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As Nigeria turns 64, it is impossible to reflect on the country’s journey without acknowledging the complexities and historical events that shape its present. From a colonial legacy still visible in its political structures to the relentless pursuit of progress by its resilient population, Nigeria remains a nation of contradictions and ambitions. To truly understand Nigeria today, it is essential to look back, and literature has long been a powerful way to preserve the spirit, struggles, and triumphs of Nigerians since independence on October 1, 1960.
In our latest book recommendation, we have compiled a list of books that will help you understand Nigeria today as the country turns 64. From Chinua Achebe’s timeless critique of leadership failures in The Trouble with Nigeria to Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀’s nuanced exploration of modern Nigerian life in A Spell of Good Things, these books offer insightful perspectives on the country’s past, present, and future. Whether you are drawn to historical accounts, political memoirs, or literary fiction, these essential reads will deepen your understanding of the complexities Nigeria faces today.
Read our recommendations below.
THE TROUBLE WITH NIGERIA
AUTHOR: CHINUA ACHEBE
GENRE: NON-FICTION
‘Published 40 years ago, The Trouble with Nigeria by Chinua Achebe recognizes the principal drawback Nigeria faces to be a failure in leadership. According to Achebe, Nigeria was the way it was because Nigerian leaders were unwilling or unable to lead by personal example. He wrote, “Nigeria can change today if she discovers leaders who have the will, the ability and the vision” to bring about the change the country needs. Achebe does not stop at making this seemingly simplistic point. He proceeds to draw out nuances that show how all the apparent setbacks to growth that Nigeria faces as a nation only exist because the leaders in the country could not rise to the occasion required by their position and office. It is remarkable that 40 years later, the problems he found to be the causes of malaise Nigeria battled with, still troubles the country,’ Ernest Nweke writes in a review commemorating the 40th anniversary of Achebe’s book.
A SPELL OF GOOD THINGS
AUTHOR: AYỌ̀BÁMI ADÉBÁYỌ̀
GENRE: FICTION
In a 2023 review for The Republic, Nigerian writer, Lanre Apata writes that: ‘Adébáyọ became a force with her debut novel, Stay with Me. The success of the novel, which made the 2017 Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction shortlist, built the anticipation that welcomed her second novel, A Spell of Good Things. Written in four parts with epigraphs from renowned Nigerian novelists like Sefi Atta and Helon Habila, A Spell of Good Things is a riveting sophomore that examines topical issues in modern Nigeria, a nation where politics, power, inequality, poverty and family ties influence everyday life. These subjects are explored through the things that bind people in the same society, irrespective of their social classes. Set in south-west Nigeria, the locale of Adébáyọ̀’s latest effort conveniently hybridizes the two social classes examined. Adébáyọ̀ successfully achieves this by infusing her characters into a society that communes with disruptive lack but is not alien to wealth.’
WHY WE STRUCK: THE STORY OF THE FIRST NIGERIAN COUP
Author: ADEWALE ADEMOYEGA
Genre: NON-FICTION
The famous military coup of 15 January 1966 changed Nigeria so deeply that its effects are still being felt today. That singular event led to a series of ripple effects that culminated in the Nigerian Civil War in 1967 and continued to ripple even after that war ended in 1970. The coup, which was the first military intervention in independent Nigeria, has been widely controversial. While some have called it ‘an Igbo coup’, motivated by ethnic ambition, others recognized it as a revolutionary action, arguing that it was a highly misunderstood event. For the coup planners, Lieutenant Colonel Kaduna Nzeogwu and his comrades, the coup was no less than a radical response to the status quo of the time.
In his book, Why We Struck: The Story of the First Nigerian Coup, Nigerian military officer and co-planner of the coup, Adewale Ademoyega, gives a detailed explanation of the series of events that led to the coup, as well as what the five military officers who planned the intervention aimed to achieve. It is an essential read for anyone wishing to understand not just the reasons behind the planning of the January 1966 coup, but also the depth and history of political corruption in Nigeria.
Cassava Republic Press is proud to announce the launch of their inaugural $20,000 Global Black Women’s Non-Fiction Manuscript Prize dedicated to exceptional works by Black women. Deadline: 30th June 2024. Learn more here.
POWER, POLITICS AND DEATH
Author: OLUSEGUN ADENIYI
Genre: NON-FICTION
In 2007, Nigerian politician, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, succeeded President Olusegun Obasanjo, the first civilian president of Nigeria’s third republic, as the president of Nigeria. However, before he could complete his first term, he got terribly ill and never recovered. On 5 May 2010, Yar’Adua passed away. Yar’Adua’s illness and death were very controversial at the time, leading his then spokesman, Olusegun Adeniyi, to give an account of the events. Power, Politics, and Death, published 2011, is that account. The book takes us behind the scenes of the major events surrounding those incidences, such as Yar’Adua’s sudden disappearance to a hospital in Saudi Arabia, and the political tussles that characterized his final moments.
OIL ON WATER
AUTHOR: HELON HABILA
GENRE: FICTION
In the oil-rich and environmentally devastated Nigerian Delta, the wife of a British oil executive has been kidnapped. Two journalists—a young upstart, Rufus, and a once-great, now disillusioned veteran, Zaq—are sent to find her. In a story rich with atmosphere and taut with suspense, Oil on Water explores the conflict between idealism and cynical disillusionment in a journey full of danger and unintended consequences.
As Rufus and Zaq navigate polluted rivers flanked by exploded and dormant oil wells, in search of ‘the white woman’, they must contend with the brutality of both government soldiers and militants. Assailed by irresolvable versions of the ‘truth’ about the woman’s disappearance, dependent on the kindness of strangers of unknowable loyalties, their journalistic objectivity will prove unsustainable, but other values might yet salvage their human dignity. The story explores the environmental and human toll of oil exploitation, and the political unrest it fuels, offering a gripping narrative on oil exploration, corruption and activism in Nigeria.
BE(COM)ING NIGERIAN: A GUIDE
AUTHOR: ELNATHAN JOHN
GENRE: NON-FICTION
Nigerian author, lawyer, and satirist, Elnathan John, intrigued Nigerian readers in 2019 when his book, Be(com)ing Nigerian: A Guide, was published. Be(com)ing Nigerian is a 150-page satire of the Nigerian society. Described as ‘an affecting, unrestrained and satirical guide to the Nigerians you will meet at home and abroad, or on your way to hell and to heaven’, it takes on the well-known Nigerian religious hypocrisy, politics, business, and even Nigerians themselves. Through wit and humour, John paints a picture of Nigeria and its citizens that will make you shake your head in despair, but also double over in laughter.
LOVE DOES NOT WIN ELECTIONS
AUTHOR: AAYISHA OSORI
GENRE: NON-FICTION
In 2014, Nigerian lawyer, politician, and author, Ayisha Osori, ran at the People’s Democratic Party’s primaries for a seat in the National Assembly. Though she lost, it was teachable experience, one that exposed her to the inner workings of politics, and especially elections, in Nigeria. She learns that the Nigerian electoral system is not only corrupt but also chronically gender biased. In her 2017 memoir, Love Does Not Win Elections, Osori details this experience, as well as the lessons she learnt in the process⎈