A compassionate conservative soldier-statesman, Babangida, in or out of office is not likely to be ignored in any honest attempt to understand the great economic and political challenges which beset Nigeria and Africa in the last decades of the twentieth century. Consequently the journey to Nigeria’s future greatness or demise must necessarily take its bearing from the Babangida years.
A compassionate conservative soldier-statesman, Babangida, in or out of office is not likely to be ignored in any honest attempt to understand the great economic and political challenges which beset Nigeria and Africa in the last decades of the twentieth century. Consequently the journey to Nigeria’s future greatness or demise must necessarily take its bearing from the Babangida years.
Chidi Amuta’s columns in major Nigerian newspapers and magazines have been compulsory reading for successive generations of Nigerians over the last two and a half decades. Easily one of the most respected and informed voices in contemporary Nigerian public discourse, Amuta’s writing stands out for its sheer intellectual sweep and an arresting command and control of the English language.
Amuta comes to the table with a consistently nationalistic perspective and an incisive analytical insight that is often prophetic. At once fearless and acerbic, he is unsparing and unfailingly engaging.
As soon as he assumed office as governor in 2007, Rotimi Amaechi immediately set about establishing his credentials as an uncommon political leader – one who was determined to make a tangible difference in the lives of his people through vision, tenacity and a stubborn will.
This book is the work of friends, associates and observers drawn from across the length and breadth of Nigeria. These individuals, most of whom have distinguished themselves in diverse fields of human endeavor, have the advantage of observing and assessing the work of the Amaechi administration from mostly dispassionate but close enough positions.
When The Mauritanian was first published as Guantánamo Diary in 2015—heavily redacted by the U.S. government—Mohamedou Ould Slahi was still imprisoned at the detainee camp in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, despite a federal court ruling ordering his release, and it was unclear when or if he would ever see freedom. In October 2016 he was finally released and reunited with his family. During his fourteen-year imprisonment the United States never charged him with a crime.
Now he is able to tell his story in full, with previously censored material restored. This searing diary is not merely a vivid record of a miscarriage of justice, but a deeply personal memoir—terrifying, darkly humorous, and surprisingly gracious. The Mauritanian is a document of immense emotional power and historical importance.
