The History of Nigeria: Kingdoms, Colonies, and Africa’s Giant

The History of Nigeria: Kingdoms, Colonies, and Africa's Giant podcast cover
Fexingo History · West Africa

The History of Nigeria: Kingdoms, Colonies, and Africa's Giant

From the ancient Nok culture to the rise of the Oyo Empire, the transatlantic slave trade, and the creation of modern Nigeria under British colonial rule, this show charts the turbulent history of West Africa's most populous nation. Join Lucas and Luna as they explore the kingdoms of Benin, Hausa city-states, the Sokoto Caliphate, and the Igbo societies that shaped the region. They'll dissect the Berlin Conference of 1884, the amalgamation of 1914, the Biafran War, and the long shadows of independence leaders like Nnamdi Azikiwe, Obafemi Awolowo, and Ahmadu Bello. Through episodes on the Niger Delta's oil politics, the Afrobeat rebellion of Fela Kuti, and the resurgence of Nollywood, this series asks how Nigeria's past explains its present as Africa's sleeping giant—and whether it will ever fully awaken.

#NigeriaHistory#BeninKingdom#OyoEmpire#NokCulture#SokotoCaliphate#TransatlanticSlaveTrade#BerlinConference#Amalgamation1914#BiafranWar#NnamdiAzikiwe#ObafemiAwolowo#AhmaduBello#NigerDelta#Afrobeat#FelaKuti#Nollywood#History#FexingoHistory

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Episodes

191 episodes

The Nupe Kingdom: Cavalry on the Kaduna and the Bida Emirate

Aug 1, 2026 · 8:30
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The 1929 Women's War: Igbo Women vs British Colonial Rule

Jul 30, 2026 · 5:12
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The Nok Culture Nigeria's First Civilization

Jul 30, 2026 · 6:44
0:000:00

The 1861 Annexation of Lagos: Britain's First Nigerian Colony

Jul 29, 2026 · 6:05
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The 1892 Ijebu Expedition Britain's Conquest of Ijebu Ode

Jul 29, 2026 · 7:15
0:000:00

The Itsekiri Kingdom of Warri: Nigeria's First European Contact

Jul 28, 2026 · 6:05
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The Oyo Empire: Yoruba Cavalry Kings before the Fall

Jul 28, 2026 · 4:41
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Benin: Art, Empire, and the 1897 Punitive Expedition

Jul 27, 2026 · 6:53
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The Hausa City-States: Legends, Trade, and Queens Before the Jihad

Jul 27, 2026 · 6:28
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The 1914 Amalgamation That Created Modern Nigeria

Jul 26, 2026 · 5:34
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Kanem-Bornu: The 1,000-Year Empire of Lake Chad

Jul 26, 2026 · 8:20
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Usman dan Fodio and the Fulani Jihad That Built the Sokoto Caliphate

Jul 25, 2026 · 7:43
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The Kiriji War: Yoruba's Longest Civil War

Jul 25, 2026 · 7:06
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Eze Nri and the Divine King: Peace and Taboos in Igbo Civilization

Jul 24, 2026 · 9:39
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The 1904 Aro Expedition: Britain's War on the Long Juju

Jul 23, 2026 · 6:56
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The Aro Confederacy: Slave Traders of the Igbo Hinterland

Jul 23, 2026 · 6:28
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The 1893 Brass Oil War: Trade Rivalry in the Niger Delta

Jul 22, 2026 · 6:02
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The 1918 Influenza Pandemic in Nigeria

Jul 22, 2026 · 6:13
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The Igala Kingdom: A Forgotten Power on the Niger-Benue Confluence

Jul 21, 2026 · 7:38
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The 1903 Kano-Sokoto Campaign: Britain's Conquest

Jul 21, 2026 · 5:48
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The 1885 Berlin Conference and Nigeria's Partition

Jul 20, 2026 · 7:01
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The Ogboni Cult: Secret Societies and Power in Yorubaland

Jul 20, 2026 · 9:46
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The 1929 Women's War: When Igbo Women Shook British Rule

Jul 19, 2026 · 7:52
0:000:00

The 1945 Zaria Riots: Women's Revolt in Northern Nigeria

Jul 18, 2026 · 5:31
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Lagos Under Oba Dosunmu: The Treaty That Ceded Sovereignty

Jul 18, 2026 · 4:21
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The Nok Culture: West Africa's Oldest Sculptors

Jul 17, 2026 · 10:13
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The Ekumeku Resistance: Igbo Guerrilla War Against the British

Jul 17, 2026 · 8:36
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Madam Tinubu: The Slave-Trading Kingmaker of Lagos

Jul 16, 2026 · 5:52
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The Benin Bronzes: Art, Loot, and Return

Jul 16, 2026 · 6:29
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The 1897 Benin Punitive Expedition

Jul 15, 2026 · 8:25
0:000:00

The 1851 Bombardment of Lagos: Britain's First Invasion of Nigeria

Jul 15, 2026 · 9:02
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The 1833 Abolition: How Britain Ended Slavery in Nigeria's Waters

Jul 14, 2026 · 7:38
0:000:00

The Oyo Empire's Cavalry Revolution and Its Fall

Jul 14, 2026 · 8:35
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The Fall of the Sokoto Caliphate: British Conquest and the Battle of Burmi

Jul 13, 2026 · 6:57
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The Sokoto Caliphate: Africa’s 19th-Century Superstate

Jul 13, 2026 · 7:41
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The 1804 Usman Dan Fodio Jihad: Founding the Sokoto Caliphate

Jul 12, 2026 · 5:47
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Kano's Dye Pits: The Blue Gold of the Sahel

Jul 12, 2026 · 6:42
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The 1914 Amalgamation: How Britain Forced Nigeria Together

Jul 11, 2026 · 9:41
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The 1966 Coup: Nigeria's First Military Overthrow

Jul 11, 2026 · 6:51
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The 1925 Massacre of the Ijebu: Britain's Forgotten War

Jul 10, 2026 · 7:37
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The Aro Confederacy: Oracle, Slavers, and Igbo Resistance

Jul 10, 2026 · 7:49
0:000:00

The Benin Empire at Its Height: Oba Ewuare and the Bronze Age

Jul 9, 2026 · 7:09
0:000:00

The Eyo Festival: Lagos's Masquerade of Power and Memory

Jul 9, 2026 · 7:27
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Bussa's Rebellion: Enslaved Freedom Fighters of 1830s Barbados

Jul 8, 2026 · 5:56
0:000:00

Sierra Leone Colony: Freed Slaves and African Empire

Jul 8, 2026 · 10:37
0:000:00

The Oyo Empire and the Cavalry Revolution

Jul 7, 2026 · 8:26
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The Women's War of 1929: Igbo Women vs. British Empire

Jul 7, 2026 · 4:57
0:000:00

The Oba of Benin and the End of the Kingdom

Jul 6, 2026 · 7:07
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The 1918 Egba Rebellion: Women's War and Colonial Taxation

Jul 6, 2026 · 6:19
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The 1840s Abeokuta Siege

Jul 5, 2026 · 5:30
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The 1895 Brass Oil War: King Koko's Revolt Against the Royal Niger Company

Jul 5, 2026 · 6:01
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The 1897 Benin Punitive Expedition: Loot, Empire and Bronze Legacy

Jul 4, 2026 · 8:50
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Queen Amina of Zazzau: Warrior Queen of Hausaland

Jul 4, 2026 · 7:37
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Madame Tinubu: Slave Trader, Kingmaker, and the Lioness of Lagos

Jul 3, 2026 · 7:19
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The 1914 Amalgamation: How Lugard Created Nigeria

Jul 3, 2026 · 7:54
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Sultan Attahiru Ahmadu: The Caliph Who Died for Sokoto

Jul 2, 2026 · 7:02
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The 1851 British Bombardment of Lagos: Ending the Slave Trade

Jul 2, 2026 · 8:58
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The 1903 Fall of Kano: West Africa's Last Caliphate

Jul 1, 2026 · 7:30
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The Nri Kingdom: Igbo Priest-Kings and the God of Peace

Jul 1, 2026 · 8:01
0:000:00

The Nok Culture: Nigeria's First Known Civilization

Jun 30, 2026 · 7:52
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The Igbo-Ukwu Bronzes: Nigeria's Ancient Lost Civilization

Jun 30, 2026 · 6:43
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The Sokoto Caliphate: West Africa's 19th-Century Islamic Empire

Jun 29, 2026 · 7:23
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The Aro Confederacy: The Oracle That Controlled West Africa's Slave Trade

Jun 29, 2026 · 7:56
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The Royal Niger Company's Land Grab: How Fraud and Force Carved Nigeria

Jun 28, 2026 · 8:44
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Nana Olomu: The Itsekiri Palm Oil King Who Defied Britain

Jun 28, 2026 · 6:17
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The 1894 Brass Oil War: King Koko's Revolt Against Royal Niger Company

Jun 27, 2026 · 6:20
0:000:00

The Ekumeku Rebellion: Igbo Resistance Against British Rule

Jun 27, 2026 · 6:37
0:000:00

Oyo Empire's Collapse: Awole's Curse and Civil War

Jun 26, 2026 · 8:20
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The Oyo Empire's Eso Ikoyi: Elite Cavalry and the Politics of War

Jun 26, 2026 · 6:12
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The Siege of Ijaye: Oyo's Last Cavalry vs. Abeokuta's Walls

Jun 25, 2026 · 5:51
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The Fall of Old Oyo: Awole's Curse and the Collapse of an Empire

Jun 25, 2026 · 6:49
0:000:00

The Jaja of Opobo: Palm Oil King vs. British Empire

Jun 24, 2026 · 5:12
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The 1897 Benin Punitive Expedition: Looting and Legacy

Jun 24, 2026 · 8:07
0:000:00

The Oyo Empire: Cavalry, Oyo Mesi, and the Fall of Africa's Horse Lords

Jun 23, 2026 · 8:16
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The 1874 Asante Wars: Britain's First Invasion of Kumasi

Jun 23, 2026 · 9:13
0:000:00

The Great Benin Walls: Earthworks That Rivaled the Great Wall

Jun 22, 2026 · 7:07
0:000:00

The Trans-Saharan Trade: Salt, Gold, and the Kanem-Borno Empire

Jun 22, 2026 · 6:04
0:000:00

The Lagos Lagoon: Waterway of Trade, Power, and Resistance

Jun 21, 2026 · 7:23
0:000:00

The 1892 Ijebu War: Britain's Bullet-to-Trade Route

Jun 21, 2026 · 6:47
0:000:00

The Great Benin Walls: Earthworks That Rivaled the Great Wall of China

Jun 20, 2026 · 9:59
0:000:00

The Bight of Benin's Slave Ports: Ouidah, Lagos, and the Atlantic Trade

Jun 20, 2026 · 7:30
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The Brass Oil War: King Koko's Revolt Against the Royal Niger Company

Jun 19, 2026 · 4:46
0:000:00

The Akassa Raid of 1895: King Koko's Revenge on the Royal Niger Company

Jun 19, 2026 · 9:07
0:000:00

The Ijebu Blockade: Britain's 1892 War for Trade Access

Jun 18, 2026 · 7:43
0:000:00

The Aro Expedition of 1901: Britain's Bloody Conquest of the Inland Empire

Jun 18, 2026 · 6:04
0:000:00

The Aro Confederacy: Slavers, Oracles, and Nigeria's Inland Empire

Jun 17, 2026 · 6:31
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The Royal Niger Company: Business Before Empire

Jun 17, 2026 · 7:19
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The Ransom of Oba Ovonramwen: Exile, Diplomacy, and the End of an Empire

Jun 16, 2026 · 5:54
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The Nupe Brass Trade: A Forgotten Economic Empire

Jun 16, 2026 · 8:22
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The Esan Revolt of 1897: Benin's Forgotten Resistance

Jun 15, 2026 · 8:58
0:000:00

The Ekumeku War: Igbo Resistance Against British Colonial Rule

Jun 15, 2026 · 5:50
0:000:00

The Kalakuta Republic: Fela Kuti's Musical Rebellion

Jun 14, 2026 · 7:44
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The Aba Women's War of 1929: Nigeria's Igbo Women's Revolt

Jun 14, 2026 · 7:28
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Nigeria's First University: The Yaba College Struggle

Jun 13, 2026 · 6:27
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The 1897 Punitive Expedition: Benin's Sacking and the Bronzes

Jun 13, 2026 · 10:23
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The Nri Kingdom: Igbo God-Kings and the Invention of Peace

Jun 12, 2026 · 7:39
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The Lagos Colony Bombardment of 1851: Britain's First Invasion

Jun 12, 2026 · 8:22
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Saro and Aguda: Nigeria's Returnee Communities from Brazil

Jun 12, 2026 · 7:33
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The Great Benin Walls: Earthworks That Rivaled the Great Wall of China

Jun 11, 2026 · 9:13
0:000:00

The Benin Bronzes: Art, Looting, and the Fight for Return

Jun 11, 2026 · 7:56
0:000:00

The Benin Empire's Iyekorhionwa Revolt of 1869

Jun 10, 2026 · 6:51
0:000:00

The Igbo Ukwu Bronze Age: Nigeria's Ancient Lost City

Jun 10, 2026 · 9:18
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The Nupe Brass Trade: A Forgotten Economic Empire

Jun 9, 2026 · 6:27
0:000:00

The Kebbi–Kanta Legacy: Sokoto's Unconquered Frontier

Jun 9, 2026 · 6:55
0:000:00

The Fulani Empire: Usman dan Fodio's Jihad and the Sokoto Caliphate

Jun 8, 2026 · 6:15
0:000:00

The Oyo Empire: Cavalry, Diplomacy, and the Fall of a Yoruba Power

Jun 8, 2026 · 8:17
0:000:00

The Aro Confederacy: Slavers, Oracles, and the Igbo Hinterland

Jun 7, 2026 · 8:27
0:000:00

The Igbo Landing of 1803: Ancestral Resistance in the Diaspora

Jun 7, 2026 · 5:42
0:000:00

The Bight of Benin Slave Trade: Why Portugal Built a Fort at Ouidah

Jun 6, 2026 · 10:56
0:000:00

The Royal Niger Company: How a British Firm Conquered Nigeria

Jun 6, 2026 · 8:54
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Queen Amina of Zazzau: The Warrior Queen of West Africa

Jun 5, 2026 · 7:46
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The Leopard, the Priest, and the Revolt: Benin's Iyekorhionwa Rebellion of 1869

Jun 5, 2026 · 7:53
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The Ekumeku Resistance: Igbo Guerrilla War Against British Rule

Jun 4, 2026 · 5:10
0:000:00

The Aba Women's War: Nigeria's 1929 Uprising

Jun 4, 2026 · 8:15
0:000:00

The Nsibidi Script: West Africa's Secret Writing System

Jun 3, 2026 · 8:07
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The Oba of Benin's Diplomatic Mission to Portugal in 1514

Jun 3, 2026 · 6:24
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The Igbo Landing: An Act of Mass Resistance in 1803

Jun 2, 2026 · 7:20
0:000:00

The Nok Culture: Africa's Ancient Terracotta Civilisation

Jun 2, 2026 · 13:21
0:000:00

Sultan Bello's Jihad: The Sokoto Caliphate's Golden Age

Jun 1, 2026 · 8:04
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The Sokoto Caliphate: Africa's 19th Century Jihadist Empire

Jun 1, 2026 · 5:22
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The Nupe Brass Trade: A Forgotten Economic Empire

May 31, 2026 · 7:37
0:000:00

The Benin Bronze Repatriation: A Century of Resistance

May 31, 2026 · 8:13
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The Great Benin Wall: Earthworks of West Africa's Lost Megacity

May 30, 2026 · 9:09
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The Ife Empire: Spiritual Cradle of the Yoruba

May 30, 2026 · 8:25
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The Kanem-Bornu Empire: A Thousand-Year Sahelian Superpower

May 29, 2026 · 4:48
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The Jukun Kingdom: Kwararafa and the Corridor of Conquest

May 29, 2026 · 5:03
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The Kano Chronicle: Writing History in the Sahel

May 28, 2026 · 8:09
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The Oyo Empire's Cavalry Collapse: Why Horses Failed in West Africa

May 28, 2026 · 5:08
0:000:00

The Aro Expedition of 1901: Britain's Forgotten War in Igboland

May 27, 2026 · 7:54
0:000:00

The Aro Confederacy: Slave Trade Empire in the Igbo Hinterland

May 27, 2026 · 7:44
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The Oyo Empire's Cavalry: How Horses Shaped a West African Superpower

May 26, 2026 · 5:55
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The Dahomey Amazons: West Africa's All-Female Military Corps

May 26, 2026 · 10:21
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King Jaja of Opobo: Palm Oil King vs British Empire

May 25, 2026 · 6:58
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The Bini Bridewealth: Women, Wealth, and Power in Precolonial Benin

May 25, 2026 · 6:48
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The Benin Kingdom: Bronze Casters, Warrior Kings, and Empire

May 24, 2026 · 9:08
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Queen Amina: Zazzau's 16th-Century Warrior Queen

May 24, 2026 · 10:46
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The Ekiti Parapo: Yoruba Civil War and the Rise of Ibadan

May 23, 2026 · 5:13
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The Fall of Old Oyo: Yoruba Empire's Collapse

May 23, 2026 · 4:47
0:000:00

The Nupe Brass Trade: A Forgotten Economic Empire

May 22, 2026 · 5:57
0:000:00

The Bight of Biafra: How the Palm Oil Trade Remade West Africa

May 20, 2026 · 4:45
0:000:00

The Sokoto Caliphate: Jihad and Empire in the Sahel

May 19, 2026 · 6:47
0:000:00

The Lagos Colony: How Britain Took Its First Nigerian Foothold

May 19, 2026 · 6:26
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The Royal Niger Company's Charter: How a Firm Became a Government

May 18, 2026 · 7:53
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Nigerian Independence and the Legacy of Nnamdi Azikiwe

May 18, 2026 · 4:37
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Nana Olomu: The Itsekiri Oil Titan Who Defied Empire

May 17, 2026 · 5:47
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The Nri Kingdom: Nigeria's Ancient Priest-Kings and the Igbo Origin Myth

May 17, 2026 · 6:03
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The Women's War of 1929: Igbo Women vs British Empire

May 16, 2026 · 1:14
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The Igbo-Ukwu Bronze Age: Nigeria's Ancient Metalworking Mastery

May 16, 2026 · 8:00
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The Brass Oil War: When Niger Delta Villages Took On Royal Niger Company

May 15, 2026 · 5:45
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The Nupe Military State and the River Niger's Forgotten Empire

May 15, 2026 · 6:59
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The Niger Coast Protectorate: How Britain Took Over Southern Nigeria

May 12, 2026 · 6:37
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The Siege of Ilorin: Yoruba City Under the Caliphate

May 12, 2026 · 5:43
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The Ekumeku: Igbo Resistance Against British Rule

May 11, 2026 · 5:18
0:000:00

The Aro Confederacy: Oracle, Slavery, and British Conquest

May 11, 2026 · 4:52
0:000:00

The Royal Niger Company: How a British Firm Colonized Nigeria

May 10, 2026 · 7:32
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Nana Olomu: The Itsekiri Oil Trade Titan of the Niger

May 10, 2026 · 8:30
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Queen Amina: The Warrior Queen of Zazzau

May 9, 2026 · 6:20
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The Kano Civil War and the Rise of the Sultanate

May 9, 2026 · 4:38
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The Brass Trade and the Fall of Benin

May 8, 2026 · 7:12
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The Aro Confederacy: Slavery, Oracle, and the Inside

May 8, 2026 · 8:01
0:000:00

The Berlin Conference: How Europe Carved Up Nigeria

May 7, 2026 · 6:45
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The Oil Rivers and the Rise of Palm Oil

May 7, 2026 · 5:41
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The Forgotten Slave Trade of the Benue Valley

May 6, 2026 · 4:21
0:000:00

The Bight of Benin's Slave Ports: Ouidah, Lagos, and the Human Trade

May 6, 2026 · 6:11
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The Sokoto Caliphate: Jihad, Empire, and Legacy in Northern Nigeria

May 5, 2026 · 5:30
0:000:00

The Oyo Empire's Cavalry Revolution: How Horses Changed West Africa

May 5, 2026 · 6:07
0:000:00

The Lagos Colony: From Slave Port to British Crown Colony

May 4, 2026 · 5:42
0:000:00

The Rise of Ibadan: From War Camp to Empire

May 4, 2026 · 5:51
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The Egba Refugees Who Built Abeokuta

May 3, 2026 · 6:25
0:000:00

How Lagos Was Burned: The 1851 British Bombardment

May 3, 2026 · 5:35
0:000:00

The Brass Trade and the Fall of Benin

May 2, 2026 · 4:50
0:000:00

The Egba Refugees Who Built Abeokuta

May 2, 2026 · 7:27
0:000:00

The Bight of Benin's Slave Ports: Ouidah, Lagos, and the Human Trade

May 1, 2026 · 6:01
0:000:00

The Kano Civil War and the Rise of the Sultanate

May 1, 2026 · 3:52
0:000:00

The Oyo Empire's Female King: Iyalode Efunsetan Aniwura

Apr 30, 2026 · 6:52
0:000:00

The Kano Chronicle: Writing the History of the Sahel

Apr 30, 2026 · 8:18
0:000:00

The Trans-Saharan Trade: Salt, Gold, and Nigeria's Forgotten Caravans

Apr 29, 2026 · 5:17
0:000:00

The Forgotten Queen: Amina of Zazzau

Apr 29, 2026 · 6:48
0:000:00

Oyo's Female Chiefs: The Iyalode in War and Politics

Apr 28, 2026 · 6:21
0:000:00

The Oba's Curse: Benin City's Lost Walls and a Kingdom's Fall

Apr 28, 2026 · 6:34
0:000:00

The Women Who Danced for Freedom: Aba Women's War Legacy

Apr 27, 2026 · 5:40
0:000:00

The Aro Confederacy: Slavers, Oracles, and Empire in the Niger Delta

Apr 27, 2026 · 3:56
0:000:00

The Igbo Apprenticeship System: Nigeria's Economic Underbelly

Apr 26, 2026 · 7:34
0:000:00

When Nigeria's Soldiers Refused to Fight: The 1914 Lagos Mutiny

Apr 26, 2026 · 5:29
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Herbert Macaulay and the Birth of Nigerian Nationalism

Apr 25, 2026 · 5:57
0:000:00

The Aba Women's War: Nigeria's Revolt Against Colonial Rule

Apr 25, 2026 · 4:31
0:000:00

The Royal Niger Company and the Scramble for Nigeria

Apr 25, 2026 · 4:39
0:000:00

The Sokoto Caliphate: Jihad, Slavery, and State-Building

Apr 25, 2026 · 5:40
0:000:00

The Royal Art of Benin: Bronze Casters of an Empire

Apr 24, 2026 · 6:44
0:000:00

The Fall of the Oyo Empire: Internal Collapse and External Threats

Apr 23, 2026 · 7:26
0:000:00

Nigeria's Ancient Kingdoms: From Nok to Benin

Apr 23, 2026 · 6:39
0:000:00