Recommended by the #HumansOfOando

A Platter of Gold: Making Nigeria

Over the course of fifty-four years till the eve of independence, eight colonial pro-consuls governors for the British Empire pitched wit, passion and guile against under-celebrated, sometimes everyday Nigerians – Ahmadu Attahiru I, the Sokoto Caliph and his cavalry, who violently resisted British ouster and occupation; Eleko and the Lagos Chieftains, who first claimed they would “rather die than pay tax”… This is a story of Nigeria’s history as well as the history of Nigeria’s story. The other story!

Author: Olasupo Shasore

Source: GoodReads

Nigeria’s Soldiers of Fortune

In the cataclysmic decade that is the focus of this book, Nigeria was subject to several near-death experiences. These began when the country nearly tore itself apart after the northern-led military government annulled the results of a 1993 presidential election won by the southerner Moshood Abiola, and ended with former military ruler General Olusegun Obasanjo being the unlikely conduit of democracy.

This mini-history of a nation's life also reflects on three mesmerizing protagonists who personified that era. First up is Abiola: the multi-billionaire businessman who had his election victory voided by the generals who made him rich, and who was later assassinated. General Sani Abacha was the mysterious, reclusive ruler under whose watch Abiola was arrested and pro-democracy activists (including Abiola's wife) were murdered. He also oversaw a terrifying Orwellian state security operation. Although Abacha is today reviled as a tyrant, the author eschews selective amnesia, reminding Nigerians that they goaded him into seizing power. The third protagonist is Obasanjo, who emerged from prison to return to power as an elected civilian leader.

The penumbra of military rule still looms over Nigeria nearly twenty years after the soldiers departed, and key personalities featured in this book remain in government, including the current president.

Author: Max Siollun

A History of Nigeria

Published in 2008, this book offers a unique portrayal of Nigerians as a resilient people living in a country with great but untapped potential. It explains Nigeria’s recent troubles by exploration of its colonial and pre-colonial past and, its journey from Independence to statehood.

Author: Toyin Falola and Matthew Heaton

Nigeria History, Precolonial History from year 1500

All evidence suggests the early settlement of Nigeria millennia before the spread of agriculture 3,000 years ago, and one day it probably will be possible to reconstruct the high points of this early history. Although archaeological research has made great strides in identifying some major developments, comparatively little archaeological work has been undertaken. Consequently, it is possible only to outline some of the early history of Nigeria

Author: Sampson Jerry

A Fatherless People

Nigeria is a country of which much is heard and about which little is understood: the product of an ambitious amalgamation, in 1914, of three hundred and seventy-one ethnic groups in the area of the River Niger, with as many languages, to form the most populous state in British-Africa (estimated at 190 million people). Its unsettled history since the grant of independence, in 1960, has seen millions killed in the Biafran War, the rise of militants in the oil-producing Niger-Delta region, the emergence of Boko Haram Islamic separatists in the north-east of the country and the return of agitation for Biafran secession by a new generation of Igbos in the south-east. The book seeks to make sense of the events in this country of many paradoxes: A land of extreme poverty alongside stupendous wealth; a country where, in the north, Islamists proclaim Western education to be sin even while, elsewhere in the country, world-class writers, like Chinua Achebe and Wole Soyinka, are produced; a state which democrats and dictators have taken turns to rule with little to set them apart in terms of the progress and development of the country. At a time when old colonial state boundaries in the Middle East are being redrawn by violent conflict and Scottish nationalists are campaigning to break away from their 300-year-old union with England (even as Britain itself seeks to exit from the European Union) this book raises important questions about the outlook for the continued existence of Nigeria as one country. This book tells the story of Nigeria, from its early conceptualisation by British colonialists in the aftermath of the abolition of the slave trade, up to the present day.

Author: Dele Ogun

Source: Amazon

There Was a Country

Published in 2008, this book offers a unique portrayal of Nigerians as a resilient people living in a country with great but untapped potential. It explains Nigeria’s recent troubles by exploration of its colonial and pre-colonial past and, its journey from Independence to statehood.

Author: Chinua Achebe

Source: Penguinrandomhouse.com

Liberating Nigeria

We have complained about and analyzed our problems long enough. It is now time for young people and new-breed politicians to elevate the discussion from mere rhetoric, sensationalism and fantasy to apt understanding of smart politics and solutions. This book presents facts and history to explain election-winning strategies and policy priorities. Let’s not kid ourselves—most of our traditional politicians will remain corruptly oppressive, and rebellion or revolt will not succeed in Nigeria. So we only have two options: work hard to liberate ourselves from the oppressors by defeating them in elections or give up in despair. If we choose liberation, it will take us several years, but we can gradually start by unifying our efforts and learning the required political skills. This book will be enlightening to non-Nigerians, but I hope it will inspire Nigerians to urgent action.

Author: Debo Onifade

Source: Liberating Nigeria

Build Innovate & Grow

Nigeria today appears rudderless, with no particular direction. Our country has no purposeful destiny that we can say with conviction is our lodestar. Our citizens are increasingly unsure, what being a Nigerian means... This is a fundamental challenge we must overcome, for a nation or a country without a clear worldview simply cannot become a prosperous and powerful one. The book 'Build Innovate and Grow: My Vision for Our Country', addresses the need for a strategic transformation of policies, leadership and governance in Nigeria.

It recognises the importance of innovation and science in pushing the Nigerian economy into the 21st century, highlighting different sectors and systems in the country that are in desperate need of change and transformation.

The book explains the urgency of true diversification and economic independence that places Nigeria on a leadership role in the world market, while also asking that citizens should always demand accountability from our leaders, no matter the cost.

Author: Kingsley Moghalu

Source: Ngmanifesto.org

Just Before Dawn

Kole Omotoso, one of Nigeria's major writers, is always provocative. His writing is informed by a passionate concern for society and politics in Nigeria. This major work is a blend of fact and fiction dramatizing the first one hundred years of Nigeria. Most of the characters and incidents inthe book are real; the narrative is conceived and written as a novel. The story covers riots, uprisings, private hopes and griefsand coup d'etats -a history marred by violence, with an outcome satisfactory to none. The book was received as a major contribution to African writing, in its innovative style, and was awarded Special Commendation in the Noma Award for Publishing in Africa in 1989 , which described it as providing a more profound understanding than is available in conventional history books and novels.

Author: Kole Omotoso

Source: African Books Collective