Nigeria: What Everyone Needs to Know

by John Campbell, Matthew T. Page

As the "Giant of Africa" Nigeria is home to about twenty percent of the population of Sub-Saharan Africa, serves as Africa's largest producer of oil and natural gas, comprises Africa's largest economy, and represents the cultural center of African literature, film, and music. Yet the country is plagued by problems that keep it from realizing its potential as a world power. Boko Haram, a radical Islamist insurrection centered in the northeast of the country, is an ongoing security challenge, as is the continuous unrest in the Niger Delta, the heartland of Nigeria's petroleum wealth. There is also persistent violence associated with land and water use, ethnicity, and religion.

In What Everyone Needs to Know�, John Campbell and Matthew Page provide a rich contemporary overview of this crucial African country. Delving into Nigeria's recent history, politics, and culture, this volume tackles essential questions related to widening inequality, the historic 2015 presidential election, the persistent security threat of Boko Haram, rampant government corruption, human rights concerns, and the continual conflicts that arise in a country that is roughly half Christian and half Muslim.

With its continent-wide influence in a host of areas, Nigeria's success as a democracy is in the fundamental interest of its African neighbors, the United States, and the international community. This book will provide interested readers with an accessible, one-of-a-kind overview of the country.

Genres: Africa, Nigeria, History, Nonfiction

232 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 1, 2018

About the author

John Campbell is the Ralph Bunche Senior Fellow for Africa Policy Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. He entered service twice in Nigeria, from 1988–1990 as political counselor and from 2004–2007 as U.S. ambassador.

Reviews

[Marcelle Syku · Rating 4 out of 5]

This reads much like a textbook, but the average person picking up this book is most likely looking for a well-organized wealth of information, and this book does just that. Overall a comprehensive, clear story that I would recommend for anyone trying to build a foundation of knowledge about one of the most important countries in the region.

[Maureen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written....and highly informative! Nigeria is endlessly fascinating. I loved this book!

[Nicolas Lontel · Rating 2 out of 5]

N'ayant pas réussi à trouver un livre d'histoire sur le Nigéria en français (ou même n'importe quoi comme un Que sais-je? sur le sujet), je me suis tourné du côté de la langue anglaise avec son choix plus important. Toutefois, aucun livre d'histoire du pays ne semblait disponible, je me suis donc tourné vers cet essai qui fait très sciences politiques.

C'est honnêtement une correct petite introduction (environ 170 pages) avec une couverture de plusieurs aspects politiques, religieux, internationaux, historiques (très rapide), sécuritaires ainsi que toute la question de pétrole. Écrit par deux hommes blancs étasuniens, ça se sent souvent avec la condescendance avec laquelle ils parlent de ce pays ainsi que le grand manque de culture local qui se sent (je crois qu'il n'y a qu'un mot dans une autre langue que l'anglais dans le texte). L'idéologie néo-libérale des deux auteurs est aussi omniprésent dans ce livre avec souvent la proposition de laisser l'exploitation du pétrole à des compagnies beaucoup plus indépendantes du gouvernement (pour apparemment éviter la corruption), c'est aussi notable lorsqu'il critique le rôle de la NNPC, mais pas les compagnies pétrolières internationales (comme Exxon Mobil et co.) .

L'absence extrêmement notable de discussions autour de la culture, alors qu'elle est présentée très souvent dans le texte comme une des importations les plus importantes et la majeur partie du rayonnement du Nigéria à l'international, est vraiment notable: on parle de Nollywood pendant une page, on ne cite que 4 écrivain·es nigérien·es (dont trois d'entres-eux à deux reprises comme si c'était vraiment juste les 4 qu'ils connaissent pour parler de littératures), deux, trois musiciens/rappeurs et c'est tout. Honnêtement, j'ai laissé tomber de lire un livre d'histoire sur le Nigéria dans l'espoir qu'on parle plus de culture, mais ça n'a pas été le cas.

La partie sur le Biafra et la guerre civile aussi était anormalement courte, j'en apprends plus sur Wikipédia là-dessus...

Bref, un livre correct pour des étudiant·es en sciences politiques puisqu'on parle du positionnement à l'international du Nigéria, de sous système de gouvernance, des conflits qui le traversent, des questions sécuritaires, de la corruption, beaucoup de religion (probablement le meilleur aspect de l'ouvrage) et du rôle de l'armée. Pour le reste, on repassera surtout avec l'idéologie néo-libérale et condescendante qui travers l'essai.

[Miriam · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this is a well of information and very well researched, it is also much too detailed in parts (e.g. when giving the details of the divisions of the military, or the names of leaders of many kinds of military, political and societal groups) for a general public. Actually, sometimes this abundancy of details diverts the readers' attention from more basic and profound information.
I could profit from the background knowledge of the author a lot, while at the same time getting annoyed by redundancies and a writing style that shows that the authors are not actually a professional writers, but professors and diplomats.
Nevertheless, it is a good source of information that even offers a reading list for further reading and an abundancy of footnotes with further explanations.

[Elena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful book for learning about Nigerian history, politics, economics and demographics. There is not as much information about culture or customs, but there are other books for that that can complement this work.

[Marshall · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not sure why this book has such mediocre ratings. It doesn't claim to be comprehensive - but it is great for introducing the country in terms of its history, society, economy, and politics. Very readable and helpful!

[The Contented · Rating 3 out of 5]

Highly readable. Started with much promise, but the book did not have much to say by the end - or maybe I drifted.

[Abraham · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m Nigerian but learned a lot from this

A lot of knowledge gems contained here. A must read if you have any interest in Nigeria. You won’t regret buying this

[meghan · Rating 2 out of 5]

hmm oversimplification and a lot of speculation but helpful quick history and intro to Nigeria

[Ken Peters · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simply put, this is a detailed book-length fact sheet. The intention of the authors was not to write something gripping, but to provide something introductory and informative, and they have done a very good job of that. This book is well-documented, and though it will inevitably contain biases, it has the ring of factual objectivity to it. The writers clearly appreciate Nigeria, but they don’t get caught up with expressing affection for Nigeria. And they clearly have hope for Nigeria, but they don’t shy away from describing what hinders hope for Nigeria. I read this to gain a general understanding about Nigeria, and I found it very well written, well presented, and very helpful.