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Nigeria, despite being the African country of greatest strategic importance to the U.S., remains poorly understood. John Campbell explains why Nigeria is so important to understand in a world of jihadi extremism, corruption, oil conflict, and communal violence. The revised edition provides updates through the recent presidential election.
List of contents
Map of Nigeria
Preface (Revised)
Acknowledgments
Author's Note
Timeline of Nigerian Political History
Introduction (Revised)
1 The Origins of Nigeria
2 Nigerians
3 The State of Nigeria
4 Sharing the Cake
5 The Elections of 2023 (new)
6 Falling Apart
7 International Relations and a Prebendal Archipelago
8 A New Approach
Conclusion: Thinking Differently
Notes
Selected Bibliography
About the Author
About the author
John Campbell is former Ralph Bunche Senior Fellow for Africa Policy Research at the Council on Foreign Relations. He is the author of
Nigeria: Dancing on the Brink and
Morning in South Africa, and co-author of
Nigeria: What Everyone Needs to Know. From 1975 to 2007, Campbell served as a U.S. Department of State Foreign Service officer. He served twice in Nigeria, as political counselor from 1988 to 1990, and as ambassador from 2004 to 2007. Campbell's additional overseas postings include Lyon, Paris, Geneva, and Pretoria. He also served as deputy assistant secretary for human resources, dean of the Foreign Service Institute's School of Language Studies, and director of the Office of UN Political Affairs.
