8 parts · 8 chapters
Modern Nigeria and Africa, 1800 to Today
How the Nigeria and Africa of today were made, from the Sokoto jihad to fintech in Lagos. Each chapter names its sources, gives contested events (the civil war above all) from more than one side, and uses official data for numbers.
Eight parts: the 19th century of jihad, trade and missionaries; the Scramble for Africa and the Berlin Conference; colonial Nigeria and the 1914 amalgamation; nationalism and independence; the First Republic and the civil war; military rule and oil; the Fourth Republic since 1999; and Africa's economies and technology today.
before colonialismSokoto, the Yoruba wars, legitimate commerce, missions.
partitionBerlin 1884-85, conquest, borders drawn in Europe.
Nigeria madeProtectorates, indirect rule, 1914 amalgamation.
independenceNationalist movements, constitutions, 1960.
crisisCoups, the civil war, military rule, oil.
todayDemocracy since 1999, the economy, technology and fintech.
00
The 19th Century: Jihad, Trade and Missionaries
A region in transformation
1 ch · ~8 min01The Scramble for Africa
Partition and resistance
1 ch · ~8 min02Colonial Nigeria and the 1914 Amalgamation
One colony from many parts
1 ch · ~8 min03Nationalism and Independence
From protest to independence
1 ch · ~8 min04The First Republic and the Civil War
More than one account
1 ch · ~8 min05Military Rule and Oil
Oil, coups and June 12
1 ch · ~8 min06The Fourth Republic
Democracy, insecurity and a young population
1 ch · ~8 min07Africa's Economies and Technology Today
Building on a young continent
1 ch · ~8 minSources and methodBuilt on Toyin Falola and Matthew Heaton, Michael Crowder, Thomas Pakenham, Chinua Achebe, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (as literature), Max Siollun, and World Bank and NBS data, cited per chapter.