On this day: May 29 in African history

Helene C. Stikkel, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons

Olusegun Obasanjo was inaugurated as President of Nigeria, returning the country to elected civilian rule.

Sources: Congressional Research Service ; BBC News

Corrected in September 2026 · see what changed

Randall Studio, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons

Sojourner Truth, the formerly enslaved abolitionist, delivered her celebrated 'Ain't I a Woman?' speech at a women's rights convention in Ohio.

Sources: U.S. National Park Service, Women's Rights National Historical Park ; Iowa State University, Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics

Prime Minister's Office, GODL-India, Wikimedia Commons

Abdoulaye Wade, who served as President of Senegal, was born.

Sources: Encyclopaedia Britannica (via the Internet Archive) ; Africa Confidential

Hamilton Naki, the self-taught South African laboratory technician who worked in Chris Barnard's research team, died.

Sources: South African History Online ; University of Cape Town News

Corrected in September 2026 · see what changed

Pete Sheffield, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Ezekiel Ansah, Ghanaian-American NFL defensive end, was born.

Sources: Spotrac ; Sports Reference (Pro-Football-Reference.com, via the Internet Archive)

Lula Oficial, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

South Africa held a general election in which the African National Congress lost its parliamentary majority for the first time since the end of apartheid.

Sources: NPR ; The Independent

Nigeria's federal Parliament, on a motion by Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, declared a state of emergency in the Western Region. Regulations passed with it removed the region's governor, premier and ministers and put an administrator in their place.

Source: Palgrave Macmillan

Read the full article: Regions, Census and Elections: Nigeria's Road to Crisis, 1945-1965