elizabeth stayed there when she visited Nigeria) and sometimes as the vice president's residence.

In the Abuja masterplan, Aguda House is meant to be the residence of the president. The area on which the Aso Rock Villa was built was originally meant to be a green area.

Just like Dodan Barracks, The Aso Rock Villa is a complex that contains the Council Chamber, the President's office, the Vice President's office, the President's residence, the banquet hall, press centre, SSS offices, etc.