Religion and the Making of Nigeria. By Olufemi Vaughan

Abstract

Olufemi Vaughan’s well-written book, Religion and the Making of Nigeria, is a commendable undertaking of a vast and challenging topic that presents ample opportunities to get caught up in swirling currents of seeming contradictions and brazen assertions without foundation. Vaughan calls Nigeria “Africa’s most populous and complicated nation-state” (231) noting that Nigeria was cobbled together during a colonial era unconcerned with continuity and common ground. The book coheres around a logical historical progression that is quite useful for those not well-versed in the labyrinths of Nigeria’s religio-political landscapes. I found myself returning repeatedly to the helpful maps at the front of the book. Vaughan’s careful and thorough introductory section lays out the author’s thesis that religion has been central to the formation of the Nigerian nation and that religious super-structure has been at the heart of the structural and administrative workings of Nigeria. To his credit, Vaughan is also careful to cite a number of variant scholarly views related to Nigeria’s religio-political structures.