April 4: Artiste Chief Hubert Ogunde dies
April 22, 1990 Gideon Orkar abortive military coup
May 13: Nelson Mandela visits Nigeria after his release from prison
July 25: Sir Kashim Ibrahim, first Nigerian governor of Northern Region, dies
July 29: Chief K.O. Mbadiwe dies
October: Umuechem massacre, arising from oil community complaints and brutal government response
October: Ogoni Bill of Rights published
December 8: Election into local government councils
1991
January-February: US and allies attack and defeat Iraq in war to
push Iraq out of Kuwait's territory (invaded August 2, 1990);
Nigeria gains oil windfall from Gulf War crisis
June 3 - 6: Nigeria hosts OAU Summit in Abuja, with Babangida as OAU chairman
June 15: Elections into state assemblies
June 30: Financial Times journalist William Keeling deported for writing about Gulf War Oil windfall corruption by Nigerian government
August 27: Babangida announces the creation of nine new states(to make a total of 30) and the number of local governments increased by 47 to 589
Nigeria hosts OAU Summit in Abuja
September 8: US Vice-President Dan Quayle visits
September 10: Veteran labor leader Wahab Goodluck dies
September 23: 89 more local governments created
October 4: Babangida addresses United Nations General Assembly in New York
October 14: Serious religious riots in Kaduna
November 21: General Olusegun Obasanjo contests post of Secretary-General of the United Nations but loses to Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt
November 27-29: Census count (population count: 88.5 million)
December 2: Seat of government formally moves to Abuja from Lagos
December 14: NRC wins governorship elections in 16 states while SDP wins in 14 states
1992
January 2: 30 new civilian governors sworn in
March 19: Census figure of 88.5 million announced by Babangida
April 9: President de Klerk of South Africa visits Nigeria
May 4: Nigeria re-establishes diplomatic relations with Israel
May 5: Fuel scarcity leads to riots in Lagos
May 13: More riots in Lagos, and the University of Benin
May 18: Zagon-Kataf community riots, with Hausa Muslims and Christian Kataf warring
July 4: Elections into National Assembly. NRC: 37 Senate seats and 275 House of Rep seats. SDP: 52 Senate seats and 314 House of Rep seats
July 10: Alhaji Waziri Ibrahim, GNPP founder, dies
July 22: ASUU is proscribed
July 27: National Assembly convenes
August 1 - September 26: party presidential primaries. An August 1 primary was cancelled on August 7 and rescheduled for September 19
September 11: Noted Islamic scholar Sheikh Abubakar Gumi dies
September 26: C130 plane bearing soldiers crash in Ejigbo, Lagos,killing over 160 officers and civilians on board
October 15: Babangida cancels presidential primaries, sacking the executives of the two parties, and issuing fresh election guidelines, and opening the field for more participants
October 21: About 10,000 Nigerians deported from Gabon arrive in Lagos Apapa port
November 18: Handover date shifted to August 1993. Option A4 presidential system announced. All previous presidential aspirants banned.
December 23: Shonekan elected as head of 27-member civilian Transitional Council which had been formed December 5.
This year: Boxers Richard Igbinegbu and David Izonritei win Nigeria medals in Barcelona
1993
February 3: General Zamani Lekwot and 5 others sentenced to death by hanging over Zango-Kataf riots
February 18-20: First Nigerian Economic Summit holds in Abuja
March 27: MKO Abiola and Bashir Tofa emerge as SDP and NRC presidential flagbearers from party conventions held in Jos and Port Harcourt respectively
June 12:presidential elections hold
June 23: General Babangida annuls the results of presidential elections of June 12, believed to have been won by Bashorun Moshood K.O. Abiola.
August 27: General Babangida "steps aside" under pressure, and is replaced first by Ernest Shonekan's interim national government
November 17: General Sani Abacha replaces Shonekan
This year: Nigeria wins FIFA U-16 Soccer tournament in Japan (skipper: Wilson Oruma) for the second time
1994
Abacha dissolves Labor execs for pro-democracy activism
June 11: Moshood Abiola proclaims himself president
June 23: Moshood Abiola is arrested and detained
This year: Nigeria wins (for second time) Africa Nations Cup in Tunis (skipper: Stephen Keshi)
1995
February-April: Gwadabe, Fadile, Akinyemi, Obasanjo, Yar'Adua,
Beko Kuti, etc arrested for alleged coup plot against Abacha
May-July: Obasanjo, Yar'Adua, Beko Kuti, etc. jailed for alleged coup plot
October 1: General Abacha announces a three-year programme of transition to civilian rule
October 6: Chief Alfred Rewane assassinated
November 10: The execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa and other Ogoni activists prompts the suspension of Nigeria from the Commonwealth.
This year: number of local governments increased to 774
1996
January 17: Ibrahim Abacha (Abacha's oldest son) dies in a plane
crash
March: Local government elections take place
June 4: Kudirat Abiola, MKO's wife, is assassinated in Lagos
October 1: Five new political parties are registered as a first step in the transtion to democracy; six new states (Ekiti, Zamfara, Nassarawa, Ebonyi, Bayelsa and Gombe) created
November 7: 142 people are killed when a Boeing 727 owned by Nigeria's ADC airline plunges into a lagoon 85 kilometres (55 miles) from Lagos. Claude Ake dies in the crash
November 22: Chief Adeniran Ogunsanya dies
This year: Female long-jumper Chioma Ajunwa wins Nigeria's first ever gold medal in Olympics Games, in Atlanta. Nigeria also wins Soccer Gold, beating Argentina 3-2 in finals. Overall, Nigeria wins 2 gold, 1 Silver (boxer Duncan Dokiwari) and 3 bronze (sprinters woman Mary Onyali, woman Falilat Ogunleye and 4x400 relay women)
This year: a round of ethnic fights between Itsekiris and Ijaws in the Warri area
1997
March 15: Local elections on a party basis take place....
May 11: Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, first president of Nigeria, dies
August 2: Popular musician Fela Anikulapo-Kuti dies of AIDS
December 8: General Musa Shehu Yar'Adua dies in prison
December 20: General Diya (second in command to Abacha) and several others (Adisa, Olanrewaju, etc.) accused of a coup plot
1998
State and National Assembly elections are held amid calls by the
opposition for their boycott. Turn-out was said to be the lowest ever in Nigeria. Opposition declares it the "people's verdict" on General Abacha's transition programme. Gubernatorial and
presidential elections are scheduled for the third quarter of the year.
March 21-23: Pope John Paul II visits Nigeria for the second time.
March: President Clinton (US) 12-day, 6-nation African tour bypasses Nigeria
April: all five parties approve Abacha as their presidential flag-bearer
June 8: Abacha dies
Abdusalami Abubakar takes over as Head of State and announces a new transition to civil rule.
July 7: Abiola dies
October 17: Jesse oil spill fire: estimate of more than 1000 dead
November 4: Soyinka returns home after 4 years of exile
November: Obasanjo declares that he will run for president
This year: Hogan "Kid" Bassey dies
Some LG elections hold in December.
1999
More elections hold.
February 27: Obasanjo wins presidential elections over Falae
March: General Diya and Co. released from prison
March 24: General Idiagbon dies
April 3-24: Nigeria hosts 10th World Youth Championship (Soccer U-20)
May 29: Civilian government is inaugurated.
June 4, 6: Itsekiris and Urhobos clash in Warri and environs
July 10: Cult activity leaves 8 students dead at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife
July 19: Shagamu Yoruba-Hausa riots, followed by Kano reprisals one week later
September: Ijaws & Ilajes clase in Ondo State
October 27: Sharia Islamic law launched in Zamfara State
October 29-31: Ajegunle riots
Nov. 19: Odi community in Bayelsa State razed
Nov. 25-26: Ketu riots
December 17: 14 Churches burnt in Ilorin by Muslim extremists; 4 more burnt and others attacked later
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