Some of Nigeria’s greatest security threats—such as Boko Haram and militancy in the oil-rich Niger Delta—routinely grab international headlines. Others, like deadly communal conflict and violent crime, rarely do. Nevertheless, these security challenges have something in common: all are a product of Nigerian state...
Under its current constitution, Nigeria is a federal republic. Executive, legislative, and judicial powers at the national and state levels, as well as state and local authorities, have some autonomy and many responsibilities. Government at all levels is—in theory—supposed to be directly responsible to...
Despite its huge agricultural potential and flourishing service sector, Nigeria’s economy remains addicted to petroleum revenues. They are one of the country’s few sources of foreign exchange, indirectly drive many other sectors of the economy, and account for almost all government income. As global...
The history of what is now Nigeria stretches far back into antiquity. However, before British organization of the colony of Nigeria, completed only in 1914, there was no overarching cultural or political unity among what were highly disparate territories. Instead, there was a wide...
What does Nigeria’s future hold? Will spiraling population growth, unchecked urban expansion, and the negative effects of climate change hold the country back? Or will technological innovation, better governance, and a more empowered and engaged citizenry take it to new heights? As complex and...
Nigeria has by far the largest population of all African countries, with an estimated one out of every five sub-Saharan Africans being a Nigerian. It is now one of the largest democracies in the world. Nigerians claim that its economy alternates with South Africa’s...
Informed opinion in the United States has long concluded that Nigeria was Africa’s most important country strategically. Factors cited have been its huge population, oil production, contributions to international organizations, leadership in African conflict resolution, and especially, participation in multilateral peacekeeping missions. There has...
Nigerians like to say that they are the “happiest people in the world and the most religious.” Religiosity permeates public life; events big and small are routinely ascribed to divine intervention. Sickness and other misfortunes are the result of spiritual, rather than physical, causes,...
