Known as the African Giant, Nigeria's story is complex and often contradictory. How, despite the ravages of colonialism, civil war, ongoing economic disappointment and most recently the Boko Haram insurgency, has the country managed to stay together for a hundred years? Why, despite an abundance of oil, mineral and agricultural wealth, have so many of its people remained in poverty? These are the key questions explored by Richard Bourne in this remarkable and wide-ranging account of Nigeria's history, from its creation in 1914 to the historic 2015 elections and beyond.
Featuring a wealth of original research and interviews, this is an essential insight into the shaping of a country where, despite the seemingly dashed optimism that was raised at independence, there remains hope 'the Nigeria project' may still succeed.
Nigeria is a place of superlatives … Africa's most populous nation and … the continent's largest economy also has one of its worst corruption problems. The output of the Nollywood film industry is staggering, as is the number of children who die yearly from malaria … Bourne's account … introduces readers to an array of characters who played critical roles in shaping the nation … [and] fills a gap for a one-stop history of the first century.
–Maggie Fick
Financial Times (West Africa correspondent)
