Dictionary of African Biography


Book Description

From the Pharaohs to Fanon, Dictionary of African Biography provides a comprehensive overview of the lives of the men and women who shaped Africa's history. Unprecedented in scale, DAB covers the whole continent from Tunisia to South Africa, from Sierra Leone to Somalia. It also encompasses the full scope of history from Queen Hatsheput of Egypt (1490-1468 BC) and Hannibal, the military commander and strategist of Carthage (243-183 BC), to Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana (1909-1972), Miriam Makeba and Nelson Mandela of South Africa (1918 -).




The Woman "From Obscurity to the Wings of Change"


Book Description

The Woman From Obscurity to the Wings of Change This book is all about the woman. God created the woman when he saw and said, “It is not good that the man should be alone” (Genesis 2:18). God was not satisfied, at a stage, with the performances of Adam alone in the garden of Eden. God therefore created the woman for fruitfulness and to unveil hidden knowledge, wisdom, and procreation in fulfillment of God’s blessings and wishes for his creation on earth. The men on earth became jealous and suspicious of the woman because of her nature and qualities. The early religious leaders, family heads, the community leaders, authors and Bible writers, the governments in the Middle East, and society in general made laws and culture aimed at demeaning and downplaying the woman’s qualities and contributions. They veiled the woman to obscurity in the land. Centuries later, women passed through changes toward emancipation as a result of pressure by feminist groups, government and civil society agencies in developed and civilized countries who made legislations and edicts prohibiting discrimination and gender inequality laws against women. Several women and men organizations in cooperation with government-initiated activities and made laws aimed at abolishing all kinds of gender discrimination in their nations. As a result of these laws, women became not just educated, but they became educators in various fields of science and technology. Highflier women became professors, doctors, engineers, pilots, political leaders, heads of states, and industrial leaders in their nations. Today’s women are on the wings of change. They now compete with men all over the world. Women are becoming more equal to men than expected. Many men are confused and are looking up to the women highfliers for direction.




The Transformation of Nigeria


Book Description

Professor Toyin Falola, a distinguished Africanist and a leading historian of Nigeria, has established an enduring academic legacy.




Nigerian Women of Distinction, Honour and Exemplary Presidential Qualities


Book Description

NIGERIAN WOMEN OF DISTINCTION, HONOUR AND EXEMPLARY PRESIDENTIAL QUALITIES; EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL GENDERS The book identifies scores of Nigerian revered women who match the most dignified women world-wide. Their wonderful attributes can lead Nigeria to the Promised Land sooner than expected if given equal leadership opportunities. They abound in all professions including those exclusively left for men and they perform with excellence. It highlights socio-political activism of Chief Abigail Olufunmilayo Ransom-Kuti (25/10/1900-13/4/1978); Chief Hannah Awolowos successes and unflinching support for her husbands course, Chief Obufemi Awolowo, first Premier of Western Nigeria, her revered Yorubaland eldership; and unparalleled antecedents of Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; Professor Dora Akunyili; Chief Olubunmi Etteh, first female Nigerian House Speaker; Chief Farida Waziri, EFCC ex-Chairperson and many others comprising 190 Nigerian women (past and present) with great and wonderful antecedents. Behind successful men are great women. When women are trained, knowledge spreads and impacts entire community. Women have inherent powers of accomplishments, invincibility and indispensability. Ironically, physically and economically powerful male chauvinists think they control everything, but their wives or girl-friends really take charge and control everything remotely including the powerful men. Imagine the world without women; it will be dull, boring, wifeless, motherless, childless and uninteresting without love, care, romance, beauty, affection, attractiveness, happiness and child production. It condemns discrimination, domestic violence, women and child abuse world-wide. Women can lead exemplarily if given equal opportunities as men. GOD BLESS NIGERIAN WOMEN!




Readings in Gender in Africa


Book Description

This is a comprehensive overview on the existing literature on gender in Africa. It covers areas such as Western perceptions, colonial morality, religion and politics.




Queens of Afrobeat


Book Description

In Queens of Afrobeat, the women of Afrobeat music—a unique blend of jazz, soul, highlife, and West African rhythms—are finally given the recognition they deserve. This extensive study takes a multifaceted view of the storied lives of the women behind Fela Kuti's activist music. Dotun Ayobade's wide-ranging research pulls from interviews with surviving queens, ethnographic narratives, the exploration of newspaper archives, and close readings of album covers, photographs, and promotional materials to help us see and understand the women who surrounded Fela Kuti on stage and in everyday life. Not only were these artists crucial performers and backup singers for Kuti's most important compositions, they also played key roles in his activism and campaigns of social protest against the Nigerian government in the 1970s. Drawing on previously untapped material, Queens of Afrobeat weaves together an intricate narrative of women's participation in popular music. The stories of these remarkable women transform and uniquely personalize our understanding of the politics and performance of one of the major modern musical traditions in Africa.




Wisdom of the Rare One


Book Description

Even though Oduko Na Mba didn’t attend a formal school, she was an inspirational woman who possessed wisdom that guided the educated and the powerful. In Wisdom of the Rare One, Oduko’s daughter, author Dr. Chinedu Christie Nnamah Okoye, offers an insightful look at her mother’s life. In this memoir, Nnamah Okoye blends real-life events with fictional excerpts to share her mother’s story. Born around the year of 1925 and married off at the age of fourteen, Oduko, through her faith in God, raised nine children and left a legacy many envied and even emulated. She consistently exemplified her rarity at every level of her adult years of life, her character remaining consistent during times of peace, war, scarcity, and plenty. Wisdom of the Rare One shares the author’s mother’s practical and everyday wisdom, rooted in Biblical principles, that helped others build positive and healthful relationships. It pays tribute to Oduko while offering a host of anecdotes and stories that highlight the vision and acumen of a woman born at a time and in a country that placed little value on a female’s existence.




AFRICAN POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY


Book Description

African Political Philosophy has come to dismiss the bogey myth of non-existence of the great and noble ideas of African philosophy, African theology and African history. It has rather come to justify the reality and existence of African philosophy espoused in the early 1970s by people like Professor Innocent Onyewuenyi who propounded the notion of Egyptian-African origin of Greek philosophy. This has also added to its academic merit and market potential. It is indeed a necessary addition to the growing volumes of brilliant books by a number of indigenous African scholars and writers. This book id endorsed by Edioms Research and Innovation Centre (E-RIC)




Insights and Explorations in Democracy, Political Unrest, and Propaganda in Elections


Book Description

Democracy is a very important system of government found all over the world. A cardinal principle of democracy is periodic elections. Elections have various forms of propaganda at different levels, whether for unity, division, continuity, or another purpose. It is essential to research further into the developments in propaganda and political unrest so that global democracies may ensure credible elections and smooth governmental processes. Insights and Explorations in Democracy, Political Unrest, and Propaganda in Elections investigates how democratic governments can ensure credible elections in a peaceful atmosphere and an atmosphere of political unrest amidst various propagandas. The book assesses whether democratic peace is expected in all democracies despite the free occurrence of political unrest across many democratic societies in Europe, America, Asia, and Africa. Covering topics such as democratic accountability, political leadership, and youth marginalization, this premier reference source is an essential resource for government officials, public policy brokers, politicians, students and educators of higher education, researchers, and academicians.




For Women and the Nation


Book Description

Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti was a Nigerian feminist who fought for suffrage and equal rights for her countrywomen long before the second wave of the women's movement in the United States. She also joined the struggle for Nigerian independence as an activist in the anticolonial movement.For Women and the Nation is the story of this courageous woman, one of a handful of full-length biographies of African women activists. It will be welcomed by students of women's studies, African history, and biography, as well as by opponents of the Nigerian military regime that has held one of her sons, Dr. Beko Ransome-Kuti, in solitary confinement since August 1995.CHERYL JOHNSON-ODIM, chair and associate professor of history at Loyola University in Chicago, is coeditor of Expanding the Boundaries of Women's History. NINA EMMA MBA, senior lecturer in history at the University of Lagos, Nigeria, is the author of Nigerian Women Mobilized and Ayo Rosijc.