This admirable and richly textured book should be widely read not only by those inter-ested in Yoruba history and modern Nigeria but by all those who seek a mature under-standing of the intricate connections between local and national politics. Nolte provides powerful insights on the towering stature of Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the preeminent politician of the era, along with the social dimensions of power, the richness of political networks, institutional conflicts, the construction of mythologies of power and popular loyalty, and many more crucial topics, all ably analyzed with clarity and precision. Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin ... one of the most important books in Nigerian Studies in the last decade. Olufemi Vaughan, Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine ... provides a fascinating tapestry of Remo life, as well as the single best portrait avail-able of Awolowo s background and personality ... a model study of Africa s past and present ... proclaims the arrival of a scholar of formidable gifts. - T.C. McCaskie, School of Oriental and African Studies This book examines the evolution of a distinctive Yoruba community, Remo, and the central role played in this process by the Remo-born nationalist and Yoruba leader Obafemi Awolowo (1909 87). Based on a subtle analysis of local-level politics, this book argues that traditional and modern participatory structures play an important role both in Yoruba politics and in the African postcolonial state. At the same time, its focus on Awolowo makes an important contribution to the scholarly debate on one of Nigeria s most important politicians.

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