Understanding Modern Nigeria: Ethnicity, Democracy, and Development
Cambridge University Press, 6/24/2021
EAN 9781108947633, ISBN10: 1108947638
Paperback, 690 pages, 22.9 x 15.2 x 4 cm
Language: English
Originally published in English
Since its independence from Britain in 1960, Nigeria has emerged as Africa's second largest economy and one of the biggest producers of oil in the world. Despite its economic success, however, there are deep divisions among its two hundred and fifty ethnic groups. Centered around three of the dominant themes of Nigeria's post-colonial narrative - ethnicity, democracy and governance, this is an accessible and comprehensive introduction to the history and events that have shaped these three areas. World-renowned expert in Nigerian history, Toyin Falola shows us how the British laid the foundations of modern Nigeria, with colonialism breading competition for resources and power and the widening cleavages between the Hausa-Fulani, Yoruba, and Igbo ethnic groups that had been forced together under British rule, the choice of federalism as a political system, and the religious and political pluralism that have shaped its institutions and practices. Using an examination of the outcomes of this history, manifested in hunger, violence, poverty, human rights violations, threats of secession and corruption, where power and resources are used to reproduce underdevelopment, Falola offers insights and recommendations for the future of policy and the potential for intervention in the country.
Part I. Introduction
1. Narrating Postcolonial Nigeria
2. In Search of Modernity
Part II. Context and History
3. Colonial Modernity
4. Political Pluralism
5. Religious Identities
6. Federalism and Its Fault-Lines
Part III. Democracy and Governance
7. Ethnicities and Political Identities
8. Religion and Geopolitics
9. Democracy and Its Limits
10. Governance, Citizenship and the State
Part IV. Development Crises
11. Corruption
12. The Political Economy of Oil
13. Environment and Sustainable Development
14. Food, Society, and Human Capabilities
15. Women's Marginalization
16. Human and Minority Rights
17. Political Violence
18. Challenges of Western Education
Part V
Reforms and Revolutions
19. Change Agents
Youths and Politics
20. Hashtags and Social Protests
Reformation and Revolution in the Age of Social Media
21. Reformist Option
Grassroots and Political Activism
22. Revolutionary Option
Social Movements and Power to the Citizens
23. Nationalist Ethos, Collective Reformation, and Citizenry Power
24. Popular Culture and Politics
Part VI. Conclusion
Pathways to the Future.