- Olusegun Obasanjo
General (rtd.) Chief Olusegun Aremu Okikiola Matthew Obasanjo, GCFR (born circa March 5, 1937) is a retired Nigerian Army General and former President of Nigeria. A Christian of Yoruba descent, Obasanjo was a career soldier before serving twice as his nation's head of state, once as a military ruler, between February 13, 1976 to October 1, 1979 and again from May 29, 1999 to May 29, 2007, as elected President. His current home is Ado-Odo/Ota.
- Umaru Yar'Adua
Umaru Musa Yar'Adua (born July 9, 1951 in Katsina,Katsina State Nigeria) is the 2nd President of Nigeria's Fourth Republic. He served as governor of Katsina State in northern Nigeria between May 29, 1999 and May 28, 2007. He was declared the winner of the controversial Nigerian general election of 2007, held on April 21, was sworn in on May 29, 2007. He is a member of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP).
- Sani Abacha
General Sani Abacha (Kano, 20 September 1943 - Abuja, 8 June 1998) was a Nigerian military leader and politician. He was the "de facto" President of Nigeria from 1993 to 1998.
- Ken Saro-Wiwa
Kenule "Ken" Beeson Saro-Wiwa (October 10, 1941 - November 10, 1995) was a Nigerian author, television producer, and environmentalist. He was the son of Chief Jim Wiwa. Saro-Wiwa was a member of the Ogoni people, an ethnic minority whose homelands in the Niger Delta have been targeted for oil extraction since the 1950s. Initially as spokesperson, and then as President, of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), …
- Wole Soyinka
Akinwande Oluwole "Wole" Soyinka (born 13 July 1934) is a Nigerian writer, poet and playwright. Some consider him Africa's most distinguished playwright, as he won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1986, the first African since Albert Camus so honored. Soyinka was born into a Yoruba family, specifically, an Egba family in Abeokuta, Nigeria in 1934. He received a primary school education in Abeokuta and attended secondary school at Government College, Ibadan.
- Chinua Achebe
Chinua Achebe (born November 16, 1930) is a Nigerian novelist and poet, an esteemed and controversial literary critic, and one of the most widely read authors of the 20th century. A diplomat in the ill-fated Biafran government of 1967-1970, Achebe is primarily interested in African politics, the depiction of Africa and Africans in the West, and the intricacies of pre-colonial African culture and civilization, as well as the effects of colonialization on African societies.
- Fela Kuti
Fela Anikulapo Kuti (born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti, October 15 1938 - August 2 1997), or simply Fela, was a Nigerian multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, pioneer of Afrobeat music, human rights activist, and political maverick.
- Atiku Abubakar
Alhaji Atiku Abubakar (Turakin Adamawa), GCON (born 25 November 1946) was the Vice-President of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007. He is a native of Adamawa State and was a member of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) until being expelled in 2006 when he switched affiliation to the Action Congress party.
- Obafemi Awolowo
Obafemi Awolowo (1909-1987) was a Nigerian politician and leader, a Yoruba and native of Ikenne in Ogun State of Nigeria, who started as a regional political leader like most of his pre-independence contemporaries. He founded many organizations, including Egbe Omo Oduduwa, the Trade Unions Congress of Nigeria and the Action Group political party. He was an active journalist and trade unionist as a young man, …
- Joseph Yobo
Joseph Ikpo Yobo is a Nigerian football player currently with Everton F.C. He joined Everton on loan from Olympique Marseille in July 2002, with a £1M fee required to register the player, becoming the first signing of new manager David Moyes. An option to make the move permanent was taken up and completed in 2003 after a dispute between Yobo and Marseille was settled, with Everton agreeing a fixed additional fee of £4M.
- Obafemi Martins
Obafemi Akinwunmi Martins (born October 28, 1984 in Lagos, Nigeria is a Nigerian football player who plays as a striker for the Nigeria national team, and for the English club Newcastle United.
- Ahmadu Bello
Alhaji Sir Ahmadu Bello (1910 - 1966) was a Nigerian politician, and was the first premier of the Northern Nigeria region from 1954-1966. He was one of the prominent leaders in Northern Nigeria along side Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, both of whom where prominent in negotiations about the region's place in an independent Nigeria. As leader of the Northern People's Congress, the party was able to win the 1959 parliamentary elections. However, he was assassinated on January, 15 1966
- Peter Akinola
Peter Jasper Akinola DD (born 1944) is the current Anglican Primate of the Church of Nigeria. He is also Bishop of Abuja (Nigeria's capital) and Archbishop of Province III, which covers the northern and central parts of the country. In the Anglican Church, he is chairman of the Council of Anglican Provinces in Africa, and Chairman of the South-South Encounter of the Anglican Communion.
- Ibrahim Babangida
General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (born August 17 1941), popularly known as IBB, was the military ruler of Nigeria from August 1985 until his departure from office under heavy popular pressure in 1993, after his annulment of elections held that year which were widely held to have been the freest and fairest in Nigeria's post-independence history.
- Ibrahim Babangida
Ibrahim Babangida (born August 1,1976) in Kaduna State is a Nigerian footballer, who used to play for a Dutch club FC Volendam. The winger played for Katsina United in his homeland. He is a brother of the ex Ajax Amsterdam winger Tijani Babangida and Olympiakos forward Haruna Babangida.
- Nwankwo Kanu
Nwankwo Kanu (born August 1, 1976 in Owerri, Nigeria), usually known simply as Kanu, is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for the Nigerian national team and for English club Portsmouth. He is the most highly-decorated African footballer in footballing history, with over 10 awards to boast of, including a UEFA Champions League medal, a UEFA Cup medal and two African Player of the Year awards.
- Muhammadu Buhari
Muhammadu Buhari (born December 17, 1942) was the military ruler of Nigeria (December 31,1983 - August 27, 1985) and an unsuccessful candidate for president in the April 19, 2003 presidential election. His ethnic background is Fulani and his faith is Islam; his family is from Katsina State.
- Goodluck Jonathan
Goodluck Ebele Jonathan (b. 1957) is a Nigerian politician and current Vice Precident of Nigeria. He was governor of Bayelsa State between 9 December 2005 and 28 May 2007. He was sworn in as the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on 29 May 2007. He is a member of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP).
- Nnamdi Azikiwe
Benjamin Nnamdi Azikiwe, usually referred to as Nnamdi Azikiwe, or, informally and popularly, as "Zik", was the founder of modern Nigerian nationalism and the first President of Nigeria, holding the position throughout the Nigerian First Republic.
- Nuhu Ribadu
Mallam Nuhu Ribadu (born November 11, 1960) is the Executive Chairman of Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Prior to his appointment to his current position of Assistant Inspector General of Police by Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo in April of 2007, Ribadu served as Nigeria's Assistant Commissioner of Police and as the head of the Legal and Prosecution Department of the Nigeria Police Force.
- Jay-Jay Okocha
Augustine Azuka "Jay-Jay" Okocha (born August 14, 1973 in Enugu) is a Nigerian football midfielder who currently plays in the Qatar league for Qatar SC, a move that was completed in July 2006.
- Genevieve Nnaji
Genevieve Nnaji is a Nollywood actress and singer. In 2004 she became the face for Lux soap in a highly lucrative sponsorship deal. In 2005 she released her first album titled "No More". Nnaji has been dubbed "the Nigerian Sharon Stone," for her ability to transcend the roles she plays by sheer force of personality.
- Amina Lawal
Amina Lawal Kurami (born 1973) is a Nigerian woman. In March 2002, an Islamic Sharia court (in Funtua, Nigeria in the northern state of Katsina) sentenced her to death by stoning for adultery for conceiving a child out of wedlock. The father of the child was not prosecuted for lack of evidence. Her conviction was overturned and she has since remarried. Baobab for Women's Human Rights, an NGO based in Nigeria took up her case, …
- John Utaka
John Utaka (born January 8, 1982) is a Nigerian football player. He has played for several clubs across three continents, first for Arab Contractors and subsequently Ismaily of Egypt, then spending a season playing for Al Sadd of Qatar, before joining Racing Lens in France. He now plays for Portsmouth in England. He is able to play in all attacking positions, but prefers to lurk behind the forward as a shadow striker.
- Femi Kuti
Femi Anikulapo Kuti is an award winning Nigerian musician, and the eldest son of legendary Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti and Remi, who had left Fela and raised Femi. Femi was born in London on 16 June 1962 and grew up in the former Nigerian capital Lagos. In 1977 Femi chose to move to his father Fela from his mother. Like his father, Femi has shown a strong commitment to social and political causes throughout his career, but unlike his father he differs in his religious views.
- 2face Idibia
Innocent Ujah Idibia best known as 2face Idibia is a recording artist from Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria. He was a member of the defunct R&B/hip hop group Plantashun Boyz. One of the most internationally recognised celebrities Nigeria has produced in recent years, his massively popular song African Queen was the first ever video to be played on Pan African channel MTV Base.
- Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (born June 13, 1954) is a fellow at the Brookings Institution. She is the former Finance Minister of Nigeria and Foreign Minister of Nigeria, notable for being the first woman to hold both of these positions. She served as finance minister from July 2003 until her appointment as foreign minister in June 2006.
- Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (born September 15, 1977) is an acclaimed Nigerian writer. She was born in the village of Abba but grew up in the university town of Nsukka in south-eastern Nigeria, where the University of Nigeria is situated. While she was growing up, her father was a professor of statistics at the University, and her mother was also employed there as the university registrar. At the age of 19, she left Nigeria and moved to the United States.
- Shehu Shagari
Alhaji Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari, "Turakin Sakkwato" (born May 25, 1925) was the President of Nigeria's ill-fated Second Republic (1979 - 1983), after the handover of power by General Olusegun Obasanjo's caretaker government. Shagari is a northerner of Fulani extraction and holds the title of "Turakin Sakkwato" in the Sokoto Caliphate. He was a schoolteacher for a brief period before entering politics in 1954, …
- Samuel Peter
Samuel Okon Peter (born September 6, 1980 in Akwa Ibom, Nigeria), nicknamed "The Nigerian Nightmare," is a heavyweight boxer who is considered by many to be one of the strongest punchers in the heavyweight divisiion.
- Ini Edo
Ini Edo is one of the most talented and sought after actresses in Nollywood. She began her career in the year 2000 and has already managed to feature in more than 50 movies. Miss Edo is a Nigerian by birth comes from a family of six: she is the second of four siblings. She graduated from the University of Uyo with a diploma In Theatre arts and recently completed her Degree in English at the University of Calabar.
- Yakubu Gowon
General Yakubu "Jack" Dan-Yumma Gowon (born October 19, 1934) was the head of state (Head of the Federal Military Government) of Nigeria from 1966 to 1975. He took power after one military coup d'etat and was overthrown in another. During his rule, the Nigerian government successfully prevented Biafran secession, and he subsequently followed a magnanimous "no victor, …
- Tony Allen
Tony Oladipo Allen is a Nigerian drummer, composer, and songwriter. As drummer and musical director of Fela Anikulapo Kuti’s band Africa 70 from 1968-1979, Tony Allen was a co-founder of the genre of Afrobeat music. As Fela stated, “without Tony Allen, there would be no Afrobeat”.
- Aliko Dangote
Aliko Dangote is a businessman based in Nigeria. He is the owner of the Dangote Group, which has operations in Nigeria and several other countries in West Africa. A wealthy supporter of erstwhile President Olusegun Obasanjo and the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP), Dangote controls much of Nigeria's commodities trade through his corporate and political connections.
- D'Banj
Dapo Daniel Oyebanjo (born in 1980 Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria),known commonly as, D'banj is a London-based Nigerian singer-songwriter and harmonica player. He cites Fela Kuti as his "great mentor". He is billed to make his first ever performance in the United States on Friday July 6th in Maryland, at Potter's Place
- Lagbaja
Lagbaja is a Nigerian Afrobeat musician. The first question that is often asked when Lagbaja is encountered is, “Why the mask?” Basically, Lagbaja’s mask is used as an icon of man’s facelessness. Lagbaja is a Yoruba word that means somebody, nobody, anybody or everybody. It perfectly depicts the anonymity of the so called “common man”. The mask and the name symbolize the faceless, the voiceless in the society, particularly in Africa.
- Richard Mofe Damijo
Richard Mofe Damijo, also known as RMD is a Nollywood actor. Having starred in numerous movies he is one of Nigeria's highest earning actors and is often referred to as Nigeria's Denzel Washington. He was once married to the Nigerian Journalist Late May Ellen Ezekiel.
- Stella Damasus-Aboderin
Stella Damasus-Aboderin (born April 24, 1978) is a Nigerian actress, singer and perfomer. Having approximately 50 films under her belt, she has worked with some of the greatest entertainers in Africa. She has two daughters, Angelica and Isabel.
- Bola Ige
Bola Ige (September 13 1930 - December 23 2001) was a Nigerian Yoruba politician. He was born in Esa-Oke village, now in Osun State. He became a prominent attorney in Nigeria and achieved fame as a civil rights and democracy activist. Ige served as governor of Oyo State from October 1979 to October 1983, shortly before the 1983 coup. Following the restoration of democracy in 1999, Ige continued to be politically prominent, …
- Prince Nico Mbarga
Prince Nico Mbarga (1 January 1950 - 24 June, 1997) was a highlife musician, born to a Nigerian mother and a Cameroonian father in Abakaliki, Nigeria. His music was inspired by the five years he spent in Cameroon during the Nigerian Civil War in the late 1960's. He played the xylophone, conga, drums, and electric guitar in school bands and he made his professional debut as a member of a hotel band, the Melody Orchestra, in 1970.