Yorùbá Identity and Power Politics
edited by Toyin Falola and Ann Genova
Covering the major issues of Yorùbá history and politics, contributors to this volume come from a wide range of disciplines, and they offer their insights into the Yorùbá of Nigeria with an emphasis on contemporary developments. With a careful blend of sources and methods, narratives on the past and present, the book presents the past as a tool for understanding complicated contemporary struggles for power and resources, as well as the interplay of identity in federal politics. Topics addressed include recent archaeological findings on early Yorùbá groups, the role of Yorùbá chiefs in modern Nigeria, contemporary migrations to North America, and Yorùbá participation in Nigeria's politics, including the controversial elections of 1993. Yorùbá Identity and Power Politics provides readers with an in-depth analysis of politics and history, thus contributing to the literature on ethnicity and policts in modern Africa.
Traditional and Modern Health Systems in Nigeria
edited by Toyin Falola and Matthew M. Heaton
Health-related topics in African countries tend to be viewed negatively. With HIV infection rates soaring and health sectors ill equipped to handle the needs of the general population in most sub-Saharan African countries, there seems to be little worth celebrating in terms of health care options for Africans. Historically, Nigeria has fit well into this assessment. The essays in this book, however, do more than catalogue the failures of the Nigerian health sector. They raise practical issues about how the Nigerian health sector can and perhaps is improving the health outlook for its citizens in the twenty-first century. Through analyses of the ever-increasing integration of traditional medical beliefs and practices with modern medical methods and treatments, as well as discussions about the proliferation of private and non-governmental health institutions, popular perceptions of health and illness, and the connection between environment and health, these essays illustrate the enormity and complexity of facets that combine to form a uniquely Nigerian health system. Together, the essays in this volume paint a dichotomous picture of poor performance and optimism, underdevelopment and expansion facilities, but above all, they suggest that solutions to Nigeria's health problems do exist: the job merely remains to assess and implement them.
The Yoruba in Transition: History, Values, and Modernity
edited by Toyin Falola and Ann Genova
Under pressure from the relentless forces of globalization combined with domestic changes, Nigerians find themselves in a period of constant social, political, and economic adjustment. After decades of military rule and political instability, Nigeria reintroduced itself as a democratic state in 1999. The changes and democratic posturing have raised questions about how to move the country forward. The Yoruba, one of Nigeria’s most well-known and historically prevalent ethnic groups, have taken an active role in dealing with these issues. Whether motivated by a nationalist vision of a unified, successful Nigeria, or by their own interests in reclaiming political space and retaining their culture, the Yoruba have made important contributions to the discussions relating to this transitional era. The essays in this book examine important contemporary issues such as migration, health, agricultural production, cybercrime, and the role of women in Yoruba society. The Yoruba in Transition represents a rare view of how people within and outside Nigeria view the new millennium in relation to this prominent group and their country.
Scoundrels of Deferral: Poems to Redeem Reflection
by Toyin Falola and Vik Bahl
When new worlds are unfamiliar, when the terrain appears treacherous, when choices and their consequences are daunting, is it better to trust instinct and act or to sit down and think everything through? Scoundrels of Deferral is a collection of poems penned by two writers who seek to discover and animate what may be urgent in reflection itself. The poetry of Toyin Falola and Vivek Bahl emerges from the experiences of dislocation, the unpredictability of good intentions and grand ambitions, the unrelenting longing for connection and community, and the determination to reinvent traditions and foundations to recreate the wholeness of fractured worlds. Theirs is an honest witnessing of loss, perplexity and violence, but also a commemoration of desire, hope and joy. Here is a poetry where acknowledgment, gratitude and mischief may serve as the basis for purposeful labor, emergent leadership, and fulfilled social being.
Igbo Religion, Social Life and Other Essays by Simon Ottenberg
by Toyin Falola
In this volume Simon Ottenberg presents a number of detailed essays on the religious life of the Igbo people in southeastern Nigeria and on the Limba of northern Sierra Leone, based on extensive anthropological field research over many years. Ottenberg stresses the importance of looking at African religious life in terms of ritual activity and change over time. There are also chapters on the growth of Abakaliki, an Igbo town, and essays reflecting on the author’s field experiences in Africa. The volume concludes with two general papers, one on the question of peasantry in Africa and the other a survey of anthropological and historical research in southeastern Nigeria.
Endangered Bodies: Women, Children and Health in Africa
edited by Toyin Falola and Matthew M. Heaton
This collection brings together perspectives on issues related to child and maternal health from a variety of different angles. While diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria and others continue to threaten the lives of women and children in sub-Saharan Africa, there is more to combating these epidemics than eradicating the vectors responsible for them. Social factors also play a major role in bringing awareness, legislation and funding to bear on issues that affect the health of women and children. Therefore, the chapters in this book discuss such social and legal issues as women’s abortion rights and practices in Africa, the rights of HIV-infected children and AIDS orphans, and the prevalence of violence against women with its associated health risks, among many others. Overall, Endangered Bodies portrays the precarious circumstances under which women and children must battle for equal access and treatment in inhospitable environs.
