Niger State
Niger or Niger State is a state in Central Nigeria and the largest state in the country. The state capital is Minna, and other major cities are Bida, Kontagora, and Suleja. It was formed in 1976 when the then North-Western State was bifurcated into Niger State and Sokoto State. It is home to Ibrahim Babangida and Abdulsalami Abubakar, two of Nigeria's former military rulers. The Nupe, Gbagyi, Kamuku, Kambari, Dukawa, Hausa and Koro form the majority of numerous indigenous tribes of Niger State.
Alexander Miller (merchant)
Miller established his trading firm, Alexander Miller, Brother and Co in 1868. The firm operated in Nigeria and in Gold Coast. In the 1870s, Miller Bros was among the few merchant firms that moved their trading activities up the Niger, into the interior of present-day Nigeria. To bypass the coastal middlemen, the firm purchased a steamship named "Sultan of Sokoto". But in 1876, the ship came under heavy attack from the banks in a move suspected to have been initiated by Liverpool merchants and citizens of Brass, Nigeria who were opposed to Miller's desire to cut out the middlemen; opposition to Miller's entry into the interior forced the ship to become inoperable. But by 1879, Miller had a trading post up the Niger. In 1879, the European firms with trading activities on the area merged to form the National African Company, later known as the Royal Niger Company. The new firm held a charter to operate in the territories of Northern Nigeria. Miller was appointed a joint managing director of the company. Before joining the Royal Niger co, Miller was a man of means and his appointment as a managing director was due in part to his business acumen more than his equity in the firm.