Institute republishes three books of Bala Usman to commemorate his 15th memorial anniversary

The Yusufu Bala Usman Institute has published three books in commemoration of the 15th memorial anniversary of the notable historian.

In a statement, the institute said the books will be presented to the public in new editions.

“The ideas contained in these works are, if possible, even more relevant today than when they were first written, and they comprise an invaluable legacy for present and future generations,” the statement read.

The books are:

FOR THE LIBERATION OF NIGERIA

This book, first published in 1978, originally sold over 10,000 copies. It contains 30 essays and lectures that Usman delivered between 1969 and 1978. They cover topics such as: Some Fundamental Problems of Contemporary Nigeria; The Direction of Nigeria: Structure, Ideology and the Constitution; Nigeria’s African Policy; Nigerian Universities and Intellectual Self-Reliance and The Struggle in the South: Angola., Mozambique and the Future.

The new edition of the book has been enhanced with a foreword written by Olusegun Osoba, chairman of the Yusufu Bala Usman Institute. Osoba is one of Usman’s oldest and closest friends and collaborators.

When both of them served on the constitutional drafting committee, set up by Murtala Muhmmed to write a new constitution for a democratic Nigeria, they disagreed with the trend of discussion of the majority of the members and together they produced the Minority Report and Draft Constitution for the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1967, a work which has had wide-ranging impact since then on any discussion of the issues around the Nigerian constitution.

NIGERIA AGAINST THE IMF: THE HOME MARKET STRATEGY

This book comprises essays on the subject of the Nigerian economy, such as Understanding and Resolving the Current Economic Crisis; The Structure of the Nigerian Economy and the Real Meaning of Structural Adjustment; What Exactly is the Problem? For Whom is the Solution? among others.

The new Foreword to this book was written by Mike Kwanashie, professor of economics at Ahmadu Bello University and former vice-chancellor of Veritas University, Abuja. Kwanashie is an associate of the Yusufu Bala Usman Institute. He is a renowned economist with wide experience both in and outside of academia. He is a long-time associate of Dr. Usman and worked with him on many projects over the years. His very important foreword provides an updated assessment of Usman’s conception about the Nigerian economy and demonstrates how prescient Usman’s ideas were and how relevant they are to the present economic situation in Nigeria.

THE MANIPULATION OF RELIGION IN NIGERIA

First published in 1987, this work broke new ground in its examination of a critically important issue in Nigeria – how religion is manipulated to serve the interests of a class of people who use religion to obscure and cover up their real purpose of dividing the country and protecting their material interest at the expense of the generality of the Nigerian people.

The foreword to this work was contributed by Usman A. Tar, who is one of the directors of the Yusufu Bala Usman Institute. He is a professor of defence and security studies at the Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna and has published widely in foreign journals.

The foreword brings up to date some of the themes touched upon by Usman and presents them in a geographical and historical perspective. The foreword, together with the original text provide a broad and perceptive appreciation of the issue of manipulation of religion which is at the heart of the problem of Nigerian unity.