TODAY IN HISTORY:ON THIS DAY October 1, 1960 THE NIGHT NIGERIA FINALLY BECAME FREE 🇳🇬
At midnight on October 1, 1960, something Nigerians had waited years for finally happened.
Nigeria became an independent nation.
In Lagos, thousands gathered at the Race Course, now known as Tafawa Balewa Square, as the final moments of British colonial rule approached.
Then came the historic moment.
The British Union Jack was lowered, and the green-white-green flag of Nigeria was raised.
For the first time, Nigeria stood as an independent sovereign nation.
Representing Queen Elizabeth II was Princess Alexandra of Kent, who took part in the independence ceremony. The British Governor-General, Sir James Robertson, formally handed over the instruments of government to Nigeria’s Prime Minister, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa.
Balewa, who had become Nigeria’s first Prime Minister in 1957, now stood before a newly independent country.
In his Independence Day speech, he described the occasion as a moment of enormous joy and pride and spoke of Nigeria taking its rightful place among the nations of the world.
Across Nigeria, celebrations erupted.
There were fireworks, music, dancing and enormous crowds. In places far from Lagos, Nigerians also gathered to celebrate the birth of their new nation.
But there was an important detail many people forget:
Nigeria was not yet a republic.
The country was independent, but it remained a constitutional monarchy within the Commonwealth. Queen Elizabeth II was still Nigeria’s head of state, represented in Nigeria by Governor-General Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, while Balewa was head of government as Prime Minister.
That would change three years later, on October 1, 1963, when Nigeria became a republic and Azikiwe became its first President.
But on this night in 1960, the meaning of the moment was clear:
The Union Jack had come down.
The Nigerian flag had gone up.
And a new chapter in Nigeria’s history had begun.
October 1, 1960. 🇳🇬
