Obama lists two Nigerian authors as favourites as he visits Africa

Former American president Barack Obama has listed two books by Nigerian authors among his recommended books for summer reading.

Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Americanah were named among other illustrious African books that include A Grain of Wheat (Ngugi wa Thiong’o), Long Walk to Freedom (Nelson Mandela) and The Return (Hisham Matar).

“Over the years…I’ve often drawn inspiration from Africa’s extraordinary literary tradition,” he said of the list.

Obama, born to a Kenyan father, is visiting Africa for the first time since he left office in January 2017. He is expected to visit his father’s birthplace and South Africa, where is foundation will convene 200 young African leaders.

“I was proud to visit sub-Saharan Africa more times than any other sitting President, and I’ll return this week to visit Kenya and South Africa,” Obama said in a Facebook post on Friday.

“In South Africa, the Obama Foundation will convene 200 extraordinary young leaders from across the continent and I’ll deliver a speech to mark the 100th anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s birth. Kenya, of course, is the Obama ancestral home.”

He recently topped a Pew Research public’s list of the best American president in their lifetime