Media, Communication & Culture
1. First Television Station in Africa
Western Nigeria Television (WNTV), Ibadan – 1959
Established by the Western Region government under Obafemi Awolowo.
2. First Indigenous Newspaper in Nigeria
Iwe Irohin – 1859 in Abeokuta
Founded by missionary Henry Townsend.
3. First Television Drama Series in Nigeria
The Village Headmaster – 1968
One of the longest-running and earliest TV dramas in Africa.
Education & Intellectual Leadership
4. First Secondary School in Nigeria
CMS Grammar School, Lagos – 1859
5. First University in Nigeria
University of Ibadan – 1948
Originally affiliated with the University of London.
6. First African Professor of Medicine in Nigeria
Benjamin Oluwakayode Osuntokun – neurologist and pioneer medical scholar.
7. First African Nobel Laureate in Literature
Wole Soyinka – 1986.
Law, Governance & Public Life
8. First Nigerian Lawyer
Christopher Sapara Williams – called to the Bar in 1879.
9. First Female Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN)
Folake Solanke – 1981.
10. First Nigerian Woman to Drive a Car
Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti – early 20th century activist.
Economy & Business
11. One of the Earliest Nigerian Millionaires
Candido da Rocha – Lagos businessman of Ijesa origin.
12. First Indigenous Bank in Nigeria
National Bank of Nigeria – 1933
Founded by Yoruba nationalists including Obafemi Awolowo.
Aviation, Transport & Infrastructure
13. First Airport in Nigeria
Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos
Origins as Nigeria’s earliest operational airfield in the 1930s.
14. First Motorable Road Network Developed by a Nigerian Regional Government
Constructed extensively in Western Nigeria under Obafemi Awolowo in the 1950s.
Military & Aviation Achievements
15. First Female Combat Helicopter Pilot in NigeriaTolulope Arotile – 2019.
Religion & Social Reform
16. First African Anglican Bishop
Samuel Ajayi Crowther – 1864.
17. First Nigerian Woman Political Activist of National Influence
Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti – led the Abeokuta Women’s Union.
Journalism & Publishing
18. First Nigerian Editor of a Major Newspaper
Herbert Macaulay influenced early nationalist journalism in Lagos.
Literature & Theatre
19. First African to Win the Nobel Prize for Literature
Wole Soyinka – 1986.
Women’s Leadership
20. First Female Vice-Chancellor in Nigeria
Grace Alele-Williams – University of Benin, 1985.
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