Formation: The making of Nigeria from Jihad to Amalgamation.
A review of the most important and arguably the best-written book, thus far on Nigerian History.
The Federal Republic of Nigeria, given its place as the most populous black nation in the world, Africa’s largest economy and quite possibly its biggest failed state, has had a compendium of literature written about it; From Frederick Forsyth’s The story of Biafra to the Martin Meredith’s state of Africa to Karl Maier’s this house has fallen to the late Stephen Ellis’ This Present darkness to Max Siollun’s excellent trilogy- Oil, Politics and Violence, Soldiers of Fortune and Nigerian Soldiers of Fortune- There’s been a plethora of non-Nigerians and Nigerians alike providing their take on a country, which is to all intents and purposes, a multitude of nations within a nation or as Winston Churchill’s much-quoted description of Russia: “ A riddle wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma”.
What we haven’t had, until now, has been a first-class forensic examination of the historical underpinnings of the making of the entity called Nigeria and the reasons for the endlessly intractable problems that the country has faced and continues to face since its independence from Great Britain in 1960. Do you want to know why the Niger Delta is still an unresolved headache for the local population and the Oil majors which operate there…
