Herbert Macaulay

Herbert Macaulay was a Nigerian nationalist, politician, surveyor, engineer, architect, journalist, and musician who is considered by many Nigerians as the founder of Nigerian nationalism. He was born in Lagos to a distinguished missionary family with roots in the abolition movement and Sierra Leone colony. He was the grandson of Samuel Ajayi Crowther, the first African bishop of the Niger Territory. He attended CMS Grammar School in Lagos and later studied civil engineering and land surveying in England. He returned to Nigeria in 1893 and worked as a surveyor of Crown lands in Lagos until 1898, when he resigned and established his own private practice. He also became involved in journalism and politics, founding the Lagos Daily News and the Nigerian National Democratic Party (NNDP), the first political party in Nigeria. He opposed British colonial rule and fought for the rights of indigenous Nigerians. He exposed the corruption and exploitation of the British administration and advocated for self-government and democracy. He formed alliances with other nationalist leaders such as Nnamdi Azikiwe and Obafemi Awolowo and co-founded the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC), which became the dominant political party in Nigeria after World War II. He died in 1946, a year before the NCNC won the first elections in Nigeria. He is widely regarded as the father of Nigerian nationalism and one of the most influential figures in Nigerian history.