Africa is a sleeping giant -- I'm trying to wake it up

Chinua Achebe's famous novel beautifully narrates the Igbo culture and society before the invasion by British missionaries. His book stands out because it tells the story of colonization from an African perspective, highlighting the differences between African values and European values. Published in 1958, the novel has become a world classic. When it comes to African Literature, it has been translated into more than 50 languages around the world. Achebe's writings, especially from this classic, inspire Africans like me to tell our stories from our own perspective.

In this exhilarating autobiography, Nelson Mandela shows that freedom is what man must fight for and, if necessary, die for. Mandela shares his struggles, setbacks and triumphs in his quest to end racial oppression and inequality in South Africa, emphasizing how all humans have a right to freedom. However, where freedom is denied, it must be demanded — and when we demand it, we must be willing to pay the price.

"The Beautiful ones are not yet born, the ugly ones refuse to die" is an old African proverb. The book describes Ghana's maladies of corruption in the post-colonial African experience, chronicling the despair, despondency and poverty inflicted on Ghanaians through selfish and inhuman leadership 11 years after independence. From this book, you'll see how a person remains resolute and undefiled through his exemplary life — showing that if you must stand for a worthy cause, you must be willing to stand alone.

In this epistolary novel, Ramatoulaye expresses the frustration and ordeal of her marriage through a letter to her friend Aïssatou. This book reflects the struggles and torture several women face in Africa and the scars that the whips of polygamy, religion and culture have left on them. Ramatoulaye was able to relieve her pain and stand strong through the help of her friend, to whom the letter is addressed. This book also mirrors the roles marriage, religion and culture play in limiting women, especially in West Africa. However, this novel also exhibits the strength, determination and dogged spirit of an African woman to succeed against all odds.

Set in the wake of the Mau Mau rebellion and on the cusp of Kenya's independence from Britain, A Grain of Wheat is a fiction on a group of villagers whose lives have been transformed by the 1952-1960 Kenya Emergency. At the center of it all is the reticent Mugo, the village's chosen hero and a man haunted by a terrible secret. As we learn of the villagers' tangled histories in a narrative interwoven with myth and peppered with allusions to real-life leaders, including Jomo Kenyatta, a masterly story unfolds in which compromises are forced, friendships are betrayed and loves are tested

Movies and shows recommended by Adeola (and available on Netflix): The Royal Hibiscus Hotel, Blood & Water, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, Love Is War, Queen Of Katwe, Lionheart, Queen of the South, The Wedding Party and Wedding Party 2