Despite its negative image, for travelers with an open mind and friendly demeanor Nigeria is an incredibly absorbing country in which to travel. Experience the mind-boggling chaos of Lagos, the traditional durbars, Benin bronzes and walled cities, and enjoy its single greatest quality – the warm generosity of 140 million people.Details of getting around, by bush taxi, rail, car or on foot, together with accommodations options, wildlife watching and activities, are balanced by a wealth of background information, from history (of a country dating back thousands of years) and geography to culture and the environment.

His nineteenth-century cousin, paddled ashore by slaves, twisted the arms of tribal chiefs to sign away their territorial rights in the oil-rich Niger Delta. Sixty years later, his grandfather helped craft Nigeria’s constitution and negotiate its independence, the first of its kind in Africa. Four decades later, Peter Cunliffe-Jones arrived as a journalist in the capital, Lagos, just as military rule ended, to face the country his family had a hand in shaping. Part family memoir, part history, My Nigeria is a piercing look at the colonial legacy of an emerging power in Africa. Marshalling his deep knowledge of the nation's economic, political, and historic forces, Cunliffe-Jones surveys its colonial past and explains why British rule led to collapse at independence. He also takes an unflinching look at the complicated country today, from email hoaxes and political corruption to the vast natural resources that make it one of the most powerful African nations; from life in Lagos’s virtually unknown and exclusive neighborhoods to the violent conflicts between the numerous tribes that make up this populous African nation. As Nigeria celebrates five decades of independence, this is a timely and personal look at a captivating country that has yet to achieve its great potential.

Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa with an internal market of 150 million people and an economy growing at around 8 percent a year, is potentially Africa’s next powerhouse. It is nearly one and a half times the size of Texas, with a landmass varying from sandy beaches and tropical jungles, to plains, mountains, and desert. This important West African nation is made up of 250 culturally distinct ethno-linguistic groups. The largest communities are the Hausa in the north, rooted in the Islamic city-states of the famed trans-Saharan trade routes; the Yoruba of the southwest, where ancient kingdoms nurtured some of Africa’s best-known art forms; and the Igbo of the southeast, where decentralized, egalitarian communities have produced many of the country’s most successful traders and businessmen. Nigeria has had a bad press: international reports of violence, corruption, and natural disasters completely overlook the vibrancy and artistic sophistication of its diverse cultural groups, most of whom live peacefully in mixed communities.  Although Nigeria is the world’s fifth-largest producer of oil, there is a huge disparity in income. The competition for scarce resources and the country’s dense diversity have fostered ingenuity and perseverance on the part of its ambitious citizens. They are natural entrepreneurs, and intelligent and shrewd negotiators. They are also proud, and sensitive to criticism. Most are devout, gregarious, and hospitable, and disgusted by corruption. Now, in the twelfth consecutive year of democracy after years of military rule, major political and economic reforms are under way. Culture Smart! Nigeria is a unique introduction to life there today. Most of what is written about the country comes from the perspective of one or other tribe. There is nothing quite like this concise description of its major cultural traditions. The people most visitors will meet are well-educated, sophisticated, and well-versed in Western ways. Nonetheless, foreign businesspeople cannot hope to be successful without understanding the ancient and complex systems of behavior, values, and attitudes that underlie the country’s vibrant social and business life. 

In 1795, a young Scottish physician set out to explore the course of the Niger River. The detailed notes from his arduous two-year adventure in West Africa provided Europeans with their first reliable account of the region. Two centuries later, this early classic of travel literature offers singular geographic and anthropological observations of Africa before colonial influence.

Noo Saro-Wiwa was brought up in England, but every summer she was dragged back to visit her father in Nigeria — a country she viewed as an annoying parallel universe where she had to relinquish all her creature comforts and sense of individuality. After her father, activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, was killed there, she didn’t return for several years. Recently, she decided to come to terms with the country her father given his life for.Saro-Wiwa travels from the exuberant chaos of Lagos to the calm beauty of the eastern mountains; from the eccentricity of a Nigerian dog show to the decrepit kitsch of the Transwonderland Amusement Park. She explores Nigerian Christianity, delves into the country’s history of slavery, examines the corrupting effect of oil, and ponders the huge success of Nollywood.She finds the country as exasperating as ever, and frequently despairs at the corruption and inefficiency she encounters. But she also discovers that it si far more beautiful and varied than she had ever imagined, with its captivating thick tropical rainforest and ancient palaces and monuments. Most engagingly of all, she introduces us to the many people she meets, and gives us hilarious insights into the African character, its passion, wit and ingenuity.

Curse of the Black Gold: 50 Years of Oil in the Niger Delta takes a graphic look at the profound cost of oil exploitation in West Africa. Featuring images by world-renowned photojournalist Ed Kashi and text by prominent Nigerian journalists, human rights activists, and University of California at Berkeley professor Michael Watts, this book traces the 50-year history of Nigeria’s oil interests and the resulting environmental degradation and community conflicts that have plagued the region. Now one of the major suppliers of U.S. oil, Nigeria is the sixth largest producer of oil in the world. Set against a backdrop of what has been called the scramble for African oil, Curse of the Black Gold is the first book to document the consequences of a half-century of oil exploration and production in one of the world’s foremost centers of biodiversity. This book exposes the reality of oil’s impact and the absence of sustainable development in its wake, providing a compelling pictorial history of one of the world’s great deltaic areas. Accompanied by powerful writing by some of the most prominent public intellectuals and critics in contemporary Nigeria, Kashi’s photographs capture local leaders, armed militants, oil workers, and nameless villagers, all of whose fates are inextricably linked. His exclusive coverage bears witness to the ongoing struggles of local communities, illustrating the paradox of poverty in the midst of plenty. The publication of Curse of the Black Gold occurs at a moment of worldwide concern over dependency on petroleum, dubbed by New York Times journalist Thomas Friedman as "the resource curse." Much has been written about the drama of the search for oil—Daniel Yergin’s The Prize and Ryszard Kapuscinski’s Shah of Shahs are two of the most widely lauded—but there has been no serious examination of the relations between oil, environment, and community in a particular oil-producing region. Curse of the Black Gold is a landmark work of historic significance.

This first English-language guide to the Saharan country of Niger spans the densely populated regions of the south--a colorful melting pot of cultures--and the hostile desert landscape of the north--featuring some of the most stunning sand dunes in Africa. Transport options for travelers are a particular feature of the guide--including long-distance connections to neighboring countries, river trips on the River Niger and camel trekking in the Massif de Aïr and Ténéré desert regions, home to the nomadic Tuareg people. As more independent travelers are finding their way to Niger, this guide will focus on both ends of the market: the upmarket traveler looking for background information and the budget traveler with a need to know all the practicalities.Features include:>Full range of travel and accommodation options>Present-day peoples and ethnic groups, including the Hausa, the Peul, and the Tuareg, including vocabulary and phrases>Niger culture and religion>Wildlife and ecosystems

Folded, indexed road and travel map. Distinguishes roads ranging from freeways to other roads. Legend includes tracks, railways, international/domestic airports, airfields, gas stations, hospitals/medical facilities, hotels, rest houses, huts, camp sites, border crossings, ferries, points of interest, archaeological sites, museums, mosques, missions/churches, beaches, national parks, nature reserves. Includes inset map of Lagos, Lagos Island and Benin City.