10 Top Firsts I

This is a list of firsts. Not your run-of-the-mill list about first this, first that. This is the first in the series, expect more lists like this.

FIRST MUSEUM: This dictinction goes to Esie museum, Kwara State. It was established in 1945 during colonial rule. It houses thousands of soapstones and tombstones. Though the ages of the soapstone have not been scientifically determined, some locals believe that they are as old as creation. A festival is usually held every April at the museum.

FIRST ASYLUM was established in the city of Calabar in 1904. It was essentially to house the mentally challenged as there were no qualified psychiatrists. Shortly afterwards, in 1907, Yaba Asylum came into existence. These two are now full-fledged psychiatric hospitals.

FIRST PSYCHIATIC HOSPITAL was Aro Mental Hospital in Abeokuta. It was established by the colonial government in 1954. It is now called Aro Neuropsychiatric Hospital. 

FIRST MEDICAL HOSPITAL: Sacred Heart Hospital, Lantoro, Abeokuta was established in 1895 by Catholic Missionaries. Till date, the Catholic Church still owns it.  

FIRST PLANE CRASH happened in Ikogosi (famed for its cold and warm spring) in 1942. It was a World War II plane carrying arms and ammunitions. It crashed into one of the surrounding hills of the town. It relics still lies there till date and there are talks of turning the place to a tourist site.

FIRST REFINERY was established in 1965 in Eleme, near Port-Harcourt. It began with a capacity of 38, 000 barrels per day, which was increased to 60,000 after the Civil War. Now, it is comatose just like the other 3 refineries in Nigeria.

FISRT INSURANCE COMPANY: The history of Insurance began with the establishment of Royal Exchange Assurance Agency in 1921. It was a foreign-owned company. In 1958 the first indigenous insurance company, African Insurance Company Ltd commenced operations. 

FISRT BANK: The eponymous bank, First Bank Nigeria Plc began operations in Nigeria in 1894 as Bank of British West Africa. After several changes in name, it adopted its present name in 1979. 

FIRST PLANE LANDING: No, it was not in Lagos! It happened in Kano on a horse race course in 1925. The plane was from Khartoum. During an intense confrontation between residents and colonial government personnel, the commanding officer of the base in Khartoum was told to fly in and report on the situation.

FIRST SATELLITE (NigeriaSat-1) was launched into space on September 2003 by a Kosmos-3M rocket from Russian Plesetsk spaceport. It was built by Surrey Space Technology Limited (a UK firm) and cost Nigeria $30 million.