Nigeria: A New History of a Turbulent Century

346 Pages·2015·1.99 MB·English

by  Richard Bourne

More praise for Nigeria: A New History of a Turbulent Century

‘This book is a major achievement and I defy anyone who
reads it not to learn from it and gain greater understanding
of the nature and development of a major African nation.’
Lalage Bown, professor emeritus, Glasgow University

‘Richard Bourne’s meticulously researched book is a major
addition to Nigerian history.’
Guy Arnold, author of Africa: A Modern History

‘This is a charming read that will educate the general reader,
while allowing specialists additional insights to build upon.
It deserves an audience far beyond the confines of Nigerian
studies.’
Toyin Falola, African Studies Association and the University
of Texas at Austin
About the author
Richard Bourne is senior research fellow at the Institute of
Commonwealth Studies, University of London and a trustee of the
Ramphal Institute, London. He is a former journalist, active in
Common wealth affairs since 1982 when he became deputy director of
the Commonwealth Institute, Kensington, and was the first director
of the non-governmental Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative.
He has written and edited eleven books and numerous reports. As a
journalist he was education correspondent of The Guardian, assistant
editor of New Society, and deputy editor of the London Evening Standard.
Also by Richard Bourne and available from Zed Books:
Catastrophe: What Went Wrong in Zimbabwe?
Lula of Brazil
Nigeria
A New History of a
Turbulent Century
Richard Bourne
Zed Books
LONDON
Nigeria: A New History of a Turbulent Century was first published in 2015
by Zed Books Ltd, The Foundry, 17 Oval Way, London SE11 5RR, UK
www.zedbooks.co.uk
Copyright © Richard Bourne 2015
The right of Richard Bourne to be identified as the author of this work has been
asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988
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Index: Terry Barringer
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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of Zed Books Ltd.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978-1-78032-907-9 hb
ISBN 978-1-78032-906-2 pb
ISBN 978-1-78032-908-6 pdf
ISBN 978-1-78032-909-3 epub
ISBN 978-1-78032-910-9 mobi
In memory of the late Beko Ransome-Kuti, human rights
campaigner, and for my daughter Camilla, who met him,
and my youngest grandchild, Ollie, who never had the chance.

Contents
Preface ix
Timeline xiii
Acronyms and abbreviations xx
Map of Nigeria xxiii
Section 1: 1914–39: Invention of a country 1
1. A merger makes a large possession for Britain 3
2. First World War: Nigeria on the front line 16
3. Lugard struggles with opponents 26
4. Between the wars: Nigeria is not a single state 32
5. Between the wars: the economy in a world depression 39
6. Between the wars: a new assertive nationalism 43
Section 2: 1939–64: Rocky road to freedom 55
7. Another world war and strategic importance 57
8. Political change and divisive regionalism 69
9. Regional governments and the coming of independence 78
10. The joy of independence 88
11. Overture to disaster 96
Section 3: 1964–89: The shadow of the generals 109
12. Military coups, Biafra and civil war 111
13. Reconstruction, another coup and the craving for 130
democracy
14. A second republic, its short, inglorious life and its 142
overthrow
15. Buhari, IBB and a new military era 157
Section 4: 1989–2014: A decade of pain,
then disappointment in democracy 173
16. The annulment of an election puts Nigeria on edge 175
17. The disastrous Abacha years 189
18. Democracy, and the return of Obasanjo 201
19. Yar’Adua, Jonathan and threats in the Delta and 224
the northeast
Section 5: Reflections 241
Politics as business 245
Ethnicity and religion 250
Oil, inequity and poverty 258
One Nigeria? 265
Afterword 271
Notes 276
Bibliography 299
Index 309
Preface
A
nyone who claims to understand Nigeria is either deluded,
or a liar. It comprises so many ethnicities and perspectives, with a
contested past and statistics to be taken with pinches of salt, that it is
an act of immodesty to write a centenary history. My justification is
that I like the country, have been befriended by many Nigerians, and
want readers to appreciate the gigantic nature of Nigeria’s challenges
and achievements. To create a single state, to which all citizens can
owe allegiance and in which all may prosper, is an ongoing struggle.
The intention here is to elucidate, as fairly and readably as possible,
a story that began with a colonial merger and bring it up to date.
Nation-building is a requisite everywhere, and it was particularly
difficult in newly independent states as the tide of European empires
receded in the second half of the twentieth century. For Nigeria an
existential question about the unity of this diverse polity has never
quite disappeared. My purpose in tracing this story is to see how this
manufactured state has, on the contrary, managed to survive.
My personal acquaintance began in 1981–2, when I was commiss-
ioned by Channel 4 – then an experimental TV station that went on
the air in London at the end of 1982 – to see whether it was possible
to run a weekly news-feature programme with the working title Third
World Week. It would, for example, use material from African TV
stations and African filmmakers, and I travelled round the continent
over a month to report on the idea’s viability. However, I had difficulty
in getting a Nigerian visa because I was not long in any capital, and