Bob Siller - Its Time Nigeria: The Journey of an African American Businessman Who Lived in Nigeria for More Than Fourteen Years

I t is a great pleasure for me to peruse this very interesting book titled A Country Called Nigeria . The book represents an extraordinary act of an historical narrative of life in Nigeria based on the authors personal experiences while living there for more than fourteen years. Siller provides a very engaging and potent evidence of how a foreigner sees Nigeria warped by its own diverse competing cultures and traditions that can almost descent into a casual underdevelopment and poverty in the midst of plenty though endowed with abundance of natural and human resou rces.

Although Bob Sillers primary purpose for venturing into Nigeria was to do business for financial success, he had to first grapple with some onerous teething challenges associated with doing business in a foreign developing country. For example, he had to contend with many such challenging living conditions like strange climate, different food, corruption, compounded by incessant military rules, to mention but a few. Not minding these difficulties, he developed very good relationships with virtually a cross section of the members of the three major ethnic groups in Nigeria, as well as many from other ethnic gr oups.

Having interacted with these people over the years and seeing their difficulties first hand, Mr. Siller could not resist sharing his perspectives of their situation, which he described as frankly and vividly as possible in his book. In writing the book, he managed to successfully and clearly discuss many aspects of Nigerian life that he enjoyed with different people in the field of politics, business, leisure, social and cultural lives. He examined and dealt with matters already reasonably well known about Nigeria in interesting novel ways. He arrived at conclusions, some of which could be controversial, but which he honestly and persuasively set forth. One reading his piece cannot therefore be in any doubt that he developed great love and passion for Nigeria. Otherwise, what further evidence does one need to support the above assertion than Mr. Sillers decision to take one of Nigerias pretty pearls-Uloma to whom he dedicates the book as his wife?

The language of the book is clear and lucid. The temptation one has once one starts to read it is not to drop it. It is a vivid portrait of the daily life of the author of the book in a foreign country which turned out to be memorable and very useful in many ways. Some books elegantly record history, some books make history, this book does both. He successfully mixed passion with erudition. This is a very good first attempt by Mr. Siller that brilliantly and fiercely presents a useful and informative treatise about Nigeria. Mr. Sillers A Country Called Nigeria , is an insightful and piercing book that looks the face of Nigerias 21 st century directly in the eye, and speaks to all of us Nigerians with words that are painfully clear. I commend the book for everybodys reading and enjoy ment.

Chris Nwachukwu Okeke, Ph.D.

Professor of International & Comparative Law

Golden Gate Univer sity

San Francisco, Califo rnia

A Country Called Nigeria is an honest account of Nigerias past and present, from the perspective of a non-Nigerian. It contains constructive criticisms of the difficulties one could encounter while trying to transact business in such a complex and diverse country as Nigeria. I found the book so captivating that I felt the urge to continue reading to the end. I am impressed with the methodology by which information was gathered and exquisitely delivered by Bob Sillers and I recommend the book to anyone who wants to know about an important aspect of doing business in Nig eria.

Mazi Oji Kanu

Engi neer

San Franc isco

Nigeria has been acknowledged to be a country of contradictions. Richard Sklar once wrote about Nigerias three contradictions in 1965the regionalization of government machinery and the trans-regional and anti-regional party machinery, the reliance of opposition groups on class-conscious regional power groups, and the inconsistent allocation of constitutional power with the real distribution of power in soc iety.

Martin Merediths elucidation of the history of modern Africa in 2005 paints a sordid portrait of Nigeria as a derelict economy with chronically inefficient public services, collapsed institutions of higher education, roads pitted with potholes, non-functioning telephone systems, abysmal record of successive governments, chaotic justice system, wasted resources on prestige projects, resurgence of ethnic and religious rivalry, and above all, a leader among the most corrupt countries in the world. Buttressing his point about the inherent contradictions in the entity called Nigeria, Meredith quotes both Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Nigerias first prime minister, and Chief Obafemi Awolowo, who dominated Western Nigerian politics for over 30 years. According to Meredith, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Belewa remarked in 1948: Since 1914 the British Government has been trying to make Nigeria into one country, but the Nigerian people are historically different in their backgrounds, in their religious beliefs and customs and do not show themselves any signs of willingness to unite .... Meredith also attributed this statement to Chief Awolowo: Nigeria is not a nation. It is a mere geographical expres sion.

Given these characterizations of Nigeria, it is patently insane for a foreigner to want to visit Nigeria, a country apparently strung together through artificial means, let alone live in there for 14 years. Thats what Siller did. Also, any effort that attempts to document experiences in Nigeria, must, of necessity, factor in the complex system in which Nigeria exists and Nigerians co-exist in all its ramifications. Not only is Nigeria a country of some 130 million people, it also boasts of over 250 ethno-linguistic groups. Perhaps this reality informed Chief Awolowos defense of the principle that every cultural nationality group has the right to autonomy and self-determination (Sklar, 1965). If Awolowos doctrine was to hold true, then every cultural nationality, regardless of size, would be entitled to a separate statehood with the Nigerian federation. That means, in principle, that Nigeria could potentially comprise of over 250 states, and not just 36 as currently configured or if the cultural nationalities were allowed to self-determine, a minimum of 250 nations would emerge out of the current Nigeria. The three-year Nigerian civil war quashed any hopes of a split in the Nigerian nation s tate.