Notable people of Nigeria

Independence era

Abubakar Tafawa Balewa

1912–1966

Abubakar Tafawa Balewa was Nigeria's first Prime Minister, in office from 1957 as federal premier and through independence in 1960 until the coup of January 1966. He was born at Tafawa Balewa in what is now Bauchi State.

Bauchi State

Independence era

Ahmadu Bello

1910–1966

Ahmadu Bello was Premier of the Northern Region from 1954 until his death in the coup of January 1966, and the dominant figure in northern politics at independence. He was Fulani, born at Rabah in what is now Sokoto State, and a descendant of the founders of the Sokoto Caliphate.

Sokoto State · Fulani

Sport

Augustine Azuka Okocha

b. 1973

Jay-Jay Okocha is a former midfielder who captained the Nigerian national team and played in Germany, Turkey, France and England. He is Igbo, born in Enugu State, with family roots at Ogwashi-Uku in Delta State.

Enugu State · Igbo

Arts

Ben Enwonwu

1917–1994

Ben Enwonwu was a sculptor and painter, and the first Nigerian artist to gain wide international recognition. He was Igbo, born at Onitsha in what is now Anambra State.

Anambra State · Igbo

Literature

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

b. 1977

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a novelist and essayist whose books include Purple Hibiscus, Half of a Yellow Sun and Americanah. She is Igbo, born in Enugu State and raised in the university town of Nsukka.

Enugu State · Igbo

Literature

Chinua Achebe

1930–2013

Chinua Achebe was a novelist, essayist and critic whose first novel, Things Fall Apart, became the most widely read African novel of the twentieth century. He was Igbo, born at Ogidi in what is now Anambra State.

Anambra State · Igbo

Sport

Chioma Ajunwa

b. 1970

Chioma Ajunwa won the long jump at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, the first Olympic gold medal in an individual event by a Nigerian athlete. She is Igbo, from Imo State.

Imo State · Igbo

Literature

Cyprian Ekwensi

1921–2007

Cyprian Ekwensi was a novelist and pharmacist whose fiction took the Nigerian city as its subject. He was Igbo, born at Minna in what is now Niger State, with family roots at Nkwelle in Anambra.

Niger State · Igbo

Music

Ebenezer Obey

b. 1942

Ebenezer Obey is a juju bandleader and songwriter known for proverb-based Yoruba lyrics and long dance arrangements, and later for gospel music. He is Yoruba, born at Idogo in what is now Ogun State.

Ogun State · Yoruba

Music

Fela Kuti

1938–1997

Fela Kuti was a bandleader, saxophonist and composer who created Afrobeat and used it as a vehicle for political criticism. He was Yoruba, born at Abeokuta in what is now Ogun State, a son of the campaigner Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti.

Ogun State · Yoruba

Literature

Flora Nwapa

1931–1993

Flora Nwapa was a novelist and publisher whose 1966 novel Efuru was the first book by a Nigerian woman to be published internationally in English. She was Igbo, born at Oguta in what is now Imo State.

Imo State · Igbo

Activism

Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti

1900–1978

Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti was a teacher and women's rights organiser who led the Abeokuta women's tax protests. She was Yoruba, born at Abeokuta in what is now Ogun State.

Ogun State · Yoruba

Sport

Hakeem Olajuwon

b. 1963

Hakeem Olajuwon is a former basketball centre who won two NBA championships with the Houston Rockets and was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame. He is Yoruba, born in Lagos, in what is now Lagos State.

Lagos State · Yoruba

Independence era

Herbert Macaulay

1864–1946

Herbert Macaulay was an engineer, surveyor and newspaper proprietor who organised the first modern political party in Nigeria. He was Yoruba, born in Lagos, in what is now Lagos State.

Lagos State · Yoruba

Activism

Isaac Adaka Boro

1938–1968

Isaac Adaka Boro was an Ijaw student leader from what is now Bayelsa State who declared a Niger Delta republic in 1966, the first armed assertion of Delta resource claims.

Bayelsa State · Ijaw

Independence era

Joseph Tarka

1932–1980

Joseph Tarka led the campaign for a separate Middle Belt region and became the best-known Tiv politician of his generation. He was born at Igbor in what is now Benue State.

Benue State · Tiv

Activism

Ken Saro-Wiwa

1941–1995

Ken Saro-Wiwa was a writer and campaigner who led the Ogoni movement against oil pollution in Rivers State, and was executed in 1995 after a military tribunal.

Rivers State · Ogoni

Independence era

Margaret Ekpo

1914–2006

Margaret Ekpo was a women's rights organiser and one of the first women elected to a Nigerian legislature. She was Efik, born at Creek Town near Calabar in what is now Cross River State.

Cross River State · Efik

Independence era

Michael Okpara

1920–1984

Michael Okpara was Premier of the Eastern Region from 1959 to 1966 and the architect of the farm settlement programme known as pragmatic socialism. He was Igbo, born at Ojoto in the Bende area of what is now Abia State.

Abia State · Igbo

Arts

Nike Davies-Okundaye

b. 1951

Nike Davies-Okundaye is a textile artist and gallery owner known for adire and batik work and for training thousands of artists. She is Yoruba, born at Ogidi-Ijumu in what is now Kogi State.

Kogi State · Yoruba

Independence era

Nnamdi Azikiwe

1904–1996

Nnamdi Azikiwe was a newspaper publisher and nationalist politician who became the first President of Nigeria at independence. He was Igbo, born in Zungeru in what is now Niger State.

Niger State · Igbo

Sport

Nwankwo Kanu

b. 1976

Nwankwo Kanu is a former striker who won the Champions League with Ajax and league titles with Arsenal, and an Olympic gold medal with Nigeria. He is Igbo, born at Owerri in what is now Imo State.

Imo State · Igbo

Independence era

Obafemi Awolowo

1909–1987

Obafemi Awolowo was a lawyer, writer and politician who led the Western Region as its first Premier and built one of Nigeria's most durable political traditions. He was Yoruba, born at Ikenne in what is now Ogun State.

Ogun State · Yoruba

Music

Onyeka Onwenu

1952–2023

Onyeka Onwenu was a singer, songwriter, broadcaster and actress whose work moved between popular music, television journalism and film. She was Igbo.

Igbo

Traditional rulership

Ovonramwen Nogbaisi

d. 1914

Ovonramwen Nogbaisi was the Oba of Benin at the time of the British invasion of 1897, the last ruler of the independent Benin Kingdom. He was Edo, and his capital was Benin City in what is now Edo State.

Edo State · Edo

Science

Philip Emeagwali

b. 1954

Philip Emeagwali is a computer scientist known for parallel-computing work in petroleum reservoir simulation, for which he won a Gordon Bell Prize in 1989. He is Igbo, born at Akure in what is now Ondo State, with family roots in Delta State.

Ondo State · Igbo

Traditional rulership

Queen Amina of Zazzau

Amina was a ruler of the Hausa city-state of Zazzau, centred on Zaria in what is now Kaduna State, remembered in tradition as a military leader. Her dates are disputed between chronicles and are not stated here as fact.

Kaduna State · Hausa

Religion

Samuel Ajayi Crowther

d. 1891

Samuel Ajayi Crowther was the first African Anglican bishop and the translator of the Bible into Yoruba. He was Yoruba, born at Osogun in what is now Oyo State; accounts place his birth around 1809, and because the year is not firmly established it is not given here as fact.

Oyo State · Yoruba

Music

Sunday Adeniyi Adegeye

b. 1946

Sunny Adé is a bandleader and guitarist who took juju music to an international audience. He is Yoruba, born at Osogbo in what is now Osun State, into a family with royal connections in Ondo.

Osun State · Yoruba

Literature

Wole Soyinka

b. 1934

Wole Soyinka is a playwright, poet and essayist who in 1986 became the first African writer awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. He is Yoruba, born at Abeokuta in what is now Ogun State.

Ogun State · Yoruba