By Richard Bourne, only £12.99, published by Zed Press (www.zedbooks.co.uk)

Richard Bourne, OBE author and a senior fellow of the Institute for Commonwealth Studies is publishing another book titled Nigeria: A New History of a Turblent Centry which, even before publication, this important work has been highly recommended by a number of eminent people. Chief Emeka Anyaoku, GCVO, CFR, CON, former Commonwealth Secretary-General, has praised the author’s “detailed research and admirable perspicacity” and calls his work “Recommended reading for all those interested in Nigeria’s history”.

For members’ interest here is a review by our Trustee Professor Lalage Bown, OBE:-

“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. Richard Bourne has courageously traced the often painful and convoluted evolution of a country, which started as a colonial construct, to “One Nigeria”, said to be periodically looking over a precipice, but, except during the civil war, never in serious danger of falling.

The author undertook to present Nigeria’s story from 1914 to the present “as fairly and readably as possible” and has lived up to his aim. His balanced interpretations are based on very thorough research, substantially from Nigerian sources, reinforced with interviews with key players and by his personal experience. His readability comes from his skills as a journalist, making him ready, for instance, to call a colonial mandarin’s speech “grandiloquent guff”.

The story is largely about politics, but gives basic economic context, some relevant happenings in Africa, the Commonwealth and the wider world, and occasional comparisons with other nations’ experiences. It is chronologically told, in four main sections, followed by a section of reflections, tackling politics and business (with unafraid data and comments on corruption), the squandering of oil wealth, and the roles of Nigeria on the world stage. A final afterword expresses sober hopefulness following the election in 2015 of President Buhari.

The whole work is coloured by strong affection for Nigeria and Nigerians, tempered by concern for the problems facing a nation forecast to be the world’s third most populous in 2050.”

Copies of Nigeria: A New History of a Turblent Centry may be pre-ordered from www.zedbooks.co.uk and is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED AS A CHRISTMAS GIFT both for those who know Nigeria and those who would like to!