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This DAY IN History, Ahmadu Bello Way, Jos (2025)

23/11/2025

21st November

ON THIS DAY IN 2017, ROBERT MUGABE FORMALLY RESIGNED AS PRESIDENT OF ZIMBABWE, AFTER THIRTY-SEVEN YEARS IN OFFICE

On 6 November 2017, Mugabe sacked his first vice president, Emmerson Mnangagwa.
This fueled speculation that he intended to name his wife Grace as his successor.

Grace was very unpopular with the ZANU-PF old guard.

On 15 November 2017, the Zimbabwe National Army placed Mugabe under house arrest as part of what it described as an action against "criminals" in Mugabe's circle.

On 19 November, he was sacked as leader of ZANU-PF, and Mnangagwa was appointed in his place.

The party also gave Mugabe an ultimatum to resign by noon the following day, or it would introduce an impeachment resolution against him.

In a nationally televised speech that night, Mugabe refused to say that he would resign.

In response, ZANU-PF deputies introduced an impeachment resolution on 21 November 2017, which was seconded by the MDC-T.

The constitution stipulated that removing a president from office required a two-thirds majority of both the House of Assembly and Senate in a joint sitting.

However, with both major parties supporting the motion, Mugabe's impeachment and removal appeared all but certain.

As per the constitution, both chambers met in joint session to debate the resolution.

The debate took place at a conference centre, since Parliament House was not large enough for a joint sitting.

Hours after the debate began, the Speaker of the House of Assembly read a letter from Mugabe announcing that he had resigned, effective immediately.

Mugabe and his wife negotiated a deal before his resignation, under which he and his kin are exempted from prosecution, his business interests will remain untouched, and he would receive a payment of at least $10 million.

THIS DAY IN HISTORY IS A HISTORYDESK TV PRODUCTION

21/11/2025

20th November

ON THIS DAY IN 1985, MICROSOFT WIDOW 1 WAS RELEASED

Otherwise known as the Windows 1.0, It was a graphical personal computer operating environment developed by Microsoft.
Microsoft had worked with Apple Computer to develop applications for Apple's January 1984 original Macintosh, the first mass-produced personal computer with a graphical user interface (GUI) that enabled users to see user friendly icons on screen.
Windows 1.0 was released as the first version of the Microsoft Windows line.
Despite positive responses to its early presentations and support from a number of hardware and software makers, Windows 1.0 was received poorly by critics.
Critics felt Windows 1.0 did not meet their expectations.
In particular, they felt that Windows 1.0 put too much emphasis on mouse input at a time when mouse use was not yet widespread; not providing enough resources for new users; and for performance issues, especially on systems with lower computer hardware specifications.
Despite these criticisms, Windows 1.0 was an important milestone for Microsoft, as it introduced the Microsoft Windows line, and in computer history in general

THIS DAY IN HISTORY IS A HISTORYDESK TV PRODUCTION

21/11/2025

18th November

ON THIS DAY IN 1963, THE FIRST PUSH-BUTTON TELEPHONE WENT INTO SERVICE

The concept of the use of push-buttons in telephony originated around 1887 with a device called the micro-telephone push-button, but it was not an automatic dialing system as understood later.
This use even predated the invention of the rotary dial by Almon Brown Strowger in 1891.
The Bell System in the United States relied on manual switched service until 1919, when it reversed its decisions and embraced dialed, automatic switching.
Although push-button touch-tone telephones made their debut to the general public in 1963, the rotary dial telephone still was still common for many years.
It began to gradually fade in the 1980’s and ultimately faded between the late 1990s and early 2000s.

THIS DAY IN HISTORY IS A HISTORYDESK TV PRODUCTION

20/11/2025

18th November

ON THIS DAY IN 1925, A FORMER NIGERIA MILITARY OFFICER, WHO WAS THE FIRST VICE PRESIDENT AND THE SECOND PRESIDENT OF THE NOW DEFUNCT REPUBLIC OF BIAFRA DURING THE NIGERIA CIVIL WAR OF 1967 TO 1970, GENERAL PHILLIP EFFIONG, WAS BORN IN IBIONO-IBOM, IN TODAY’S AKWA-IBOM STATE, IN SOUTH-SOUTH NIGERIA

Philip Effiong joined the Nigerian Armed Forces on 28 July 1945.

He received the Queen's Commission following his officer cadet training at Eaton Hall in Chester, England in 1956.
He was later commissioned for duty in the Rhine, Western Germany.

He was then transferred to the Nigeria Army Ordnance Corps; then to England for further training after a peace-keeping stint in the Republic of Congo in 1961.

He was Nigeria's first Director of Ordnance.

Efiong was one-time Chief of General Staff of Biafra under Head of State, Odumegwu Ojukwu during the Nigeria-Biafra war.

When Biafra's military resistance collapsed, Ojukwu fled to Côte d'Ivoire and Effiong became Head of government in Biafra.

Efiong assumed leadership in this situation of turmoil, starvation, and collapse.

He became acting Head of State of Biafra on 8 January 1970 and on 12 January announced surrender.

On January 15, 1970 at Dodan Barracks in Lagos, in the presence of General Gowon, Effiong announced the end of the Biafran conflict.

He signed the instrument of surrender of Biafra to Nigeria and general Yakubu Gowon accepted the Instrument of surrender on 15th January 1970 to officially bring an end to the 30-month violent conflict.

General Effiong also published his memo on the war which is titled “Nigeria/Biafra War: My experience.

General Phillip Efiong died on the 6th of November 2003, at the age of 78 less than two weeks to his 79th birthday.

THIS DAY IN HISTORY IS A HISTORYDESK TV PRODUCTION

20/11/2025

17th November

ON THIS DAY IN 1991, AMERICAN AND BRITISH AUTHORITIES ANNOUNCED INDICTMENTS AGAINST TWO LIBYAN INTELLIGENCE OFFICIALS IN CONNECTION WITH THE DOWNING OF THE PAN AM FLIGHT 103 OVER LOCKERBIE, SCOTLAND IN 1988 WHICH RESULTED IN THE DEATH OF ALL 243 PASSENGERS AND 16 CREW MEMBERS ON BOARD

After a three-year joint investigation by Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary and the US FBI, during which 15,000 witness statements were taken, indictments for murder were issued on 13 November 1991 against Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, a Libyan intelligence officer and the head of security for Libyan Arab Airlines (LAA), and Lamin Khalifah Fhimah, the LAA station manager in Luqa Airport, Malta.
UN sanctions against Libya and protracted negotiations with Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi secured the handover of the accused on 5 April 1999 to Scottish police at Camp Zeist, the Netherlands, which was selected as a neutral venue for their trial.
Both of the accused chose not to give evidence in court.
On 31 January 2001, Megrahi was convicted of murder by a panel of three Scottish judges, and sentenced to life imprisonment, but Fhimah was acquitted.
Megrahi's appeal against his conviction was refused on 14 March 2002, and his application to the European Court of Human Rights was declared inadmissible in July 2003.
On 23 September 2003, Megrahi applied to the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC) for his conviction to be reviewed, and on 28 June 2007, the SCCRC announced its decision to refer the case to the High Court of Justiciary in Edinburgh after it found he "may have suffered a miscarriage of justice".
Megrahi served just over 10 years of his sentence (beginning 5 April 1999), first in Barlinnie prison, Glasgow, and later in Greenock prison, Renfrewshire, throughout which time he maintained that he was innocent of the charges against him.
He was released from prison on compassionate grounds on 20 August 2009.
In October 2015, Scottish prosecutors announced that they wanted to interview two Libyan nationals, whom they had identified as new suspects, over the bombing.
On the 21st December 2020, the 32nd anniversary of the disaster, the United States attorney general announced that Abu Agela Mas’ud Kheir Al-Marimi, a Libyan national in custody in Libya, had been charged with terrorism-related crimes in connection with the bombing, accusing him of involvement in constructing the bomb.

THIS DAY IN HISTORY IS A HISTORYDESK TV PRODUCTION

17/11/2025

17th November

ON THIS DAY IN 1993, CHIARMAN OF NIGERIA’S JOINTS CHIEFS OF STAFF, GENERAL SANI ABACHA OVERTHREW THE CIVILIAN INTERIM NATIONAL GOVERNMENT OF CHIEF ERNEST SHONEKAN IN A MILITARY COUP IN ABUJA

Gen. Abacha, being the Chairman of the Joints Chiefs Of Staff, (Minister of Defence) was the most senior official within the military hierarchy and was also in complete control of the Military following the departure of erstwhile military leader, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida.
Gen. Abacha forced the interim president, Chief Shonekan to hand over.
In his nationwide broadcast, Abacha cited the socio-political uncertainties under the Interim National Government as a cause of Chief Shonekan’s resignation but in truth, Chief Shonekan never resigned, he was forced to sign his resignation.

Gen. Abacha ruled as Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria with iron fist.
In September 1994, he issued a decree that placed his government above the jurisdiction of the courts effectively giving him absolute power.
Another decree gave him the right to detain anyone for up to three months without trial. He further abrogated Decree 691 of 1993.
Abacha assembled a personal security force of 3,000 men trained in North Korea; and the Nigeria Police Force underwent a large scale retraining.

The state cracked down ruthlessly on individual groups and dissident elements including the National Democratic Coalition.
Regardless of the human rights abuses interestingly the economy blossomed.
Abacha's administration oversaw an increase in the country's foreign exchange reserves from $494 million in 1993 to $9.6 billion by the middle of 1997, and reduced the external debt of Nigeria from $36 billion in 1993 to $27 billion by 1997.
Abacha brought the privatisation programs of the Ibrahim Babangida administration to a halt, reduced an inflation rate of 54% inherited from Ernest Shonekan to 8.5% between 1993 and 1998, all while the nation's primary commodity, oil was at an average of $15 per barrel.
GDP growth, despite being estimated to be higher than the 2.2% growth in 1995, was largely limited to the petroleum sector.
His administration came to a halt following his death in a highly mysterious circumstance in June of 1998 and his Chief Of Defence Staff, Maj. Gen. Abdulsami Abubakar took over the governance of Nigeria and eventually ushered Nigeria into democracy in 1999.

THIS DAY IN HISTORY IS A HISTORYDESK TV PRODUCTION

16/11/2025

16th November

ON THIS DAY IN 1990, POP GROUP MILLI VANILLI WERE STRIPPED OF THEIR GRAMMY AWARD BECAUSE THE DUO DID NOT SING AT ALL ON THE GIRL YOU KNOW IT'S TRUE ALBUM.
SESSION MUSICIANS HAD PROVIDED ALL THE VOCALS

It became one of the most embarrassing moment in World entertainment.
All or Nothing is the debut album by dance pop duo and released only in Europe on the Hansa label in November 1988. In 1989, it was repackaged and retitled Girl You Know It's True for release in the United States on the Arista label, with several of the original album tracks replaced and/or remixed.
After 1990, due to lip-synching allegations, a disclaimer sticker was added on the cover to explicitly name the singers who provided vocals on the album.
Although All or Nothing was replaced in America with Girl You Know It's True, All or Nothing is available on the American iTunes Store.
In December 1990, singer-songwriter David Clayton-Thomas sued Milli Vanilli for copyright infringement, alleging that the title track of All or Nothing used the melody from his 1968 composition "Spinning Wheel", a hit for his group Blood, Sweat & Tears.
All or Nothing was included in Q magazine's 2006 list of the 50 worst albums ever made.

THIS DAY IN HISTORY IS A HISTORYDESK TV PRODUCTION

16/11/2025

16th November

ON THIS DAY IN 1945 THE UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATION OTHERWISE KNOWN AS UNESCO WAS FOUNDED

UNESCOO is a specialised agency of the United Nations aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, the arts, the sciences, and culture.
It has 193 member states and 11 associate members, as well as partners in the non-governmental, intergovernmental, and private sector.
Headquartered at the World Heritage Centre in Paris, France, UNESCO has 53 regional field offices and 199 national commissions that facilitate its global mandate.
UNESCO was founded in 1945 as the successor to the League of Nations' International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation.
Its constitution establishes the agency's goals, governing structure, and operating framework.
UNESCO's founding mission, which was shaped by the Second World War, is to advance peace, sustainable development and human rights by facilitating collaboration and dialogue among nations.
It pursues this objective through five major program areas: education, natural sciences, social/human sciences, culture and communication/information.
UNESCO sponsors projects that improve literacy, provide technical training and education, advance science, protect independent media and press freedom, preserve regional and cultural history, and promote cultural diversity.

THIS DAY IN HISTORY IS A HISTORYDESK TV PRODUCTION

16/11/2025

16th November

ON THIS DAY IN 2005 , FOLLOWING A 31 YEAR WAIT, AUSTRALIA DEFEATED URUGUAY IN A PENALTY SHOOTOUT TO QUALIFY FOR THE 2006 FIFA WORLD CUP IN GERMANY

Australia had to qualify through the playoffs.

The Aussies put up a five-star all-round performance in “Group F” and advanced to the round of 16 as second placed team in the group behind defending World Champions Brazil and ahead of Croatia and Japan.

Australia’s very first game at the 2006 World Cup finals was against Japan on the 12th of June 2006 at the Fritz-Walter-Stadion in Kaiserslautern.

The Socceroos trounced Japan 3-1 before losing to Brazil 2-1 at the Alianz Arena in Munich before forcing Croatia to a 2-2 draw at the Mercedes Benz Arena in Stuttgart on 22nd June.
In the round of 16 Australia almost upset the applecart as they stretched eventual winners Italy throughout the entire 120 minutes of the game, Fabio Grosso needed a moment of brilliance as Italy won 1-0 deep into extra time.
They returned home to Sidney as heroes.

THIS DAY IN HISTORY IS A HISTORYDESK TV PRODUCTION

16/11/2025

15th November

ON THIS DAY IN 2013, SONY RELEASED THE PLAYSTATION 4 GAME CONSOLE

The PlayStation 4 also known as PS4 is a home video game console developed by Sony Computer Entertainment.

Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in Europe, South America and Australia, and on February 22, 2014 in Japan.

A console of the eighth generation, it competes with Microsoft's Xbox One, Nintendo's Wii U and the Switch.

The PlayStation 4 was released to critical acclaim, with critics praising Sony for acknowledging its consumers' needs, embracing independent game development, and for not imposing the restrictive digital rights management schemes like those originally announced by Microsoft for the Xbox One.

THIS DAY IN HISTORY IS A HISTORYDESK TV PRODUCTION

16/11/2025

15th November

ON THIS DAY IN 2020, LEWIS HAMILTON WON THE TURKISH GRAND PRIX AND SECURED HIS SEVENTH DRIVERS' TITLE, EQUALLING THE ALL-TIME RECORD HELD BY MICHAEL SCHUMACHER

Formula One is the highest class of open-wheeled auto racing defined by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), motorsport's world governing body.
The "formula" in the name refers to a set of rules to which all participants and cars must conform.
The F1 World Championship season consists of a series of races, known as Grands Prix, held usually on purpose-built circuits, and in a few cases on closed city streets.
The World Drivers' Championship is presented by the FIA to the most successful F1 driver over the course of the season through a points system based on individual Grand Prix results.
Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton hold the record for the most World Drivers' Championships, both having won the title on seven occasions.
Juan Manuel Fangio is third with five titles
Schumacher also holds the record for the most consecutive drivers' titles with five between the 2000 and the 2004 seasons.
Nico Rosberg has the highest number of Grand Prix starts before winning his first title, a period of 206 Grands Prix between the 2006 Bahrain and the 2016 Abu Dhabi Grands Prix.
Sebastian Vettel is the youngest winner of the World Drivers' Championship; he was 23 years and 134 days old when he won the 2010 championship.

As of the 2020 season, out of the 770 drivers who started a Grand Prix, there have been 33 F1 World Drivers' Champions.
The first F1 World Drivers' Champion was Giuseppe Farina in the 1950 championship and the current title holder is Hamilton in the 2020 season.

THIS DAY IN HISTORY IS A HISTORYDESK TV PRODUCTION

16/11/2025

14th November

ON THIS DAY IN 1979, US PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER ISSUED EXECUTIVE ORDER 12170, FREEZING ALL IRANIAN ASSETS IN THE UNITED STATES IN RESPONSE TO THE IRAN HOSTAGE CRISIS

Executive Order 12170 was issued by American president Jimmy Carter on November 14, 1979, ten days after the Iran hostage crisis had started.
The executive order, empowered under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, ordered the freezing of all Iranian government assets held within the United States.
The release of the US hostages, as well as the unfreezing of Iranian assets and establishing arbitration for resolving claims on both sides was negotiated in the Algiers Accords; the accords were signed on the last full day of the Carter administration and assented to by the incoming Reagan Administration.
The order was first declared on 14 November 1979 (EO 12170).
At least 11 executive orders were based on this emergency state.
The emergency, which was renewed in 2023 for the 44th time, is the "oldest existing state of emergency."
The renewal of the emergency state with respect to Iran was equal to continuation of non-nuclear US sanctions against Iran.
By 2014, this state of emergency was among 30 others which US was dealing with.
According to Gregory Korte of USA Today, this state of emergency gives "extra ordinary powers" to the president to "seize property, call up the National Guard and hire and fire military officers at will," since it is declared by executive order.
The language of such declarations are "nearly apocalyptic," according to the USA Today. Although bound by law to review the emergence declarations, Congress provides little "oversight" on them, said Korte.
By 2016 (the year the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action was implemented), some of the executive orders issued pursuant to the declared national emergency were terminated.
However, the situation was extended by President Barack Obama for an additional year, as he believed that US relations with Iran had not yet returned to normal, and the process of implementing the agreements with Iran, dated Jan. 19, 1981, Algiers Accords, had not been fully implanted.
"Despite the historic deal to ensure the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear program, certain actions and policies of the Government of Iran continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States," wrote Obama in his letter to the Congress.
Most of the U.S. sanctions against Iran are legally originated from this state of emergency.
This renewal meant that "non-nuclear US sanctions against Iran will remain in effect for at least another year."
On November 6, 2017, President Donald Trump extended the national emergency for another year and wrote a letter to Congress.

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