The story of Nigeria
Date
1973
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
London: Faber and Faber Limited
Abstract
■ Preface to the Third Edition;
■ Preface to the Second Edition;
■ Preface to the First Edition;
■ The Birth of Nigeria;
■ Sudanese States;
■ Kingdoms of the Forest;
■ The Atlantic Slave Trade;
■ Niger Delta States;
■ The Holy War of Usman Dan Fodio;
■ Yoruba Civil Wars;
■ The Suppression of the Slave Trade;
■ Explorers and Missionaries;
■ The Growth of Legitimate Trade;
■ The Beginnings of Alien Rule
■ Company and Consuls;
■ Emirs and Maxims;
■ The Unification of Nigeria;
■ The Rise of Nigerian Nationalism;
■ Three Constitutions;
■ Independence Achieved;
■ Dynasty of the Shehus; :
■ The Sokoto Dynasty; Alafins of Oyo;
■ British Governors of Nigeria, 1900-60;
■ National Ministries to 1960;
Description
The most significant development in the historiography of Nigeria since i960 has been the great contribution to research by Nigerians themselves. Before independence Nigerians who had published scholarly works on their history could be counted on one hand; now they are the dominant factor in the study of their history and the monopoly of foreign scholars no longer exists. Nigerian participation in, and now domination of, the re-creation of the past of their peoples has been more than anything else responsible for the re-orientation that has taken place in our views of Nigerian history. This is not to say that major reassessments have not resulted from the works of non-Nigerian scholars in the fields of history, anthropology, archaeology and political science. One calls to mind here the immense impact of a historian like Jan Vansina in the use of oral tradition for the reconstruction of African history; the
vital impact of an archaeologist like Thurstan Shaw on our understanding of that shadowy period when the prehistory of Nigeria merges into its history; the important contribution of Robin Horton, an anthropologist, to our understanding of the processes of state formation.