Library Philanthropy in Africa

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Augustine Togonu-Bickersteth

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Apr 13, 2023, 4:53:43 AM4/13/23
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The Top Library Philanthropists  in inAfrica;, Emeka Offor, Tony Elumelu,, Buratai et al
Chief Emeka Offor the andrew carnegie of Africa, donated a staggering 30 milion dollars worth of books to higjher education in nigeria. chief Afe babalola the father of Africa ,recently donated 10 milion pounds to Kings college London for the Afe Babalola transformation centre. is is believe a bulk of the sum would be going to library development.
then we have Tony elumelu, chairman of UBA, united bank for Africa, you have the UBA foundation, donating books, Lt General Tukur Buratai ex chief of army staff donated 1000 books to his primary school and then set up a Think Tank which is believed to have an extensive library

  from wikipedia we learn john Wood co-founded Room to Read in 2001 with Dinesh Shrestha and Erin Ganju. Operating in 20 low-income countries, the organization focuses on increasing literacy and gender equality in education. Its programs develop literacy skills and a habit of reading among primary school children, and support girls to complete secondary school with the relevant life skills to succeed in school and beyond. Over 25 million children have benefitted from the organization's programs.[1 #london #development #education #transformation #bank #africa #nigeria #school

Cornelius Hamelberg

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Apr 13, 2023, 7:34:46 AM4/13/23
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Augustine Togonu-Bickersteth,


Such a big word: Philanthropy 


Here’s a definition of Philanthropist according to the Devil’s Dictionary 


As it has been written,  “Your elders shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions”


Here's something, a kind of vision of how it could be in Nigeria, a vision that should move you deeply as it did me.  


I might be going off on a limb here, but I think that we ( august members of this series) can all contribute our widow’s mite to the essentially non-reading generation that’s nonetheless hungry, and thirsting for knowledge!


How many hundreds of books have we not bought, read, thrown away, or discarded? Collectively, enough to fill a few libraries. Yet, how many of us have read all of Ojogbon Falola’s works, and the vast output of so many other essential books, in the departments of poetry, philosophy, facts, and fiction? Apart from the limited time at our disposal, and a lack of inclination, another reason could be that we are not all billionaires like Elder Obi the leader of the Nigerian Labour Party, and this means that some of the book prices / our heart’s desires and all that music that’s not available at “affordable prices” are simply out of reach for us the common folk, the lumpenproletariat. But all these essential works could be made freely available in libraries scattered throughout Nigeria, like mosques, churches, schools, petrol stations, restaurants, drinking parlours, banks…


N.B., I say “ Elder Obi”  considering that the retirement age in France is 62, which means that if he was a Frenchman, he should be looking forward to retiring as a youth leader by the 19th of July this year… 


Always a valuable resource: https://www.britannica.com/

Augustine Togonu-Bickersteth

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Apr 13, 2023, 8:40:16 AM4/13/23
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Mr.Cornelius Hamellberg is a great idea you put forward about  those on this platform donating their books. maybe we should formalise it as The TOYIN FALOLA LIBRARY FOUNDATION or the USA AFRICA LIBRARY FOUNDATION.the name would help to open doors,
 and we could use  those on this platform to reach out to others to declutter their houses or homes. i am just thinking about the number of retired professors around the world donating their books to  Africa
and then we build a virtual shipping company to deliver the ooks to libraries the lenghth and breadth of Africa, we have to do some sorting.
this may be done by volunteers

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Cornelius Hamelberg

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Apr 13, 2023, 8:40:26 AM4/13/23
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Harrow, Kenneth

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Apr 13, 2023, 10:51:15 AM4/13/23
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I might be interested in such a project. I am retired and have to consider where many of my books are to go. I want a reliable, secure library or its equivalent where it would be needed and do the most good. 
Ken
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Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: Library Philanthropy in Africa
 
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Oluwatoyin Adepoju

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Apr 13, 2023, 5:53:59 PM4/13/23
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Fantastic.

I've been thinking about the future of my own library in Lagos.

I  once used it as a public access  library in the ground floor flat of my house in Benin, employed in it a library attendant and a computer operator when computers were still new in Nigeria  but my current space is more private and security is  now a more serious issue in Nigeria.

I later tried to replicate something similar through building what I understood as a research centre in Histon, near Cambridge UK, an expensive enterprise since I was renting the space.

I also aspired to set up something similar in the Ogba sacred forest in Benin only to return to Nigeria to find the forest has given way to intense urbanization.

Truth is, I wonder how much reading I do these days, and what percentage of that is from print texts. I  hope to enter again into intensive reading and the print books would be priceless, being  intimate companions whose presence around me is like living in a wonderful palace vibrating with achievement and aspiration from fellow travellers across  time and space.

I have  Falola, Wariboko and Kenneth Harrow sections in my library, specifically Harrow's work on Islam, the latter very inspiring,  and his book on change in African literature, among other writers and fields  of study.

Thanks

toyin







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Cornelius Hamelberg

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Apr 13, 2023, 6:12:19 PM4/13/23
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Just as you say, there are those who want to “declutter their houses or homes” and to forward the books with a minimum of strain and without having to worry whether the books arrived or not. I was going to send my entire Islamic collection to Osogbo, was getting unnecessarily worried if they would arrive at all ( and not disappear on the way to their intended destination) but at the last minute was told that they prioritise books in Arabic and not these kinds of guys  or indeed my own special interest ( Shia Islam ...


The proposed Toyin Falola Library Foundation should achieve its aims, and in addition to Ojogbon’s  many contacts and tremendous reach, hopefully he could tap into the generosity of some of these rich men who I’m sure would be more than willing to donate to such a good cause….

Harrow, Kenneth

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Apr 13, 2023, 6:12:19 PM4/13/23
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Before leaving dakar, last time, i checked all the libraries to investigate where to leave my books that i used for teaching. There was only one i felt was both useful for the students and reliable, and wanted humanities boooks. That was WARC, although codesria also seemed good, but was social sciences. Without going into details, the others would not have been good—the books would have disappeared, and some did even as i was there. That’s what we need: a library that students and researchers can use; and that is secure….
I’d love to have solid recommendations
Ken
From: usaafric...@googlegroups.com <usaafric...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Oluwatoyin Adepoju <ovde...@gmail.com>
Sent: Thursday, April 13, 2023 12:44:03 PM

Augustine Togonu-Bickersteth

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Apr 13, 2023, 6:43:27 PM4/13/23
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Reliable  and secure library. These are important. Thank you.this may be part of the duties  of the Toyin Falola  African  studies  library  foundation. That libraries  in Africa may be secure and safe from theft  or fire. I am into security and fire 🔥 safety 


On Thursday, April 13, 2023, Harrow, Kenneth <har...@msu.edu> wrote:
I might be interested in such a project. I am retired and have to consider where many of my books are to go. I want a reliable, secure library or its equivalent where it would be needed and do the most good. 
Ken

Sent: Thursday, April 13, 2023 8:07:09 AM

Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: Library Philanthropy in Africa
On Thu, 13 Apr 2023, 13:34 Cornelius Hamelberg, <cornelius...@gmail.com> wrote:

Augustine Togonu-Bickersteth,


Such a big word: Philanthropy 


Here’s a definition of Philanthropist according to the Devil’s Dictionary 


As it has been written,  “Your elders shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions”


Here's something, a kind of vision of how it could be in Nigeria, a vision that should move you deeply as it did me.  


I might be going off on a limb here, but I think that we ( august members of this series) can all contribute our widow’s mite to the essentially non-reading generation that’s nonetheless hungry, and thirsting for knowledge!


How many hundreds of books have we not bought, read, thrown away, or discarded? Collectively, enough to fill a few libraries. Yet, how many of us have read all of Ojogbon Falola’s works, and the vast output of so many other essential books, in the departments of poetry, philosophy, facts, and fiction? Apart from the limited time at our disposal, and a lack of inclination, another reason could be that we are not all billionaires like Elder Obi the leader of the Nigerian Labour Party, and this means that some of the book prices / our heart’s desires and all that music that’s not available at “affordable prices” are simply out of reach for us the common folk, the lumpenproletariat. But all these essential works could be made freely available in libraries scattered throughout Nigeria, like mosques, churches, schools, petrol stations, restaurants, drinking parlours, banks…


N.B., I say “ Elder Obi”  considering that the retirement age in France is 62, which means that if he was a Frenchman, he should be looking forward to retiring as a youth leader by the 19th of July this year… 


Always a valuable resource: https://www.britannica.com/




On Thursday, 13 April 2023 at 10:53:43 UTC+2 Augustine Togonu-Bickersteth wrote:
The Top Library Philanthropists  in inAfrica;, Emeka Offor, Tony Elumelu,, Buratai et al
Chief Emeka Offor the andrew carnegie of Africa, donated a staggering 30 milion dollars worth of books to higjher education in nigeria. chief Afe babalola the father of Africa ,recently donated 10 milion pounds to Kings college London for the Afe Babalola transformation centre. is is believe a bulk of the sum would be going to library development.
then we have Tony elumelu, chairman of UBA, united bank for Africa, you have the UBA foundation, donating books, Lt General Tukur Buratai ex chief of army staff donated 1000 books to his primary school and then set up a Think Tank which is believed to have an extensive library

  from wikipedia we learn john Wood co-founded Room to Read in 2001 with Dinesh Shrestha and Erin Ganju. Operating in 20 low-income countries, the organization focuses on increasing literacy and gender equality in education. Its programs develop literacy skills and a habit of reading among primary school children, and support girls to complete secondary school with the relevant life skills to succeed in school and beyond. Over 25 million children have benefitted from the organization's programs.[1 #london #development #education #transformation #bank #africa #nigeria #school

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Oluwatoyin Adepoju

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Apr 13, 2023, 6:43:27 PM4/13/23
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there is a gani fawehinmi library in lagos. not been there though. gani was a great legal activist and law scholar 

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Oyeniyi Bukola Adeyemi

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Apr 13, 2023, 8:08:12 PM4/13/23
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Dear all,
 
As I have always told TF, it is sad that we praise and recount the good deeds of our heros and heroines only at their interment. I am not faulting the Yorubas for the saying "Ijo Abaku la di ere" - "We celebrate people only when they are dead", I  am however of the opinion that recounting the good deeds of people when they are alive is important for life-lessons and also to demonstrate to them that their good deeds are recognized.

To this end, two other people that should be on the list of generous donors to Nigerian university libraries are Professors Akinjide Osuntokun and Toyin Falola.

As the pioneer Chair of History, Redeemer's University, I can recall and testify to Professor Osuntokun's generous donation to the University Library, the Tekena Tamuno Library during the 2005/2006 academic year. Permit me to bore you with the story.

We were preparing for NUC's Resource Verification Exercise and, after auditing the university's holding on History and International Relations, which was scanty and not up-to-date. I broached other members of the Department on the issue, noting the implications on our chances of scaling through the Resource Verification and later, Programmatic Accreditation Exercise. We decided to discuss it with the Dean, Professor Osuntokun.

In his characteristic quiet and suave manner, he simply asked Ms. Dairo Oyeleye and myself to report to his house that evening. When we got there, Oyeleye, Miss Bukola Ajayi (Prof's Research Assistant during the time), Prof's personal driver and myself spent that evening and the following weekend loading his books - thousands of books he bought with his personal money from the beginning of his career till then - into two cars and taking them to the university. That was how Professor Osuntokun yielded his personal books to the university library. 

Oyeleye and myself initially thought it was in the bid to secure NUC's approval, but even after both the Resource Verification and Programmatic Accreditation Exercise, the books were left at the library for use by our students.

In 2016, I was at the Redeemer's University and visited the library, not only were the books there, I also found others - all bearing his imprint - in the library and with the university library stamp.

I first came to know Professor Toyin Falola when I was a Research Assistant to Professor JF Ade-Ajayi in 2001. Few weeks into my resumption of work, a package arrived from the United States for JFA. It contained an assortment of books. After painstakingly looking at each of the copies, the Librarian and I were tasked with classifying and cataloguing them into our computer before stocking them on the shelves. Professor Falola sent the books to JFA. 

Few years later, I met with Professor Falola in person during the UTexas History Department's Annual African History Conference. At the end of the conference, all participants were given books - what I later came to know as his tradition. I have witnessed instances like this on many occasions since then. Besides giving individuals books, I have witnessed him donating volumes of books to universities. I was at the Federal University, Lokoja (FUL) when he was donating 'a mountain' of books to the FUL library.

Gestures like these are rare and served as a lesson for me, at least. 

I have cited their cases at different times and at different places, including at the Nordiska AfrikaInstitutet, Uppsala (2006/7) and the African Studies Center, Leiden University in 2009/10. In both cases, the institutions emulated them by donating books - all of which I forwarded to the libraries of both the Redeemer's University and Joseph Ayo Babalola University. 

In the same class as these two institutions is the Omohundro Institute of Early American History & Culture. When I recounted the efforts of Professors Osuntokun and Falola at the Centenary Celebration of the Abolition of the Atlantic Slave Trade in 2008/9 academic year, the Omohundro Institute of Early American History & Culture took a cue from them by granting the Redeemer's University access to JSTOR for one year. The access was at no cost to the university. If my recollection is correct, NUC took a cue from this and signed a contract with JSTOR which then made it available to all Nigerian universities - one whole year after we did it at RUN. 

I shared the above not to launder the images of Professors Osuntokun and Falola or to curry favors from them, but to attest to the fact that there are many silent and largely unknown efforts in this regard. 

When the history of Nigeria's educational development is written, people like these two should not only be remembered for their academic contributions, but also their kindness. Books, no matter how well-written will disappear into the gutters of forgetfulness, no one should forget these acts of kindness that will live in the minds of recipients forever. I am sure Professor Osuntokun would have forgotten how the above went down, but could I ever forget? What about over hundreds of thousand students that have read and will still read those books?

Thank you very much to all the mentioned individuals in other posts and these two. Even if others would wait to recount your good deeds only at your interment, I am stating this loudly and clearly that you are worthy examples in kindness.

***************************************************************************************************

Bukola A. Oyeniyi

*****************************************************************************************************

Missouri State University

College of Humanities and Public Affairs

History Department

Room 440, Strong Hall,

901 S. National Avenue

Springfield, MO  65897

Email: oyen...@gmail.com

***********************************************************



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Augustine Togonu-Bickersteth

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Apr 13, 2023, 8:42:50 PM4/13/23
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Oyeniyi Bukola Ajayi
Thank you for gong down memory lane and recounting kind deeds
of professors Osuntokun anfd Falola.
its been stated that africa would need 100 universities the size of harvard university. on last count harvard university had 20 million volumes of books  400 milion manuscripts  10 milion photographs and one million maps  . i think we can count on retired profesors around the globe  ..africa is the last frontier.  there are 189,000 professors in usa and 162,000 associate professors,thats potentially a lot of books for africa

Oyeniyi Bukola Adeyemi

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Apr 13, 2023, 9:33:17 PM4/13/23
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"Oyeniyi Bukola Ajayi".

I am a man of many fathers.

1. Professor Egbe Ifie, the late Amananowe of Apelebiri
2. Professor Jacob Festus Adeniyi Ajayi
3. Professor Akinjide Osuntokun
4. Professor Oyewale Tomori
5. Professor Toyin Falola
6. Professor Robert John Ross
7. Professor Victor Matthews
8. Professor Olusegun Oke

So, adding only 'Ajayi' might cause trouble.

***************************************************************************************************

Bukola A. Oyeniyi

*****************************************************************************************************

Missouri State University

College of Humanities and Public Affairs

History Department

Room 440, Strong Hall,

901 S. National Avenue

Springfield, MO  65897

Email: oyen...@gmail.com

***********************************************************


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Oluwatoyin Adepoju

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Apr 15, 2023, 4:09:30 AM4/15/23
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Wow.

Great stories from Oyeniyi. I understand Abiola Irele also donated his books to Kwara State University which also initiated the Abiola Irele Centre, if I recall the name correctly.

My family's library made me into a lover of learning. Books at the libraries of the University of Benin initiated me into disciplines that became fundamental for me as well as into the esoteric dimensions of learning, esoteric because of their intense individuality, their profound privateness, such as entering into trance on reading Immanuel Kant on the Sublime in The Critique of Practical Reason, and seeing the 20th century English writer James Joyce in the library as I read his work, experiences I largely kept to myself, among others various dimensions of knowledge beyond the intellectual.

Where would some of us be without libraries and bookshops?

thanks

toyin

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