Why I wrote book on pre-colonial Nigeria — Osigwe Momoh

A lawyer and author, Osigwe Momoh, has said his new book, The World We Once Had, was written to help people have a better understanding of pre-colonial Nigeria.

In an interview with Society Plus at the event, Momoh said, “The book expands the frontiers of pre-colonial history in Sub-Saharan Africa by reenacting life in that period by infallible evidence, such as radioactive dating and geographic analysis.

“Several depictions of ancient African history dwell on fables or myths, and ignore the hard facts and evidence that traditions, and in some cases, science has preserved. Instead of knowing about our history based on oral evidence, which in many instances have been distorted by time or to boost the egos of certain people, this work of art attempts to recreate the lives and times of the ancient inhabitants of this geographic space now known as Nigeria. It will help people understand pre-colonial Nigeria.”

He added that the book explores factual occurrences such as the expansion of the ancient Benin Empire. He noted that it took sophistication in governance and warfare to administer an empire of that size.

According to him, there is ‘irrefutable evidence’ that by the 13th century, the Benin Empire had mastered bronze smelting and metallurgy.

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