Biography/Autobiography
Moment of Truth: The Compelling Story of Pastor Tunde Bakare
Tunde Bakare is a Nigerian Prophetic-Apostolic pastor. He has received national and international attention for his televangelism, which has sometimes been critical of the Nigerian government. He presides over Global Apostolic Impact Network (GAIN) - a network of churches, ministries and kingdom businesses committed to advancing the Kingdom of God on earth. Dr. Bakare is also the President of Latter Rain Ministries, Inc. (Church Development Center) in Atlanta, GA, USA.
The Ikemba : Remembering Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu
The Ikemba : Remembering Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu (1933 - 2011) is a journey through the bravery, unique charisma, profound courage, rare intellect, selfless service, nationalism and unequivocal response to national issues of the late iconic Ikemba of Nnewi, General of the People' Army and Eze Igbo Gburugburu- Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu.
THE FASHOLA YEARS By Lukman Olaonipekun
The book THE FASHOLA YEARS is a comprehensive photographic documentation of Governor Fashola’s activities programmes and projects in the sectors of education, health, transportation, Infrastructure, Security, Environment, tourism, Housing, Law and Order and Goveranance in Lagos State, from 2007 to 2015 by his official and personal photographer Lukman Olaonipekun. There is accompanying text of facts and figures
There are no Heroe By Femi Sowoolu
Femi Sowoolu has just written a book every broadcaster should read and own. It's called There are no Heroes. It is an autobiographical account of how to be the best in broadcasting. In the book, the author attempts to provide a pathway for up and coming youngsters who are determined to embark on a professional media career, particularly one in broadcasting. More than just a resource book, There Are No Heroes could become a credible, reliable companion for the young broadcaster with great ambitions to become the best at what he, or she, does.
A Matter of Sharing: My Memoir By A.B. Assensoh
A Matter of Sharing is a memoir of Ghana-born A.B. Assensoh, who has lived, studied, and worked in the United Kingdom, Nigeria, and Liberia, where he served in editorial capacities. From Sweden, where he studied at the University of Stockholm and also served as Editor of African Features Service in Scandinavia, he moved to the United States in the mid-1970s, first to serve as a Scholar-in-Residence at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania as well as University of Pennsylvania, and he has lived there ever since. His memoir serves as his recollections of events that bring happiness, mixed feelings and, sometimes, sorrow. Apart from sharing anecdotes of some of the events in West Africa of London, this is the first time that he has committed many of the details.
Cradle of Ideas: A Compendium of Speeches and Writing of Omo N’ Oba Erediauwa of Great Benin Edited By Osarhieme Benson Osadolor
These are, indeed, trying times for Nigeria and its constituent ethnic nationalities. Political instability threatens to rear its ugly head once again, ethnic militias and insurgencies endanger the continued existence of the country, crime and criminality have assumed crisis proportions, and the economy remains in a long- term state of underperformance. In these circumstances, there isneedfor a well-researched book detailing the reasons for these manifestations of systematic failure and proposing a realistic way forward.
The book has been conveniently arranged in six parts as follows:
A. Cultural Development, Traditional Institutions and Governance.
B. Exploring the Past.
C. Vision from the Ivory Tower.
D. Education, Social Mobilization and Sport.
E. Politics, Economics and the State.
F. Media, Religion and Standard of Service.
While it is tempting to review this path-breaking publication by going from one category to the other, the danger is that the output will be excessively long and unnecessarily narrative. The preferred approach adopted is that which is essentially analytic. This requires regrouping into fewer categories in which the world-view or ideological perspective of the revered author arc captured. These are Politics/Constitution Making, Education and Religion.
The book has been conveniently arranged in six parts as follows:
A. Cultural Development, Traditional Institutions and Governance.
B. Exploring the Past.
C. Vision from the Ivory Tower.
D. Education, Social Mobilization and Sport.
E. Politics, Economics and the State.
F. Media, Religion and Standard of Service.
While it is tempting to review this path-breaking publication by going from one category to the other, the danger is that the output will be excessively long and unnecessarily narrative. The preferred approach adopted is that which is essentially analytic. This requires regrouping into fewer categories in which the world-view or ideological perspective of the revered author arc captured. These are Politics/Constitution Making, Education and Religion.
Johathan Tunde Ogbeha: A Noble Path By Innocent Nzeke Waniko
JONATHAN TUNDE OGBEHA WAS BORN IN THE CITY OF LOKOJA ON 1ST SEPETEMBER 1917 TO LATE JOSEPH ABU OGBEHA AND PRISCILLA RAKIYA OGBEHA- HIS BEGINNINGS WERE ROOTED IN THE ANGLICAN CHURCH AND ITS CREED, THE MILITARY ALSO GREATLY INFLUENCED HIM.
THIS BOOK ATTEMPTS TO CHRONICLE HIS LIFE. IT PROJECTS HIS EARLY DAYS WITH HIS FAMILY. IT ALSO DOCUMENTS HIS TIMES AT THE NIGERIAN MILITARY SCHOOL (NMS) AND THE NIGERIAN DEFENCE ACADEMY (NDA). OGBEHA'S SUCCESS AND HAPPY TIMES ARE NARRATED. IT SIMILARLY DOCUMENTS HIS CAREER IN THE NIGERIAN ARMY AND REVEALS HUMAN SETBACKS. THROUGH IT ALL, THE RESILIENCE OF A NOBLE MAN AND HIS PATH IS REVEALED
THIS BOOK ATTEMPTS TO CHRONICLE HIS LIFE. IT PROJECTS HIS EARLY DAYS WITH HIS FAMILY. IT ALSO DOCUMENTS HIS TIMES AT THE NIGERIAN MILITARY SCHOOL (NMS) AND THE NIGERIAN DEFENCE ACADEMY (NDA). OGBEHA'S SUCCESS AND HAPPY TIMES ARE NARRATED. IT SIMILARLY DOCUMENTS HIS CAREER IN THE NIGERIAN ARMY AND REVEALS HUMAN SETBACKS. THROUGH IT ALL, THE RESILIENCE OF A NOBLE MAN AND HIS PATH IS REVEALED
Niyi Osundare: A Literary Biography By Sule E. Egya
In this literary biography, Sule E. Egya, one of Nigeria’s most promising scholar-critics, brings the skills of the storyteller and the scholar to bear on his recreation of the Osundare story. The result is a readable coming-of-age story that traces the writer’s development from his rural and agrarian roots in Nigeria, through his education in Africa, Europe and North America, to his rise to prominence as one of the most versatile poets writing in English today.
There can be no better platform to register the debt that Osundare owes his parentage, the rigorous discipline of his mentors and the diverse environments in which his outlook on the world has been shaped than this carefully crafted biography. Egya highlights Osundare’s prodigious talent, his unwavering ethical compass, his infectious humanism, his enduring faith in the capacity of literature to reshape the world, and the harmony between his creative imagination and polemical writing. Readers and critics will find the biography an indispensable companion to reading Osundare not just because of the illuminating personal and cultural information that it offers, but also because it equally periodizes Osundare’s work in a way no other book has done.
Prof. Oyeniyi Okunoye, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife
In Niyi Osundare: A Literary Biography, Sule E. Egya takes us on a journey of the life experiences of the artist-scholar Niyi Osundare. Indeed, there are some books a reader just can’t put down. This is one of them. It takes you to the other worlds beyond the popular world of artistry and scholarship of one of Africa’s most accomplished men of letters.
Dr. Ogaga Okuyade, Niger Delta University, Wilberforce Island.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sule E. Egya is professor of African Literature and Cultural Studies at Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai, Nigeria. He was formerly Head of the Department of English and Dean of Faculty of Languages and Communication Studies. Widely published and travelled, his interests include literature and politics, literature and the environment, literary theory, and creative writing. He is also an award-winning writer, having authored works of poetry and fiction under the style name E. E. Sule. Among his works are Sterile Sky, winner of the 2013 Commonwealth Prize Africa Region, and the AHP-sponsored Nation, Power and Dissidence in Third Generation Nigerian Poetry in English.
There can be no better platform to register the debt that Osundare owes his parentage, the rigorous discipline of his mentors and the diverse environments in which his outlook on the world has been shaped than this carefully crafted biography. Egya highlights Osundare’s prodigious talent, his unwavering ethical compass, his infectious humanism, his enduring faith in the capacity of literature to reshape the world, and the harmony between his creative imagination and polemical writing. Readers and critics will find the biography an indispensable companion to reading Osundare not just because of the illuminating personal and cultural information that it offers, but also because it equally periodizes Osundare’s work in a way no other book has done.
Prof. Oyeniyi Okunoye, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife
In Niyi Osundare: A Literary Biography, Sule E. Egya takes us on a journey of the life experiences of the artist-scholar Niyi Osundare. Indeed, there are some books a reader just can’t put down. This is one of them. It takes you to the other worlds beyond the popular world of artistry and scholarship of one of Africa’s most accomplished men of letters.
Dr. Ogaga Okuyade, Niger Delta University, Wilberforce Island.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sule E. Egya is professor of African Literature and Cultural Studies at Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai, Nigeria. He was formerly Head of the Department of English and Dean of Faculty of Languages and Communication Studies. Widely published and travelled, his interests include literature and politics, literature and the environment, literary theory, and creative writing. He is also an award-winning writer, having authored works of poetry and fiction under the style name E. E. Sule. Among his works are Sterile Sky, winner of the 2013 Commonwealth Prize Africa Region, and the AHP-sponsored Nation, Power and Dissidence in Third Generation Nigerian Poetry in English.
Arrest the Music: Fela and His Rebel Acts and Politics
A lively study of the late Fela Anikulapo-Kuti and a persuasive interpretation of the social context, instrumentation, lyrics, visual art, and people through which he produced his music.
Arrest the Music! is a lively musical study of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, one of Africa’s most recognizable, popular, and controversial musicians. The flamboyant originator of the "Afrobeat" sound and self-proclaimed voice of the voiceless, Fela used music, sharp-tongued lyrics, and derisive humor to challenge the shortcomings of Nigerian and postcolonial African states. Looking at the social context, instrumentation, lyrics, visual art, people, and organizations through which Fela produced his music, Tejumola Olaniyan offers a wider, more suggestive perspective on Fela and his impact on listeners in all parts of the world.
Arrest the Music! is a lively musical study of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, one of Africa’s most recognizable, popular, and controversial musicians. The flamboyant originator of the "Afrobeat" sound and self-proclaimed voice of the voiceless, Fela used music, sharp-tongued lyrics, and derisive humor to challenge the shortcomings of Nigerian and postcolonial African states. Looking at the social context, instrumentation, lyrics, visual art, people, and organizations through which Fela produced his music, Tejumola Olaniyan offers a wider, more suggestive perspective on Fela and his impact on listeners in all parts of the world.
Academics, Epidemics and Politics: An Eventful Career in Public Health by IDRIS MOHAMMED (Paperback)
Prof. Mohammed, an academic, researcher, and public health physician gives us his lucid views on how physicians can practice medicine in an unjust world.
Conversations with Myself By Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela is widely considered to be one of the most inspiring and iconic figures of our age. Now, after a lifetime of taking pen to paper to record thoughts and events, hardships and victories, these precious and previously private documents have been gathered together into one incredible volume that offers an unprecedented insight into his life.
Conversations with Myself draws on Mandela's personal archive of never-before-seen materials to offer unique access to the inner world of an incomparable world leader. Journals kept on the run during the anti-apartheid struggle of the early 1960s; diaries and draft letters written on Robben Island and in other South African prisons during his twenty-seven years of incarceration; notebooks from the post-apartheid transition; private recorded conversations; speeches and correspondence written during his presidency – a historic collection of documents archived at the Nelson Mandela Foundation is brought together in a sweeping narrative of great immediacy and stunning power. An intimate journey from Mandela's first stirrings of political conscience to his galvanizing role on the world stage, Conversations with Myself illuminates a heroic life forged on the front lines of the struggle for freedom and justice.
While other books have recounted Mandela's life from the vantage of the present, Conversations with Myself allows for the first time unhindered insight into the human side of the icon.
About The Author
Nelson Mandela was born in Transkei, South Africa on 18 July 1918. He joined the African National Congress in 1944 and was engaged in resistance against the ruling National Party's apartheid policies for many years before being arrested in August 1962. Mandela was incarcerated for over twenty-seven years, during which his reputation as a potent symbol of resistance to the anti-apartheid movement grew steadily. Released from prison in 1990, Mandela won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 and was inaugurated as the first democratically elected president of South Africa in 1994. He is the author of the international bestseller Long Walk to Freedom
DESMOND TUTU: NO FUTURE WITHOUT FORGIVENESS.
In No Future Without Forgiveness, Desmond Tutu argues that true reconciliation cannot be achieved by denying the past. But neither is it easy to reconcile when a nation “looks the beast in the eye.” Rather than repeat platitudes about forgiveness, he presents a bold spirituality that recognizes the horrors people can inflict upon one another, and yet retains a sense of idealism about reconciliation. With a clarity of pitch born out of decades of experiences, Desmond Tutu shows readers how to move forward with honesty and compassion to build a newer and more humane world.
“In its sober depiction and searing indictment of evil and in its never-maudlin advocacy of love, this is a masterpiece.”
-KIRKUS REVIEWS
DESMOND TUTU:recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984, retired as Archbishop of Capetown, South Africa, in 1996. He is active as a lecturer throughout the world and recently was a visiting professor at Emory University in Atlanta.
“The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa has out the spotlight on all of us……..In its hearings Desmond Tutu has conveyed our common pain and sorrow, our hope and confidence in the future.”
- NELSON MANDELA
“In its sober depiction and searing indictment of evil and in its never-maudlin advocacy of love, this is a masterpiece.”
-KIRKUS REVIEWS
DESMOND TUTU:recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984, retired as Archbishop of Capetown, South Africa, in 1996. He is active as a lecturer throughout the world and recently was a visiting professor at Emory University in Atlanta.
“The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa has out the spotlight on all of us……..In its hearings Desmond Tutu has conveyed our common pain and sorrow, our hope and confidence in the future.”
- NELSON MANDELA
Footprints and Footnotes - An Autobiography By Ladipo Akinkugbe
With the opportunities offered for service in various capacities in public life the author addresses seminal and critical issues in health and higher education over the past four decades.
The racy and engaging rendering of Akinkugbe’s story attests to his facility of language and a robust intellect that combines sustained scholarship with disarming modesty.
Footprints Of An Iconic Diplomat By Chief Emeka Anyaoku
Not surprisingly, the volume of written material on chief Emeka Anyaoku is considerable. Yet, a common thread runs through all of them - each publication gives insight into the unimpeachable character of the man; This publication, Footprints of an Iconic Diplomat, is no different. it's only distinction being that it presents a largely pictorial version of the Emeka Anyaoku narrative; that it portrays a fullness of life, depth of purpose and breadth of impact that few can lay claim to; that it personalises the well-used phrase, a picture is worth more than a thousand words. Indeed, this pictorial biography like its name, speaks to the extensive footprints in both the literal and figurative sense, of Nigeria's and certainly one of Africa's most respected diplomatic icons.
The Obamas: The Untold Story of an African Family By Peter Firstbrook
Peter Firstbrook spent many months in Kenya researching the history of Barack Obama's family. Peter is the only person to have traced Obama's roots from the present back through more than twenty generations, thanks to the Luo tribe's remarkable oral tradition.
Seen though the eyes of the Obama family this will be the story of an African dynasty going back over 400 years. It is a truly astonishing drama culminating in the inauguration of Barack Obama on 20 January 2009, watched by Obama's African family on a flickering television clustered under a group of trees in the twilight of Kobama village in Kenya. A very special hundred or so men, women and children amongst billions all around the world who viewed the momentous event of the swearing in of the first black President of the United States.
This book establishes the early ancestry of the Obama family in the Alego region, telling the story of farmers and fishermen, of love and tribal warfare, of families lost and found. It traces the Obama roots from famous tribal warriors in the seventeenth century to the first encounters with the white man in the early 1900s; generation by generation we follow the family through colonial rule and the fight for Kenyan independence, including the Mau Mau and the relationship of Barack Obama's father with President Kenyatta.
This is a book about a family whose destiny is unknown to them. It is a true testament to the belief that any person can make their mark in the world no matter how humble their origins.
Seen though the eyes of the Obama family this will be the story of an African dynasty going back over 400 years. It is a truly astonishing drama culminating in the inauguration of Barack Obama on 20 January 2009, watched by Obama's African family on a flickering television clustered under a group of trees in the twilight of Kobama village in Kenya. A very special hundred or so men, women and children amongst billions all around the world who viewed the momentous event of the swearing in of the first black President of the United States.
This book establishes the early ancestry of the Obama family in the Alego region, telling the story of farmers and fishermen, of love and tribal warfare, of families lost and found. It traces the Obama roots from famous tribal warriors in the seventeenth century to the first encounters with the white man in the early 1900s; generation by generation we follow the family through colonial rule and the fight for Kenyan independence, including the Mau Mau and the relationship of Barack Obama's father with President Kenyatta.
This is a book about a family whose destiny is unknown to them. It is a true testament to the belief that any person can make their mark in the world no matter how humble their origins.
The War Against Counterfeit Medicine My Story By Dora Nkem Akunyili
There is a general agreement that piracy; counterfeiting and passing off are unfair. However, there is often surreptitious - or even open - sympathy for, say, those who purchase counterfeit designer fashions or the latest technical gadgets. The pirate is even sometimes represented as a daring evil hero. In this book, Prof. Dora Nkem Akunyili, Director General of Nigeria's National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, presents a unique study of a global phenomenon in which law-breaking and profiteering prevail at the cost of human health and life - and of the ways in which this can be fought by appropriate legislation, regulation and enforcement.
Essays in Honour of Ama Ata Aidoo at 70: A Reader in African Culture Studies By Anne V. Adams (Editor)
The volume ‘Essays in Honour of Ama Ata Aidoo at 70: A Reader in African Cultural Studies’ (2012) pays tribute to a woman writer from the African continent who has touched worldwide audiences and acknowledges her status as a ‘literary mover and shaker’. The literary-criticism core of the book is complemented by papers on such issues as African oratory, new media, popular culture texts, African identity, race construction and gendered image.
Ama Ata Aidoo was born in Abeadzi Kyiakor in what was then the Gold Coast (later Ghana) in 1940 and grew up in a Fante royal household. She attended Wesley Girls’ High School in Cape Coast and then the University of Ghana at Legon from 1961-1964 where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English. During this time, she also wrote her first play, ‘The Dilemma of a Ghost’, which came out in 1965 and made her the first African woman dramatist to be published.
Since then, Aidoo has written other plays, novels, short stories and poetry as well as numerous essays on African literature and the status of women in African society. One of her best known novels is ‘Our Sister Killjoy, or, Reflections from a Black-eyed Squint’ (1977). She has won many literary awards, including the Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best Book (Africa) for her second novel, ‘Changes: a Love Story’ (1991). Aidoo’s works of fiction deal with the tension between Western and African world views and the politics of gender and sexual inequality in African society.
In addition to her literary career, Aidoo was appointed Minister of Education under the Provisional National Defence Council in 1982, but resigned after 18 months. She then moved to Zimbabwe to become a full-time writer. She has also lived and worked in the US, the UK and Germany. Aidoo was a long-term Visiting Professor in Africana Studies and the Literary Arts at Brown University.
iCon Steve Jobs: The Greatest Second Act in the History of Business By Jeffrey S. Young.
Lightning never strikes twice, but Steve Jobs has, transforming modern culture first with the Macintosh and more recently with the iPod. He has dazzled and delighted audiences with his Pixar movies. And he has bedeviled, destroyed, and demoralized hundreds of people along the More... way. Steve Jobs is the most interesting character of the digital age.What a long, strange journey it has been. With the mainstream success of the iPod, Pixar's string of hits and subsequent divorce from Disney, and Steve's triumphant return to Apple, his story is better than any fiction. Ten years after the leading maverick of the computer age and the king of digital cool crashed from the height of Apple's meteoric rise, Steve Jobs rose from the ashes in a Machiavellian coup that only he could have orchestrated--and has now become more famous than ever.In this encore to his classic 1987 unauthorized biography of Steve Jobs--a major bestseller--Jeffrey Young examines Jobs' remarkable resurgence, one of the most amazing business comeback stories in recent years. Drawing on a wide range of sources in Silicon Valley and Hollywood, he details how Jobs put Apple back on track, first with the iMac and then with the iPod, and traces Jobs' role in the remarkable rise of the Pixar animation studio, including his rancorous feud with Disney's Michael Eisner.
In the Blink of an Eye: By EUGENIA ABU
In the Blink of an Eye is a tapestry of life itself, evoking memories of times past, re¬visited in today's climes. Social justice, love for humankind, need for resilience, and interviews with achievers to lift our spirits, are the threads that run through this beautiful book, woven carefully by the author with wit and elegant language to make the reader feel at home. Using language at its brilliant best, Eugenia Abu brings us to tears in tributes, gives us joy in humour and looks us in the face in dealing with social issues. Eight chapters of non-stop enchantment take us . through a tease of men, gender .advocacy, literary reviews, personal joys and tragedies; re-uniting us with our inner souls and mirroring the society for the good of all of us. There is unparalleled Nigerianness, history and intellectual rigour. Then there are quotations to enlighten, and wisdom from far¬flung places, as well as critical analyses of national and world issues.
Jakande His Story is History: By Tunde Fanimokun
This book is all about the authentic story of a political icon in the history of public administration in Nigeria.
JP CLARK - A VOYAGE By Femi Osofisan (Hardback)
The definitive biography of “the main animating force of African poetry”
JP Clark: A Voyage is the definitive biography of Clark by Femi Osofisan, himself one of Nigeria’s most accomplished playwrights. It chronicles the life and career of the man John Pepper Clark – Bekederemo, from his remarkable childhood to his emergence in the 60s among the best and brightest of Nigerian literature. For the first time, JP breaks his silence about the controversial position he took during Nigeria’s Civil War and discusses his relationship with Soyinka and Achebe.
Generally regarded as the most lyrical of the poets of his generation for his simple, down to earth, visual and descriptive imagery, which makes his poems among the most memorable, JP Clark is perhaps the most underrated of Nigeria’s literary giants: Achebe, Soyinka and Okigbo, being the others.
Long Walk To Freedom: Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela is one of the great moral and political leaders of our time: an international hero whose lifelong dedication to the fight against racial oppression in South Africa won him the Nobel Peace Prize and the presidency of his country. Since his triumphant release in 1990 from more than a quarter-century of imprisonment, Mandela has been at the center of the most compelling and inspiring political drama in the world. As president of the African National Congress and head of South Africa's anti-apartheid movement, he was instrumental in moving the nation toward multiracial government and majority rule. He is revered everywhere as a vital force in the fight for human rights and racial equality. The foster son of a Thembu chief, Mandela was raised in the traditional, tribal culture of his ancestors, but at an early age learned the modern, inescapable reality of what came to be called apartheid, one of the most powerful and effective systems of oppression ever conceived. In classically elegant and engrossing prose, he tells of his early years as an impoverished student and law clerk in Johannesburg, of his slow political awakening, and of his pivotal role in the rebirth of a stagnant ANC and the formation of its Youth League in the 1950s. He describes the struggle to reconcile his political activity with his devotion to his family, the anguished breakup of his first marriage, and the painful separations from his children. He brings vividly to life the escalating political warfare in the fifties between the ANC and the government, culminating in his dramatic escapades as an underground leader and the notorious Rivonia Trial of 1964, at which he was sentenced to life imprisonment. Herecounts the surprisingly eventful twenty-seven years in prison and the complex, delicate negotiations that led both to his freedom and to the beginning of the end of apartheid. Finally he provides the ultimate inside account
About the author:
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was born on July 18, 1918 in Mvezo, a small village located in the district of Umtata, the Transkei capital in Africa. Mandela became the first member of his family to attend a school, where his teacher Miss Mdingane gave him the English name "Nelson". He attended a Wesleyan mission school located next to the palace of the regent. Following Thembu custom, he was initiated at age sixteen, and attended Clarkebury Boarding Institute. He completed his Junior Certificate in two years, instead of the usual three. After enrolling, Mandela began to study for a Bachelor of Arts at the Fort Hare University. Later in his life, while in prison, he studied for a Bachelor of Laws from the University of London External Program. Mandela later started work as an articled clerk at a Johannesburg law firm, Witkin, Sidelsky and Edelman. Nelson Mandela completed his B.A. degree at the University of South Africa via correspondence, after which he began law studies at the University of Witwatersrand. He began actively participating in politics after the 1948 election victory of the Afrikaner-dominated National Party which supported the apartheid policy of racial segregation.Nelson Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election.
About the author:
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was born on July 18, 1918 in Mvezo, a small village located in the district of Umtata, the Transkei capital in Africa. Mandela became the first member of his family to attend a school, where his teacher Miss Mdingane gave him the English name "Nelson". He attended a Wesleyan mission school located next to the palace of the regent. Following Thembu custom, he was initiated at age sixteen, and attended Clarkebury Boarding Institute. He completed his Junior Certificate in two years, instead of the usual three. After enrolling, Mandela began to study for a Bachelor of Arts at the Fort Hare University. Later in his life, while in prison, he studied for a Bachelor of Laws from the University of London External Program. Mandela later started work as an articled clerk at a Johannesburg law firm, Witkin, Sidelsky and Edelman. Nelson Mandela completed his B.A. degree at the University of South Africa via correspondence, after which he began law studies at the University of Witwatersrand. He began actively participating in politics after the 1948 election victory of the Afrikaner-dominated National Party which supported the apartheid policy of racial segregation.Nelson Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election.
Mandela : A Biography By Martin Meredith
Nelson Mandela stands out as one of the most admired political figures of the twentieth century. It was his leadership and moral courage above all that helped to deliver a peaceful end to apartheid in South Africa after years of racial division and violence and to establish a fledgling democracy there. Martin Meredith's vivid portrayal of this towering leader was originally acclaimed as 'an exemplary work of biography: instructive, illuminating, as well as felicitously written' (Kirkus Reviews), providing 'new insights on the man and his time' (Washington Post). Now Meredith has revisited and significantly updated his biography to incorporate a decade of additional perspective and hindsight on the man and his legacy and to examine how far his hopes for the new South Africa have been realised. Published as South Africa celebrates 100 years since its founding and hosts the 2010 World Cup, Mandela is the most thorough and up-to-date account available of the life of its most revered hero.
About the Author
Martin Meredith is a journalist, biographer and historian who has written extensively on Africa and its recent history. He is the author of many books including The State of Africa: A History of Fifty Years of Independence; Mugabe: Power, Plunder, and the Struggle for Zimbabwe, and Mandela: A Biography. He lives near Oxford.
Mandela's Way: Fifteen Lessons on Life, Love, and Courage By Richard Stengel
We long for heroes and have too few. Nelson Mandela, who recently celebrated his ninety-first birthday, is the closest thing the world has to a secular saint. He liber-ated a country from a system of violent prejudice and helped unite oppressor and oppressed in a way that had never been done before.
Now Richard Stengel, the editor of "Time "maga-zine, has distilled countless hours of intimate conver-sation with Mandela into fifteen essential life lessons. For nearly three years, including the critical period when Mandela moved South Africa toward the first democratic elections in its history, Stengel collaborated with Mandela on his autobiography and traveled with him everywhere. Eating with him, watching him campaign, hearing him think out loud, Stengel came to know all the different sides of this complex man and became a cherished friend and colleague.
In "Mandela's Way, "Stengel recounts the moments in which "the grandfather of South Africa" was tested and shares the wisdom he learned: why courage is more than the absence of fear, why we should keep our rivals close, why the answer is not always either/or but often "both," how important it is for each of us to find something away from the world that gives us pleasure and satisfaction--our own garden. Woven into these life lessons are remarkable stories--of Mandela's child-hood as the protege of a tribal king, of his early days as a freedom fighter, of the twenty-seven-year imprison-ment that could not break him, and of his new and fulfilling marriage at the age of eighty.
This compact book is profoundly inspiring. It captures the spirit of this extraordinary man--warrior, martyr, husband, statesman, and moral leader--and spurs us to look within ourselves, reconsider the things we take for granted, and contemplate the legacy we'll leave behind.
Mandela: The Authorised Biography By Anthony Sampson
In 1975, imprisoned for life on Robben Island, Nelson Mandela covertly wrote his autobiography. After painstaking months the text was smuggled out--and was promptly quashed by the African National Congress. In his later Long Walk to Freedom Mandela politely expresses "surprise" at this. Sampson reveals that Joe Slovo suppressed the book for not giving enough prominence to Communists. This revelation is remarkable--the ANC could have made much mileage from the book at a time of low fortune--yet Sampson does not follow up. There is too often a sense of eggshells lightly walked upon.
Mandela improves as the prisoner's release approaches. Sampson sharply exposes the machinations of those undermining the ANC's struggle. The CIA knew of the Third Force years before the ANC, yet said nothing. Right-wing governments attacked "Mandela the Communist", preferring to promote Inkhata's Buthelezi, at that time secretly and violently colluding with de Klerk's apartheid regime. Against the small-minded figures of Reagan, Thatcher and Kohl it is Mandela who emerges here a giant. South Africa won her freedom through Mandela: his strength of character and willingness to forgive helped push a country into an alternative future, avoiding the racial civil war almost all predicted. Yet he and his kin paid an awful price. Sampson draws a painful, clear picture of a disintegrating family: dislocation from children; the terrible effects of the war on Winnie, and her increasingly erratic, later murderous behaviour; Mandela's own aching loneliness. It is in capturing Madiba, the ultimate public figure, at his most intense and private, that Sampson's Mandela succeeds best. --Chris Woods
Nelson Mandela: Portrait of an Extraordinary Man By Richard Stengel
Inspirational wisdom from the world's greatest moral leader.
Written by the co-author of international bestseller Long Walk to Freedom, Nelson Mandela: Portrait of an Extraordinary Man presents fifteen powerful lessons on life and leadership based on the life and work of Nelson Mandela, whose fight against apartheid in South Africa has become an enduring example of resistance against injustice and oppression. A recipient of the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize, Mandela is a man who truly changed the course of world history and is arguably the most inspirational figure of the past century.
Stengel spent almost three years with Mandela working on his bestselling autobiography Long Walk to Freedom, and through that process became a close friend. Written with the blessing of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, to which the author will donate a percentage of his royalties, Nelson Mandela: Portrait of an Extraordinary Man is an inspirational book of wisdom that will encourage people of all ages to look within themselves to improve their lives, to reconsider the things they take for granted, and to think about the legacy they leave behind.
About the Author
Richard Stengel is the managing editor of Time Magazine. He spent two years collaborating with Nelson Mandela on Mandela's bestselling and critically acclaimed autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom. He has written for many publications, including The New Yorker and New York Times and is also the author of January Sun: One Day, Three Lives, A South African Town and You're too Kind: A Brief History of Flattery. Mandela is godfather to his two sons and introduced him to his wife.
No Easy Harvest By Professor F.S Idachaba
“No Easy Harvest” is a life story of Professor Francis Idachaba covering his humble birth, primary, secondary and tertiary school education in various places and locations. It all covers his work experiences in Nigeria and at the international arena. The book also puts in record Professor Idachaba’s family life, his philanthropic efforts and the honours he received.
The title of the work is adequate going with the level of achievements of Professor Idaachaba: he has had no mean harvest. Though easy to read, the HARVEST did not come easy. The HARVEST came after many years of hard work, discipline, humility, probity, integrity, sincerity of purpose, focus and refusal to be distracted, and above all, the fear of God which his mother, Aya instilled in him.
If, as claimed in the PROLOGUE, this autobiography is a product of empty diaries with few entries, then we give glory to God for the very rich and retentive memory He (God) has endowed the erudite Professor.
There is no doubt that Professor Francis Suleiman Idachaba has achieved much in life. He is distinguished and honourable, indeed. Are there areas in his life that he actually failed? If so, I leave that to other readers to pick as I could not pick such in the autobiography.
Though “No Easy Harvest” is a wonderful book about a great personality, but permit me to note the following; the chronologies of the events were lost between the international engagements and the Vice Chancellors appointments. For example, International engagements II (1996 -2006) presented in Chapter 10 actually predated the pioneer Vice Chancellor Appointment (1988 -1995) in Chapter 12; the national service should have been broken into segments to reflect the presentation of the international engagements; there are few typographical errors and missing paragraphs and gaps in this important and historic book; there is no record of extra-curricular activities. But I know that Professor Idachaba does walking so well. For example, while he was the vice Chancellor at Kogi State University, Anyigba, climbing the 4-storey Senate building was so easy that the younger security staff had to run after him.
A Harvest Indeed!!!
The title of the work is adequate going with the level of achievements of Professor Idaachaba: he has had no mean harvest. Though easy to read, the HARVEST did not come easy. The HARVEST came after many years of hard work, discipline, humility, probity, integrity, sincerity of purpose, focus and refusal to be distracted, and above all, the fear of God which his mother, Aya instilled in him.
If, as claimed in the PROLOGUE, this autobiography is a product of empty diaries with few entries, then we give glory to God for the very rich and retentive memory He (God) has endowed the erudite Professor.
There is no doubt that Professor Francis Suleiman Idachaba has achieved much in life. He is distinguished and honourable, indeed. Are there areas in his life that he actually failed? If so, I leave that to other readers to pick as I could not pick such in the autobiography.
Though “No Easy Harvest” is a wonderful book about a great personality, but permit me to note the following; the chronologies of the events were lost between the international engagements and the Vice Chancellors appointments. For example, International engagements II (1996 -2006) presented in Chapter 10 actually predated the pioneer Vice Chancellor Appointment (1988 -1995) in Chapter 12; the national service should have been broken into segments to reflect the presentation of the international engagements; there are few typographical errors and missing paragraphs and gaps in this important and historic book; there is no record of extra-curricular activities. But I know that Professor Idachaba does walking so well. For example, while he was the vice Chancellor at Kogi State University, Anyigba, climbing the 4-storey Senate building was so easy that the younger security staff had to run after him.
A Harvest Indeed!!!
Orji Kalu: Leadership Lessons From a Master Strategist : Everything Revealed!; Plus the Harvard Secrets
He was a director of many organizations including: Hallmark Bank and Unipetrol. He belongs to many professional and trade bodies and they include, Nigerian Institute of Directors, Nigerian Association of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, Manufacturers' Association of Nigeria, Nigeria-Philippines Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Nigeria Importers and Exporters Association, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Nigeria-British Chamber of Commerce, Nigeria-Israel Association, and Spartansburg Chamber of Commerce S.C. USA. He was a member of the National Sports Commission under the chairmanship of Chief S.B. Williams between 1989 and 1990, and Federal Government Commission on the Re-grading of Traditional Rulers.
His intimidating political profile, stupendous wealth, international connections, acceptability among his fellow politicians, transparent leadership, crusade against social injustice, corruption and inequity and above all, divine anointing are some of the qualities that stand him out.
Governor Kalu has over 200 traditional titles to his honour and several books to his credit.
Some of the titles are:
OLUIGBO
TUKURAN GWANDU
ZANNA MU'AMALAM OF DIKWA
BANNA ZAKI OF LAPAI
KACHALLA MISAU
KACHALLA BIU
BARDEN MATASAN KEBBI
MMILI NYILI ENYI OF NRI KINGDOM
ARO OF OGBOMOSOLAND
KOLO OF BORNO
AARE BAALORO OF ISOLO
AGUNECHE ABIA
AHAEJIAGAMBE OF IGBERE
AKU ZURU IGBO OF EZIAMA, IMO STATE
ODEZULUIGBO OF NNOKWA, ANAMBRA STATE
ISIBUIGBO OF ATTA IMO STATE
OMENANWATA OF IGBOLAND
ASHIPA SERIKIN MAYEGUN OF IBADAN
BABA METU OF IKARE, EKITI
GARKUWAN KANO
He is yet to formally receive a special title conferred on him by the Alaafin of Oyo, and the Emir of Damaturu respectively.
He has some published and unpublished books to his credit and they include:
My Reflections on Nigeria's National Assembly (Unpublished)
The Problems of Nigeria Unity (Unpublished)
Military in Nigeria Economy (Unpublished)
Police and Crime Operation
Nigeria Foreign Policy and June 12 Crisis
Sir Ahmadu Bello, Sir Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe and Chief Obafemi Awolowo: The Height of Truth in Nigeria
Orji Uzor Kalu: Lessons from a Master Strategist
He has presented several speeches and lectures locally and internationally. Among them are:
Wake-up call for the Igbo at Igbo Summit in Enugu, January 2001 June 12 Presidential Election and Transition Crisis in Nigeria delivered in Lagos on June 12, 2002 to mark the 11th Anniversary of the annulled June 12 Presidential Election;
Democracy, Accountability and Good Governance at Papa Club, Lagos, September 14, 2002;
The Media In a Democratic Nigeria at the Communications Department of Howard University, Washington D.C. USA, October 25, 2002;
Issues In Nigeria's Contemporary Politics at Liberty University, Virginia, USA, February 2002;
Electoral Violence and the Future of Democracy in Nigeria at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, Lagos, February 19, 2003, and Roadmap to Igbo Renaissance at the World Igbo Congress, Tennessee, USA, September 29, 2003.
He is married with a wife. Dr. (Mrs.) Ifeoma Orji Uzor Kalu, and they have two beautiful daughters
His intimidating political profile, stupendous wealth, international connections, acceptability among his fellow politicians, transparent leadership, crusade against social injustice, corruption and inequity and above all, divine anointing are some of the qualities that stand him out.
Governor Kalu has over 200 traditional titles to his honour and several books to his credit.
Some of the titles are:
OLUIGBO
TUKURAN GWANDU
ZANNA MU'AMALAM OF DIKWA
BANNA ZAKI OF LAPAI
KACHALLA MISAU
KACHALLA BIU
BARDEN MATASAN KEBBI
MMILI NYILI ENYI OF NRI KINGDOM
ARO OF OGBOMOSOLAND
KOLO OF BORNO
AARE BAALORO OF ISOLO
AGUNECHE ABIA
AHAEJIAGAMBE OF IGBERE
AKU ZURU IGBO OF EZIAMA, IMO STATE
ODEZULUIGBO OF NNOKWA, ANAMBRA STATE
ISIBUIGBO OF ATTA IMO STATE
OMENANWATA OF IGBOLAND
ASHIPA SERIKIN MAYEGUN OF IBADAN
BABA METU OF IKARE, EKITI
GARKUWAN KANO
He is yet to formally receive a special title conferred on him by the Alaafin of Oyo, and the Emir of Damaturu respectively.
He has some published and unpublished books to his credit and they include:
My Reflections on Nigeria's National Assembly (Unpublished)
The Problems of Nigeria Unity (Unpublished)
Military in Nigeria Economy (Unpublished)
Police and Crime Operation
Nigeria Foreign Policy and June 12 Crisis
Sir Ahmadu Bello, Sir Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe and Chief Obafemi Awolowo: The Height of Truth in Nigeria
Orji Uzor Kalu: Lessons from a Master Strategist
He has presented several speeches and lectures locally and internationally. Among them are:
Wake-up call for the Igbo at Igbo Summit in Enugu, January 2001 June 12 Presidential Election and Transition Crisis in Nigeria delivered in Lagos on June 12, 2002 to mark the 11th Anniversary of the annulled June 12 Presidential Election;
Democracy, Accountability and Good Governance at Papa Club, Lagos, September 14, 2002;
The Media In a Democratic Nigeria at the Communications Department of Howard University, Washington D.C. USA, October 25, 2002;
Issues In Nigeria's Contemporary Politics at Liberty University, Virginia, USA, February 2002;
Electoral Violence and the Future of Democracy in Nigeria at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, Lagos, February 19, 2003, and Roadmap to Igbo Renaissance at the World Igbo Congress, Tennessee, USA, September 29, 2003.
He is married with a wife. Dr. (Mrs.) Ifeoma Orji Uzor Kalu, and they have two beautiful daughters
Professor Dora Akunyili at 59
The National Biographer Magazine July edition of 2013. Probably the last exclusive interview by Professor Dora Akunyili held last year June. It was conducted despite all her attempt to stop it in the name that she don't celebrate birthdays. It was the occasion of her 59th birthday. She never had an opportunity to see this interview after we published it. She would have been 60 years on July 14, 2014, if not for death. It is a 17 page pull out on a woman of substance
Spring of A Life (An Autobiography) By Olu Bajowa
Spring of A Life, which is the first among Olu Bajowa's autobiographical trio, is a down to earth account of the humble beginning of the author. Written with literary finesse which makes the mini-autobiography a compelling reading, the book attempts to maintain balance between revealing the excesses of childhood imaginations, assumptions and actions on the one hand, and, the moments and experiences that led the child success in later years on the other.
The Crumbs off the Wife's Table By Hilda Ogbe
A white Norwegan woman who married a Nigerian in England during the World War II, here narrates the story of her life. Hilde Ogbe returned to Nigeria in 1956 and was naturalised in 1967. She subsequently establishes, and manages a silver jewellery company; studies astrology; and successfully treats sickle cell patients with local herbs and remedies.
World's Greatest Biographies: By Reader's Digest
Biographies of Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill and Thomas Edison
Young Mandela By David James Smith
Nelson Mandela has been mythologised as a flawless hero of the liberation struggle. But how exactly did his early life shape the triumphs to come?
This book goes behind the myth to find the man who people have forgotten or never knew - Young Mandela, the committed freedom fighter, who left his wife and children behind to go on the run from the police in the early 1960s.
But his historic achievements came at a heavy price and David James Smith graphically describes the emotional turmoil Mandela left in his wake.
After meticulous research, and taking a lead from Mandela's trusted circle, the author discovers much that is new, surprising, and sometimes shocking that will enhance our understanding of the world's elder statesman. For the first time, we have evidence of a specific personal motivation for Mandela's fight against apartheid, and this book sheds light on the significant extent to which Mandela relied on white activists - a part of South African history the ANC has ignored or tried to bury.
Sanctified, lionised, it turns out that Mandela is a human being after all, only too aware of his flaws and shortcomings.
With unique access to people and papers, culminating in a meeting with Mandela himself, Smith has written the single most important contribution to our knowledge of this global icon.
About the Author
David James Smith was born in 1956 and has been a journalist all his working life. He writes for the Sunday Times Magazine.
AWUJALE
THAT every man has a story to tell is a notorious fact. The Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba S.K. Adetona has now told his own in an autobiography, Awujale (275 pp) which was launched in Ijebu Ode on Saturday, June 26, 2010 to coincide with his 50th coronation anniversary. The Oba rejected a commissioned biography about ten years ago, saying “I knew it was not my story”. And then one night he had a dream, and “I saw the book, my book with the title and the various chapters, I woke up in the morning and I started to write the book. Here is the book”, the Awujale is quoted as saying. If this is a way of whetting the readers’ appetite, I think it is quite smart.
The Awujale of Ijebuland is one of those few obas in his category whose opinions are respected because they can be trusted to be forthright even when they are wrong. He gives the impression in this book that only he, and a few of his friends including the Oba of Benin, Erediauwa II, the Akija of Ikija, Oba Adekoya, and Alaafin of Oyo, Lamidi Adeyemi III have demonstrated exemplary integrity in the face of pressures. This may be debatable but the truth is that since 1960 when the present Awujale ascended the throne of his forefathers, so much has happened to discredit the traditional institution.
Many traditional rulers have become notorious for their lack of decorum, victims of the politicization of the traditional institution, the collapse of values, and the transition from a tradition to modernity, and of course, their own hubris. As recently as last month, one oba in Akure, one fellow formerly known as the Deji of Akure, threw his crown into the gutter when he went to the home of an estranged wife to take the law into his own hands and behaved like a thug. There have been reports of traditional rulers who have been found to be patrons of armed robbery gangs, traditional rulers who were caught pants down with the wives of their subjects or were struck down by thunderbolt, what the Yorubas call magun, that is “don’t climb,” a traditional voodoo method of eliminating male adulterers. In his account, Oba Adetona offers additional instances of traditional rulers turning themselves into “boys” under military rule, and of the same so-called highnesses and royal majesties betraying their people in order to be accepted by the politicians or soldiers in power. Awujale is a strong defender of the traditional institution and its continuing relevance, and of the need to modernize it and for its principal figures to be upright.
You can read more about the review of this book from HERE
The Awujale of Ijebuland is one of those few obas in his category whose opinions are respected because they can be trusted to be forthright even when they are wrong. He gives the impression in this book that only he, and a few of his friends including the Oba of Benin, Erediauwa II, the Akija of Ikija, Oba Adekoya, and Alaafin of Oyo, Lamidi Adeyemi III have demonstrated exemplary integrity in the face of pressures. This may be debatable but the truth is that since 1960 when the present Awujale ascended the throne of his forefathers, so much has happened to discredit the traditional institution.
Many traditional rulers have become notorious for their lack of decorum, victims of the politicization of the traditional institution, the collapse of values, and the transition from a tradition to modernity, and of course, their own hubris. As recently as last month, one oba in Akure, one fellow formerly known as the Deji of Akure, threw his crown into the gutter when he went to the home of an estranged wife to take the law into his own hands and behaved like a thug. There have been reports of traditional rulers who have been found to be patrons of armed robbery gangs, traditional rulers who were caught pants down with the wives of their subjects or were struck down by thunderbolt, what the Yorubas call magun, that is “don’t climb,” a traditional voodoo method of eliminating male adulterers. In his account, Oba Adetona offers additional instances of traditional rulers turning themselves into “boys” under military rule, and of the same so-called highnesses and royal majesties betraying their people in order to be accepted by the politicians or soldiers in power. Awujale is a strong defender of the traditional institution and its continuing relevance, and of the need to modernize it and for its principal figures to be upright.
You can read more about the review of this book from HERE
Chinua Achebe: Tributes and Reflections By Nana Ayebia Clarke
Chinua Achebe (1930-2013) is widely recognized as the founding father of modern African literature in English. His first novel, Things Fall Apart, published in 1958, not only contested European narratives about Africa, but also challenged assumptions about the form and function of the novel.
Throughout his long career, Achebe was a voice for the peoples of Africa and also a formative influence on a new generation of African writers. This volume of tributes and reflections is a fitting testament to his legacy.
Throughout his long career, Achebe was a voice for the peoples of Africa and also a formative influence on a new generation of African writers. This volume of tributes and reflections is a fitting testament to his legacy.
Audacity of Hope, The: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream by Barack Obama.
Senator Obama has written a book of transforming power. Only by returning to the principles that gave birth to the Constitution, he says, can Americans repair a political process that is broken, and restore to working order a government that has fallen dangerously out of touch with millions of ordinary Americans.
My Life By Bill Clinton
An exhaustive, soul-searching memoir, Bill Clinton's My Life is a refreshingly candid look at the former president as a son, brother, teacher, father, husband, and public figure. Clinton painstakingly outlines the history behind his greatest successes and failures, including his dedication to educational and economic reform, his war against a "vast right-wing operation" determined to destroy him, and the "morally indefensible" acts for which he was nearly impeached. My Life is autobiography as therapy--a personal history written by a man trying to face and banish his private demons.
Clinton approaches the story of his youth with gusto, sharing tales of giant watermelons, nine-pound tumors, a charging ram, famous mobsters and jazz musicians, and a BB gun standoff. He offers an equally energetic portrait of American history, pop culture, and the evolving political landscape, covering the historical events that shaped his early years (namely the deaths of Martin Luther King Jr. and JFK) and the events that shaped his presidency (Waco, Bosnia, Somalia). What makes My Life remarkable as a political memoir is how thoroughly it is infused with Clinton's unassuming, charmingly pithy voice:
A Month and a Day: A Detention Diary By Ken Saro-Wiwa
This is the extraordinary and moving account of Ken Saro-Wiwa's period of detention in 1993, and is also a personal history of the man who gave voice to the campaign for basic human and political rights for the Ogoni people. It was fear of his success that made Saro-Wiwa the target of the despotic Nigerian military regime. Arrested on 21 June 1993, ostensibly for his part in election-day disturbances, he describes in harrowing detail the conditions under which he was held. He writes of his involvement with the Ogoni cause and his instrumental role in the setting up of the movement for the survival of the Ogoni people.