From London To Jos: A British Man’s 60-year Journey to Becoming Nigerian

A Memoir

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This book will become available from August 19, 2025.
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From London to Jos is the remarkable story of David Jowitt, a British academic who made Nigeria his home. What began as a teaching post in the 1960s turned into a lifelong journey of discovery—of people, places, and the nuances of a country he would come to love.

With warmth and a keen observation, Jowitt reflects on decades spent in Nigeria’s classrooms and communities, navigating the joys and challenges of life in Delta, Kogi, Kano and Jos. He writes about friendships that shaped him, students who inspired him, and the deep cultural and linguistic diversity that fascinated him. Alongside moments of humour and everyday encounters, he also offers a firsthand account of the country’s political upheavals and social shifts.

More than a memoir, From London to Jos is a meditation on belonging, faith, and the meaning of home. It’s a story of bridges—between Britain and Nigeria, teacher and student, tradition and change—told with honesty and a deep affection for the people and places that defined a life well lived.

David Jowitt

PROF. DAVID JOWITT (1941 – 2023) was born in Britain, grew up in London, and was a graduate of Cambridge University. From 1963 he lived and worked in different parts of Nigeria, teaching in schools and universities. In the late 1960s he was caught up in the Nigerian Civil War, and took up a teaching post in Tripoli in 1971, before returning to Nigeria in 1974.

Prof. Jowitt was a recognized authority on Nigerian English and published widely on the subject, including the textbook Nigerian English (de Gruyter Mouton, 2018). A Professor of English at the University of Jos, he was also a Fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Letters. 

In 2021, Prof. Jowitt celebrated his 80th birthday and, almost sixty years after first arriving in Nigeria, received news that his application for Nigerian Citizenship had been successful. He was finally awarded Nigerian Citizenship in May 2023, shortly before his death in August 2023.

“A sincere and earnest account of one man’s journey through life, through some of Nigeria’s most historic moments, from the turbulent 1960s to the challenging 2020s. It is a story of what it means to find not just one’s self, but a home and purpose in a place so far from the home one is born into.”

—Abubakar Adam Ibrahim, author of When We Were Fireflies

“David Jowitt's personal account of over six decades of his sojourn in Nigeria, from when he first came as a young man in 1963, to the turbulent civil war years, through the military years to the present, is a delight to read. Humorous, thoughtful, accessible, sympathetic, this is history through the eyes of an outsider who is also an insider. A must read for all Nigerians and for historians. Read it, not just for the content, but for Jowitt's masterful style, his wit and unique point of view.”

—Helon Habila, author of Travellers

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Book Trim151 x 230mm
Number of Pages300
ISBN (Paperback)978-978-60489-8-7
Release DateAugust 19, 2025
GenreNon Fiction

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