Historical Dictionary of Nigeria

Historical Dictionary of Nigeria. By Toyin Falola and Ann Genova. Historical Dictionaries of Africa. Lanham, MD: The Scarecrow Press, 2009. Pp. xlii, 423; map, bibliography. $120.00. There are few comprehensive, up-to-date, country-specific historical dictionaries, so one would be forgiven for not having had to consult one in the course of one's scholarly or pedagogical activities. For Africa, the dearth of good reference materials is especially acute and well known among specialists. Because the "Historical Dictionary" genre is defined by chronological and geographical exclusivity, it places a special burden on author-compilers. Authoring this reference text was thus a challenging task for Falola and Genova to take on. They deserve commendation for tackling it with grace and subtlety and for producing this gem. Historical Dictionary of Nigeria is a text that performs the traditional role of a subject/area dictionary while also providing very useful contextual information and analysis that ground the entries and deepen our understanding of the larger orbits in which they thrive(d). The introduction accomplishes this important task, which is necessary for a successful navigation of the text by the reader. It explores the historical, geographical, and sociological contexts and underpinnings of Nigeria's existence, identity, and on-going evolution. It provides a valuable point of entry into the text especially for non-specialist audiences and those encountering the country at a methodical, academic, or systematic level for the first time. The section titled "chronology" complements the analytical introduction nicely. It provides a useful guide and facilitates quick referencing and cross-referencing. This section builds on the strength of Falola's other reference work, Key Events in African History, whose rich chronological coverage of events is already a treasure for Africanists. The authors continue with their context-setting, reader-friendly style in the "Reader's Note" section. Here they pay commendable attention to orthographic accuracy, authenticity, and variation, announcing important disclaimers and caveats regarding names of people, places, and objects. This helps the reader sift through and make sense of the various nomenclatural mutations and variations in the dictionary. One important innovation in the text is the coverage of historical and contemporary figures and phenomena in the same structural frame of reference. …