This book analyzes the influence of memory on social conflict as well as the role of ethnicity in state formation and governance in Nigeria. It examines the nexus between the Nigerian civil war and the conflict in the oil rich Niger Delta against the background of memory and ethnicization of the state. Ultimately, both social conflicts, though separated by decades, profit from shared memories in a largely ethnicized state structure. Nigeria emerges as a centrifugal state characterized by bias in resource distribution and concentration of power in the center. These forces create the perception of marginalization and sponsor enduring memory of a biased state not helped by failure of the state to ensure closure of the civil war. The book argues that the non-systematic closure of the civil war has generated memory lapse which has given rise to social conflicts and dissension in the socio-geographical region of the erstwhile Biafra republic. These conflicts in the contemporary history of Nigeria include the persistent Niger Delta oil conflict and recurrent struggle for the realization of a sovereign state of Biafra. In effect, these conflicts are products of structural bias and distributional injustice; and both can be related to the social memory lag of the civil war and weak Nigerian state. The book traces how memory is produced and disseminated within social groups in Southeastern Nigeria, which is the theater of both the civil war and youth-driven oil conflict in the Niger Delta. While these conflicts have without doubt benefitted from memory lapse of the past, they have equally drawn momentum from ethnicity which has significantly and negatively affected the role of the state.

This book focuses on the Boko Haram insurgence in Nigeria, and provides information on the origin and growth of the sect, antecedent and historical factors behind the insurgence, assessing a variety of socio-political drivers. The structure, organization and ideology of the sect are analysed, paying attention to internal splits within the group, as well as external relations with the Nigerian state, and global jihadism. The diverse and wide ranging issues covered in the book makes it valuable for academic researchers, students and policy practitioners both within Africa and beyond.

This book unravels the trajectories and dilemmas of development in Nigeria since its independence in 1960. Despite enormous human and material resources, development progress in Nigeria has not met expectations. By delving into the various factors that have influenced development efforts and initiatives, Development in Nigeria: Promise on Hold? aims to draw out lessons to help the country to achieve its potential. In many ways Nigeria typifies the African puzzle of near-misses, a never-ending drive towards development with enormous promise but no real practical output. As in many states within Africa, these failures can be traced to structural inadequacies and the perennial weakness of public institutions. Problems which collectively undermine sustainable development and growth include political corruption, ethnicity, failure of public institutions, distributional injustice, fiscal centralism in a purported federal state, faulty democratic traditions, malevolent elite class, religious and social conflicts, among others. By taking a comprehensive panoramic overview of the country's historical experience as both a military dictatorship and democracy, Edlyne Eze Anugwom presents a nuanced, comprehensive and contemporary interrogation of the ever-dynamic forces and factors in Nigeria's development project. This book's incisive examination of Nigeria's development aspirations over time will be of interest to students of Development and African Studies, as well as to practitioners and multilateral agencies involved in development planning and intervention in Nigeria who are looking for strategies for overcoming the challenges facing the country.