JAMB History 2025 past questions

Checked by the Skolra question team · Last updated 23 October 2026

Ten questions from the 2025 JAMB History paper, with answers and explanations. We hold 73 questions from this paper, and the Skolra app has all of them.

JAMB History 2025 questions and answers

1. 1.

   The Clifford Constitution of 1922 introduced:

   1. A
      Universal adult suffrage
   2. B
      The elective principle
      Correct
   3. C
      The principle of regionalism
   4. D
      The federal system of government
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   Answer: B

   The elective principle is correct. The Clifford Constitution of 1922, introduced by Governor-General Sir Hugh Clifford, allowed Nigerians in Lagos and Calabar to elect a small number of members into the Legislative Council for the first time. This was the earliest form of elected representation in Nigerian colonial history, even though the franchise was limited to a wealthy few and the Council remained dominated by official (nominated) members.

2. 2.

   The main cause of the French Revolution was:

   1. A
      The refusal of King Louis XVI to summon the Estates-General for over a century
   2. B
      The military defeat of France in the Franco-Prussian War
   3. C
      The storming of the Bastille by angry Parisian citizens
   4. D
      The social and economic inequality between the privileged clergy and nobility and the burdened Third Estate
      Correct
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   Answer: D

   The main cause of the French Revolution (1789) was the deep social and economic inequality in French society under the Ancien Régime. French society was divided into three estates: the clergy (First Estate) and the nobility (Second Estate) enjoyed vast wealth, land and exemption from most taxes, while the Third Estate (the common people, including peasants and the middle class) bore almost the entire tax burden while having little political power. This injustice, worsened by the state's near-bankruptcy from costly wars and royal extravagance, and inspired by Enlightenment ideas of liberty and equality, created the conditions that pushed the country into revolution.

3. 3.

   The world organisation that replaced GATT is:

   1. A
      World Bank
   2. B
      United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
   3. C
      World Trade Organisation
      Correct
   4. D
      International Monetary Fund
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: C

   The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which had regulated international trade since 1947, was formally replaced in 1995 by the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The WTO took over GATT's functions but became a full, permanent international body with a stronger legal framework for settling trade disputes among member nations.

4. 4.

   The term "Dark Ages" refers to:

   1. A
      The centuries of European exploration and colonization of Africa and the Americas
   2. B
      The period following the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, marked by a decline in learning, trade and civilization in Europe
      Correct
   3. C
      The period of the Renaissance, when classical Greek and Roman learning was revived across Europe
   4. D
      The era of the Trans-Saharan trade linking West Africa with North Africa and the Mediterranean world
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: B

   The "Dark Ages" is the name historians gave to the period of European history that followed the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD. With the fall of Rome, the strong central government, organised trade, city life and classical learning that had existed under the Empire broke down, and Europe entered a long era of political fragmentation, reduced literacy and fewer written records — hence the term "dark", meaning a period we know less about and one seen as a decline from the achievements of Rome.

5. 5.

   The oldest form of historical record is:

   1. A
      Oral tradition
      Correct
   2. B
      Archaeology
   3. C
      Written records
   4. D
      Linguistics
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: A

   Oral tradition is the oldest form of historical record. Before writing was invented, and long before archives or documents existed, people preserved knowledge of their past through spoken word: stories, proverbs, songs, praise poems, myths, and genealogies passed from one generation to the next by word of mouth. This method of preserving history existed among African societies, including those in Nigeria, well before any of the other sources came into use.

   So the correct answer is oral tradition, being the earliest way humans preserved and transmitted historical knowledge.

6. 6.

   The Thirty Years' War ended with the Treaty of:

   1. A
      Westphalia
      Correct
   2. B
      Versailles
   3. C
      Utrecht
   4. D
      Vienna
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: A

   The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) was fought mainly in the Holy Roman Empire and combined religious conflict between Catholics and Protestants with a struggle for political power among European states.

7. 7.

   The major limitation of oral tradition is:

   1. A
      It focuses only on the history of religious institutions
   2. B
      It cannot be collected without the permission of the ruling class
   3. C
      It is subject to distortion and exaggeration as it passes from one generation to the next
      Correct
   4. D
      It lacks written evidence to support its claims
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: C

   Oral tradition is information about the past passed down by word of mouth through stories, songs, proverbs and titles, from one generation to another. It is a major source of history, especially for pre-literate African societies.

   So the correct answer is that oral tradition can easily be distorted and exaggerated over time.

8. 8.

   Which African kingdom was noted for its famous university in Timbuktu?

   1. A
      Kanem-Bornu Empire
   2. B
      Mali Empire
   3. C
      Songhai Empire
      Correct
   4. D
      Ghana Empire
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: C

   The Songhai Empire is the kingdom noted for Timbuktu's famous university, especially the Sankore University (Sankore Madrasah), which reached its greatest fame as a centre of Islamic scholarship, law, and learning during the reign of Askia Muhammad in the Songhai Empire.

9. 9.

   Nigeria gained independence in:

   1. A
      1957
   2. B
      1963
   3. C
      1960
      Correct
   4. D
      1966
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: C

   1960 is correct. Nigeria gained her independence from British colonial rule on 1 October 1960, becoming a sovereign nation within the Commonwealth under Prime Minister Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa.

10. 10.

    The first president of Tanzania was:

    1. A
       Julius Nyerere
       Correct
    2. B
       Kenneth Kaunda
    3. C
       Jomo Kenyatta
    4. D
       Kwame Nkrumah
    Show answerHide answer

    Answer: A

    Julius Nyerere is correct. He led Tanganyika to independence from Britain in 1961 and served as its first president. When Tanganyika united with Zanzibar in 1964 to form Tanzania, Nyerere became the first president of the new United Republic of Tanzania, a position he held until 1985.

The questions come from past JAMB, WAEC and NECO papers. We use software to help write the answer options and explanations, and every answer is checked twice before it goes on the site. How we check

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Practise all 73 questions we hold from the 2025 paper, on a timed CBT screen

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