This House Has Fallen: Nigeria in Crisis - Political Analysis Book on African Governance & Democracy | Perfect for Students, Researchers & Policy Makers

First of all, I should say that this book is marred by a horrible title: "This House Has Fallen: Midnight in Nigeria" (previous edition). Quite a poor choice for the title of a book that isn't as half as dark as you'd expect from its name. In this case, you literally shouldn't judge this book by its cover.The title of this review, however, refers to an apt quote that comes in the last chapter of the book. The quote would have been more appropriately presented in the introduction, because the entire book is seemingly built on its theme. The theme is that Nigeria is essentially a collection of very proud, insulated societies and cultures that desire independence but are held together by a government based on strictly colonial boundaries. With my knowledge of Nigeria and Nigerian history, I really agree with that. There is no such thing as Nigerian nationalism except in Nigerian communities outside of Nigeria. Even then, a Yoruba is always a Yoruba and a Hausa always a Hausa. Doing ethnographic fieldwork in Ghana, a group of migrant Hausas warned me against traveling to Nigeria: "Nigerians are wicked, wicked people!"This book explains crises in Nigeria in several different areas. First, the book spends a few chapters quite appropriately on the Niger Delta crisis and the Ijaws. It articulates the argument quite well that the responsibility for this crisis falls right in the lap of oil companies and the Nigerian government. The book then deals with northern Nigeria and the rise of fundamentalist Islam. It rightly portrays the friction as between ethnic groups, and NOT between Muslims and Christians per sae. The end of the book is a patchwork of chapters on the Yoruba, the Igbo, and the Middle Belt minorities.A great read. This book is a good alternative to "A History of Nigeria" (Cambridge University Press) because it is highly readable and focuses on pressing issues. It is essentially a piece of good journalism, but not as egocentric and cynical as a lot of the "poverty and danger tourism" writing typical of "Untapped: The Search for Africa's Oil." It doesn't exoticize Nigerians nor portray them as dangerous the way a lot of literature on Africa does. It balances political economy, indigenous liberation movements, and environmental issues all in one breath. It's amazing what Maier managed to pack into less than 300 pages. Read it.