Today, let’s throw it back to that time between the late 90’s and the early 2000s when reading a book was really a thing of delight for the Nigerian child. If you ever attended primary school or secondary school in Nigeria, then you should be able to relate to this.

Here are a few books I remember reading in my younger days. Do you remember them to?

Chike and the River: This book, written by Chinua Achebe, was written with the mischievous kids in mind because it was used to caution us at school. It tells the story of a young Chike who left his mother in the village to go to the city to study. He also achieved his goal of crossing the bridge to Asaba, and got caught up in a lot of mishaps: Missed the ferry, landed in a bus, and other conundrums.

Eze Goes To School: There is no way you didn’t read this if you attended primary or secondary school in Nigeria. I’m pretty sure some of us still have our copies at home (at least, I still do). A fine tale of how Eze left home to attend school, the struggles he faced and everything in between.

Without a silver spoon: This was one of the books that caught my eye immediately I saw it amongst my brother’s stack of books. One would imagine the author had, at some point in his life, experienced these things first hand. The main theme of the book is that ‘honesty is the best policy’ especially for preteens and teenagers who are exceptional at lying. Honesty is the best policy kids!

Joys of motherhood: One of my favorite books ever! Of course it had to be on this list. I fell in love with “The Joys of Motherhood” the moment it was handed over to me back in Secondary School – JSS3 to be precise. It was set in two parts of Nigeria, rural Ibuza, where traditional values and lifestyles were maintained, and the urban Lagos, where traditional values gave way to the pressures of Western education, capitalism, and the mixture of various cultures (Hausa, Yoruba, Ibo, and European). If you haven’t read it, you should cop your copy now via amazon.

Sugar girl: This one in particular made me bawl my eyes out. It is a story of a poor, sweet adorable village girl, Ralia who spent all day taking care of her sick parents instead of going to school because of abject poverty yet aunty wicked witch, Ayawa wouldn’t let Ralia be. I mean, the poor girl already had enough troubles to deal with. Why kidnap her again? As expected, sweet Ralia won the sympathy of our darling little hearts. The book kept us on our toes because one kept anticipating what would happen next.

This is all we have for today’s throwback Thursday. Which of these were your favorite(s) back then?

Is there any book you think we didn’t include on the list that you feel deserved to be included? Let us know in the comments section below.

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“If we can’t treat each other right, amongst ourselves, how can we expect the government or people in authority to have any tinge of respect for us?” – Atoke.