A History of Nigeria

Front Cover
Cambridge University Press, Apr 24, 2008 - History - 329 pages
Nigeria is Africa's most populous country and the world's eighth largest oil producer, but its success has been undermined in recent decades by ethnic and religious conflict, political instability, rampant official corruption and an ailing economy. Toyin Falola, a leading historian intimately acquainted with the region, and Matthew Heaton, who has worked extensively on African science and culture, combine their expertise to explain the context to Nigeria's recent troubles through an exploration of its pre-colonial and colonial past, and its journey from independence to statehood. By examining key themes such as colonialism, religion, slavery, nationalism and the economy, the authors show how Nigeria's history has been swayed by the vicissitudes of the world around it, and how Nigerians have adapted to meet these challenges. This book offers a unique portrayal of a resilient people living in a country with immense, but unrealized, potential.
 

Contents

List of illustrations
1892
List of abbreviations
Early states and societies 9000 BCE 1500
Slavery state and society c 1500 c 1800
Political and economic transformations in the nineteenth century
Transition to British colonial rule 18501903
Colonial society to 1929
Nationalist movements and independence 1929 1960
Oil state and society 1970 1983
Civil society and democratic transition 1984 2007
Nigeria and Nigerians in world history
corruption anticorruption and the 2007 elections
Notes
Selected bibliography
Index
Copyright

Instability and civil war 1960 1970

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About the author (2008)

Toyin Falola is the Frances Higginbotham Nalle Centennial Professor in History at the University of Texas, Austin. His books include The Power of African Cultures (2003), Economic Reforms and Modernization in Nigeria, 1945–1965 (2004) and A Mouth Sweeter than Salt: An African Memoir (2004).

Matthew M. Heaton is a Patrice Lumumba Fellow at the University of Texas, Austin. He has co-edited multiple volumes on health and illness in Africa with Toyin Falola, including HIV, Illness and African Well-Being and Health Knowledge and Belief Systems in Africa (2007).

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