- Lagos became the Federal Capital of Nigeria
According to Mao Tse-tung, history is a symptom of our disease.
History is a collection of historical occurrences. We must not abandon history because it lightens memories and creates a balance between the past and present. When we reflect on the past, we think about the experiences—both positive and negative—that shaped those situations.
In an effort to disseminate knowledge for enlightenment and educational purposes, WITHIN NIGERIA highlighted events that occurred on April 11 and shaped the historical framework of the country.
Lagos became the federal capital of Nigeria
On this day, April 11 in 1968, Lagos became the federal capital of Nigeria after it was created in on May 27, 1967. The metropolitan city remained the capital until 1991 when the government seat was moved to the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
According to reports, General Murtala Mohammed came up with the idea to transfer the capital from Lagos to Abuja, but it wasn’t implemented until 1991, under President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida.
Several nations have experimented with moving their capital cities around the globe. Brazil, for example, relocated its capital from Rio de Janeiro to the purpose-built Brasilia in 1961; Kazakhstan moved its capital from Almaty to Astana in 1997; and Cote d’Ivoire transferred its capital from Abijan to Yamoussoukro in 1983. Nigeria shifted its capital from Lagos to Abuja in 1991, joining the group of nations that had previously relocated their capital cities for various reasons.
The initiative was made in 1975 by General Murtala Mohammed’s military government, which formed a 7-person panel with Dr. Akinola Aguda as its chairman to study the question of Nigeria’s future capital city. The Federal Capital Development Authority was founded by Military Decree No. 6 of 1976 to oversee the planning, designing, and development of the Federal Capital Territory at the recommendation of the panel following its study (FCT).
The unsuccessful but brutal coup of 1976 that took his life prevented the Murtala administration from finishing what it had begun. While succeeding governments made their contributions during their terms in office, it wasn’t until the military regime of General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida that the ideal became a reality in 1991.
