When people who witnessed history refuse to let it disappear, they tell the stories, preserve the records, and pass the memories from one generation to another. Because when history is left undocumented, it can be forgotten, distorted. This was the core learning from HOMEF’s Book Day featuring renowned author, journalist, lawyer, and civil society leader Richard Akinnola. His books became more than pages and stories, they became vessels of memory; holding accounts of struggle, courage, resistance, and the people who stood against injustice, at high personal costs.
The gathering which held on 2 October 2026 at the Oronto Douglas Conference Hall, HOMEF Headquarters, Benin City, was an invitation to remember, to listen and to recognise documentation as part of the struggle for justice. In revisiting Nigeria’s histories of activism and resistance, participants understood that preserving the stories of those who fought for people and the planet is also a way of keeping their struggles alive.
As part of the project of the Community and Culture desk, the Book Day explored how books, journalism, storytelling, and other creative expressions can preserve histories, challenge erasure, and strengthen struggles for social and ecological justice. Participants included students and lecturers, activists, writers, artists, environmentalists, lawyers, civil society actors and media practitioners. The gathering was an encounter with memory, courage, and the enduring power of documentation.
Akinnola revisited stories of Ken Saro-Wiwa, Oronto Douglas, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, Gani Fawehinmi and Dele Giwa, offering personal recollections of people who confronted power and paid significant prices for doing so. He reflected on the Ogoni struggle and the execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni activists, as well as the assassination of Dele Giwa and his own detention under the Abacha regime.
At the heart of his reflections, he continued to encourage participants to “document the struggle”.
For Akinnola, documentation is a defence against forgetting and the rewriting of history. His own experiences showed how letters, books, journalism, and personal records can preserve truths that power may try to bury.
He brought these histories to life through readings from his publications, including Judge Don Beg Me and Flashback, allowing participants to encounter history through the words and experiences of those who lived it.
The event also marked Akinnola’s formal induction as a Fellow of HOMEF. Free copies of his books were given to participants, extending the conversation beyond the walls of the conference hall.
Young participants were encouraged to connect with HOMEF’s work, volunteer and use their voices and creativity in the pursuit of a more just world.
The Book Day affirmed that memory is part of the struggle for justice. Books do more than preserve words; they hold experiences, struggles and truths that might otherwise be lost. Through stories, letters, journalism and documentation, the courage of those who confronted injustice can travel across generations. To document is to resist erasure, preserve truth and keep alive the struggles and sacrifices of those who stood for justice.