35 Nigeria’s Famous Achievements Since Independence.

In a few days, it will be 61 years since Nigeria has gained its independence from the British Government through the help and the contributions of our founding Fathers and nationalists such as Nnamdi Azikiwe, Herbert Macaulay, Obafemi Awolowo, and others.

Although Nigeria has not made the expected progress based on the availability of human, natural, and capital resources, largely owing to poor leadership and other factors that cannot be stated here. However, there is no denying the fact that there have been massive progress compared to 61 years ago when Nigeria gained her independence.

To commemorate 61 years of Nigeria’s independence, here is a list of 35 of the major and famous milestones the country has achieved since its independence.

#1. On the 1st of October 1960, Nigeria gained its independence from Great Britain and had its first indigenous constitution which is considered Nigeria’s greatest achievement.

#2. Nigeria became the 99th member of the United Nations after attaining independence in 1966.

#3. On the same day in 1963, Nigeria Became a Republic and the former Governor-General Nnamdi Azikiwe became the country’s first President.

#4. In August 1963, Nigeria hosted the first-ever boxing world title event on the continent outside of then-apartheid South Africa.

#5. Nojeem Maiyegun won Nigeria’s first Olympic medal(Bronze) at the 1964 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.

#6. 16th of July, 1966 Nigeria became the first Anglophone independent state in Africa to become an associate member of the European Economic Community

#7. In the 1960s-70s  Nigeria established its first-generation universities, such as The University of Nigeria, Nsukka in 1960, The University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife), Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, the University of Lagos in 1962, and the University of Benin in 1970.

#8. On the 11th of January  1970, the Nigerian civil war officially ends after 2 1/2 years of fighting when the Republic of Biafra disbands and joins Nigeria

#9. Since the 1970s till date, Nigeria remains the largest oil and gas producer in Africa

#10. July 12, 1971,  Nigeria became the 11th Member of OPEC,  Nigeria’s influence in the Organisation was so monumental that it rose to the leadership for decades.

#11. Nigeria with other countries in the West African sub-region established the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in 1975.

#12. Nigeria spearheaded the creation of the ECOWAS Cease-fire Monitoring Group (ECOMOG), as a regional peace-enforcement mechanism, which facilitated the resolution of the civil wars and the restoration of democracy to Liberia and Sierra Leone.

#13. 15 Jan 1977 – 12 Feb 1977, Nigeria hosted the Second World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture, popularly known as FESTAC 77

#14. Nigeria won the Africa Cup of Nations in 1980 beating Algeria 3-0 to claim their first-ever African title

#15. 16 October 1986 Wole Soyinka, Nigerian playwright, and poet becomes the first African to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature

#16. On the 12th of December 1991, Abuja replaces Lagos as the capital city of Nigeria.

#17. Nigeria pushed for the prevention and resolution of devastating conflicts that engulfed Liberia in 1992, which spilled over into Sierra Leone and other countries in the MANO River region.

#18. Nigeria won Africa’s first Olympic gold medal in football at the  1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, United States. This famous achievement brought Nigerians together irrespective of ethnicity or tribe.

#19. At the  1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, United States.  Multi-talented Chioma Ajunwa won the long jump gold medal at the 1996 Olympics, she became the first Nigerian, and first Black African woman, to win Olympic gold in a field event.

#20. In 1999 Nigeria successfully transitioned from a military to a democratic government.

#21. In the Mid 2000 Nigeria’s film industry ‘Nollywood’ became the World  second largest film producer in the world

#22. Agbani Darego, a Nigerian model and beauty queen, was crowned Miss World in 2001. the first black African to do so.

#23. In  September 2003 – Nigeria’s first satellite, NigeriaSat-1, was launched by a Russian rocket.

#24. In 2003, Enyimba FC of Aba won Nigeria’s first Champions League crown – the CAF Champions league.

#25. Nigeria provided leadership and enormous support to the United Nations peacekeeping missions in Congo and other countries, we were one of the first countries to provide troops in Liberia in 2003.

#26. Nigeria also led the movement for the end of apartheid rule in Southern African countries, including South Africa,  Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

#27. Nigeria was one of the major countries that ensure that democratic governments were restored to Guinea-Bissau, Cote d’Ivoire, and Sao Tome et Principe, after the military take-overs

#28. In 2014, Nigeria overtook South Africa to become the largest economy in Africa and since then we’ve been at the top.

#29. Akinwumi Adesina, a Nigerian minister for agriculture and rural development, was  elected to head the AfDB in 2015, becoming the first Nigerian to assume the position, and was also re-elected for a second term of five years in August 2020

#30. Amina Mohammed, a Nigerian diplomat, and politician became the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN) in 2017

#31. D’ Tigress, Nigeria’s Female National Basketball Team won the 2017 FIBA Africa Women’s Championship, the continental championship Cup, for the first time in 12 years.

#32. In March 2018, The judges of the International Court of Justice elected Nigerian Judge Eboe-Osuji as the  President of the Court for a three-year term.

#33. 21, Augusta 2019, Nigeria goes three years without a case of polio in landmark toward the eradication of the disease

#34. In March 2021, Damini Ogulu, aka Burna Boy, won the Best Global Music Album award for his album ‘Twice as Tall’, a first for a Nigerian as a solo artist.

Director-General of the WTO, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

#35. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nigeria’s former Finance minister was appointed the Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2021. She is the first woman, first Nigerian, and first African to head the international organization, making her appointment a historic one.

Despite the leadership crisis that has rocked Nigeria after the 1966 coup d’état, the Nigerian people have proven to be resilient, strong, and innovative. They have continued to put the country on the global stage through individual and cooperative efforts.

Meanwhile in recent times different secessionists from different parts of the country like Nnamdi Kanu, Sunday Igboho has called for the division of the country. We would like to know your opinion in an anonymous poll below.

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You may want to check out the Top 5 benefits of one Nigeria, and the evil of not co-existing.