 Today's throwback, Royal Niger Company, the company which became Nigeria and refused to die for a long while. The Royal Niger Company was a mercantile company chartered by the British government in the 19th century. It was formed in 1879 as the United African Company and renamed to National African Company in 1881 and to Royal Niger Company in 1886. In 1929 the company became part of the United Africa Company which came under the control of Unilever during the 1930s and continued to exist as the subsidiary of Unilever until 1987 when it was absorbed into the parent company. The company existed for a comparatively short time 1879 to 1900 but was instrumental in the formation of colonial Nigeria as it enabled the British Empire to establish control over the lower Niger against the German competition led by Bismarck during the 1890s In 1900 the company controlled territories became the Southern Nigeria Protectorate which was in turn united with the Northern Nigeria Protectorate to form the Colonial Protectorate of Nigeria in 1914 which eventually gained independence within the same borders as Nigeria in 1960. Richard Lander first explored the area of Nigeria as the servant of Uklupton in 1830. He returned to the river with his brother John in 1832. He returned again without his brother to establish a trading post for the African Steamship Company at the confluence of the Niger and Benway rivers in Lokoja. The expedition failed with 40 of the 49 members dying of fever or wounds from native attacks. One of the survivors, Magregolet, subsequently remained in Britain but directed and funded expeditions to the country until his death in 1861. He opposed the failed Niger expedition of 1841 but the success of the plate's first mission in 1854 led to annual trips under Benki and the 1857 foundation of Lokoja and the Niger-Beneway Conference. There were no voyages for the three years following Nate's death but the establishment of the West African Company was soon followed by several other firms. The competition reduced prices to the point that profits were minimal. Arriving in the region in 1877, George Goldie argued for the amalgamation of the surviving British firms into a single monopolistic charter company. A method contemporary supposed had been buried with the ultimate failure of the East India Company following the Sepoy Rebellion. By 1879, he had helped combine James Crowther's WAC, David McIntoch's Central African Company and the William C's brothers James Pinoch's firms into a single United African Company. He then acted as a combined firms agent in the territory. Almost immediately, the firms saw renewed competition as two French firms, the French Equatorial African Association and the Senegal Company. And another English one, the Liverpool and Manchester Trading Company began establishing posts on the river as well, a native attack on the U.S.'s outpost. At Onitsha in 1879 was the post with Epp from HMS Pawnia but the Glaston administration subsequently denied Goldie's attempt to procure a government charter in 1881 on the grounds that the international rivalry might occasion unnecessary conflict and that the United Firm was under-capitalized for the experience of genuine colonial administration. Goldie first began addressing the administration's concerns by increasing the company's capitalization to one million pounds. He then managed to corral to 100,000 pounds. He then managed to corral one million pounds in investment in a new concern. The National African Company, which brought up the UAC and its interest in 1882, the death of Leon Gambetta, the same year the price companies of their support within the French government and the strong subsidies it had been providing them. Goldie's cash flush, LAC was then able to maintain 30 trading posts along the river and ruin its competition in a two-year price. By October 1884, all three had permitted him to buy out their interest in the region and the NAC's January report for 1885 was able to quote its remained alone in undisputed commercial possession of the Niger-Bienway region. This monopoly permitted Britain to resist French and German calls to internationalize trade on the Niger River during the negotiations at the 1885 Berlin Conference on African Colonization. Goldie himself attended the meetings and successfully argued for including the region of the NAC's operations within the British sphere of interest. Plegis from him and the British diplomat staff filtered or in any case non-discriminated tariff rates would be resplated in the territory where dead letters. The NAC's over 400 treaties with local leaders obliged the natives to trade solely with or through the company's agents. LAC's tariff and license fees were eliminated competing firms from the area. The mainly deceptive or tricky and treacherous terms of these private contracts were made into general treaties by the British consuls whose own treaties were expressly incorporated there. Similarly, Wenking Jajal Wopobo organized his own trading network and even began running his own shipments of Pamor to Britain. He was leered onto a British warship, was kidnapped and shipped into exile on St. Vincent on charges of treaty-breaking and obstructing commerce. Deceptive treaties extending British control over the tribes of the Cameroons however, Britain was willing to recognize the German colony that absorbed the area in 1885 as a check of French activity in the Upper Congo and the Bangui watersheds. The scruples of the British government being overcome, a charter was at length granted July 1886. The national African company becoming the Royal Niger company chartered and limited, normally shortened to Royal Niger company with Lord Aberdea as governor and Goldie as vice-governor. It was however evidently impossible for a chartered company to hold his own against the state-supported protectorates of France and Germany. And in consequence, his charter was revoked in 1899 and on January 1, 1900, the Royal Niger company transferred its territories to the British government for the sum of £865,000. The seated territory together with the small Niger coast protectorate already under imperial control was formed into the two protectorates of northern and southern Nigeria. The company changed its name to the Niger company, limited and in 1929 became part of the United Africa Company, the famous USC. The United Africa Company came under the control of Unilever in the 1930s and continued to exist as a subsidiary of Unilever until 1987 when it was absorbed into the parent company in conclusion. Yesterday, I was there before yesterday and today's historical toolbox have shown how Nigeria came into being as somebody's entrepreneurial vision and as a business which has worth the many socio-economic and political millions. How well can your enterprise vision stand the test of time and changing business climate? And that's it on the show for tonight. I am Bola Haoba. Have a good night.