Bode Thomas and the Alaafin
A brilliant young lawyer, an old king, and a rumour that outlived them both. In 1953 a 34-year-old minister died suddenly, and a whole nation chose to believe a king's words had killed him. What really happened?
Read the story →Browse by type
Folktales
Tortoise tricks, spirits, and the tales grandmothers told by lamplight.
Lost histories
Kingdoms, wars, and turning points the textbooks skipped.
Remarkable lives
People whose names live on in streets, songs, and legends.
Place-name origins
Why Surulere is "patience pays", and other names with stories.
Recently added
How Lagos got the name "Eko"
Farm camp, war camp, or something else? The old name of Lagos, untangled.
The Point of No Return, Badagry
The sandy path enslaved people walked to the ships, and what it remembers.
Oba Ado and the founding of Iga Idunganran
How a Benin connection shaped the palace of the Oba of Lagos.
Tortoise at the Feast in the Sky
Why the tortoise's shell is cracked: greed, borrowed feathers, and a long fall.
Queen Amina of Zazzau
The warrior queen of Zaria and the walls that carry her name.
Moremi's Sacrifice
The queen of Ile-Ife who let herself be captured to save her city.