Nigeria, onetime giant of Africa, rich in both human and natural resources, has in the past decades or so descended into what Samuel P. Huntington calls 'praetorianism'—control of society by force or fraud, especially by venal, corruptible, and often sycophantic people; into what Richard Joseph calls 'prebendalism'—the disbursing of public offices and state rents to one's ethnic-based clients; and into what Larry Diamond calls 'uncivil society'—lacking the horizontal relations of reciprocity and cooperation that breed the honesty, trust, and law abidingness that mark the civic community. The aforementioned descriptions of Nigeria raised the specter of a failed state. Campbell (Ralph Bunche Senior Fellow for Africa Policy Studies, Council on Foreign Relations), former US ambassador to Nigeria, cites numerous factors responsible for this situation: endemic corruption, maladministration, election malpractices, and sectarian violence perpetrated by Boko Haram. Campbell condemns Washington's indifference in the past and cautions the Obama administration to be circumspect in helping Nigerian civil society in reversing this trend. A must-read for people interested in security of Nigeria and US-Nigeria bilateral relations; recommended for other readers. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduate, graduate, research, and professional collections.

Choice Reviews

In closing, Campbell’s monographic illuminates Nigeria and its probability for super-power statehood as searching outwardly for internal healing. . . .Campbell’s book is a literary testament to the modernity of Nigeria’s sociopolitical atmosphere with an undertone poignancy for practical transformation. Without reluctance, I strongly recommend this literary masterpiece, because through combining primary evidence and personal experience, Campbell administers a strongly supported critical analysis of Nigeria’s political upper class (formally known as the 'Ogas'). Academically, he exhibits the potential of Nigeria and the litany of governmental dysfunctions in a systematic chronological fashion that is readily comprehended without being a histo-academician. . . .Ambassador Campbell attentively resurrects the idea that Nigeria can mobilize for political purposes in steps towards a righteous direction of statehood stability and dependable political behavior servicing its citizens in kind for a tangible bright future.

African Studies Quarterly

[A] bold and courageous book. . . .Campbell sounded the alarm bell [but] we ignored the clear and prompt message contained, instead we went ahead to demonise the messenger. . . .If Nigeria continues to be the epicentre of corruption, infrastructure decay, violent conflict, religious extremism and criminality, there is not much anyone can do to improve her image. I earnestly hope that our country wins the war against terror which will possibly begin with the safe return of the girls kidnapped from Chibok. It is now clear that Campbell was right in most of the issues he raised. . . .The lesson is that we must try to give some of the many ‘western’ discussions about Nigeria the benefit of informed scrutiny before discarding them as promoters of pre-conceived interests.

Punch

A crucial layman's introduction to Nigeria as a whole, and to its inextricably intertwined identities of religion, politics, and society.

Tony Blair Faith Foundation

Part diplomatic memoir, part layman’s introduction to the country, Campbell’s book provides an excellent snapshot of Nigeria today. Campbell recounts key events in the country during his terms there as an American diplomat, including a spell as U.S. ambassador from 2004 to 2007. On several occasions, Campbell comments on U.S. timidity, notably Washington’s hesitancy to publicly voice its concerns about Nigeria’s deplorable levels of corruption or about the fraud and violence that have marred recent elections. . . . His book is a lively and sometimes highly critical analysis of the country’s political class.

Foreign Affairs

Africa’s most populous nation totters toward the 'failed state' abyss in this measured study of Nigeria’s travails. Campbell, the U. S. ambassador to Nigeria from 2004 to 2007, juxtaposes the nation’s great potential—including huge petroleum reserves—with its dire poverty and growing instability. He fingers a litany of dysfunctions: a weak government and rigged elections; a ruling elite of generals and plutocrats who view the state mainly as a dispensary of petroprofits; endemic corruption; bloody sectarian violence between Christians and increasingly radical Muslims; the curse of oil wealth, which encourages Nigeria to neglect industrial development and fuels insurgencies in impoverished oilrich regions. Part history and part memoir, Campbell’s chronicle of Nigeria since the 1960s civil war is fleshed out with firsthand profiles of its leaders and observations on recent political turmoil, along with a shrewd insider’s analysis of Washington’s policy toward the country, which he feels is too aloof. . . . Campbell gives a lucid, perceptive survey of the hardships and perils Nigeria faces.

Publishers Weekly