Nigeria Since Independence: Forever Fragile?

Since the summer of 2009, Boko Haram has waged a ceaseless campaign against its growing list of enemies. It has mounted dozens of attacks right across northern and central Nigeria to devastating effect, killing and injuring many hundreds of people and hastening Nigeria's failure as a state. Yet, despite its failure, Nigeria has avoided breaking up. What forces are keeping Nigeria together? And for how much longer will they be able to do so?

Nigeria Since Independence argues that the main causes of Nigeria's failure are the same as the principal mechanisms keeping it together. It shows how the country's federal structures, oil and gas industries, and armed forces are simultaneously fuelling its failure and preventing it from breaking apart. Enhanced by interviews with senior Nigerian policy-makers and foreign diplomats, it provides a crucial insight into the state of modern Nigeria.