Professor Stephen Ellis, PhD, was Desmond Tutu Professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences at the VU University, Amsterdam, and author of, inter alia, The Mask of Anarchy: The Religious Roots of the Liberian Civil War, Worlds of Power: Religious Thought and Political Practice in Africa, Madagascar: A Short History, and Season of Rains: Africa in the World, all available from Hurst.
"[A] critical analysis of how various Nigerian social and political
institutions have created and sustained opportunities for illegal
gain. The book offers fascinating details of political corruption,
and a useful distillation of the mechanics of criminal enterprises,
but its primary contribution to Nigerian historiography lies in
mapping links between the breakdown of longstanding African
institutions during the colonial period, the emergence of new
arrangements to fill the gaps, and current illegal activity by
official and conventional criminals." -- The International Journal
of African Historical Studies
"This is quite simply a dynamite book, striking first of all for
the sheer depth of research that has gone into it. It is
remarkable, too, in the way that it is able to fit this material
into a bigger picture, created not only by a thorough familiarity
with Nigerian history and politics, but also by an awareness
especially of the spiritual dimensions of Nigerian life, and the
ways in which these feed through into crime as well as virtually
every other aspect of Nigerian affairs." -- Christopher Clapham,
University of Cambridge"Lucid, starkly realistic, and beautifully
written, this book calls into sharp focus the nature of corruption
in Nigeria. Ellis provides an insightful explanation for why reform
programmes almost always end in disappointment. This book is a
significant contribution to our understanding of the nature of the
state in this most important African country. The richness and
clarity of the empirical detail and the overall analysis validates
Ellis' position as one of the most consistently imaginative and
creative thinkers of our time on the central issues of politics in
Africa. More than any other book, this sober analysis of the deep
historical social roots of corruption is sure to be controversial
in some quarters and is guaranteed to set the terms of debate for
years to come." -- Will Reno, Professor of Political Science,
Northwestern University, and author of Warfare in Independent
Africa"The final work of Stephen Ellis, a brilliant Africanist,
This Present Darkness is nothing less than an analysis of Nigeria's
history from the pre-colonial period to the present time. Based on
original, archival research in five countries, its insights draw on
expertise in anthropology, religion and history. It provides a
depth of understanding of how Nigeria's works and why that is
unprecedented. His conclusions about crime, the Nigerian state, the
pre-colonial, and the colonial past are bound to generate fresh
thinking." -- John Campbell, Ralph Bunche Senior Fellow for Africa
Policy Studies, Council on Foreign Relations"With sympathetic
insight and sharp wit, Ellis presents an unparalleled analysis of
how Nigeria became the notorious epicentre of global illicit trade,
engaged in organised crimes as diverse as 419 frauds, trafficking
in sex, drugs, and the country's plentiful oil wealth. Cults,
mysticism and secret societies that entrenched themselves in
Nigeria's post-colonial transition have created a society where
becoming rich is a theology, and the importance of jujus outweighs
that of justice" -- Tuesday Reitano, Global Initiative against
Transnational Organised Crime"It is sad that Stephen Ellis died
before his book appeared in print. Its central idea is that Nigeria
is corrupt, which by itself is not a new statement. Ellis
attributes the prevalence of crime not to culture but to history.
If this analysis proves enduring, it unfortunately means that
corruption and crime will be part of Nigeria's life until the world
itself comes to an end." --CHOICE
Ask a Question About this Product More... |