Nigeria since independence : forever fragile? / J.N.C. Hill, Senior Lecturer in Defence Studies, King's College London, UK.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hill, J. N. C. (Jonathan N. C.), 1978-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Nigeria--Politics and government--1960-.

Nigeria.

Politics and government.

Physical Description:

xiii, 173 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire : Palgrave Macmillan, 2012.

Summary:

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. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 Fear of Failure: Negative Sovereignty and the Birth of State Failure 8

The causes and consequences of state failure 10

Identifying failed states 10

Failure to promote human flourishing 16

The spread and spread of the concept of state failure 17

Conclusions 19

2 The Enemy Within: Insurgency and the Failure of the Nigerian State 22

The ways and extent of Nigeria's failure 25

Boko Haram 26

The MEND 29

Failure to control 32

Failure to promote human flourishing 34

Failure to provide security 34

Failure to provide healthcare and education 38

The dangers of disintegration 39

Conclusions 41

3 The Emperor's New Clothes? Federalism, the Decline of Old Loyalties and the Rise of New Jealousies 44

The post-independence background to federalism 46

The function of federalism 53

'Not a nation': federalism and the preservation of difference 54

A spur to ethnic tensions 55

Damage to national unity 56

Damage to political rights 58

Corruption 59

Out of many came forth one: federalism and the quest for unity 62

Conclusions 66

4 Fuel to the Flames: Oil and Political Violence in Contemporary Nigeria 70

A brief history of the Nigerian oil industry 73

Oil and its lubrication of Nigeria's failure 80

Damage to the economy 80

Damage to the environment 82

Damage to democracy 85

Corruption 87

Failure to promote human flourishing and the spread of armed violence 88

Secessionism 89

On troubled waters: oil and its contribution to Nigeria's unity 91

Conclusions 92

5 Of the People but for the People? Nigeria and Its Armed Forces 95

The legacy and reputation of Nigeria's armed forces 99

The armed forces' contribution to Nigeria's failure 104

A failure to defend 105

The abuse of human rights 108

The armed forces' efforts to prevent Nigeria's failure and disintegration 109

Maintaining and preserving security 110

Strengthening public participation and trust in the political process 112

Promoting social integration and harmony 115

Conclusions 118.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780230298521

0230298524

OCLC:

796757175