Five books for those who deploy courage

1) Any book on Martin Luther King (Jnr)-The famous Martin Luther King speech is a study  in race relations, on audacity, on courage in the face of an extraordinary time in the United States. At 33 he was pressing for the place of civil rights. At 34 he galvanised the nation with his famous speech. […]

1) Any book on Martin Luther King (Jnr)-The famous Martin Luther King speech is a study  in race relations, on audacity, on courage in the face of an extraordinary time in the United States. At 33 he was pressing for the place of civil rights. At 34 he galvanised the nation with his famous speech. At 35 he won the Nobel peace prize. At 39 he was assassinated. He has left a legacy of hope and inspiration that continues today. Martin Luther King had the courage to stand up to racists in the United States, had the courage to preach non violence and yet was cut down violently. I have several biographical books on him. I therefore recommend any book by him or on him to teach us tenacity and the courage to stand up and be counted.
 

2) Any book on Nelson Mandela or by him-Nelson Mandela defined an entire African generation. It is Nelson Mandela’s collection of quotes over the years that have remained my inspirational go-to collection. Let us take three out of the many quotes.
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world…”
“I learnt that courage is not the absence of fear but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid but he who conquers that fear”
“It always seems impossible until its done”.
The story of Nelson Mandela continues to inspire us all. Every single book either by him or about him is a lesson in courage.

3) Rosa Parks-Reading Rosa Parks or anything about her over the years has held me spellbound and no matter which way her story is told, it always leaves me totally amazed about how a woman so tiny could have started a revolution. Refusing to give up her seat in an all white bus during the civil rights movement in America as a black woman, earned her a place in history. Her phenomenal comment about that moment when she refused to give up her seat on that bus is even more revolutionary than we think-
“ People always say that I didn’t give up my seat because I was tired, but that isn’t true…No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in”.
Incredible stuff to lead us to courage or help us hold on to our virtues, our values, our beliefs, our truths.

4) The story of Nollywood can never be told without talking about those who decided that they could shoot on any format, sell at any outlet, and line up actors and actresses some of whom had no training whatsoever, to make their voices heard. Those who were courageous enough to say we can and then go on to believe in not just about themselves  but about the rest of us who they felt will buy into what they were doing. These people remain our heroes in the Nollywood industry. Where others saw obstacles, they saw opportunities. Any book about these pioneers, about how it all started, about who did what, about where they found the money; represents for me the pinnacle of courage in the Nigerian creative industry. Men and women who sacrificed, who encouraged, who thought out of the box. The story of Nollywood has to be a collector’s item in a courage travellers  trove.
 

5) In tribute to the late Oba of Benin, who was a dye in the wool civil servant, his book I remain Sir, Your Loyal Servant is a must read as a pointer to courage in the civil service. This book along with several other books on the civil service as it used to be is one that has to be purchased and studied by civil servants today. Service is about courage and as Alhaji Ahmed Joda super Permanent Secretary observed in one of his recent interviews, you were expected in the Nigeria Civil Service of yore to tell your boss the truth and to assist him in decision making. As a result of which you were respected for your opinion in speaking truth to power. Whither today’s civil service?