{"id":2031,"date":"2022-03-30T05:03:22","date_gmt":"2022-03-30T05:03:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vor.org.ng\/?p=2031"},"modified":"2022-03-30T05:03:22","modified_gmt":"2022-03-30T05:03:22","slug":"nigerias-misplaced-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ictnetworldltd.com\/newvor\/2022\/03\/30\/nigerias-misplaced-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Nigeria\u2019s misplaced history"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Ganiyu Abdullahi
\nThere was no country called Nigeria, before 1897. Therefore, it is exactly 125 years ago that the name \u201cNigeria\u201d was coined by Miss Flora Louise Shaw, a British correspondent, who later got married to Lord Lugard (Nigeria\u2019s first Governor-General). Her concept for this name was contained in her article, published in the London Times of 8th January, 1897. According to her, \u201cthe name Nigeria, applying to no other part of Africa, may without offence to any neighbour, be accepted as co-extensive with the territories, over which the Royal Niger Company has extended British influence, and may serve to differentiate them equally from the Colonies of Lagos and the Niger Protectorate, on the coast; and from the French territories of the Upper Niger.\u201d
\nHowever, the British Government preferred the name \u201cNigeria\u201d to other appellative names, such as \u201cRoyal Niger Company Territories\u201d, \u201cNiger Sudan\u201d, \u201cCentral Sudan\u201d, \u201cNegretia\u201d, \u201cNiger Area\u201d and \u201cGoldesia\u201d (coined after Sir George Dashwood Taubman Goldie). Sir Goldie was the first Governor of the Northern Protectorate, in whose memory and honour, \u201cGidan Goldie\u201d (Goldie House) in Kaduna State was named. Therefore, it is noteworthy to mention that Lord Fredrick Lugard, took over from Sir Goldie, as Governor of the Northern Protectorate in 1900.
\nTherefore, the name \u201cNigeria\u201d is a fusion of the words Niger-Area; simply describing \u201cthe people located around the bank of River Niger.\u201d Thus, River Niger is the major landmark, which inspired the coinage of the name \u201cNigeria.\u201d In the wise submission of late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, he reasoned that \u201cNigeria is not a nation. It is a mere geographical expression. There are no Nigerians in the same sense as there are \u2018English\u2019, \u2018Welsh\u2019 or \u2018French.\u2019 The word \u2018Nigeria\u2019 is merely a distinctive appellation, to distinguish those who live within the boundaries of Nigeria and those who do not.\u201d This opinion of Chief Obafemi Awolowo is very incisive, blunt, unbiased, unambiguous, sound and factual.
\nNotwithstanding the divergent views about Nigeria, the fact remains that Nigeria has come to stay; being variously described with some spectacular attributes, such as \u201cthe Giant of Africa\u201d, \u201cthe biggest multi-religious and multi-ethnic country in the world\u201d, \u201cthe biggest economy in Africa\u201d, \u201cthe largest black country in the world\u201d, \u201cthe 7th most-populated country in the world\u201d, among others. Based on this premise, it is therefore, a big concern that rather than Nigeria being celebrated, our political leaders have only been celebrating some peculiar events that evolved, as a result of Nigeria\u2019s existence. Among these events are the Independence Day, Armed Forces Remembrance Day, Democracy Day, and Nigeria\u2019s 100 years of amalgamation, which was inadvertently tagged as \u201cNigeria\u2019s Centenary.\u201d I hereby, make bold to posit, from historical point of view that Nigeria\u2019s centenary ought to have been counted from 1897, the year Nigeria actually got her name.
\nDefinitely, Nigeria\u2019s existence did not start with the amalgamation of 1914. Rather, the unification (amalgamation) of Nigeria, came up as an historic event, based on the existence of Nigeria (prior to 1914). In the same vein, the fact that the geographical cum political entity known as Nigeria, earlier existed as two separate entities (Northern and Southern Protectorates of Nigeria), prior to the amalgamation of 1914; never ruled out the fundamental and historical fact that the name
\n\u201cNigeria\u201d had been in existence and recognised 17 years earlier, before the amalgamation of 1914. Therefore, the failure of our past political leaders, political scientists and historians, to reckon with the birth of Nigeria, which occurred on 8th January 1897, is clearly an aberration in the annals of Nigeria\u2019s history. In this regard, there is no contention in the fact that year 2022 marks Nigeria\u2019s 125 years of existence, whilst Nigeria\u2019s centenary should have been marked in 1997. As individuals, we celebrate our birthdays; organisations and some countries across the world, celebrate their \u201cfounders\u2019 day.\u201d Therefore, it becomes very pertinent to ask, why Nigeria\u2019s case is different?
\nAnother matter of concern is the fact that the visioner, who coined the name \u201cNigeria\u201d, Miss Flora Louise Shaw (later Mrs Lugard) is not being accorded a well-deserved recognition, the same way other founding-fathers of Nigeria have been variously immortalised in our public domains. Undeniably, Flora Shaw was also the first woman, to play the prestigious role of Nigeria\u2019s First Lady. But, looking around the Federal Capital Territory and some major cities in Nigeria, her name is clearly missing out. On the reverse, a man who had no direct impact on the evolution of Nigeria, other than being the Secretary of State for British Colonies, Mr. Lewis Harcourt is having one of Nigeria\u2019s major sea ports (\u201cPort Harcourt\u201d), named after him. Why? Lugard honoured him simply because he was in-charge of Lugard\u2019s appointment, first as Governor (Northern Protectorate) and later, as Nigeria\u2019s first Governor-General.
\nThe only time I can vividly remember that the Nigerian Government remembered Lady Lugard was during Nigeria\u2019s (amalgamation) centenary anniversary in 2014, when 100 distinguished personalities were honoured with the Centenary Award. The first three names on the roll-call were as follows: \u2013 (i) Her Royal Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II (ii) Frederick John Dealtry Lugard (iii) Dame Flora Louise Shaw (Lady Lugard). Therefore, this is a wake-up call, to the Nigerian Government, to give Lady Lugard a most befitting honour, by immortalising her name on major roads or important public buildings, like other founding-fathers of Nigeria. Same goes for Mr. Taiwo Akinkunmi, whose \u201cgreen-white-green\u201d design of the Nigeria Flag was chosen, out of a total of 2,870 entries, during the National Flag competition, held before Nigeria\u2019s independence in 1960.
\nAs long as history cannot be reinvented, I hereby strongly appeal to the Nigerian Government to restore and further encourage the study of Nigeria\u2019s history in our schools, because we are already losing grip on our history and historical records.
\nAbdullahi is a veteran youth activist and a concerned patriot.
\nSource: The Guardian\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Ganiyu Abdullahi There was no country called Nigeria, before 1897. 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