OLUWAJIMI . J . THORPE

  Christopher Sapara Williams made history on November 1879 when he became the first Nigerian to be called to the English bar.Born on July 14, 1855 in Sierra Leone although he was reported to have been of Ijesha origin, he studied law at Inner Temple in London and on November 17, 1879, he was called to the English bar. In 1888, Williams returned to Lagos colony, as it was then to begin practising law. He enrolled in the Nigerian Bar Association where he became chairman from 1900 to 1915 when he died.  In 1901, he was nominated to the legislative council where served as member till he passed away. His judgement was called to test in 1903 when a crises arose over the tolls collected from traders by local rulers. The then Governor William MacGregor requested views from Williams, Charles Joseph George and Obadiah Johnson as indigenous opinion leaders.They suggested that the tools be retained as against changing them to subsidies so as not to upset the rulers.  Williams was no...

  Do you know that the Oldest Surviving Kingdom in the World is Great Benin Kingdom and is 2054 years Old? This piece reveals 30 amazing facts you never knew about the Great Benin Kingdom The Great Benin Kingdom is probably Nigeria’s greatest empire. The Ogiso dynasty lasted for about 854 years plus an interregnum of 285 years between the reign of Ogiso Orire and Ogiso Odia, there was an interregnum of 70 years between Ogiso Owodo and Oba Oranmiyan plus 845 years of Oba ruler-ship till date. Below are 30 amazing facts about the Great Benin Kingdom: 1.The First Storey Building in Nigeria was built at Ughoton by the Dutch in the year 1718, and it was called “The Factory”. The said building was destroyed by the British during the war against the Benins in 1897. The site of the building is still intact. 2. The Oldest Church in West-Africa was established in Great Benin Empire by the Earliest Portuguese missionaries in the 16th Century which is today known as the Holy Aruosa (Benin Nati...

Akintola Taaku” (Aare Akintola Remain Adamant) It was three o’clock in the morning. The telephone rang in the Governor’s official residence in Ibadan. Who could be calling the Governor at this time of the day? The Governor was told it was someone from Lagos and the caller insisted that he must speak with the Governor personally. The caller said it was urgent and important. The Governor of Western Region, Oba Tadenikawo Adesoji Aderemi, the Ooni of Ile-Ife, answered the phone. His Royal Highness recognized the voice on the other end. It was the voice of a royalty, a prince, a jurist and a Knight of the British Empire. The caller was His Lordship Sir Adetokunbo Ademola, the Chief Justice of the Federation. “Kabiyesi, may I respectfully advise Your Majesty to vacate the Government House immediately.” Oba Aderemi thought it must be a joke, and an expensive one at that. Vacate the Government House? And immediately too? As if reading His Majesty’s mind, Justice Ademola assured Kabiyesi that ...