When you walk through any major Nigerian city and see a skyscraper, a busy bank, or a warehouse still bearing a name from decades ago, there can be more than just bricks and balance sheets behind it.

Those names sometimes carry decades, even a century or more, of history; stories of colonial trade, independence, adaptation, collapse and revival.

Below are some of the companies that have survived Nigeria’s wildest swings; institutions that have outlasted regimes, economic upheavals and social change. Their longevity says something about what works, and what doesn’t, in building a business that lasts in this country.

1. First Bank of Nigeria — banking since 1894

First Bank of Nigeria was founded in 1894 as the Bank of British West Africa (BBWA) by the British shipping magnate Sir Alfred Lewis Jones. The bank started with its head office in Liverpool and opened its first branch in Lagos the same year to facilitate trade and banking in the British West African colonies.

It eventually became known as the First Bank of Nigeria in 1979 after a series of name changes and government indigenization efforts following Nigeria's independence.

Bank of British West Africa was a British Overseas bank that was important in introducing modern banking into the countries that emerged from the UK's West African colonies. In 1957 it changed its name to Bank of West Africa, and in 1965 was acquired by Standard Bank.

With Nigeria’s independence and the subsequent shifts in economy, politics, and regulation, First Bank remained. It survived colonial rule, war, currency changes, regulatory reforms, and the transition from a foreign-controlled institution to a leading Nigerian financial brand.

First Bank’s story shows that heritage plus evolution, being rooted in trade history but willing to innovate and localize, can give a company unusual staying power.

2. John Holt Plc (since 1897 in Nigeria)

The saga of John Holt begins long before its official registration: a young man left Liverpool in 1862 with £27, sailed to West Africa, and started life as a grocery-shop assistant. Within a few years he ventured into produce trade: exporting palm oil, rubber, cocoa from West Africa to England, and imported goods like textiles and bicycles in return.

By 1897, John Holt opened its first trading venture in Lagos. That simple venture became a trading empire across shipping, exports, imports, distribution, even river-boat transport and secure cash storage for local traders in a time when banks were rare.

As decades passed, John Holt shifted: from export-trade to modern services like generator sales, fire-safety equipment, logistics, property services, construction.

John Holt’s longevity depends on diversification, flexibility, and trust; it used its early reputation to pivot into new business lines, surviving a century of change.

3. Union Bank of Nigeria — a century of financial service (since 1917

Founded in 1917 under the name “Colonial Bank,” Union Bank began during colonial times, then shifted ownership, identity and structure several times, including under foreign ownership, then “Nigerian-ization” post-independence.

"Nigerian-ization" post-independence refers to the policies and processes aimed at localizing control of the economy, government, and institutions after Nigeria gained independence from Britain on October 1, 1960.

Despite these changes, Union Bank persisted, adapting through Nigeria’s economic turmoil, regulatory changes, and shifts in ownership. Its survival demonstrates how continuity through restructuring can keep a legacy alive.

Union Bank’s story doesn’t glamorize, but it quietly proves that in Nigeria’s stormy economy, steady adaptation counts more than flash.

4. Wema Bank — indigenous banking, built from grit (since 1945)

Amid exclusionary colonial banking practices, a Nigerian trader, Chief Matthew Adekoya Okupe, decided to chart his own course. On May 2, 1945, he established a small private bank named Agbonmagbe Bank, the seed of today’s Wema Bank.

Starting in a modest two-room office, Wema Bank grew; surviving takeover by government boards, name changes, and a national banking landscape dominated by foreign players.

As of 2025, Wema is celebrated as the oldest surviving indigenous bank in Nigeria. Its journey is more than business; it’s about resilience, local ownership, and transformation.

Wema’s story suggests that even in a harsh economy, a determined vision grounded in local context can endure.

5. UAC of Nigeria Plc

In a country where companies often live fast and die young, UAC of Nigeria Plc stands like an old tree whose roots run deeper than most people realize. Its beginnings trace back to the trading monopolies of the 1870s, long before it officially became UAC in 1931.

What Nigerians eventually came to know as UACN started as scattered merchant houses trading palm oil, cotton, timber, and provisions along the coast.

When colonial rule ended, the company stayed. When government policies shifted, it adapted. When the economy staggered through recessions, coups, inflation and deregulation, UACN reinvented itself again. Today it thrives across food production, hospitality, paints, logistics and real estate. Its longevity is built on one quiet superpower: the ability to evolve without losing its identity.

6. Royal Exchange Plc

Royal Exchange Plc is older than Nigeria itself. Incorporated in 1921 to protect the cargo, property and lives of colonial traders, it grew into Nigeria’s first major insurance institution.

The company has survived by being almost invisible in its discipline. No drama. No scandals. No reckless expansions. Just rigorous risk evaluation, regulatory compliance and conservative management.

In a sector where many firms collapsed under bad investments and unstable policies, Royal Exchange continued to do the routine things well. That is why, more than a century later, it is still standing. Longevity rarely belongs to the loud. It belongs to the consistent.

7. Unilever Nigeria Plc

Unilever entered Nigeria in 1923 and quietly altered the way households consumed everyday goods. Before its arrival, soap was a luxury in many communities and branded products were reserved for elites. Unilever changed that completely.

Founded in 1930 through the merger of Dutch margarine producer, Margarine Unie and British soap maker, Lever Brothers, Unilever has grown into a major global player, focusing on four main businesses:

• Beauty & Wellbeing: Brands include Dove, Sunsilk, and Vaseline.

• Personal Care: Brands include Rexona, Lifebuoy, and Axe.

• Home Care: Brands include OMO, Domestos, and Cif.

• Nutrition: Brands include Hellmann's, Knorr, and Horlicks.

Its products became part of Nigerian routines: in kitchens, bathrooms, classrooms and marketplaces. Through military rule, democracy, import bans and the rise of local competitors, Unilever adapted.

It reformulated products, adjusted pricing, localized supply chains and expanded distribution. Its survival rests on a simple truth: no matter how unstable the economy becomes, people will always need the basics. Unilever chose to stay close to those basics.

8. May & Baker Nigeria Plc

May & Baker’s I'm Nigerian story began in 1944, under the pressure of World War II. Medicines were scarce, supply chains were unreliable, and colonial West Africa depended heavily on pharmaceutical imports. The company entered the scene to fill that gap and never left. It is Nigeria's first pharmaceutical company.

Over the decades, May & Baker built manufacturing capacity, expanded cautiously and avoided the overambition that destroyed many competitors. Healthcare is a sector that punishes impatience, and the company understood that early.

It found stability in discipline, regulation, and steady growth. Today it remains one of the oldest pharmaceutical companies in the country, a reminder that healthcare endures where other industries stumble.

What Their Survival Shows, and What’s Worth Remembering

• Legacy matters, but so does adaptation. First Bank and John Holt didn’t survive just by virtue of age; they reinvented repeatedly to stay relevant.

• Context counts as many of these firms began under colonial rule, but survival required localizing, embracing independence-era identities, regulations, markets.

• Diversification and agility give a buffer. John Holt’s shift from exports to services, Wema’s rise as an indigenous bank, Union Bank’s restructuring, longevity in Nigeria often demands flexibility.

• Structural and institutional shifts are inevitable. Wars, economic crises, regulatory overhauls, surviving them requires corporate agility, not nostalgia.

Nigeria’s oldest companies are not relics. They are living archives, full of compromise, survival without glamour, quiet rebuilding. Their stories tell a deeper truth: that in a country where uncertainty often feels like the norm, endurance is not about avoiding change it’s about surviving change, over and over.

These legacies remind us that building something lasting here takes more than capital or luck. It takes adaptability, patience, and a willingness to rework identity without losing purpose.