In Solidarity rethinks the history of Nigeria's decolonisation. Moving beyond nationalist leaders, it highlights the struggles of women traders, school children, ex-servicemen, and coal miners whose aspirations were subsumed beneath the politics of anti-colonial nationalism. The book argues that Nigeria's educated elite used the language of solidarity amplified by the nationalist press to consolidate political power during the 1950s, but that independence also marked the eclipse of many of the social and economic demands that had fuelled the anti-colonial movement. By recovering these neglected voices, In Solidarity offers a new understanding of how the elite capture of decolonisation shaped the foundations of the Nigerian postcolonial state.

Autorentext

Ngozi B. Edeagu, University of Leipzig, Germany.