Preserving the Voices of Nigeria
Our Mission
The Nigerian Stories Archive is a non-political, diaspora-wide digital initiative and history revitalization crowdsourcing effort managed by a small collective of Nigerian students and young professionals. Our core belief is that Nigeria’s true history is complex, rich, and it lives in the personal experiences of its people.
Recording Nigeria’s Stories
Authentic Narratives
Our archive provides access to raw, intimate accounts that illuminate the true impact of pivotal national moments on the lives of everyday Nigerians, ensuring the complexity of our past is preserved directly from the source.
Inclusive Representation
We prioritize stories from underrepresented communities, regions, and voices. Every contribution matters — whether from the village, city, diaspora, or frontline of change.
Cultural Accuracy
Our editorial team verifies and contextualizes every submission to maintain historical accuracy while honoring the unique perspective of each storyteller. Story by story, their testimonies capture Nigeria’s living history.
Historical Integrity
Stories are archived using a thematic and chronological framework to preserve the timeline of Nigeria’s rich and diverse history — ensuring scholars, educators, and youth can engage meaningfully with the past.
Preserve a Legacy
We train Nigerians in the diaspora to conduct oral histories of their own elders: preserving family memories, reconnecting generations, building a community-driven record, and ensuring priceless stories are never lost.
Enrich Our Identity
By documenting Nigeria's diverse cultural heritage through simple conversations, from language and tradition to art and music, we offer a deeper, more personal understanding of what it means to be Nigerian.
Fuel Future Research
Our searchable, structured archive provides researchers, students, and families with direct access to primary source materials for academic study, historical analysis, and personal discovery.
Meet Our Team
Chinaza Asiegbu
Chinaza is a historian and lawyer whose work focuses on preserving, understanding, and expanding access to African stories. A graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School, Chinaza has worked in the UNESCO Archives, ACHPR, and the United Nations Permanent Forum for People of African Desent and has published on transitional justice and governance in Africa.
Dawn Abiakalam
Dawn is a PhD student at Columbia University whose interests are in environmental and spatial economics in developing countries. She’s interested in understanding how stories and narratives can be used to shape academic work. She also has a passion for preserving history. A graduate of Clark University, Dawn has published on African cities and sustainability efforts on the continent.
Diamond Abiakalam
Diamond is a Schwarzman Scholar and Mount Holyoke College graduate with interests in understanding Africa’s relations to the broader world. Her passion for stories surrounding Sub-Saharan women shapes both her work as the host of Downtime With Diaya podcast and her dedication to collecting and disseminating historical records.
Your Story Matters
Help preserve Nigeria’s history through your personal experience. Your voice deserves to be heard and remembered. Have someone in mind? You can nominate them to be interviewed.