TOPSHOT - Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo smile at the official opening of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Abuja, Nigeria, 05 December 2003. Disagreement over whether to reinstate Zimbabwe threatened to split rich Western and poor African countries as a 52-nation Commonwealth summit opened without a 53rd member, Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe.
AFP PHOTO/POOL/PA/Stefan Rousseau (Photo by STEFAN ROUSSEAU / POOL / AFP) (Photo by STEFAN ROUSSEAU/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II died on Thursday, September 8, 2022, at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, going down as the longest-serving British monarch.
The 70-year reign of Queen Elizabeth II witnessed numerous social changes from the rapid decolonisation of the British Empire to BREXIT.
In her capacity as the Queen of the British Empire which later transitioned to the Commonwealth, Queen Elizabeth II had cause to visit and interact with Nigeria.
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The Quest Times takes a look through time at Queen Elizabeth II’s interactions with Nigeria through her visits.
The Queen first visited Nigeria as a colony of the British Empire in 1956, spending 20 days from 28th January to 16th February where she was received by federal dignitaries which included the Minister for Labour and Welfare at the time, Festus Okotie-Eboh and Governor-General Sir James Robertson.
The Queen was picked from the airport in a Rolls Royce popularly reportedly owned by Sir Louis Odumegu Ojukwu from where she proceeded on a tour of the nation. She spent time in the Northern part of the country with the Sultan, visiting Kano and Kaduna.
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip wave from an open Land Rover to a crowd of schoolchildren at a rally held at a racecourse in Ibadan, Nigeria, 15th February 1956. (Photo by Fox Photos,Hulton Archive/Getty Images) Colorful welcome for Queen Elizabeth II by Nigerian tribesmen. The Queen, holding a cream-colored parasol to ward off the sun, and her husband, are driving between the ranks of tribesmen in their Rolls-Royce.
She also toured Lagos, Ibadan, Jos and Enugu, where she knighted Sir Francis Ibiam.
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – MAY 09: The Queen In A Carriage During The Nigerian State Visit.the Footman On The Back Of The Carriage At Right Behind The President Is In Fact A Royalty Protection Squad Police Bodyguard (Photo by Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images)Nigerian Head of State Yakubu Gowon rides with Queen Elizabeth II to Buckingham Palace during an official visit to London, UK, June 1973. (Photo by Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Second Visit: 2003
It would take another 47 years for Queen Elizabeth to visit Nigeria again. She would arrive in independent Nigeria in her capacity as the Head of the Commonwealth, for the Heads of Commonwealth Government Meeting (CHOGM) in 2003.
ABUJA, NIGERIA: Queen Elizabeth II of England (L) and Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo review the honor guard upon her arrival at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, Nigeria, 03 December 2003. Queen Elizabeth II arrived in Abuja, two days ahead of the Commonwealth summit, on her first visit since the country won its independence from her rule. AFP PHOTO PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/POOL (Photo credit should read PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/AFP via Getty Images)ABUJA, NIGERIA: Queen Elizabeth II of England stands next to Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo as they listen tto the national anthems upon her arrival at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, Nigeria, 03 December 2003. Queen Elizabeth II arrived in Abuja, two days ahead of the Commonwealth summit, on her first visit since the country won its independence from her rule. AFP PHOTO PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/POOL (Photo credit should read PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/AFP via Getty Images)
Spending four days in the country from 3rd to 6th Dесеmbеr 2003.
ABUJA, NIGERIA: Queen Elizabeth II addresses the heads of states at the opening session of the Commonwealth Summit in Abuja, 05 December 2003. AFP Photo/Saurabh Das, POOL (Photo credit should read SAURABH DAS/AFP via Getty Images)TOPSHOT – Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II and Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo smile at the official opening of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Abuja, Nigeria, 05 December 2003. Disagreement over whether to reinstate Zimbabwe threatened to split rich Western and poor African countries as a 52-nation Commonwealth summit opened without a 53rd member, Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwe.
AFP PHOTO/POOL/PA/Stefan Rousseau (Photo by STEFAN ROUSSEAU / POOL / AFP) (Photo by STEFAN ROUSSEAU/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
On May 9, 1989, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was a recipient of Nigeria’s highest National Honour, Grand Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (GCFR), awarded her by Military President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida in London.
It was on this day, May 9, 1989, in London, that IBB conferred the GCFR on HM Queen Elizabeth II. He was on a State Visit to the UK. #RIPQueenElizabethpic.twitter.com/L5f7BbPyOP