The phone call that changed Nigeria and a 'one of a kind' portrait of Nelson Mandela

The History Hour

BBC

History, Society & Culture, Personal Journals

4.4 • 879 Ratings

🗓️ 29 March 2025

⏱️ 52 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service.

We hear about the historic moment in Nigerian politics when Goodluck Jonathan made a phone call to General Buhari marking the peaceful handover of power in 2015.

Our expert is historian and creator of the Untold Stories podcast, Adesuwa Giwa-Osagie, who takes us through Nigeria's political history in the leadup to the phone call that changed Nigeria.

We find out about Harold Riley who was the only artist to ever be granted a sitting to paint Nelson Mandela and how the portrait was unveiled in 2005.

Plus the moment co-pilot, Andreas Lubitz, crashed Germanwings Flight 4U 9525 into a mountain killing 150 people on board in 2015.

In 1991, when a Yugoslav People's Army Commander died in mysterious circumstances during the Croatian War of Independence.

Finally, the creation of a new genre of music called Ethio-jazz in 1960s New York.

Contributors:

Dr Reuben Abati - one of Goodluck Jonathan's special advisers Adesuwa Giwa-Osagie - Historian and creator of the Untold Stories podcast Archive of Harold Riley - the only artist to be granted a sitting with Nelson Mandela General David Galtier - military person who led the Germanwings plane crash search operation Mulatu Astatke - musician and 'father of Ethio-jazz'

Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.

Recent episodes explore everything from football in Brazil, the history of the ‘Indian Titanic’ and the invention of air fryers, to Public Enemy’s Fight The Power, subway art and the political crisis in Georgia. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: visionary architect Antoni Gaudi and the design of the Sagrada Familia; Michael Jordan and his bespoke Nike trainers; Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal; and Görel Hanser, manager of legendary Swedish pop band Abba on the influence they’ve had on the music industry. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the time an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the President of the United States in protest of America’s occupation of Iraq; the creation of the Hollywood commercial that changed advertising forever; and the ascent of the first Aboriginal MP.

(Photo:Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari (L) speaks with outgoing president Goodluck Jonathan (R) Credit: Pool / Nigeria Presidency Press Office/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, you're about to listen to a BBC podcast, so I'd like to tell you where you'll find more just like it.
0:05.6	I'm Izzy Lee Poulton, an assistant commissioner for BBC Sounds, which means I'm involved in the whole podcast making process.
0:12.2	Whether that's developing fresh formats or facilitating eye-catching artwork, I helped project manage all the details that make our podcast stand out.
0:19.7	At the BBC, we've got access to storytellers and experts across a huge range of subjects.
0:24.4	It could be psychologists, comedians, celebrities or journalists.
0:28.6	No podcasts or day looks the same here.
0:31.6	So no matter what you like, check out BBC Sounds.
0:34.1	There's probably another podcast on there that you're absolutely love.
0:42.1	Music sounds. There's probably another podcast on there that you're absolutely love. Hello and welcome to The History Hour podcast from the BBC World Service with me,
0:47.2	Max Pearson, the past brought to life by those who were there. Coming up this week,
0:52.1	the suspicious death of an officer during the breakup of Yugoslavia
0:55.6	in 1991. Croatia should celebrate, right? They killed really one of the highest-ranking army
1:02.2	personal, but they didn't celebrate, which means that they didn't know. Also, the 2015 German
1:08.6	wings air disaster. It was almost impossible to think that a plane of more than 60 tons and 40 meters
1:16.6	long disappear and crash in this mountain.
1:20.6	Plus the birth of Ethio Jazz in 1966, and the only artist granted a sitting
1:26.6	to paint one of the most famous figures of the
1:29.0	20th century. But Nelson Mandela, when I went to see him on one occasion, his elderly secretary,
1:35.8	said, oh, Mr. Riley's here, you remember Mr. Radley? He said, oh, yes, does he remember me, do you think?
1:41.9	That's all coming up later in the podcast. First, we're going to Nigeria, a country whose political history has not always been smooth.
1:49.9	But 10 years ago, there was a groundbreaking moment when a peaceful handover of the presidency
1:55.0	was captured on a phone call between two major political players.
	...

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