JAMB Recommended Textbooks for History

If you want to pass the JAMB History UTME examination, it is not just about reading a lot, it is about reading the right materials. The smartest thing you can do is use the textbooks that JAMB has officially recommended.

The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) is the body in charge of setting the exam, so they know exactly what you need to study, and they have carefully chosen specific books that cover everything you need to know in the History syllabus. So, by using the JAMB recommended textbooks for History, you are making sure you do not miss out on any important topic.

The JAMB recommended textbooks for History are not just ordinary textbooks, they are suitably recommended to help you fully understand the kinds of questions JAMB will ask. They go deep into key topics like important events in Nigerian and African history, how societies have changed over time, and the roles that leaders and movements have played. By using these textbooks, you get a complete picture of the subject and what topics to read on.

JAMB Recommended Textbooks for History

These books are written in a clear way with good explanations and examples, which makes even the tough topics easier to understand and remember. So, if you want to succeed in JAMB History and build useful knowledge for life, here is a list of the recommended JAMB textbooks for history for candidates to read on: 

S/N	Recommended Text
1	Abba, A. (2006): The Politics of Mallam Aminu Kano, Kaduna: Vanguard and Publishers.
2	Ayandele, A. E. et al (1986): The Making of Modern Africa, The Twentieth Century, Vol. 2, Longman.
3	Ajayi, J. F. A. and Crowther, M. (1971): History of West Africa, Vol. I, London: Longman.
4	Ajayi, J. F. A. and Crowther, M. (1974): History of West Africa, Vol. II, London: Longman.
5	Akinloye, S. A. (1976): Emergent African States: Topics in Twentieth Century African History, Longman.
6	Akinyemi, A. B., Agbi, S. O., and Otunbanjo, A. O. (eds) (1989): Nigeria Since Independence: The First 25 Years (International Relations), Vol. X, Ibadan: Heinemann.
7	Anene, J. C. and Brown, G. (1966): Africa in the 19th and 20th Centuries, Ibadan: University Press.
8	Anene, J. C. (1966): Southern Nigeria in Transition, 1885–1906, Cambridge: University Press.
9	Anene, J. C. and Brown, G. (eds) (1972): Africa in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries: A Handbook for Teachers and Students, Ibadan: University Press and Nelson.
10	Ashiwaju, A. I., Croder, M. and Denzer, I. R. (eds): Tarikh 25, Grassroots Leadership in Colonial West Africa, Vol. 7, London: Longman.
11	Atanda, J. A., Ashiwaju, G. and Abubakar, Y. (eds) (1989): Nigeria Since Independence: The First Years: Religion, Vol. I, Ibadan: Heinemann.
12	Barkindo, B. et al (1989): Africa and the Wider World, Vol. 1, Lagos: Longman.
13	Barkindo, B. et al (1996): Africa and the Wider World, Vols. 2 and 3, Lagos: Longman.
14	Boahen, A. (1969): The Revolutionary Years: Africa Since 1800, Longman.
15	Boahen, A. (1969): The Revolutionary Years: West Africa Since 1800, Longman.
16	Sokoto Caliphate: History and Legacies, 1804–2004, Vols. I & II, Kaduna: Arewa House.
17	Celeman, J. S. (1986): Nigeria: Background to Nationalism, Benin: Broburg and Wistrom.
18	Clerk, T. A. (1991): Right Honourable Gentleman: The Life and Times of Alhaji Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Zaria: Hudahuda Publishing Company.
19	Cohen, D. I. and Daniel, J. (eds) (1981): Political Economy of Africa: Selected Readings, London: Longman.
20	Crowther, M. (1977): West Africa: An Introduction to Its History, Longman.
21	Crowther, M. (1979): Nigeria: An Introduction to Its History, London: Longman.
22	Dike, K. O. (1956): Trade and Politics in the Niger Delta, London: Oxford University Press.
23	Ekeh, P. P. and Ashiwaju, G. (eds) (1989): Nigeria Since Independence: The First 25 Years: Culture, Vol. VII, Ibadan: Heinemann.
24	Falola, T. et al (1989): History of Nigeria, Vol. I, Lagos: Longman.
25	Falola, T. et al (1989): History of Nigeria, Vols. 2 and 3, Lagos: Longman.
26	Gboyega, A., Abubakar, Y., and Aliyu, Y. (eds) (1989): Nigeria Since Independence: Public Administration, Vol. III, Ibadan: Heinemann.
27	Hallet, R. (1975): Africa Since 1875, Ibadan: Heinemann.
28	Hopkins, A. G. (1973): An Economic History of West Africa, Longman.
29	Ikime, O. and Osoba, S. O. (eds): Tarikh: Independence Movement in Africa (Part I), Vol. 3, No. 4, London: Longman.
30	Ikime, O. and Osoba, S. O. (eds): Tarikh: Government in Pre-Colonial Africa, Vol. 4, No. 2, London: Longman.
31	Ikime, O. and Osoba, S. O. (eds) (undated): Peoples and Kingdoms of West Africa in the Pre-Colonial Period, Vol. 5, No. 1, London: Longman.
32	Ikime, O. and Osoba, S. O. (eds) (undated): Tarikh: European Conquest and African Resistance (Part 2), Vol. 4, London: Longman.
33	Ikime, O. (1977): The Fall of Nigeria: The British Conquest, London: Heinemann.
34	Ikime, O. (ed) (1974): Leadership in 19th Century Africa: Essays from Tarikh, London: Longman.
35	Ikime, O. (1968): Merchant Prince of the Niger Delta, London: Heinemann.
36	Ikime, O. (ed) (1980): Groundwork of Nigerian History, Ibadan: Heinemann.
37	Iseihei, E. (1983): A History of Nigeria, London: Longman.
38	Jorre, J. D. (1972): The Nigeria Civil War, London: Hodder and Stoughton.
39	Kani, A. M. and Gandi, K. (1990): A State and Society in the Sokoto Caliphate, Series I, Usman Danfodio University, Sokoto.
40	Mahdi, A., Kwanashei, G. A. and Yakubu, M. (eds) (1994): Nigeria: The State of the Nation and the Way Forward, Kaduna: Arewa House.
41	Martin, P. M. and Omera, P. (eds) (1995): Africa (3rd Ed.), Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
42	Mohammed, B. (1982): Africa and Non-alignment: A Study in the Foreign Relations of New Nations, Kano: Triumph Publishers.
43	Mohammed, A. S. and Adamu, S. (eds) (2005): Nigeria and the Reform of the United Nations, Zaria: Hanwa.
44	Nzula, A. T., Potekhin, A. and Zusmanovich, A. (1979): Forced Labour in Colonial Africa, London: Zed Press.
45	Offiong, D. A. (1980): Imperialism and Dependency: Obstacles to Development, Enugu: Fourth Dimension Publishers.
46	Ojigbo, O. (1982): Shehu Shagari: The Biography of Nigeria’s First Executive President, Yugoslavia: Mlandiska Knjiga.
47	Okafor, I. (1989): History for Senior Secondary Schools, Onitsha: Jet Publishers.
48	Oliver, T. and Afmore, A. (1996): Africa Since 1880 (4th Ed.), New York: Cambridge University Press.
49	Olusanya, G. O. (1973): The Second World War and Politics in Nigeria, 1939–1953, Ibadan: Evans.
50	Omar, O. (1966): The Zulu Aftermath: A Nineteenth-Century Revolution in Bantu Africa, London: Longman.
51	Omolewa, M. (1986): Certificate History of Nigeria, Lagos: Longman.
52	Onoja, I. (1998): Peace-keeping and International Security in a Changing World, Jos: Mono Expressions.
53	Onwubiko, K. (1983): School Certificate History of West Africa, Onitsha: African-First Publishers.
54	Tamuno, T. N. and Atanda, A. (eds) (1989): Nigeria Since Independence: The First 25 Years, Vol. III, Ibadan: Heinemann.
55	Tamuno, T. N. and Atanda, J. A. M. (eds) (1989): Nigeria Since Independence: Government and Public Policy, Vol. IV, Ibadan: Heinemann.
56	Tamuno, T. N. and Ukpabi, S. C. (eds) (1989): Nigeria Since Independence: The Civil War Years, Vol. IV, Ibadan: Heinemann.
57	Thompson, L. A. (2000): History of South Africa, Yale: Yale University Press.
58	Usman, Y. B. (ed) (1979): Studies in the History of Sokoto Caliphate, New York: Third Press International.
59	Usman, Y. B. (ed) (1981): The Transformation of Katsina, 1400–1883, Zaria: Ahmadu Bello University Press.
60	Usman, Y. B. and Alkali, M. N. (eds) (1983): Studies in the History of Pre-Colonial Borno, Zaria: NNPC.
61	Usman, Y. B. and Kwanashei, G. A. (eds): Inside Nigeria History 1950–1970: Events, Issues and Sources, University of Ibadan.
62	Usman, Y. B. (ed) (1989): Nigeria Since Independence: The First 25 Years: The Society, Vol. I, Ibadan: Heinemann.
63	Usman, Y. B. (2002): Election Violence in Nigeria: The Terrible Experience, 1952–2002, Zaria: Abdullahi Smith Centre for Historical Research.
64	Webster, J. B. and Ikime, O. (eds): Tarikh: Early African Christianity, Vol. 2, No. 1, London: Longman.
65	Wilmot, P. F. (1980): Apartheid and African Liberation: The Grief and the Hope, Ife: University of Ife Press.
66	Yakubu, A. M., Jumare, I. and Saeed, A. G. (eds) (2005): Northern Nigeria: A Century of Transformation, 1903–2003, Kaduna: Arewa House.
67	Yakubu, A. M. (2006): Emirs and Politicians: Reform, Reactions and Recrimination in Northern Nigeria, 1950–1966, Kaduna: Baraka Publishers.

Conclusion

Studying these recommended textbooks will ensure you cover all the necessary topics outlined in the JAMB syllabus for History. They provide both theoretical knowledge and practical applications, enhancing your understanding and readiness for the exam.