Nigeria

Federal Republic of Nigeria
Flag
Location  Africa
Capital  Abuja
Area  923,768 sq km
Population  203,452,505

"A volunteer is worth twenty pressed men"
(Proverb/Quote of the Week)

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January

January 1 Nigeria on 1 January 2016 unveiled a nine-meter tall statue of Jesus Christ in the village of Abajah in southeastern Nigeria. Dubbed "Jesus de Greatest," the new statue is thought to be the biggest of its kind in Africa and is expected to boost local tourism. On 1 January 2011, Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin of Nigeria became the fourth Executive Director of UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund. January 2 Nigerian footballer Odion Ighalo won the English Premier League African Player of the Month award, as announced on 2 January 2016 by New African Soccer. January 3 January 4 Nigeria’s Asisat Oshoala was named as the African Women’s Player of the Year at the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Awards, for the third time, in Ghanaian capital Accra on 4 January 2018. January 5 Nigerian footballer Asisat Oshoala won the Confederation of African Football's Women Player of the Year award on 5 January 2017. Nigerian environmentalist Idorenyin Ekpa was announced as the Panda Champions for Global Goals by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on 5 January 2017. The aim of the recognition is to build a team of enthusiastic individuals from around the world to achieve the UN sustainable development goals by 2030. January 6 January 7 Nigerian footballer Asisat Oshoala was crowned as African Women’s Player of the Year at the CAF Awards 2019 held at the Albatros Citadel Sahl Hasheesh Resort in Hurghada, Egypt. January 8 Two sisters, who were joined in the chest and abdomen, were successfully separated in a surgery by a 78-member team at the National Hospital in Abuja, Nigeria, as announced by the hospital officials on 8 January 2020. January 9 January 10 January 11 January 12 January 13 January 14 January 15 January 16 January 17 January 18 January 19 January 20 January 21 January 22 January 23 January 24 January 25 January 26 January 27 January 28 January 29 January 30 January 31

February

February 1 February 2 February 3 February 4 February 5 February 6 February 7 IBM on 7 February 2014 announced it is further expanding its operations across Africa with the opening of two new IBM Innovation Centers in Lagos, Nigeria and Casablanca, Morocco. These new centers aim to spur local growth and fuel an ecosystem of development and entrepreneurship. February 8 February 9 February 10 Nigeria defeated Burkina Faso 1-0 in the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations soccer tournament final in Johannesburg on 10 February 2013, winning its third continental title and its first in 19 years. February 11 February 12 February 13 February 14 February 15 Nigerian economist Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on 15 February 2021 was appointed to head the World Trade Organization, becoming the first woman and first African to take on the role. February 16 February 17 February 18 February 19 February 20 February 21 February 22 An international team of researchers, including scientists from Nigeria, has revealed a new species of galago from Angola in a paper published by the American Journal of Physical Anthropology on 22 February 2017. The galago, which is the largest known dwarf galago or bushbaby, has been named the Angolan dwarf galago, named after the only country where it is known to occur. February 23 February 24 February 25 February 26 February 27 Mexico returned an ancient bronze sculpture, of a man sitting cross-legged, wearing a head dress and holding an object, to Nigeria after thwarting an attempt to smuggle it into the country. The artefact is from Nigeria's south-western Ife city, as reported on 27 February 2020. February 28 Jorsey Ashbel Farms (JAF), a scalable chicken production venture in Nigeria, was awarded the Grand Prize of $12,500 at the 2013 Global Social Entrepreneurship contest at the University of Washington. February 29

March

March 1 March 2 Nigerian Kamaru Usman became the first African fighter to win a Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) title beating American Tyron Woodley for the welterweight title on 2 march 2019. On 2 March 2012, Nigerian footballer Peter Odemwingie was named as the English Premier League Player of the Month for February. It was his third Premier League Player of the Month crown. Peter was also only the second Nigerian to win the title. March 3 March 4 March 5 March 6 March 7 March 8 Dr. Josephine Obiajulu Odumakin of Nigeria was honored with the 2013 International Women of Courage Award by the United States Department of State at a presentation ceremony in Washington for her courageous handling of over 2,000 cases of violations of women’s rights, including cases of extrajudicial practices committed by government security agencies against women. March 9 March 10 March 11 March 12 March 13 March 14 Nigerian writer Ben Okri's novel The Famished Road, published on 14 March 1991, won the 1991 Man Booker Prize. The award honors the best fiction written in English by an author from the UK, Ireland or the Commonwealth. March 15 March 16 March 17 March 18 March 19 March 20 March 21 March 22 March 23 March 24 March 25 March 26 March 27 March 28 March 29 March 30 March 31

April

April 1 April 2 April 3 April 4 April 5 April 6 Nigeria has overtaken South Africa as Africa's largest economy after a rebasing calculation nearly doubled its Gross Domestic Product (GDP), according to the data released on 6 April 2014 by Nigeria Bureau of Statistics. GDP for 2013 totalled 80.3 trillion naira, or $509.9 billion, an increase from the 42.3 trillion estimated before the rebasing. April 7 April 8 April 9 April 10 Nigerian para powerlifter Ndidi Nwosu won gold in Women's Heavyweight at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia. April 11 April 12 April 13 Nigerian sprinter Oluwatobiloba Amusan won gold in Women's 100m Hurdles at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia. April 14 April 15 The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors has approved US$150 million to finance 19 university-based Centers of Excellence in seven countries, including Nigeria, announced on 15 April 2014. These competitively selected centers will receive funding for advanced specialized studies in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)-related disciplines, as well as in agriculture and health. April 16 April 17 April 18 A Farm for Africa, a film on the Shonga Farm Project from Kwara State, Nigeria, on 18 April 2013 won the Grand Prix Award in the Agriculture and Green Economics category of the Deauville Green Awards. April 19 April 20 Nigeria shined with plenty of awards on 20 April 2013 at the 9th Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA), including the Best Film Award for the film Confusion Na Wa. April 21 April 22 April 23 April 24 Professor Wole Soyinka of Nigeria, the 1986 Nobel Laureate in Literature, won the Lifetime Achievement Award of the annual Anisfield-Wolf Book Award in America on 24 April 2013. April 25 April 26 April 27 Nigeria and China on 27 April 2018 signed a bilateral local currency swap agreement for the purpose of facilitating bilateral trade and direct investment, and safeguarding financial market stability in both countries. April 28 April 29 April 30

May

May 1 May 2 May 3 May 4 May 5 May 6 May 7 May 8 May 9 His Royal Highness Muhammadu Sanusi II, Emir of Kano in Nigeria was appointed as one of the UN Sustainable Development Goals Advocates on 9 May 2019. A study of the dromedary camel by researchers from Nigeria and their international colleagues has shown how long-distance and back-and-forth movements in ancient caravan routes shaped the species’ genetic diversity. Their findings, based on a global sample set and ancient mitochondrial DNA analyses, were revealed on 9 May 2016 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. May 10 May 11 May 12 May 13 May 14 May 15 May 16 May 17 May 18 May 19 May 20 May 21 May 22 May 23 May 24 Godwin Benson of Nigeria on 24 May 2017 won the the Royal Academy of Engineering Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation for his tutoring app Tuteria, a platform that links qualified tutors to students in their area and within their budget. May 25 Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan signed a bill that criminalizes female genital mutilation in the country, as announced on 25 May 2015. May 26 Nigeria and Liverpool football star Asisat Oshoala was named as the BBC Women's Footballer of the Year on 26 May 2015. May 27 The United Nations awarded one fallen peacekeeper from Nigeria posthumously with the Dag Hammarskjöld Medal on 27 May 2021. May 28 Akinwumi Adesina of Nigeria was elected as the 8th President of the African Development Bank on 28 May 2015. May 29 Nigeria's Lagos was ranked as the second most low-cost big city in the world according to Swiss bank UBS Prices and Earnings 2018 report covering 77 metropolitan areas across the globe. May 30 The first African Movie Academy Awards ceremony was held in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, Nigeria on 30 May 2005. May 31

June

June 1 The Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Andoni, designed and built in Nigeria, by Nigerian engineers, was launched with a colorful event on 1 June 2012. This is the first warship built in West African sub-region. Nigeria's Super Eagles beat Argentina 4-1 in an international friendly soccer match for their first-ever win over the two-time world champions. The match took place at the National Stadium in Abuja on June 1, 2011. June 2 The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) appointed Nigeria's Mohammed Barkindo as its new secretary general on 2 June 2016 for a period of three years. June 3 Nigeria's Osun State officially launched a customized computer tablet Opon Imo or Tablet of Knowledge on 3 June 2013. The state students will get the tablet, installed with software and textbooks, free of charge. June 4 Air France began direct daily flights from Abuja, Nigeria to Paris, France from 4 June 2012 to boost tourism and economic co-operation between the two nations. June 5 June 6 Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie won the 2007 Orange Prize for Fiction, the prize that celebrates excellence, originality and accessibility in women's writing from throughout the world, with her novel Half of a Yellow Sun. June 7 June 8 June 9 June 10 Nigeria and Pakistan signed a number of agreements on 10 June 2014 to boost bilateral trade from less than $100 million to $1 billion within the next five years. The agreements will cover agriculture, industrial cooperation and cultural exchanges between the two countries. June 11 June 12 Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was awarded the 2018 PEN Pinter Literary Prize in honour of her outstanding literary merit. June 13 June 14 June 15 June 16 June 17 June 18 June 19 June 20 June 21 Nigeria beat Bosnia and Herzegovina 1-0 on 21 June 2014 to enjoy first FIFA World Cup win in 16 years. June 22 June 23 June 24 June 25 June 26 President of the African Development Bank Dr. Akinwumi Adesina from Nigeria was announced as the 2017 World Food Prize Laureate at a ceremony at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Awarded by the World Food Prize Foundation, the $250,000 prize honors Dr. Adesina for his leading role over the past two decades in significantly expanding food production in Nigeria. June 27 June 28 June 29 June 30 Writer Akwaeke Emezi of Nigeria was announced as the Africa Region winner of the 2017 Commonwealth Short Story Prize for her short story Who Is Like God.

July

July 1 July 2 July 3 July 4 July 5 July 6 Olusegun Obasanjo, former President of Nigeria, served as the Chairman of the African Union - a union consisting of African states and formerly known as Organization of African Unity. Obasanjo took the office on 6 July 2004 and served as the third chairman of African Union. July 7 Nigeria signed up to the African Free Trade Agreement, aimed at greater economic integration between the governments in the region, on 7 July 2019. July 8 July 9 July 10 July 11 July 12 Nigerian born fighter Kamaru Usman put on a masterclass on 12 July 2020 to retain his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight world title by grinding down a brave Jorge Masvidal in Abu Dhabi. July 13 Nigerian Nobel laureate, Wole Soyinka, was born on 13th July 1934. In 1986 Soyinka was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in recognition of his accomplishments. The prize committee recognized him for his commitment to render the full complexity of his African culture. July 14 July 15 July 16 The Nigerian robotics team won a gold medal in the Sofia Kovalevskaya Award for International Journey category at the FIRST Global robotics competition in Washington DC on 16 July 2017. Nigeria and Kenya signed three agreements on 16 July 2013 to help boost ties between the two countries. The three agreements signed are on the establishment of a Joint Commission for Cooperation, a Protocol on consultations between Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade of Kenya and Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and an MOU on mutual cooperation between the Foreign Service Institute of Kenya and the Foreign Service Academy of Nigeria. July 17 July 18 Nigerian Sulaiman Abdulkarim Isah won the top award at the 2014 Dubai International Holy Quran recitation competition. July 19 American University of Nigeria’s Women Against Violent Extremism (WAVE) campaign won the second prize at the Peer to Peer: Facebook Global Digital Challenge spring 2017 in Washington. Nigerian journalist Didi Akinyelure won the second BBC World News Komla Dumor Award on 19 July 2016. July 20 July 21 July 22 July 23 July 24 July 25 July 26 July 27 July 28 July 29 July 30 July 31

August

August 1 August 2 August 3 August 4 August 5 The World Bank Group on 5 August 2014 committed $5 billion in new technical and financial support for energy projects in six African countries-- Nigeria, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia and Tanzania. August 6 August 7 August 8 August 9 August 10 August 11 Nigeria won the first FIFA World Cup in the under-16 category beating West Germany 2-0 in the final on August 11, 1985. August 12 August 13 August 14 August 15 August 16 August 17 Nigeria launched NigeriaSat-X, the first satellite designed and built by Africans, on 17 August 2011. The NigeriaSat-X is the result of a training agreement between the National Space Research and Development Agency of Nigeria and a company called Surrey Satellite Technology from the United Kingdom. August 18 August 19 August 20 August 21 The Federal Government of Nigeria and German Lufthansa Flight on 21 August 2013 in Abuja signed an agreement on type and jet ratings training of Nigerian pilots. The agreement is to furnish and develop the pilots to fly different kinds of aircraft. August 22 August 23 August 24 August 25 Nigeria was declared free from wild poliovirus as the last African country, thus the entire African continent, on 25 August 2020 by World Health Organization (WHO). August 26 August 27 August 28 August 29 Nigeria’s U-20 female football team, Falconets, emerged champions of the women’s soccer event of the 12th African Games in Rabat, Morocco on 29 August 2019, after defeating Cameroon 3-2 on penalties. August 30 August 31

September

September 1 September 2 September 3 September 4 September 5 September 6 September 7 September 8 September 9 Adesanmi Victoria of Nigeria won gold in weightlifting in the 63 kg category with a total weight of 211 kg at the 2015 at the All-Africa Games. September 10 September 11 September 12 September 13 Charles Immanuel Akhimien, Co-founder of MOBicure Integrated Solutions Nigeria, was recognised as an 2017 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) pioneer by the United Nations Global Compact for his maternal and children's health initiatives. September 14 September 15 September 16 September 17 September 18 Nigerian contestant Obabiyi Aishah Ajibola won the World Muslimah 2013 title, a beauty pageant for Muslims, on 18 September 2013 in Indonesia's capital, Jakarta. September 19 Nigerian journalist Amina Yuguda was awarded the 2017 BBC World News Komla Dumor Award for her reports on high-profile news stories, including the Boko Haram insurgency. September 20 September 21 September 22 September 23 Nigerian singer Yemi Alade was named as a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on 23 September 2020. September 24 September 25 The World Health Organization on 25 September 2015 announced that polio is no longer endemic in Nigeria. This is the first time that Nigeria has interrupted transmission of wild poliovirus, bringing the country and the African region closer than ever to being certified polio-free. September 26 September 27 The 2012 Rafto Prize, an annual Norwegian human rights prize, is awarded to Nigerian Nnimmo Bassey in recognition of his long-term fight for people’s right to life, health, food and water in a world affected by complex and threatening climate change and mass environmental destruction. September 28 Nigeria defeated Morocco 9-4 in the final to win the Refugees World Cup football title for the second time on 28 September 2017 in Brazil. September 29 September 30

October

October 1 Nigeria’s first ever 24-hour news radio station Nigeria Info, 99.3FM was launched on October 1, 2011. Nigeria became a republic on October 1, 1963. Earlier Nigeria gained independence from United Kingdom in 1960. October 2 Nigerian lawyer Zannah Mustapha, a champion for the rights of displaced children growing up amid violence in north-eastern Nigeria to get a quality education, was presented the 2017 UNHCR’s Nansen Refugee Award. October 3 October 4 October 5 October 6 October 7 October 8 October 9 October 10 October 11 October 12 SecureID is Nigeria's foremost Smart Card manufacturing company with a production capacity of 3 million cards per month, they offer a fully secure environment with a capacity to store over 5 million cards at once, was announced one of the winners at the 2012 Africa Awards for Entrepreneurship presented by African Leadership Network. October 13 Nigerian singer-songwriter Tiwa Savage was included in the BBC global list of 100 inspirational and innovative women for 2017. October 14 October 15 October 16 Nigeria was elected to the UN Human Rights Council on 16 October 2017 for a 3-year term starting on 1 January 2018. October 17 Nigeria was elected as a non-permanent member of the U.N. Security Council on 17 October 2013 for the years 2014-2015. October 18 Mr Wole Soboyejo of Nigeria, President of African University of Science and Technology (AUST), Garki, was appointed to United Nations scientific advisory board on 18 October 2013. The new Board will provide advice on science, technology and innovation (STI) for sustainable development to the UN Secretary-General and to Executive Heads of UN organizations. October 19 October 20 Nigeria was officially declared free of Ebola after six weeks with no new cases, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced on 20 October 2014. This is a spectacular success story that shows that Ebola outbreak can be contained. October 21 October 22 October 23 October 24 October 25 October 26 October 27 Nigeria was elected as a council member of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) on 27 October 2014 for four years from the African region. ITU is the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technologies. October 28 October 29 October 30 October 31 Western Nigerian Television (WNTV) was the first television station in Africa. It came on the air on October 31, 1959 from Ibadan, the then Capital city of Western Region of Nigeria. WNTV is now known as Nigeria Television Authority (NTA).

November

November 1 Nigeria was named as the most positive country from Africa at the World’s Most Positive Countries 2017. Nigeria was named as the most positive country from Africa at the World’s Most Positive Countries 2015. November 2 November 3 November 4 November 5 November 6 November 7 November 8 Nigeria’s Wellington Jighere won his and Africa’s first ever World Scrabble title after beating Englishman Lewis Mackay in the final on 8 November 2015. Nigeria won a record fourth under-17 Footbal World Cup title on 8 November 2013, defeating Mexico, 3-0, in Abu Dhabi. Anthony Oyeogbe of Nigeria was awarded the 2013 Green Talents Award in Berlin for his research focus in sustainable agriculture systems capable of providing both significant productivity increases and eco-friendly services. November 9 November 10 November 11 November 12 November 13 November 14 Nigeria won the 2010 Women's African Football Championship title beating Equatorial Guinea 4-2 in the final in South Africa. It was Nigeria’s 8th African women’s crown. November 15 November 16 Nigeria on 16 November 2013 became the first African side to reach the 2014 FIFA World Cup after a 2-0 victory over Ethiopia in Calabar confirmed a 4-1 aggregate play-off win. It will be the fifth World Cup appearance for the Super Eagles. Agbani Darego from Nigeria won the 51st Miss World pageant at the age of 18 on November 16, 2001. Agbani became the first black African to win the Miss World crown. November 17 November 18 Fedironics Intelligent Metering Company, manufacturer of smart electric meter, from Nigeria received the prestigious Recognition of Excellence Certificates at the 2016 International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Telecom World Awards. November 19 November 20 November 21 November 22 November 23 November 24 Nigerian film-maker Uyaiedu Ikpe-Etim on 24 November 2020 was included in BBC's annual list of 100 inspiring and influential women from around the world. November 25 November 26 Nigeria on 26 November 2020 got back a terracotta head believed to be at least 600 years old which was smuggled to the Netherlands in a ceremony in the Nigerian capital Abuja in presence of Dutch ambassador to Nigeria Harry Van Dijk and Nigerian Information Minister Lai Mohammed. November 27 November 28 The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, was announced the 2011 Forbes Africa Person of the Year on 28 November 2011 for his notable reforms in Nigeria's banking sector. November 29 November 30

December

December 1 Invisible Borders, a Nigerian-based art collective, was named as one of the world's top 100 global thinkers by Foreign Policy, a Washington-based prestigious magazine of global politics, economics and ideas, on 1 December 2015. December 2 December 3 December 4 December 5 December 6 December 7 December 8 December 9 December 10 December 11 December 12 December 13 December 14 December 15 Minister of Environment of Nigeria Amina J. Mohammed was appointed as the UN deputy chief on 15 December 2016. Ecuador officially opened its embassy in Abuja, Nigeria on 15 December 2015 in order to boost collaborations between the two countries. December 16 December 17 In Nigeria the Federal Government, Lagos State Government and private investors known as Ports at Lekki, on 17 December 2012 signed an agreement for the construction of a new deep sea port in Lekki axis of Lagos State. December 18 December 19 December 20 December 21 On 21 December 2012, the Nigerian government reopened the railroad tracks connecting Lagos, its commercial heartbeat in the south, to Kano, its largest city in the north, in a $166 million project meant to revive the railway system of Africa's most populous country. Tracks connecting the cities were first built in 1912 but neglect, and corruption, made about 70 percent of the tracks unusable as of early last year. December 22 The Nigerian Government on 22 December 2016 formally launched a new digital satellite TV service, known as ‘Free TV’, in the capital, Abuja. It is expected to provide the biggest free-to-air TV platform in the country, initially available to more than 20 million homes and 150 million individuals. December 23 December 24 December 25 December 26 December 27 December 28 December 29 December 30 December 31

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