Emirs in London recounts how Northern Nigerian Muslim aristocrats who traveled to Britain between 1920 and Nigerian independence in 1960 relayed that experience to the Northern Nigerian people.

Moses E. Ochonu shows how rather than simply serving as puppets and mouthpieces of the British Empire, these aristocrats leveraged their travel to the heart of the empire to reinforce their positions as imperial cultural brokers, and to translate and domesticate imperial modernity in a predominantly Muslim society.

Emirs in London explores how, through their experiences visiting the heart of the British Empire, Northern Nigerian aristocrats were enabled to define themselves within the framework of the empire. In doing so, the book reveals a unique colonial sensibility that complements rather than contradicts the traditional perspectives of less privileged Africans toward colonialism.

Emirs in London was named in the Brittle Paper 100 Notable African Books of 2022 list.

This is an exciting work, which deals with the ruling and educated elites in the Muslim north and catalogues their visits to Britain.

One of the most original academic studies of empires in years.

Emirs in London: Subaltern Travel and Nigeria's Modernity by Moses Ochonu looks at a fascination but under-explored part of Nigeria's colonial history. Its gives an intimate account of an intriguing facet of northern Nigerian life.

Emirs in London represents a major intervention in the cultural history of colonial Africa, with implications far beyond northern Nigeria.

Emirs in London is an important history that gives voice to the experiences of emirs and aristocrats during the colonial era....This book is beautifully written in a style that is as artistic and creative as those whom Ochonu historicizes.

Moses E. Ochonu is Professor of African History at Vanderbilt University. He is author of Africa in Fragments: Essays on Nigeria, Africa, and Global Africanity; Colonialism by Proxy: Hausa Imperial Agents and Middle Belt Consciousness in Nigeria, which was named finalist for the Herskovits Prize; and Colonial Meltdown: Northern Nigeria in the Great Depression. He is editor of Entrepreneurship in Africa: A Historical Approach.