The Yorùbá have a rich and vibrant history. As a descendant of the great Yorùbá nation, I wanted to learn all I can about the history of my people.
I did a lot of searching online and through forums to find books about the history of the Yorùbá. What I found was a LOT of books about Yorùbá religion and Orishas from a diaspora perspective… mainly Cuba and Brazil.
What I wanted to learn was the history of the Yorùbá as a people. From where did we come? Where are we today? To where will be go? My quest ended with the discovery of the 5 very best books on Yorùbá history available today.
A History of the Yorùbá by Stephen Adebanji Akintoye
The Yorùbá from Prehistory to the Present by Aribidesu Usman and Dr. Toyin Falola
The Yorùbá: A New History by Akinwumi Ogundiran
History of Yorùbá Land by Gbade Aladeojebi
Encyclopedia of the Yoruba by Dr. Toyin Falola
The Yorùbá people have a rich history that deserves to be celebrated. Yorùbáland actually stretches across south-west Nigeria through Benin and Togo. There are perhaps 40-50 million Yorùbá people in Yorùbáland plus the millions more in the Americas due to immigration and the Atlantic Slave Trade. The Yorùbá nation is large, proud, and spread across the world. We have a very rich history deep in culture and tradition.
This African historian is a professor of African Studies. He has written over 100 books and is one of the preeminent researchers of Yoruba history and culture.
Dr. Toyin Falola was born in Ibadan, Nigeria on January 1, 1953. Located in Oyo State, south-west Nigeria, Ibadan is the 3rd most populated city in the country.
By 1970, Dr. Toyin Falola became a school teacher in the nearby town of Pahayi. He started his career as a lecturer in 1981 at the University of Ife. The university was renamed Obafemi Awolowo University in 1987 in honour of the first premier of the Western Region of Nigeria.
In 1991, Dr. Toyin Falola joined the faculty at University of Texas at Austin in the United States of America. He is currently the Jacob and Frances Sanger Mossiker Chair in the Humanities at the university. He has also worked at several other universities such as York University in Toronto, Canada, the University of Cambridge in England, United Kingdom, and others in the United States, Australia, and Nigeria.
An avid researcher, Dr, Toyin Falola earned his Doctor of Letters (D.litt) in humanities from the University of Ibadan on December 31, 2020. He has earned 8 honours and awards around the world including the Cheikh Anta Diop and Lincoln awards in addition to honorary degrees of doctors from 13 universities. He is also the General editor of the Cambria Africa Studies series at Cambria Press.
I recently purchased several books written by Dr. Toyin Falola. One of the greatest books on Yoruba history and culture is called The Yoruba from Prehistory to Present. I highly recommend this book to anybody who seeks to learn about our history.
I currently own the following books written by this great African historian:
The Yoruba from Prehistory to the Present
Understanding Modern Nigeria
The Yoruba Diaspora in the Atlantic World
Igbo in the Atlantic World: African Origins and Diasporic Destinations
Encyclopedia of the Yoruba
A History of Nigeria
These books may be purchased from Amazon Kindle or Google Play Books.
This only marks the beginning of my journey to acquire knowledge of African history. I plan to purchase many more books written by Dr. Toyin Falola. Some of his lectures and interviews are also available online.
I have always been in love with reading. Ever since I was a young lad, I would spend a lot of my free time reading. The advent of the Internet increased the amount of reading that I was doing. Then along came the smartphone. The smartphone has enabled me to read 24/7 wherever I am. I can browse the Internet or read e-books.
When I was a child, we did not have a lot of money. I remember going shopping with Mom and sometimes when I asked for a toy, she would tell me she did not have the money. She promised to buy it the next time she got paid.
As I look back, I realize there was an exception. Whenever we passed by a bookstore, I would ask Mom if we could go in to browse. We would go in and get lost looking at all the books. I don’t remember a single time where Mom declined to buy a book for me regardless of our financial state.
I believe that Mom believed in the power of reading and would make sacrifices if necessary to ensure that her son had access to books. I will forever be thankful for this. I thank you Mom, and I miss you every single day.
Fast-forward to 2022, and after years of research and a few DNA tests, I have finally discovered my African roots. As a present to myself, I decided to purchase some books about my different ethnic backgrounds. My years of study consisted of mostly online articles, university research papers, and books at the library. Now it was time to start building a collection of books.
Prior to my recent buying spree, I had owned the following books about Nigeria:
You Must Set Forth at Dawn, A Memoir
Welcome to Lagos
During the past 6 weeks, I purchased the following books about Nigeria:
History of Yoruba Land
The Esan People of Nigeria, West Africa
Nigeria, A New History of a Turbulent Century
Things Fall Apart, A Novel
The Yoruba Diaspora in the Atlantic World
Igbo in the Atlantic World: African Origins and Diasporic Destinations
I have watched lectures and interviews by two of the greatest historians of Yoruba history. These two distinguished intellectuals have written perhaps the very best books on the subject, 4 of which are in my list above.
Toyin Omoyeni Falola
Stephen Adebanji Akintoye
These wonderful books may be purchased at the following stores:
African history is rich and expansive. It can no longer be hidden from us thanks to technology and great historians such as those mentioned previously.
