History Research Fellow

09/04/2026

He founded the MNC in 1958 to demand independence from Belgium.

He became the first Prime Minister of the DR Congo on June 30, 1960, after his party won the most votes.

The problem is that he delivered a famous, defiant speech on Independence Day directly addressing Belgian King Baudouin about the suffering and racism of colonial rule.

His government faced immediate challenges, including a mutiny in the army and the secession of the mineral-rich Katanga province, backed by Belgian interests.

When the UN failed to assist in ending the secession, Lumumba requested support from the Soviet Union (Now Russia), leading the U.S. and Belgium to view him as a communist threat.

He was dismissed by President Kasavubu, arrested, and executed in January 1961.

To hide the evidence, his body, along with those of his associates was later dug up, dismembered, and dissolved in sulfuric acid, with remaining parts burned.

The worst is that they used his own country men, Mobutu, Tshombe etc, to get him down.

Lumumba is remembered as a martyr for African independence, often quoted for his conviction that Africa should write its own history.

09/04/2026

Was He Really the “Last of His Kind” — Or a Story Told the Wrong Way?

In 1931, reports began to circulate from the Dades Valley near Skoura in Morocco about a man named Azzo Bassou.

Local residents had long known of him. He lived in a cave, survived on raw meat, and used only the simplest tools available in his environment.

When colonial observers encountered him, they described a man who moved mostly unclothed, spoke only a few unclear words, and appeared socially withdrawn.

What drew the most attention were his physical features. Witnesses noted a receding forehead, a protruding jaw, a broad nose, and unusually long arms that extended close to his knees.

By 1956, French writer Jean Boulet, alongside ethnologist Marcel Gomet, travelled to document his condition more formally.

Early scientific observers, influenced by the racial theories of the time, compared aspects of his skull to prehistoric remains associated with Neanderthals.

European tabloids quickly branded him “the missing link” and presenting him as evidence of a living prehistoric human.

Subsequent medical examination showed no link to any ancient human species

Instead, researchers concluded that Bassou most likely suffered from Microcephaly, a condition that affects brain development, physical features, and speech.

The problem is that these claims rested more on colonial imagination.

The question is

Was this about science, or about how Africa was being seen at the time?.

But strip away the noise, one thing remains clear.

Azzo Bassou was a man of that soil, living with a condition, observed at a time when Africa was too often explained, instead of understood.

29/01/2025

The killing of twins was a cultural practice among certain ethnic groups in Nigeria, particularly among the Igbo and Efik peoples. Giving birth to twins was considered a bad omen that could bring devastation or calamity upon society. Twin babies were believed not to be human and were viewed as evil. In some remote areas, the killing of twins is thought to be a myth. In the 21st century, it is believed that the killing of twins as a sacrifice still occurs among those residing in Nigeria's federal capital territory.

30/08/2024

04/03/2023

Congratulations Prof. Saheed Aderinto

With a total monetary prize of $2.7 million, the Dan David Prize “recognises outstanding scholarship that illuminates the past and seeks to anchor public discourse in a deeper understanding of history,”.

08/09/2022

The London Bridge is down!

03/03/2022

Give them wings to fly.

14/10/2020

Bloomsbury Academic seeks manuscripts on cities including: New York , Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Montreal, Shanghai, Bangalore, Seoul, Manila, Addis Ababa, Kinshasa, Lagos, London, Berlin, Athens, Budapest, Havana, Sydney and other urban centers around the world, as part of their new series *Christians in the City: Studies in Contemporary Global Christianity.*

26/10/2019

When journalists were at the receiving end of allegations of stoking the flames of communal tensions, here is Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi, a man who drew a clear line in the sand against elements seeking to undermine religious harmony, national unity, and more importantly; humanity. He was born this day in 1890. His humble means made him a Hero in Indian History. Credit: ,